Yesterday was my birthday! It was a great day so thanks to all of you who wished me great birthday wishes. I would like to share with you that I did amazing things on this day but it was a pretty normal day. I taught two spin classes, went out to eat with my husband and mom and ate my weight in froyo. There were no candles to blow out, no cake, but there was froyo. I couldn’t be happier! I could go on and on about how wonderful that froyo was but I’m sure you don’t want to hear about that, so I’ll just shut my mouth about it now. I tell you, I have a problem! We will do some fun things this weekend to celebrate my birthday; it’s kind of hard when my birthday falls in the middle of the week and a holiday week at that. We’ll probably do the beach or something because we haven’t been in a long while.
This is probably a good time to reflect on the year so far and look forward to what is coming. This is the year of me, him (Willie) and we! We’ve gone through this great weight loss journey and we’ve been maintaining our weight for almost a year now. That’s a victory in itself, right? But we’ve also changed into new people, with the same groundings, but still new people. We’ve tried new things, met new people, shared our story and made some new friends. It’s been hard to manage the old us and the new us but the point is to keep pushing forward. There has definitely been an adjustment period! New friends, new experiences, new joys in life sometimes make it hard for old friends and old pastimes to still feel special in life. I never want anyone to feel like they don’t have a place in my life because you do. The friends I had and continue to have now, loved me when I was overweight and in some of the darkest moments of my life. I don’t think I would ever be at this point without them. It’s also been hard for the family to adjust but at the end of the day family supportive and understand that right now I’m living my hopes and dreams!
The year of me: I’ve definitely developed a love of sports. I love to be active and we all know that I love to run. In 2013, I’ve completed 5 half marathons (I feel like I’m missing one, but maybe not) and 5 other shorter races (Austin 10/20 – 10 miles, Spring Fever Chase 10K, Green 6.2, Louisiana Marathon 5K, and the Gator Bait 15K). This year I became a runner. I love it and I love going to these races to meet new people and just be around people who are pushing toward new goals. Coming up I have at least 8 more races, 4 half marathons, a 10K and a marathon! This time next year, I hope to be completing in a half iron man! I just need to get my swimming under control and that is something I am working on now. Plus, right now I am studying to become a personal trainer! I’m falling a little behind right now, but it’s only been 2 weeks. After I finish with this blog, I’m going to hit the books and then hit the pool!
The year of him: Willie has gotten into the running, but he still hasn’t found the thing that he loves. I think he’s moving in the direction of cooking. He took to it immediately when we started our weight loss journey but took a step back. I think on the journey to find his new self, he’s ventured back to it. He likes trying new things, learning about different cultural foods and he’s always finding that new place for us to eat when we travel. He’s very interested in how things come together and he wants to start making things. He’s starting with the basics but he’s doing a good job. It’s a win/win for me because I’m usually the cook in the house. This means I’ll have to prepare less meals, but Willie is quick to remind me there will be more dishes in my future. I’m not happy about that part. The only thing that matters to me is that he finds something that he’s passionate about in life and this could be it. He’s been very supportive of my life’s adventures so I’m excited to see where his journey takes him!
The year of us: I’m excited about all the new things we will experience together and the places we will go. My running has taken us places we never thought we would go and put us in front of people we never would have met. Hopefully, Willie’s adventures will do the same. I look forward to many more runs and triathlons in anew places where we can get out and experience some local culture and food. Plus, I really hope Willie finds his passion in food because I want to hit up some food festivals. We’re still hoping to do a backpacking trip around Asia! This is something that is very important to us! Traveling anywhere is very big for us, but I think the place we both really want to go is Asia!
We are still the same people but we’re different. In my case, I feel like I’m the best version of myself. I use to be moody, unhappy and hard to please. I’m not that person anymore. It’s hard to escape your past sometimes but that is only helping me build a stronger future. Hopefully, I will be able to move past all the horrible parts of my old self and bring all the good things from that time into my future! That is what I want the most. I’m happy, fun and willing to try new things and that was never the case before. I am truly blessed!
The future holds for me: A trip to China and triathlons. These are the things I’m seriously working toward! For my birthday, I got a road bike and I’ve started learning how to swim for real. When the fall hits, I will get a swimming coach to really get my swimming to a level where I can compete without getting hurt. This time next year I hope I’m blogging about finishing my first half iron man! I can do it and I won’t let anything stop me. I’ve already come so far and accomplished so much. I won’t let anything hold me down.
Lastly, I want to thank everyone who voted for me and my running group to get on Chocolate Milk Team Refuel. This was something I wanted very badly and you helped one of my dreams come true. You may ask, why was this so important to her? It was important to me because we’ve been fortunate to share our story of weight loss so learning about nutrition has been a HUGE deal to me. This is just another way for me to spread the word on how taking care of your body will make you better and stronger. Low fat chocolate milk is a great tool for recovery because it’s got the perfect mix of carbs and protein, plus it’s a great treat when you’re done working out! Most people on their weight loss journey don’t know things like this and now I get the chance to spread the word and help others along the way! I also wanted this as a way to inspire people to set some goals and achieve their dreams. Two years ago I was morbidly obese and now I’m a sponsored athlete with my friends. Talk about reaching for the stars eh?
So a big thanks to all of you that made it happen for us! We all appreciate the time you took to vote, and by voting you donated money to CAF, which is an amazing organization. I’ve had an opportunity to meet some of the people who benefit from this organization and they are some amazing people doing amazing things. They are definitely an inspiration to me to keep pushing forward!
So what are your long term goals? What is the greatest thing you’ve accomplished so far this year? What do you want to accomplish by the end of the year?
