Body....for Life!

Well, folks, I feel a bit strange as I type this post. Have you ever undergone periods where you felt like you were a piece of taffy right smack dab in the middle of a taffy pull? I know I have, and the pulling generally comes from three different sources:

1. First, I am stretched and pulled in different directions by life in general, much like the delightful taffy on this machine. This stuff is automatically stretched over and over and over and over and over and over again:



2. Second, I am also stretched (generally in positive ways) by different people in my life. Sometimes I feel like the taffy in this picture:



3. Third, I find that my own choices sometimes stretch me most of all, and not always in positive directions. The goal, of course, is to make better choices!

I like to imagine myself as peppermint taffy because, well, it's my favorite flavor in the entire taffy world.

Anyways, I've decided that if I liken my life unto being the taffy in the middle of a taffy pull, in the end, theoretically speaking, I can potentially be a tasty treat and a delight to people of all ages, right?

I hope to end up as a splendid snack, rather than any number of horrid-tasting substances. :) In the process, there are certainly lots of painful moments, and sometimes I forget what the final product is supposed to be like, look like, and, most importantly, feel like.

The stretching part is the best part of it all, and sometimes the most painful. One of the stretches that has been plaguing me lately is my weight. This problem I can only attribute to one source: me. I've never been athletic, but I've always wanted to be fit. I've always wished for more energy, and to be secure in my own skin (and secretly I've wanted to fit into my sister's beautiful wedding dress. Nope, I'm not getting married in the near future, but ever since my sister got married, I've wanted to be able to fit into her gown.)

I've found that making myself accountable to others is helpful when I set personal goals. So I'm setting a goal right here on the world wide web: I am taking the Body for Life Challenge! In the next 12 weeks I hope to transform my diet, my exercise, my mental attitudes, and in the long run....my life! The reason why I'm posting it on my blog, (no need to thank me for not posting my "before" pictures here), is because I will be updating my weekly progress here. I trust you, the few, the proud, the readers of my blog, with this information because you are all kind peeps. :)

There is one section in Champions Body for Life: 12 Weeks to Mental and Physical Strength that caught my eye this evening:

Here's the most encouraging thing about Body-for-Life: It starts with you.

You have the power to make the decision, to begin the journey. For the sake of sanity, we delude ourselves with the illusion of control, but fate and fortune have a way of reminding us that, in truth, much of life is out of our control.

Nevertheless, you do have control over this: to start or not to start, to remain the same or to be different in 12 weeks.

Here I go! I am starting now, and in 12 weeks, I'm going to be a slim, trim, especially low-fat piece of taffy!