A bran new day

Today marks the celebration and one-year anniversary of my Fitness North experience. One year ago today, we were coming into the home stretch of our two week live-in experience, anticipating our final weight loss numbers (I lost 21 lbs while on campus) and considering what it would be like to live in the real world.

As I watched the sun come up over Lake Superior this morning, I was struck by the beauty and opportunity of a new day. A clean slate. A fresh start. A new perspective. Anything is possible at the start of a new day. And I realized the analogy is perfect for where I am in this journey and in my life - I am celebrating a bran new day.

Weighing in this morning at a total weight loss in my one-year journey of -175. Feeling very proud of that number but more importantly of all of the accomplishments -- both physical and emotional -- to get here.

Yet I am careful to take note of the fact that it has not been a straight line to get here, but rather an up and down hilly and windy road that has made the victory over obesity and a sedentary life all that much better. The bumps and curves in the road have each provided a lesson. Those lessons (and there is a future blog in each one) have helped me better know myself and will most certainly help me hold this new life when the going gets tough in the future. And we know it will.

From hormones and life changes, to changing personal relationships, to work stress and the trials and tribulations of building a business, to weeks of plateaus, to surprising nutritional plans that play with the mind and remind me I am not in control, to family challenges, people drama, to the trials and triumphs of re-entering the dating market, and more! Whew, what a ride.

Through it all, I have learned:

• I am capable of absolutely anything! Anything, and everything.
• Life is soooooooo much more fun when the glass is half full and viewed through the possibility lens (this is how I am built, but I lost this optimism somewhere along the way under those 175 lbs)
• We need people - the lions in our den - to support us along the way. There is no way that I could have done this without the love, support and encouragement of hundreds of people.
• I cannot control other people or life circumstances, only how I react to it and hold it and that makes ALL the difference.
• The answer always lies within me (you) - sometimes you have to stop and listen to find it.
• Life is way more fun as an active and healthy person. Everything seems easier, brighter, richer.
• O'Neal was absolutely right: Connecting those 18" inches from  your head to your heart is the key to success. Our minds stop us long before any physical limitations do.
• I am a fashionista, bar none - and love, love, love fashion, style, clothes, accessories, trends...
• When you go through a major life change and a journey like this, you will find out who your true friends are - hold them close. They really matter!
• We are not perfect. Our bodies are not perfect, even when at goal. 
• Some part of my life going forward WILL include helping others who struggle with obesity, helping them see a light at the end of the tunnel and find the courage to take that first step. To be whole, I must pass this on and I can't wait!

Today, I get to see my girls! There were four of us who lived together on campus and shared every part of the Fitness North journey and have remained friends all year long. I adore them. I can't wait to see them and to celebrate where we are, who we are, and how we got here. More on our reunion soon.

To ALL of my Fitness North 2 family - thinking of you today and wishing we could all be together. To anyone looking for help to take that first step, email or PM me.

Lori