Grateful

Three years ago today, after seven and a half months in the women's food addiction recovery group I had joined, I switched from the "I need to lose weight in a sane and healthy way" version of my program to the "I need to maintain my weight in a sane and healthy way" version because I considered myself to have reached my goal weight. My body, however, begged to differ. Even on maintenance, I continued to lose weight, so I had to keep adding in more and more food just to be able to maintain. It was like most American women's fantasy: "Oh, darn, I just HAVE TO eat some MORE food to get my weight out of free-fall!" I had become one of those women I had always been so jealous and resentful of (just keepin' it real, folks).

Eventually, I found the right amount of the right stuff to get my weight to stabilize. As you can see from this photo of a typical lunch - all portioned out and everything - I eat well, and I am so NOT deprived.

Did I mention that I have thrown away over 80 pounds? Did I mention that I am currently 16.6 pounds *below* my "goal weight"?

This is not to make me sound like I'm "all that" because I'm NOT. I could not have done this without my friend Rose going before me and inspiring me. I could not have done this without the other women in the group encouraging me. I could not have done this without the support of Andrew and the girls. Seriously. On my own, I got my little 5 foot 2 1/2 person up to just a hair shy of 200 pounds.

So, today, as I reflect on the past three years, I am feeling really grateful and inspired to "stay the course". Thanks, y'all, for listening and for *your* encouragement through the years!