It took me almost thirty years to realize how much the phrase “Life is a Journey” is really true. Let me stop first and say, Hi, my name is April, and I spent most of my adult life being overweight. For years I have struggled with being healthy. I’ve always wanted to be thin, but I don’t think it really sunk in until fairly recently. It’s hard to explain but it’s like a switch just went off in my head and it all just made sense. I was given the tools and the understanding to know that, hey, I can do this…and not only am I going to do this, I’m going to embrace this new life. Because you see, deciding to live a healthy lifestyle goes way beyond the world of dieting. It really is a whole new lifestyle, and I think that is something I failed to understand every other time I tried to shed pounds. This isn’t something you can just do for a while and then quit once you are satisfied with how you look or feel. This is a lifestyle…and to keep it you must maintain it, which means eating healthy and exercising are going to be daily ritual for the rest of your life. Do I still things that I want? Sure. Every day? Nope. Which, I have decided, is fine. Almost six months ago I decided to really get serious about becoming healthy. I had lost approximately ten pounds up until then, but had a LONG way to go. I was doing 30 minutes of cardio, three times a week, every week, but I only had managed to lose about ten pounds (I say ten, but honestly, I’m not sure. I had a true phobia of the scales and wouldn’t get on them for the longest time, and once I did, my worst fear came true, but you know, I faced that fear, and somewhat overcame it.). So, I had to really decide, was I going to be happy with the way I was, or was I going to fix this thing that I felt was a problem. But deep down I wasn’t happy the way I was…so, I changed my diet. And with the help of a friend (one I trust like no other), I incorporated strength training with my new diet and my cardio.

Now, all of these months later, I feel like I’ve reached somewhat of a milestone. I’ve lost 45 pounds. Up until now, they have come off fairly easily. Now that I’m down to the last 31, man, is it getting tough. In the last three weeks, I have only lost TWO pounds. TWO. Not exactly something to celebrate about when you are as competitive as I am (and seriously, who am I competing against here? Not sure, but I guess that’s just the way I am). The thing is, I wanted to be at a certain point now, and I’m not and that frustrates me. I didn’t think these last 31 pounds would be hard. I figured the last 10 would be, but not the last 31. And what do I do? Short of calling up Jillian Michaels herself, I’m not really sure. Every week I play with numbers and tweak things here and there, and well, I get the same result. And if I were to call her show, I know what she’d say. So do I call? I’m not really sure. Hmmm…

But I think my real point in all of this is: am I going to give this up? Heck no. I don’t care if it takes the rest of my life to get to my goal… I’m going to do it. And not only am I going to do it…I’m going to rock it…own it…and LIVE it. As frustrating as it is to see the scales read one pound or no pounds lost that week, it is only going to make me more determined, and I will not REST until I have figured this puzzle out. So, I invite you to join me on the rest of my journey, because I have a feeling it is going to be a ride. And we will get there, and once we do, we’ll figure out where to go from there.