Monday, May 16, 2016

Eight is Great!

Over the weekend, my blog turned eight!  Woohoo, happy blogiversary to me!!

I've lived a healthier lifestyle for eight years now, which in all honesty sometimes frightens me because I am so accustomed to being normal.  Well, normal in that I can wear clothes from regular stores, and I can fit into airplane and movie seats comfortably and without a second thought, and I can go for a walk and not absolutely DIE from exhaustion after five minutes.  These are just a few ways that being more than 100 pounds overweight affected my life in the past, and I started this blog when I started my last diet because I never wanted to forget how challenging it was to be me, day in and day out, when I was carrying that extra weight, as well as how hard I worked to get that weight off.

However, I can go weeks without remembering how my life used to be, which is a good thing, because to me that means I'm pretty deeply entrenched in how I'm able to live now, but it's not so good in that I don't want to forget that it probably wouldn't be too hard to go down the path of my old self and BOOM - I'd be back where I was in 2008.  I'd like to think that it wouldn't happen, that I'm pretty set in certain healthy eating and exercise patterns - but I know I could be doing better, so there's always the fear of letting it all go.  Hey, I was pretty good at being overweight and sedentary; who's to say I won't go there again?

Still, eight years later, I'm doing well.  I'm not the thinnest I've been, nor am I the fattest.  I am the most active I've ever been in my adult life, and that includes all of our running adventures, which is something I never imagined I'd be doing when I started this blog.

Back in May of 2008, I wanted to lose weight.  I hoped I would be successful.  But I never thought I'd become the person I am today; someone who is pretty comfortable with her size, someone who exercises on the regular (read my old posts - I was very resistant to exercising in the beginning), and someone who is really quite pleased with how she's living her life.  All in all, not a bad place to be.  Thanks for coming along for the ride with me.

42 comments:

  1. Happy Blogoversary! 8 years is a long time Congrats! I'm so glad I found your blog back in 2010.

    Its been eight years since you lost your weight and you haven't regained all of it I doubt you ever would. Could you? Sure but I don't think you will you are a different person now from who you were when you started. You are a person who eats better than she did back then plus you exercise on the regular.

    As long as you stay mindful of your eating and keep exercising I don't think you will go all the way back up you would catch yourself before that happened.

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  2. Happy Blogiversary!

    I think the 'normal' is the hardest thing to accept because normal is new and maybe when you are overweight for so long, it's hard not to think it could happen again. Stats do show that the longer you keep it off, the more likely you are to keep most of it off. Kudos to you!

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    1. Thanks Lori - for once, I'd love to fall into the favorable statistics category, LOL.

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  3. As a longtime reader I can say it has been nice to read you all these years. I wasn't around for year one but I did go back and read the archives so there's that lol. I think I can also say I was one of the first running mentors you had, albeit via the interwebs. Fun to see that develop and see how you really have found the thing you like to do - so you keep doing it! One day we WILL run together, in person!

    Most of all, you seem to have found not only your niche but also your happiness. That's most definitely a formula for success.

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    1. I remember our first phone conversation fondly, with you guiding me through my new Garmin - that was such a nice thing to do, and yes, you definitely were my running mentor!

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  4. Wow, first of all Kudos to you for having the dedication to not only maintain a blog for 8 years but to also maintain yourself as the healthy, active person you are today. Neither of those things are easy feats! Thanks for taking us on this journey with you!

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  5. Happy Blogaversery! Eight year? That's an eternity in the blogosphere!

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    1. Haha, no kidding! I think a blog year is even longer than a dog year! ;)

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  6. Happy Blogoversary and congrats on your "new" healthy life not being so new anymore! That's a long time to stay committed to yourself and your health!

    I totally understand how easy it is to forget what life was like before you got healthy, or how you can take for granted how easy very simple things are now compared to how they used to be (I think about this when I'm NOT dying going up a few flights of stairs like I used to). It's definitely good to remember from time to time, just so you can see how far you've come and how hard you had to work to get there.

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    1. I know you know, Anne. And stairs - oof. I used to avoid them like the plague.

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  7. Congrats on 8 years! I am so happy not to have only known you for almost all of those years, but so happy we were able to finally meet in real life. You should be so proud of yourself and how far you've come - even over coming the box jumps! :D

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    1. OMB, box jumps! I have come a long way, haven't I? Thanks for coming along with me, and it's so great to finally have met you in person after all this time!

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    2. OMB. Three letters, can't get one correct. :(

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  8. Happy Blogiversary, to one of the most inspiring women I know!!! <3

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    1. Thanks, Roz - I don't feel inspiring, but if you take anything positive away from what I blather on about, then I'm happy to hear it.

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  9. Happy blogiversary!!! I always forget mine, and then you remind me. So funny that we started our blogs the same month! So then I fell down the rabbit hole of looking back through my own blog. I found a lot written about how I had been inspired to do this and that by YOU!! Thanks so much for the inspiration and friendship. And, LOL@ blog years being longer than dog years😊

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    1. We are twinsies in so many ways, LOL! Thanks for what you wrote - I could say the same thing about you as well. :)

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  10. Happy blogoversary. We started blogging in the same year!!

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  11. Happy Anniversary and I'm loving that you're loving the skin you're in.

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  12. Congrats on your 8 year blogoversary, Shelley! I think I started reading you about 4 or 5 years ago, and you were very inspirational to me. You were a large part of the reason I saved my pennies and bought my bike, Sally. I figured if Shelley could ride around the neighborhood, so could I :-) I look forward to Mondays, Wednesdays and Friday Mish Mashes every week - thank you for sharing!

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    1. I love that you named your bike Sally...is she pink? ;) Thanks for the sweet note.

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    2. She is actually tan colored, but I named her Sally so I could "ride Sally, ride" - I have a weird sense of humor...

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    3. OK, that is awesome...totally get your humor! :)

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  13. Woohoo!! Happy Blogiversary!! I'm so glad you are still going strong - I get a lot of inspiration from you! :)

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  14. Happy Happy Blogoversary!!! You are a good example for me and I'm thankful you've maintained your blog for all these years.

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  15. Happy Blog anniversary. Coming across your blog more than 6 years ago was one of the best things! You inspire me and even though there's an ocean between us, I do consider you as a friend.

    Keep blogging!

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    1. Same here, Fran - and one day, we will meet in person. :)

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  16. Happy Blogversary Shelley! Thank you for maintaing your blog all these years. I love to visit. You inspire me and make me laugh out loud. Your blog was one of my happy places through years of being almost houseboud by illness. Thanks for that.

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  17. Happy 8! It's so great that the lifestyle has become ingrained and your "normal"! Especially that you like exercising now! It's a lot of work to overhaul your life and you should be very proud!

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    1. I am proud, when I remember to be. Sometimes I go down the path of how much more I should be doing, but in comparison to eight years ago? I'm doing well.

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  18. You and Paco have been such an inspiration to Tutu and me. You've inspired and entertained us with your 8 years of blogs. Thanks for introducing us to Jeff, the kids, your parents and friends, too. Happy 8th blogiversity and many more.

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  19. Oh no, I was on retreat and missed your Blogiversary! Congrats. I like your definition of 'normal' and love that you are happy with yourself. Truly those are huge accomplishments. Also thanks for hanging in and blogging for so long - it's really helpful to have success examples.

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  20. Happy Blogiversary! Thank you for sharing your journey to fit (had to :D) with us but most of all, thanks for welcoming us into your world. It has been so nice to get to know a bit about your family and your friends. I always look forward to seeing your blog on my feedly!

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  21. A nickel late and a dollar shy...but happy blogiversary!!!!!

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