Yr.2, Day 275-278 - Change of Tide

It's no secret to my readers that I have felt frustrated with my weight and inability to reach my goal - whether it be a scale number or wearing a certain pair of jeans. At first, it was a legitimate plateau, with me doing all the right things, but a scale stuck at 167. Then, it started to move again, to 158 and then came company, the holidays and a weight gain and inconsistency in eating right.

I also seem to have been stuck in a whirlwind of bad luck. I can't write about all the things that have occurred but I lost my roof and my front loading washing machine within two weeks of each other, putting a financial strain on our household.

Somehow, I feel the tide has changed. The lovely Sharon awarded me with this lovely blogging award for an honest and real blog. She wrote this:

The only requirement for this award was to pass it along to someone I felt deserved it for the honesty and reality found in their blog. One of my favorite bloggers is Dawne who blogs at It's My Time. I came upon Dawne's blog shortly after I began my own and we've supported each other since then. Dawne lost a tremendous amount of weight in a short amount of time through clean eating. She then hit a plateau which lasted forever even with complete adherence to her eating plan. Then the weight started coming off again just before the holidays. Since then she, like many of us, have struggled with a slight regain and finding the motivation to shed the remaining pounds. I absolutely love her blog, her writing style and most of all, her complete honesty about how she's feeling and what she's thinking. It's a long way to Canada, but I'd sure love to meet her in person and share our stories face to face!

Thank you Sharon. You have helped the tide change and you are a real part of my journey!

Then, after a month of things breaking down, I won a giveaway on Shelley's blog. First, most giveaways are not open to us Canadians, so I was especially lucky to win some granola from Shelley. I have always been inspired by Shelley and I really appreciate where she is right now in her journey. She does not pretend maintenance is easy, but she does not beat herself up for slight gains either. She's not all or nothing when determining where she is in the journey. Perfection isn't her goal and I think that is what makes her successful.

Another change of tide was evidenced in my running partner's comment that she noticed my endurance was improving in tonight's run. I needed that encouragement and it gives me the boost I need to keep at the running. It's the only exercise I have truly ever enjoyed in my life and I know it's one I can maintain.

I am hopeful that the next change of tide is going to be excellent consistency in healthy, moderate eating to take me to goal at my two year mark.

Eating less, moving more,

Dawne