Just the Facts

When I first discovered the healthy living blog world I wanted to read ALL of them! I had never known before then that there was such a community. I’ve often wished that I had known it when I was trying to lose my 100 pounds. The support and camaraderie would have been nice.

Sometimes it’s hard to jump into a new blog when you haven’t been reading since the beginning. It’s like picking up Book 2 in a series without having read Book 1. I find myself struggling with this when I discover a new blog that I like and want to keep reading. There’s so much background, who are these people, what is the writer’s story and history? What are the things that made this person create a blog and share tidbits with anonymous readers every day?

A lot has changed from my very first blog post. My writing was rusty and brief and I sincerely hope it’s improved since that first post! A lot has happened since I started this blog and while I’ve tried to keep a list of the most popular posts I’ve written but there have been some that have fallen through the cracks in the 2.5 years I’ve been doing this.

This post is a brief background for new and newish readers, people who may feel lost at times.

As of this post, I am 33 years old and I live in Portland, Oregon. Oregon is a grew place to live if you like outdoorsy things like hiking, camping, biking and snowshoeing, you name it. I’m originally from Seattle. I live with my boyfriend of four years, Michael, and my two crazy cats.

At one point in my early twenties, I weighed over 250 pounds. I needed to make a change. I lost the weight by counting my calories and swimming. Since losing 100 pounds and keeping it off, I’ve discovered a love of running and biking and I’ve also learned how to cook–something I used to hate doing! Check out this post on FAQs.

It wasn’t always easy losing the weight and keeping it off. I definitely hit some bumps in the road:

Lose 100 Pounds, Lose Friends?

Dealing With Body Image Issues

Trying the Slow Carb Diet

I Struggled With Plateaus

I Felt Burned Out

I’ve Struggled With Injuries – too many to count!

How about some more personal things?

• I wrote a book about how I gained and lost my weight and am trying to get it published. Stay tuned for news. 🙂
• I read way too much, friend me on Goodreads to find out.
• I’ve been a fan of Michael Phelps for years and loved every moment of the swimming parts of the 2012 Olympics! Swimming makes me happy. Swimming makes me healthy. It’s the first activity I always suggest when someone overweight wants to start exercising. It’s safe and virtually injury-proof.
• My younger brother, Andy, lives in Philadelphia with his wife who is in medical school. He’s a total smarty-pants and I’m really proud of him as he’s finishing his master’s degree in history. I like having academic discussions with him and it makes me wish I could go back to school myself.
• I’m definitely emotional and at times too sensitive. I wish that wasn’t the case. I just don’t have a thick skin about stuff I shouldn’t care about.
• I sometimes feel self-conscious about my body, even though I lost all this weight. I have big shoulders and arms from swimming, which can make clothes shopping a challenge. And I have some loose skin on my stomach that makes me unhappy. There isn’t much I can do about that.
• I suffer from SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) but then, I live in Oregon where it’s dark and rainy for 9 months of the year, so I’m not all that surprised. Exercise helps a lot. So do vacation somewhere sunny!
• My boyfriend and I are huge fans of Vegas and try to go once a year (it doesn’t always work out that way). Michael is a great poker player and I’m pretty good at roulette (which is a fluke I’m sure!).

Thank you for taking the time to check out my blog. I hope you stick around and keep reading!

QUESTION: Are you a new reader? Introduce yourself!