On October 29, I hit my yearly goal of losing 70#. And I spent the next couple weeks just maintaining. Then the holidays hit. I basically spent 6-8 weeks slipping into some old habits. I still did a lot of strength training, but little cardio. And ate WAY too much junk. I stopped THINKING about what I ate, and fell back into the habit of eating what I wanted in the moment.

Then I gained back nearly 6#. I was a little shocked how quickly I could undo my hard work. So, I called the trainer I had been working with. I returned to the gym. I started tracking my intake. Basically.... I went back to my healthier lifestyle. And the weight came right back off. Every ounce of it is gone. Plus a bit.

And you know what? I'm kind of glad this happened. I have proved something to myself that I desperately needed to know. There is NOTHING wrong with my body that results in weight gain. My body responds to what I do to it. I overeat, I gain weight. I exercise and eat well, I lose weight. Simple math. And the one thing I have learned in the last 12 months is that I KNOW how to lose weight. I just haven't always been willing to do it.

My "relapse" into compulsive binge eating has made all this very clear to me. I have to work for what I want. And I want to be healthy. And smaller. And fitter. And it's all in my own power to achieve. No one can do it for me. And no one can keep me from it, either.