Once upon a time...

I am 2 weeks away from my first Half Marathon and this weekend marks my first double digit run. 10 miles. There was a time when I would complain about driving 10 miles, let alone run it.

I've tried writing this post a million times over the past few years...and it never comes out right. Inevitably, I end up deleting the entry and change the subject to something else. Talking about my "journey towards health" sounds SO cheesy and cliche even I want to throw up and I'm the one writing it. I don't want to lament about the jerks who made fat jokes or the inadequacies and melodramas of high school gym class (I swear, I will have nightmares of tapered ankle sweatpants for the rest of my life).

Ultimately, the decisions you make in your life are your choices. Health, exercise, food, and body image are all intensely personal decisions and ones I don't necessarily feel comfortable preaching about. I'm certainly no expert on the topic. Heck, I eat Spongebob shaped Kraft macaroni and cheese because I think the cartoon shapes somehow taste better than the regular elbow noodles.

So instead, I'll just take you on a brief jaunt down my dietary lane.

As quite evident by these photos, the only exercise I did during college was the drunken stumble from the bars to the 24hour McDonalds next door (convenient product placement much?). I also firmly believed that cheese fries and Bud light constituted dinner.



These photos were taken in December of 2006 and were the catalyst for me to change the way I was living my life. Please don't even get me started on the hairstyle...short hair/round face does not a match make.




I went on South Beach and severed all ties with my frenemy: Mr. Carbohydrate. Ohhhhh how I love carbohydrates. bread. pasta. cookies. chips. the list goes on...

I lost 30 lbs relatively quickly. At this point, I also started doing the Couch to 5k running program. But alas, the timing wasn't right. My love affair with running was nothing but a cheap, one night stand.



For the next two years, my weight and eating habits have fluctuated greatly depending on what was happening in my life. Hello, emotional eating! Hello, Mr. Carbohydrate, welcome back! oh how I missed you!


This past year has been the "healthiest" of my entire life. I put "healthy" in these fabulous little "quotes" because I'm not necessarily just talking about food. Do I have Gisele's legs or Jennifer Aniston's hair? ha! most certainly not, and I am still holding out hope they can create a margarita that won't leave me hungover (Gosh, I love tequila). I just have a new appreciation on how I want to live my life. and that includes lots of true friendships, fresh food, and running, minimal amounts of processed food, chemical additives and artificial hormones.

and just so you know, I am not going to run off and hug a tree, start wearing patchouli, or eat granola (well I might eat granola, because it IS delicious when mixed into yogurt)....those are just stereotypes. My cold, evil Republican heart still lives on, it just beats a bit healthier now ;)