My Second New Year

New Year’s Eve 2013! Losing 83.5 pounds in 2013 was exciting and I can’t wait to see the changes I make in 2014!

2014 is here and for me, this is actually my second new year. I consider June 4 of 2013, my gastric sleeve surgery date, the start of my new year. This is the day I made the biggest change to my body, both physically and mentally. More importantly, it is one of the most positive changes I have made to my life.

30 weeks in my new year has been emotional, rewarding, difficult, joyful and not completely what I expected. I knew I would lose weight, but I really did not comprehend before surgery how much losing 83.5 pounds would change me and my life.

Physically, I am healthier than I ever have been in my adult life. I weighed less than my current weight in my early adulthood, but I didn’t exercise regularly or incorporate every day activity like walking. I actually want to run for exercise; I want to be a runner. I want to be someone who enjoys walking outside and exploring new places on foot. I even told my husband I will try camping! OK, it has to be in a cabin at first. Let’s not go to crazy with the “outdoorsy” life just yet.

The mental changes have been more dramatic in this new year. While I still suffer from stress, anxiety and depression from time to time, I am more aware when I feel these emotions. I’m learning not to deny them, but to admit I am struggling and to find a way to handle it without food. I am far from perfect, but I realize that admitting I am hurting is the first step to dealing with it in a positive way. I am extremely fortunate to have an amazing support network who helps me everyday. Without my husband, children, family and friends, food would still be front in center in my way against stress and depression.

For the first time in my life, I didn’t make a New Year’s resolutions that I know I can’t keep. At a party on New Year’s everyone posted a resolution on a chalkboard. Mine was “to make my goal and lose 38.5 pounds.” In the past, I would not have shared something so difficult and personal. By blogging my weight loss journey, I have put my goals and myself out to the world. When I starting sharing my story in May of 2013, I had no idea how important it would be to me and how much it would motivate me to keep going.

Thank you for reading my blog and supporting me by reading it, commenting and sharing your own struggles in life. I have learned I am not alone in my weight loss journey, but more importantly, I am not alone in life. This is the best new year I could have and I look forward to another year of going Down the Scale…