Part of why I enjoy working out with my trainer Gina (other than she's hilarious and puts me through my paces) is that she has some really interesting ideas to share with clients about different approaches to achieve physical fitness goals and she always has awesome weight loss analogies that I can relate to.

Yesterday, Gina and I were talking about when people have a lot of weight to lose (more than 100 pounds like I did)... how they often feel like it's an impossible task... they can't imagine what it will be like to be smaller... often times people start working out assuming they will fail and those people usually give up before they see results. She explained to me that it's really important to imagine what your life will be like when you reach your goal, how you will feel, what you will look like etc. in order to help you stay on track and keep motivated. Until yesterday, I never really pictured what I will look like at 142.5lbs (my new goal)... but wowsers I'm going to be crazy small like some of my Booty Sistas that are already lean mean fighting machines! I'm totally going to borrow their clothes!

Yesterday, Gina made the analogy that weight loss is like a reversing snowball. I totally could relate to that... not only because I was round like a snowball but because when I started running 10 months ago I was size 26 (that's pretty round and big)... and now I'm size 12-14 (still slightly round but definitely smaller)! As months went by my clothes size kept steadily decreasing and I could see the progress of my body through the size of clothes that I would wear.

I'll post all my statistics: weight, measurements etc. on my 1 year running anniversary - so stay tuned - you'll be shocked at the numbers... but until then... here is a little teaser for you... over the last two years, I've lost a total of 50 inches from my entire body and currently I've lost 36% of my original weight.

When I reach my goal... I won't even be a snowball... I'll be a freakin' snowflake! From this day forward... I will only answer to the nickname "Snowflake" (my friends are shaking their heads and thinking - will you just pick a nickname and stick with it for 24 hours - I'm a total sucker for double entendres and this one couldn't be better for me - have you seen my white legs?) *smiles*

People that see me regularly have watched me slowly decrease in size (especially over the last year). I'm living proof of the reversing snowball theory... it's the result of plenty of exercise and eating sensibly. Give it a try... and don't forget to take lots of photos so you can document your process... it's amazing to see the transformation before your eyes!