New Year New Me

In the past few months I  have graduated college, taken a job at a chocolate factory, traveled to the Amazon Jungle,  and gotten engaged.

Just kidding. I am so not engaged.

However, to say that my life has been crazy is a gross understatement. My life blew up, condensed, and then turned into a burning white dwarf - dangerous but amazing. I did not have a chance to really absorb the fact that I had an amazing job or that I was finally done with school, because I had to jump on a plane and head to the craziest adventure I have ever been on. My heart has changed for the better, and I would love to go over all of this, but this is not the right forum.

So I will just cut right to the chase. Yes I am still on my fitness journey. I apologize for not blogging, but I think I just explained why. This year will be different. I am dedicated to this journey and to documenting it. Not because I really want everyone closely watching this embarrassing section of my life with all of its inevitable failures, but because I know that this is something I have to do. For some reason, I am supposed to share this. There must be someone who needs to see it.

So let's quickly recap the last half of 2014. I wrote this blog, was overwhelmed by the response, and then I began my journey to conquer an area of my life that was out of control. And I totally nailed it!

Nope. I have not finished it, not even close. I did really well for the first half of the semester, then my semester got busy, and I turned into a pansy. A pizza eating, exercise-skipping pansy.

But I did make progress. I learned how to responsibly grocery shop for healthy food, and I got a lot better at cooking that food. For any young, single you know this is quite the accomplishment. I also got so much better at faithfully exercising. This was the most successful semester yet in regards to diet and exercise. Despite the success, I definitely made so many mistakes.

I was taking some progress pictures the other day, and I was like "Gosh dang it. I never thought I would be 22, and still chubby." I was frustrated and starting slipping into a really bad shame episode. That is why I forced myself to recognize how far I have come.

Here are some photos of me sophomore year, when I had reached my top weight. Soon after, I had some bad health that took the weight off, but I gained a lot of it back the next semester.

(I was even wearing a girdle.)

Since then I have learned so much. Here are some examples of just a few of the things.

1. I am physically beautiful, even though my body is not perfect.  
2. This is a battle against sin. The sin of gluttony. 
3. God has already given me the victory, and I can trust that. 
4. Good, quality food is so worth the trouble. 
5. This is a long journey, and endurance is needed.
6. I need help from my community in order to do this.

God is changing my heart. Oh, and my body is changing as a result.

This picture was taken at the beginning of the week. That's some serious progress y'all!

So what does this year look like? I think we are going to see big changes, and I hope you follow me along the way. I have decided to take at least six months to focus most of my energy on getting settled in my new job, and reach my fitness goals. This is a huge change for me, and I am excited about the improvements it will bring.

You will hear from me soon. Please keep me in your prayers, or your high fives. I am such a sucker for encouragement.

Much love,
Sarah Jean