FINALLY!!!

It's taken longer than I've wanted...(a little perspective here is noted...what is another couple of weeks compared to YEARS of the alternative?)...but I finally reached 100 pounds of weight loss!
I'm so excited!!!
You know the phrase "You gotta give something to get something"?
It's true. Nothing is without cost of some kind.
It cost a good deal of money for me to join Slim 4 Life.
It cost time to write down everything I've eaten all day and go to the center three times a week for accountability.
It cost will power to walk by the dairy section of the grocery store and not pick up the latest delicious flavored creamer for my coffee or to keep driving past the donut shop that sells the best apple fritter ever.
It cost planning to know what I was doing that day and if I needed to take my lunch or how many snacks to take.
It cost determination to keep going even if I had a gain at weigh in.

But as much as it has cost, I have gotten much in return...more than can be expressed here in black and white.
I've gotten a new body! Which is constantly changing!
I've developed a new appreciation for raw vegetables!
I'm a better planner!
I've developed a new palette! When I have tasted things that I've had a craving for, they don't taste the same.
I don't dread going to workout at the gym.
I actually enjoy my non-fat latte with Splenda now. Coffee and I have had to develop a new appreciation for each other when I started this diet. ;)

Some days are easier than others. Still. I'm not a machine. I'm a human being, and a lot of times I put more demand on myself than what others expect of me. That's a good thing sometimes. In the grand scheme of things, I'm doing this for myself...to be healthy, to be able to have a family and live long for them. No one else will have those same expectations for me.

The thing I have to ask myself everyday....
How bad do you want to change?
Are you satisfied with where you are?
Or do you want to do more?

Change does not come in simply being inspired by others. Change comes when you let the inspiration propel you to action...and don't quit. I'm not finished with this thing yet. My goal is to lose another 75 pounds. I can't stop now!