"As one who strives a hill to climb --"

"-- I am sure I'll come through."

A year ago this weekend, at a Windy City apartment with a bathroom scale, I discovered that I weighed a lot more than I thought I did. Upon returning home and checking the pound count against my height, I confirmed that I was actually overweight. I weighed about fifteen pounds more than I'd ever weighed in my life, which was over thirty pounds more than I wanted to weigh.

I decided to make a change, but at the time I was somewhat in the public eye; though I was not a celebrity by any means, I was nevertheless conflicted about how any weight loss on my part might be conceived. I certainly didn't want to give the impression that I was ashamed of my size, or that I had succumbed to some media-dictated standard of beauty. I wanted to make it clear that my goal was not to be skinny, but to be healthy.

Long story short: I determined my ideal weight and BMI and worked hard to attain it. It took nearly a year to shed the pounds, and there were many points along the way where I truly felt I could lose no more, but here I am thirty-five pounds lighter. I approached the whole thing as fun; I always made room for (sort-of-cheating) treats; and I never gave up, so I am proud of myself. Most importantly, I stopped dieting when I reached my goal weight a month ago. I know my weight won't stay exactly the same for the rest of my life, but I know how to stay fit and healthy, and I vow never to let that scale slide down another ten pounds, then another, and then another...

I'm happy. I know this sounds like one of those weight-loss testimonials you might see on television or read in a banner ad on the internet, but hey, it's what I wanted to write about today. It's such a relief to feel good, you know? Indeed, I feel better than ever, and I have a lot of thank-you notes: for my husband, who never let me feel anything less than beautiful; for a weight-loss program that I could follow no matter where in the world I went; for my "personal trainer"; for the Mateses, who readily let me borrow a highly valuable tool even though I was skipping town; for a gym that doesn't feel like a meat market (and can also be accessed away from home); for the c.c guys, who endured my pleas for hotels with exercise rooms and pools; and for Rob and Brendan, who generously indulged my biscuit-and-gravy cravings while keeping their fitness equipment on standby. I salute you all with cupcakes!

TRACK LISTING: Phoenix, "If I Ever Feel Better"