This morning, I officially hit the original goal weight I'd set for myself exactly 6 months ago. I started tracking my diet and joined Equinox on June 1st, 2015. I was 174 pounds at the time, and I'd done some research to find that 135 pounds was the upper threshold of a "healthy" BMI for me. Yes, it's just a number, and I don't think we should ever hold ourselves to these numbers in a strict way, but it was a way for my numerically-inclined self to visualize a quantitative goal so that I could keep myself accountable and motivated.

It's insane for me to think that I'd ever get to this point. At the ripe old age of 28, I'm probably the healthiest I've ever been since hitting puberty. I tried on some skirts I had from my high school days, and even though at that point I wasn't that overweight, it was too big for me. (That also goes to show you that these numbers on the scale don't mean so much as body composition. I may have been about the same as I was now, but I had no muscles to speak of.) It took me a long time to realize the importance of eating right and exercising regularly. It's one thing to say that you know you can do something. It's not another to actually do it.

The other day, my roommate's mother was in town visiting, and she talked about how taste is important. On the flip side, she's concerned because my roommate's younger brother is getting heavier and nags at him to exercise...while feeding him "tasty" cheese and whatnot. This thought process was fascinating to me because I, too, used the idea that I want to "enjoy" my food to rationalize not restricting certain foods. At the time, I believed a clean diet was not going to allow me to enjoy my food. It's not true. (Okay, at first, it was true, but that's because I'm a horrible cook and didn't know how to season anything.) But, for many of us, those "tasty" foods are the ones highest in fat and sugar -- which, in moderation, is fine. But "moderation" to someone who's in denial or misinformed isn't actually moderation.

One of the biggest obstacles I had during this still-ongoing process is trying to reconcile these misconceptions I had about food and exercise. Everyone has preferences. And, based on a recent study, no one diet is going to be right for everyone. (However, I think we can all agree that a diet consisting of pure junk food is probably not the way to go. Does anyone remember the ice cream diet?) My trainer at Equinox had certain beliefs. My friends and my parents had certain beliefs. Eat more of this! Do more strength! Cardio all the way! It's all good and well to listen to other's opinions, but the truth of the matter is, you have to find what's right for you -- something that you will be able to maintain for the rest of your life. That was the other thing. Maintaining. I thought I'd drop the weight and then could go back to my old bad habits. Nope. This is a lifestyle. As the Equinox motto goes, "It's not fitness. It's life." A marketing ploy but true. These habits we're all building to meet each monthly weigh-in in the Transformer games are habits we need to continue even after we've finished. (Guess that's why DietBet has the Maintainer games as well.) It's so easy to do things for a short amount of time then fall off the wagon. I've certainly done it. However, at this point, even if it's for no other reason than the fact that it was a difficult last 6 months to change bad diet and (lack of) exercise habits built over 10+ years and I simply don't want to have to do that again, I'm not going backwards. These 39 pounds (and more) are staying off for good.

*Also, I completed my second (and perhaps final) 10K. I seriously never could have imagined doing one, let alone two!