2018 is Here.....

I can not even believe it is already 2018.

I can not believe I started this blog in May 2012........and I can't believe I still have to talk about how much weight I need to lose.

But alas, let's look at the positives.

I've struggled with my weight for almost as long as I can remember. I struggled with it in high school when I was rail thin (and thought I was fat), and I struggle with it now.

But; I continue to fight. The good news is that my weight has been less each January since 2014. The bad news? Not nearly as much as I would like.

Family pic taken on Christmas Eve. My daughter is REALLY
good at taking selfies! :) 

I once again fell off the wagon HARD for the last couple weeks of the year.

Focusing on the positive though - I didn't totally fall off until right around Christmas and as of yesterday I am TOTALLY back on track! I realize it's only been 2 days, but the fact that I'm even attempting to get right back on track is a great sign. Also, I don't think I've EVER gotten back on track on January 1st. I usually will wait until at least the 2nd to even try. This year I decided I was READY and was going to do it right away.

The other thing that's awesome is that I'm feeling really good right now. I'm feeling totally motivated. I know that this won't last (because it never has before) so I'm trying to do as much as I can now to keep it going for as long as possible.

This year my friend convinced me to do a weight loss challenge with her at the gym she goes to. She wanted me to do it last year, but I didn't. I decided this year to go for it as a way to help get things rolling in the right direction for 2018. This is a challenge that has a cash prize that I know my friend REALLY wants to win. Obviously I would like some extra cash too, but I've been there, tried that and it doesn't necessarily help to keep me motivated. I'm actually thinking that what might help this time is that I know how badly Leslie wants to win and I want to help her do that. Perhaps if I think of it in terms of someone else counting on me I'll keep pushing. Clearly, just doing this for myself hasn't worked well enough to date. We'll see. The contest officially starts 1/15 and ends on 3/12. What's funny is that you have to have your final weigh-in no later than 3/12. I think I'll choose to do my final weigh in on 3/11 and then perhaps I'll get to indulge for my birthday! ;)

My goal is to stay on track from now until that March 11th weigh-in. That's a LONG time for me to stay as close to 100% compliant as humanely possible. I don't know that I'll meet that goal, but if I strive for it I'm sure I'll do better than if I give myself some wiggle room. Who knows what will finally work. That's what this journey is all about.....finding my balance..

So let's ROCK 2018 and hopefully continue getting closer to our goals.

We've got this!