Dear Me....

After 3 long years, I am happy to say I DID IT! I finally reached the weight loss goal I set for myself back in January of 2009. I wish I could go back to that time and reassure myself that things would work out the way I wanted them to. I want to go back and tell that person that she is NOT crazy for thinking that she can lose 54 lbs.

I think back to my days at my old gym, when I first started their EXPENSIVE weight loss program. I was asked to set goals for myself. My short term goal was to lose 20 lbs. My long term goals were to pass the police PREP and reach 160 lbs. I knocked out the 20 lbs in no time, and the police PREP was done in under a year. I trained hard and reached those goals, and went beyond them, but never made it to my other goal. Today, I changed that.

For the last 11 weeks, I have stuck to a solid diet, eating more than I ever have before, I trained hard every time that I went to he gym, and I let go of my excuses. With the crazy, awesome, amazing, excellent, undying knowledge and guidance of my wickedly fit, super wonderful, trainer, roomie, and friend, (was that nice enough? You gotta send people a big time shout out once in a while.) Ange, I have smashed this daunting goal. I have to throw out big thank you's to her because I can SOMETIMES be difficult to work with, and because I'm not exactly sure that I could have done it without the extra push from my friend and training partner. Even though she's "hard as nails" it's  only for the benefit of the people around her and she's always there to help when any friend or family member needs her. So thanks Ange, you rock the fitness and friendship world! Thanks to all of my friends who have encouraged me in this whole crazy thing. There are too many people to mention, but trust me, I never forget the TRUE heartfelt compliments, questions, words of encouragement, or just being a good friend.

To myself, I think back to the days of being overweight and unhealthy and having no idea what to do about it. I was scared to do anything for fear of failure. I think back to being that person and it fills my heart with sadness. I wish this version of me could go back and help the old me to see that we'll be alright. I want to tell her that I'm proud of her for her efforts and taking the first steps in becoming a healthier person and let her know that it won't be easy, but for every step forward you take, you get closer to being healthy and strong and it gets more and more worth it. I also want to tell her that this road will be full of nay-sayers, people who will question your motivation or reasons for putting yourself first, and those who will try to make you feel guilty for that. Screw those people. In the end, those people don't care about you. They're unhappy with themselves and misery truly does love company, but you're better than that! Just be you and strive for your best. It's in you, keep pushing and you'll see it.

So today I reached a long overdue goal. It was a long time coming and it felt great. I hope that this can help someone else to reach for their goals. I know it's never easy, but it's not supposed to be. Take the first steps, ask for help, be serious about your own health. I can tell you certainly that there is no food (not even poutines, pizza, pasta, chocolate....) that taste better than being healthy feels! I also hope that if there are any young girls reading this, they can see that being healthy is really important. It's not about numbers on the scale. Be your best you, be strong and be confident. You're worth it.

Today, I am writing to me and for me.
Dear Me,
Good work so far. Keep it up. Don't settle for anything less than your best. You know your best is probably pretty awesome, so keep going. Push your limits and reach your potential. Failure is not an option. Go above and beyond your own wildest dreams. Keep knowing that you are great and so are those you surround yourself with.Who knows what you're going to accomplish next!


Keep making me proud,
ME