Ring out the old and ring in the new!

Hi folks!

Well, I'm back from my little Christmas "vacation."  It wasn't really a vacation but my Mom and my older sister came into town to celebrate Christmas and we did take last weekend off to go up to New York for about 36 hours.  It was the first time my Mom saw the Rockefeller tree and the other well known NYC Christmas sights, so that was pretty cool.  I'm glad that I was able to help make this holiday special for her.

In terms of my weight loss journey this last week, I didn't exercise.  At all.  Unless you count walking around NYC and DC, but I don't count those.  My eating wasn't nearly as bad as far as holiday eating goes.  Sure, I indulged in a few treats here and there, but all in all it wasn't horrible.  I peeked at the scale this morning and I was pretty happy to see that I hadn't gained any weight, however I still felt gross from lack of exercise.

Since my Mom and sister are now I'm gone, I'm looking forward to getting back to my exercise routine and counting calories again.  (I know, I know... I'm crazy for looking forward to getting back to counting calories!)  I want to make sure that I'm back on the right track to ring in the new year!

Speaking of the new year, let's look back at 2012, shall we?

It was an interesting year dietary/weight loss wise.  I started off the year pretty good, but hit a really rough patch in the summer and by October, I was up to the highest weight I had been in a long time.  Over the course of the year, I gained 12 pounds, but thankfully I lost it again and am now (if my unofficial weigh in this morning is anything to go by) at the lowest weight I've sustained in my adult life.

2012 was the year when:

I ate my way through Memphis.

I started running again.

I visited 21 states.

I visited 5 countries outside the US.  Canada, Germany, Austria, Japan (twice!) and New Zealand.

I basically stopped blogging for three months (coincides with weight gain... go figure!)

I decided to run a half marathon (again.)

I decided to NOT run said half marathon.  (again.)

I hurt my back.

Oh yeah, and when I met this guy:

No, that's not a new boyfriend (I wish!)
That's Dan Stevens, of Downton Abbey fame.

All in all, I'm in a much better place than I was going into 2012.  My mind and body seem to finally be working together again.  Sure, I have my glitches here or there, but overall my scale is going in the right direction.  I feel like I can actually make weight loss goals and will achieve them, rather than just have them be pipe dreams.  I think I needed that time off to recharge everything.  My mind was the most tired, I think.  I needed to be ready to go back into this GUNG HO and give it my all.  I wasn't giving it my all before, and it showed.

So, this New Year's Eve, I'm not going to make any resolutions.  I'm pretty happy with the way my life is going at the minute and I did it all on my own.  I didn't wait for the right time, or because some holiday dictated I make life changes.  I did it because I wanted to and I needed to.  I'm pretty damn proud of that.

Anyway, here's to you my few faithful readers!  May your 2013 be filled with great joy and happiness!  Thank goodness the Mayans were wrong, huh?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!