Challenge 1, Day 12: Assessing the Damage and Re-evaluating

I got on the scale this morning, and it definitely served as an eye-opener. Too much of a good thing is surely not so good of a thing when it comes to food! But as I stood there looking at that number, I was reminded that this fitness challenge is not about a smaller number.

It's just a number!

There have been so many times in my life where all I wanted to be was thin. After I decided to stop figure skating competitively at the beginning of high school and put on some extra weight, I obsessed over it and got scarily skinny. In college, I did everything in my power to avoid gaining the Freshman 15 and ended up dropping 15 pounds and warping my views on what healthy looks like. Most recently, I prepared to do a pageant, did not eat nearly enough, and started becoming extremely moody. Yes, the number on the scale was a lot lower and I fit into smaller sizes. But I was also torturing my mind and my body. Not surprisingly, I was miserable.

This challenge and these 21 days, suffice it to say, is not another one of those times. Do I want to lose weight? You bet your bottom dollar I do! This time, I am committed to doing it in a way that treats my body with kindness and makes me happier as a result of it.