Why Wednesday – Why I Want to Inspire You

Lisa over at I’m An Okie wrote a great post today about how she’s not a “food blogger.”  A few months ago, I wrote a similar post about “What Kind of Blog is This?” I was struggling to define my blog and there are some days, months later, I still struggle with how I define it.

When I first started in February, I thought blogging was just posting pictures of food. I didn’t have any direction and kind of just did what the others did. There is nothing wrong with that!

Recently I’ve been contacted by a few magazines about possibly doing articles on my weight loss. I haven’t mentioned it on the blog, or to many people in my life because I didn’t want to “jinx” it or say something too soon. I thought the first one was a fluke–then this week, I got another email. Feeling a little dazed I told Michael that it feels strange to say yes. Like why would someone want to hear MY story??

Then he reminded me why I have readers, why people want to hear my story:

I think the reason my blog is different than most is that I had an entire person to lose.

110 pounds is a lot of weight to lose.

Not only that, I did it without doing any programs. Jenny Craig, Atkins, Weight Watchers, Slim Fast, Medifast…all of those programs are EXPENSIVE. And what happens when you stop the program? Often times you gain the weight back.

Instead, I taught myself how to eat the right way. I learned what serving sizes were. Once I got started, there was no turning back. It’s hard to “unknow” something. I look at food completely differently now.

Eating half a carton of ice cream in one sitting….I can mentally calculate the calories and that stops me short.

Deciding what to drink with dinner….One beer has 170+ calories in it….but a shot of Vodka is about 100.

There are a million and one choices I make regarding food.

Every day is a different challenge.

You may read that and think, “Wow, she’s taken all the FUN out of food and eating.” NOT TRUE!! I assure you I still eat GOOD food. But it’s about eating in moderation and eating for the right reasons (something I’m still learning).

I could eat half a pizza by myself in one sitting (and I have–many times). But now I know how that will make me feel. I make a different choice now.

Now,  I blog about some of the food I eat–usually dinner–because that’s the one that my boyfriend and I take the time to do right. It’s a special time for ME when we cook dinner together, too. We talk about our days, stupid work crap, discuss the day’s Howard Stern show, joke around about goofy TV shows like True Blood. We flirt, we cook, we drink good wine. I like those times. And I like to share that with my readers.

I think my blog will always have a food aspect to it because my blog is more about “how I keep off the 110 pounds I lost“. Maintaining weight loss is often harder than losing it.

I loved writing my recaps about Hood to Coast. It was cool being able to experience it, but even cooler that people wanted to READ about it! My hope with the (sometimes lengthy) recaps is that in 6 months when someone else is thinking, “What is Hood to Coast? Should I do it?” They will find my site and I’ll inspire them to give it a try.

Hood to Coast 2010

I blog because I LOVE it when I come across a blog I’ve never read before and they mention that my website inspired them. Reading that I’ve inspired someone I’ve never met to work out, eat right, change their life, is the coolest feeling ever.

A co-worker tells me almost daily that I am an inspiration to her and she’s trying to lose weight now. I think that’s fantastic! Whenever I feel uninspired to write or blog, or I feel like I’m going to the “dark side” (ie “I’ll never be as popular as the big bloggers” etc)…I remind myself of people like my co-worker and readers that have emailed me.

It’s been 2 years since I stepped on that scale 100 pounds lighter and I’ve kept it off since then. I can never go back because

• I got the Running Bug.
• I love being active.
• I know how to eat healthy.
• I love feeling happy in my own skin. Finally.

I’ve kept it off because I try hard and I’m determined. How are you going to change your life?

QUESTION: Have I inspired you to make any changes in your life? WHO has inspired you to lose weight? Please share!