Take a load off, Annie

The weight? Yeah. 209.4.

Still. Again.

After 206.4 a few weeks ago, I seem to have located and held on to three new pounds. This is not a surprise. I've been struggling to stay within my calorie range; I have felt like I am starving more than ever, and I haven't been working out as hard or as much since the St. Paddy's Day run when I got the nasty leg cramp, and now I'm dealing with some Achilles issues. (A literal and figurative Achilles heel.)

It's pissing me off. And yet, this morning, as I looked it the mirror, I saw a healthy, pretty girl look back. Thirty pounds ago, I didn't look like this. I still have a ways to go, but now ... now is still good.

So I looked at that pretty girl and I said, out loud, "It's about how far you've come, not how far you've yet to go." This is my new mantra, and I believe it's true.

I don't know what it is about getting to this point that scares me. It's not a true plateau, but when I get here - when I get close - it gets really hard to push through. I become paralyzed, or stupid. The thing that is so different, though, is that now, I have this new lifestyle that I don't think I could abandon if I tried. I have my gym, which I love. I have a dedication to moving my body that I wouldn't quit even if I were at my goal weight. I have this self-respect thing that simply won't allow me to throw in the towel.

And so, we press on. Because it's about how far I've come, not how far I've yet to go.