A ShoutOut to my Best Friend

Today is our Healthy Anniversary. Two years ago today, my sister and I made a commitment to join Weight Watchers and lose weight. It's been exactly two years since I committed myself to me. It was about getting healthy.

That included quitting smoking. It's been exactly two years since my last smoke ever. It's been two years of a journey that will continue the rest of my life.

When I started it, I had no concept of what I was up against. I had never dieted in my life. I was 208 pounds, and I was for the most part okay with that. Oh sure, there were some things that bugged me. Like when I could feel my neck fat when I lied on my back. Like when during intimate times, a pillow under my hips almost suffocated me with my fat being forced up my body. Like when I layed on my back, and my stomach STILL rounded out, instead of in. Like when I layed in the bathtub and my boobs and belly stuck above the water. But you know, other than that...

What started my journey? What started me on this path to finding the real me? My best friend in the whole wide world. The one person who knows me better than even my husband. My sister, my soul.

Sam sat me down and had a talk with me. She was worried sick, because I had just been diagnosed with fatty liver disease. She was scared for me. More scared for me than I was, I bet. So we sat on my porch and talked. What she said to me was that she has seen me throw my self into things, live eat and breathe them, and she felt that we could do Weight Watchers together and succeed. You see, I had made a comment a few weeks prior that I didn't think that she and I could be weight loss buddies because we are the first to back the other up in justifying our way out of (or into, in the case of cheesecake) anything. But the way she talked to me that day, she really inspired me. She pointed out real life scenarios where I had believed in something so strongly that I bought into the philosophy and took it to a superstar level. AOV, Dale Carnegie, motherhood. She was right.

So, I went online. Sam sent me the link. I signed up for Weight Watchers Online. And the rest is history. We had an AMAZING 2007. We lost a great chunk of weight (like that word?). I came really close to finding out where I'm going to be forever. I got past the main hurldle of weight.

2007 was a learning experience for me. The curve was HUGE. Not just about food, portion size, and what I was capable of excercise-wise. But about me. And who I am. And what I can do.

I know that last year was bullshit for both of us (I personally lost five pounds in the entire year when all was said and done), but we have to focus on the fact that we didn't slip BACK, too. We worked really hard to not get fat again. Okay, so we could have worked really hard to lose more, too, but whatever. We need to have back pats, too. We could have been complacent. We could have given up. We could have had those pounds creep back on without us holding ourselves accountable. We didn't do that. We learned a valuable lesson on complacency. We learned that we will ROCK maintenance!! Last year had it's lessons well learned.

This year is OURS. This year we will make huge strides towards our goals. I know that I will reach mine. I know that she will reach whatever goals she has set for herself. I know that we have it in us, now.

So, I raise a salad fork (with a bit of protein and a bite of brown rice for balance) to my sister, my best friend, my soulmate, my love. To Sam.

Happy Healthy Anniversary. Here's to forever.

Thanks for sharing this moment with me,

Dee