It has been nearly five months since I first penned a letter to you, dear body.

It took me three months after that to finally get myself together and focused enough to act on the thoughts I shared with you in that letter. It took me several false starts but I finally got you off our giant ass and took action.

I’ve spent the last six and half weeks focusing on you—finally giving you the care and attention you deserve; and when I weighed in this morning I didn’t expect to see the number I saw on the scale. We’ve melted 30 lbs off our frame and now I’m just one pound away from my first 10% loss mini-goal. I measured your neck, bust, ribcage, waist, hips, biceps, and thighs and discovered that we have lost a total of 16 inches since I began taking better care of you on May 25, 2008.

I’ve stayed within or close to my calorie range 5-6 days a week. Some days I’ve even managed a solid streak of seven days eating between 1300-1800 calories per day. We’ve eaten out and I’ve made both good and bad choices, but I always get back on track. I can have the occasional decadent dessert or even those hot wings. I just have to keep the portions under control and go immediately back to healthy choices for my next snack or meal.

I still have a long way to go. And people haven’t noticed the loss yet, but I do and that’s what counts. My flexibility is improving and so is my stamina. I can go up and down our stairs easier–sometimes I even run up them!

I’m relearning some old lessons as well as learning some new ones. I’ve discovered that I absolutely cannot include diet coke in my diet. It sends me reeling out of control and it takes me at least a full 24 hours after my last one before I feel back in control and able to make healthy choices throughout the day.

I’ve learned that I can eat the occasional off plan meal and still lose weight. It does not have to be all or nothing. I can do a little bit of exercise one day because that is all I have time for and pick the level of exercise back up the next day. It’s all about choices and eating and exercising on purpose. Nothing accidentally falls into my mouth nor do I accidentally not get exercise in. It’s about priorities and living within each moment making purposeful choices based upon those priorities.

I can do this. I can do this in a way that I won’t get “diet” burnout. I can have my cake and eat it too—just in smaller portions and not as often. I don’t have to clean my plate and I don’t have to eat the leftovers. That third piece of pizza won’t be my last meal and it won’t be my last chance to eat pizza.

With each focused healthy choice, dear body, I am giving you the respect and care you deserve. In return you have rewarded me with more energy, higher confidence, and better more balanced moods.

It feels good to discover that not only CAN I do this, but I am in fact, DOING this.

I may have fallen down many times in the past and even given up on ever doing the right thing for you, but I haven’t failed yet. Because I’m back on my feet again and more determined than ever to learn the lessons and change the habits permanently this time.

We aren’t sitting on the sidelines anymore, body. We are taking action—finally working together instead of against one another. I’ve only got one life to live and one body to do it in and that’s what I’m doing from now on. Living.

Finally finding the love,
Ammie

*This letter is a follow up to my initial participation in BlogHer’s Letter to my Body movement.

P.S. Sparkpeople is an integral part of my lifestyle change. The tools are absolutely vital to my continued success. Thank you Spark People.com!

(Cross posted at my blog <a href="http://www.sleepingmommy.com">Sleeping Mommy</a>