GOOOAAAAALLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow- there's so much to talk about in this post! Hopefully I can get it all in.

First, last night, hubby and I participated in the Sunset Run. A local Fleet Feet store sponsored this run to benefit a running program for the Oakland School District. For a couple dollars, we got to run five miles (I know, running is free, right??) BUT we also got really sweet Nike running shirts and we were entered into some drawings for great prizes. Although we sadly didn't win anything in the raffle, hubby and I both ran our fastest five miles, EVER. Our friend, A. came with us and for some reason, that was enough motivation to make me move my @$$ a little faster. I also got to meet fellow blogger, John from Slow MoFo. I wanted to meet Tara from On the GO! and MarathonMaritza but the run started and off we went. Hopefully I will get to meet these cool and inspirational runners/bloggers soon!

So- let's get to the real news. After almost three years of following the Weight Watchers program, this morning, I hit my goal weight (and, actually, I am .8 pounds UNDER my goal weight)! YAHOO!!!! Although I've been really close to my goal for a while, I didn't really know how it would feel to reach it. Trust me, it feels amazing.

Insert weight loss/gain background here:
I graduated from college in 2000 and I was quite heavy. I hit the beer and the pizza one too many nights and it definitely took it's toll. Promptly, I gained more weight because I lived alone and had zero cooking skills. In turn, I ate a lot of fast food and breakfast generally consisted of a few donuts on my way to work. Eventually, I weighed 265 pounds. The picture here is me at about 250, I think.

Around that time, the Atkins diet was gaining popularity and some of my coworkers were on it. I decided to try it (all the bacon you can eat? Yes please! Well, actually not anymore- I don't really eat meat!). That diet worked for me and I lost about 110 pounds. In this picture, I'm about 150 (also, it's Halloween and I was a Charlie's Angel- or something like that).

Ooh ooh, I bet you can guess what happened next!! Atkins is a DIET. That means that you eventually go off of the DIET and got back to REAL LIFE. Well, in real life, I still didn't know how to control my portions or prepare my own meals. Yikes. Also, I started dating my now hubby and most of our meals were, of course, eaten out! Eventually we got married, moved to SF, and I found myself at 214 pounds. This picture is from my very first staff retreat and my weight was around 210.

At that time, I worked with my good friend B. and we had these deep conversations about making change in our lives. After some thought, we decided to join Weight Watchers. So, in September 2006, we went to our first meeting and joined. I found the meetings to be very inspirational and I learned a lot of great things. After the first year, though my weight loss slowed WAY DOWN and I got discouraged. Then, I had a tragic string of events happen to me. My niece was killed in a car accident, my friend B and I got attacked by a women with a handgun, my mom had to have brain surgery, and my dad got sick! All of those things took a huge toll on me and I wound up gaining a little weight back.

It all turned around, though, when I started running- and, as you know, this blog has chronicled most of that journey. I've found an activity that helps me keep the weight off and that I really enjoy. It's a perfect fit for me!

As an indicator of hitting my goal, I got this star to put on my WW key chain. For those of you that aren't familiar with WW, when you lose 10% of your weight, you get a key chain. Then you get small charms for various milestones that you hit. I have a 16 week Stay and Succeed charm, a 25 pounds lost charm, a fifty pounds lost charm, and now, a star. I love my key chain, although, strangely, I don't carry keys!! All of my work and house doors open with a card swipe- like a hotel! The other picture is me- today- literally, like five minutes ago!

So- after losing 65 POUNDS, it's time to start maintenance. I'm honestly pretty terrified because I've NEVER EVER EVER been in a place when I wasn't trying to lose weight- except for the donut era post-college. I know that I've learned a lot of things about myself and about weight control and I'm sure I'll be fine. In fact, I'm sure I'll be better than fine- I'll be awesome!

Oh- and next week, I get to try for my next goal- finishing the San Francisco Marathon. Hopefully it doesn't take me three years ;o).