Update on the Weight Loss Challenge

Wow, I sort of let this slide. Made it through Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, without going apesh*t with food. The weight was coming off so well that I had to re-shuffle the goals and stretch goals. By the end of the year, I'd eclipsed my original goal and was approaching my stretch goal.

I did something unheard of. On New Year's Day, with my new, lighter butt, I opted to race the San Bruno Hill Climb. I know. I'm not a climber. But the forecast was unbelievable. Chilly, but dry and sunny. On New Years? That race has been held in rain, fog, freezing temps... I got shelled at the start, but I had to climb on my own terms. I'd never even climbed San Bruno, so I had no clue what lay ahead. I let the group go, and climbed alone. I ended up with some pretty stellar power numbers, which felt really good! Of course, climbing isn't magically easier with less poundage - I just go faster.

So unfair.

Here it is the end of February. And I keep dropping weight, which is now kind of freaking me out. I haven't weighed what I do right now in 12 years. Since my last bodybuilding contest. My old skinny jeans are so effing big, it's just not even funny. I bought a new pair of jeans in late October, and they're even kind of big. I have 3 more pair of skinny jeans that still fit, but dammit. Now my underwear are getting big. This is getting expensive.

In any case, it's been a really great experience. I've learned that food is a crutch. A crutch that a lot of people struggle with. I've been one of those people for most of my life. I pray that I can maintain that switch I have in my head: that switch where I can just view food as sustenance. Really, that's all it is. We attach a lot of significance to food, meals, eating. And a lot of people have health issues, weight problems, eating disorders. At the end of the day, we need calories to survive. Food, in its simplest form is just calories. I like my calories to taste good, but I've learned to listen to my body these past 5 months. I eat when I'm hungry. I try to stop when I'm full. I stopped eating crap. No junk. I have an occasional cookie. Today I ate 3 Girl Scout Thin Mints. But they didn't taste as good as they used to. A side-effect of stopping the junk intake. But I feel great. Really great. My body feels clean, healthy, and light. :) For the first time in 12 years...

I think I'll stay here for awhile. A LONG while.