Whew! What a day...

Yesterday was an absolutely amazing day. I didn't have time to really process it then, so here I am on Sunday morning.

First things first, I lost 4 pounds last week which now puts me at 213 and officially, I am no longer obese! I am now happy to say I'm overweight. I have been anticipating this day for some weeks now and I am so proud to say that I've achieved it!

Yesterday I was ambitious after my newfound overweight-ness. I went for a short 1100 yard swim before teaching my senior computer class. It's so funny, because that distance used to be something I hoped to get to, and now it's just, short. :o) Anyways, after my class I had a meeting with my personal trainer, Sharon Felts, at the EDHSC. It was time for a new workout.

Something I haven't written about here is the fact that a friend (Mike) I've met at the club who is also a reporter for the local community newspaper was interested in putting together a story about me. A transitional story about weight loss and getting it done. Well, I met with him to talk about my journey on Thursday and yesterday during my workout, he wanted to take some pictures for this story. I am completely flattered that he noticed and wanted to do something like that about me. I'm doing this for me, and when I workout, I'm in the zone and don't really notice the people around me so much. I was very surprised that I was being noticed. Thanks Mike!

So, when I workout, I just do my thing, at my high intensity level and just keep rockin' it day in and day out. But, when I workout with Sharon, I kick it up a notch, because, after all, I need to look good, strong, capable. ;o) Well, in addition to Sharon, now Mike was watching, and taking pictures. Which meant in turn, that the whole gym was watching, wanting to know what was going on, who was I, why were they taking pictures? I was working on staying focused; it was just me, Sharon and the weights. But, peripherally, I could hear Mike and Sharon telling people about me, my journey and the story, they had such kind, supportive, acknowledging remarks. Thank you so much! The thing that was amazing to me was that I heard other people saying things like, "Yeah, I know her... She works out hard all the time", or "Oh, she's here everyday and she's lost a lot of weight". Wow! These other people noticed me too. That was way cool. To have all these people notice the hard work I have been putting into myself and recognizing me for it.

So yesterday I was elated; flying high. This journey is so personally important to me. I am becoming a physically healthier person and I feel so good. I am also growing mentally and emotionally and am much stronger within. I am "New Liz", who is healthy, strong, emotionally stable, giving, active and happy. I am so glad to have left "Old Liz" behind. She was obese, unhappy, selfish, timid, unsure, emotionally weak. I want to remember Old Liz so that I will never allow myself to regress back to that state. That is part of the purpose of this blog, to document the process of getting to this point.

I appreciate my readership, my family, friends, coworkers, neighbors and so on. Even if it is small group, you are sharing with me these vulnerable thoughts and realizations. It is intimate and makes me feel important that someone else might be interested in what I'm going through. I want to thank Lori, my partner for being as supportive as she is at home; making healthy meals, working out with me, encouraging me, supporting me and most importantly, listening to all my jabber about this process. :o) I want to thank Trish P, my masters swim coach for being ever positive, encouraging, enabling and for pushing me just right to achieve more and more in the pool. I want to thank Sharon for her awesome, targeted, challenging workouts. She is the best for me when it comes to a personal trainer as she has experience with weight loss herself and knows how to help me help myself. Sharon, you are the best. I would also like to thank Mike. You have added a little spark of excitement and fun to my daily routines that were frankly, becoming tedious as my weight loss slowed down this year. For a day, you made me a celebrity and I won't ever forget it. Thanks!