2007 in Review

I can't link back to an old post detailing my resolutions for 2007 (no blog yet), so you'll just have to trust me. They were as follows:

1. Exercise 21 days in a row with the goal of forming an exercise habit that would last all year, and hopefully a lifetime.
2. Start eating "better".
3. Lose 15-25 pounds.

I'll be damned if for the first time in my life I didn't actually pull off all of my resolutions!! I actually exercised every single day from January 1, 2007 through February 1, 2007. Looking back at my logs, I did no exercise at all on only 85 days this year. Considering the Bell's Palsy and a nasty bout with the flu, I'm quite pleased with myself. I improved my diet immensely, eating for nutrition and counting calories 6 days out of 7 with very few exceptions. And I lost 20 pounds. On January 1, 2007, I weighed 149.8 pounds. Today, December 31, 2007, I weighed in at 130 pounds. Not only that, I am down 3 belt holes (started out in 2, tightly, and am currently in 5, which is the smallest on my belt!) and 3 pant sizes (12 to a 6).

Beyond all of that, beyond the numbers and the hours and the stats, beyond the physical change there has been a mental change as well. I began this year in a state of depression. I dreaded exercise and looked to food for comfort. I disliked my job and felt like it was the only major thing occupying my life. I missed the world where I used to live - a world in which I felt confident, smart, in control. And I didn't see any way out.

Though I didn't mean for it to happen this way, running and all the other forms of exercise in which I've dabbled have been my way out. I lost weight, ate better, got stronger, more confident. I found that finally I had something to strive for again, some measurable goals, some measurable improvement in my life. I had something to take pride in. Something that was difficult. Something that I accomplished, whether it was exercising every day for a month, completing C25K, completing One Hour Runner, running in my first post-college 5K, or running in my first 5 mile race ever. I got off hormone pills, got married, and somewhere in there I regained myself. But a better, improved self. A me who looks forward to workouts and is glad to have done them. A me whose favorite x-mas gifts are the ones to do with running. A me that isn't afraid to spend money on running, because I know I'm not going to quit. A me that has taken steps to get out of the bad work situation, but a me that isn't as bothered by that situation as I used to me - because I have a complete life outside of work now. A me that can be a better wife to my husband because I'm taking care of me.

These are the things that no resolution can bring, but these are the things for which I'm most grateful in 2007 - the new improved me, both inside and out.