How many K's?

I'm actually considering....gasp....training to run a 5K. When I watched last week's Biggest Loser I was inspired by the marathon challenge. I just kept thinking, "It would feel so great to be ABLE to run!" And it would. What freedom that would be! What an adrenaline rush!

For someone who has been overweight her entire adult life, and some of her teen years to boot, this seems like dreaming the impossible dream. But if there's one thing I've learned since baby Elvis' birth it's that I can do hard things. I really can.

I'm so tired of feeling like the overweight equivalent of Jacob Marley in Dickens' A Christmas Carol, weighed down and in bondage from the many chains I have forged through years of physical neglect and abuse. I want to break free!

So how are things going right now? Pretty well. I'm making progress. I can feel new muscle. I feel a bit more energetic. I'm trying my darnedest to make the Insulin Resistance Diet work for me. I know if I do that, it'll help a lot. I'm exercising every day, except Sunday. I'm getting there. I think. I just have to stick with it long enough to see the beginning fruits of my labors. I can be patient if I see that I'm making progress.

I'm also trying to tell myself things that I would never have told myself before. "You're a runner." "You are prediabetic and hypoglycemic." "You can do hard things." "You can get back to a healthy weight and feel good again." Positive talk. In that same vein I'm trying to delete the negative talk that has plagued me since my teen years. It's hard, but I can do hard things, remember?

Above all, I must remember......Whatever you tell yourself you are is what you will become. Hmmm. In that case, I'm a runner who completes 5K's!

OnStar? I think I need directions...

Hello? This is Betty Lou and I'm lost. Where was I going? Well, I thought I was on the road to health and wellness/hotness, but I must have taken a wrong turn on or about March 10 and I've been driving aimlessly for weeks now. There were a few time where I thought I was back on the right road, but I realize now that I've just been going around in circles.

I have a number of good excuses: the kids in the back seat distracted me; there were other good-hearted but clueless drivers on the road... drivers that bake and share the goodies; the car broke down in front of a birthday party and I had to go in to use the ... cupcake? I guess one won't hurt!; I got car sick. To be honest, it's just hard to stay on the right track. It just is.

So, OnStar, can you help me? The big sign that says "stop"? Yes, I see it right in front of me. Let me see if I have this straight: I come to a complete stop at the stop sign and then proceed with caution through the intersection of Popcorn and Cookies; I'll pass Ice Cream, Tortilla Chips and Full Fat Cheese on the right and Mini Bagels with Butter on the left; proceed onto the Expressway of Fitness and Well Being (stopping along the way for walks, time at the gym, and the farmer's market) and I'll see the signs to Happiness. Just follow the signs? Got it! Thank you so much.