So much has changed for me since joining Spark People back in October. In addition to losing near twenty pounds I have over-hauled my entire life. Of course that means drinking water and working out and tracking my food. Those are all good tools and I use them daily. But what really made this work for me is the community support.

There are literally dozens of people who I can turn to for advice or simply vent to. People who cheer when I do well and boost me up when I have a rotten day. I recevied 8 pages birthday well-wishes from teammates and other Spark Friends. That made my day. To feel like I have people rooting for me, and even a little friendly competition, is a valueable assest I didnt even realize I was missing.

I am working every day on changing my body. But I am also working on fixing my thought process. The same way I am switching my eating habits I need to switch my way of thinking. I have wasted so much time beating myself up for being heavy. Beating myself up the first time I hit a snag on my weigh-loss journey.

What if I were sick instead of fat? Would I quit taking my medication after missing a day or two of meds? Would I stop my therapy because I couldnt make it to an appointment? No. I would just tell myself tomorrow is a new day and I would get back on track.

So why was it that I was so unforgiving of myself when it came to healthy living? One slice of cheesecake and all I could think is what a fat loser I was. If I was too ill or tired to get a full 60 minute work out in I would decide that I was too big to exercise and should just accept my fat fate.

Joining SparkPeople has changed all that for me. I have learned to take the journey one step at a time. And stumbling doesnt mean quitting. It means dusting yourself off and trying again. I wake up and tell myself to just focus on today. Making good choices today. Get my ass moving today. And as the days build up, so do the good habits and the positive effects.

So let me sum up with some Spark love. Mad love to the Done Being The Fat Girl team! You ladies rock my world!! Love again to my challenge teammates, The Snowmen and The Silver Stars! Thanks for a daily boost. Love, love, love to all my SPFs. I dont have time to name you one by one but you know who you are. Keep fighting the good fight and just being you!