Baby Steps

I know this will be a long journey.

One I've tried many (MANY) times before.

I'm still trying to convince myself that this time it will be different. This time around I will succeed. 

I can.

I will.

I have to.

Let's rewind.

I'm not one of those people that can look back and remember all the details. I tend to be a bit forgetful. However, looking back through my now 27 years of memories, I can remember one thing; I've always been fat. Overweight. Obese. Whatever you want to call it. I've been on and (obviously) mostly off diets since elementary school. One of my earliest diet memories includes my 7 or 8 year old self trying and succeeding in "trading" a couple pieces of toast (included in my lunchbox as part of a "healthy" meal) for a slice of pizza with a classmate at lunch time. Now I think about it and wonder how did I manage to convince a girl that toast is better than pizza!?! Who knows?!?! 

Anyway, lets skip forward. In high school I managed to lose about 40 pounds or so on the oh so popular (at the time) Atkins diet. Of course, now almost exactly 10 years later, I have managed to gain it all back and a bit extra….

By a bit extra I mean about double.

So thats almost 80 pounds in less than 10 years.

Just looking at that number hurts.

Ok, so here are the current facts.

My heaviest weight, at least that I'm aware of, was 264 pounds.

I'm 27 years old.

I'm about 5'5 (ish).

I'm definitely top heavy. I can only shop for clothes in the "plus" size or "women's" section of stores. My tops are typically 3x, but sometimes can comfortably squeeze into a 2x, and my pants are 22 or 24.

My current weight is 248.6 pounds.

My ultimate goal is to cut myself in half. 132 pounds.

132. Right now that number seems almost impossible. So for now I'm trying to reach 225. That's the fist goal I've set for myself. By the end of this year I'd like to break 200. That would be amazing. My weight hasn't started with a "1" since the first summer before college.

So what does "Countdown to Princess" even mean?

No, I don't think I'll become a princess by losing weight, if that's what you're thinking. My dream is to run in the Disney World Princess Half Marathon. I've been thinking about it for years, but to be quite honest, I can barely walk a short distance without feeling tired and achy. I know it's going to be a long road. I know this will not be easy. But I've started, and that's the best I can do. I no longer want to just hope and dream. I want to make this a reality. 

I want to be a "runner."