Remember how I clapped like a proud big sister when BISJ reader Meghan Clifford was featured in February's Self magazine about how 5 Self readers came to find body bliss through attitude adjustment and self-appreciation? Only a small snippet of Meghan's story was shown in Self, but today, you'll get to see the original story Meghan submitted. It's very inspiring, and again high-five to Meghan!
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If you see a woman running through the streets of with a huge smile on her face, it may just be me. I'm not smiling because of something amusing on my ipod but rather out of pure joy. The simple act of lacing up my sneakers and running fills me with such gratitude at what the human body can do. About what MY body can do.
Over the past 3 years I have lost over 80 pounds and it wasn't until only recently that I have really been able to process what it was like to grow up overweight. The idea that I could fit into a size 12 let alone run a 10K still amazes me.
I'll never forget lining up for my first race, nervous but excited, loving the feeling of being part of something bigger than myself. When the horn went off to start the race I had tears in my eyes. I was no longer the heavy girl in grade school praying I wouldn't be picked last for kickball. I was an athlete. It was then that the magnitude of it all really hit me.
There were some lonely moments on that first run, stretches of the route I had to walk, and times when I wasn't sure if what I was feeling was runner's high or an impending heart attack. But what kept me going was the voice in my head that kept saying, 'You are in a 10K! YOU!' It didn't matter to me if I finished last; I was just so grateful and happy to be in it at all.
I lost the weight the old fashioned way, by eating healthy food and exercising regularly. I took my time because I knew a quick fix wasn't going to work for me.
Watching my body and most importantly, my relationship with my body change over the past 3 years has been an amazing journey. I can't say I ever actively hated my body when I was heavy, I just chose to ignore it. It was as if I didn't acknowledge I was fat, then maybe no one else would notice.
Now I can honestly say that I am happy I had to go through the first 30 years of my life heavy, because I will never take what I have now for granted. We are blessed with these amazing bodies, and I plan on celebrating that with every run I go on.
Thanks to Quaker Oatmeal and their Living Proof blogger event, not only did I get to eat and learn more about oatmeal than I could have ever imagined, I got to finally meet in person some very cool rock star healthy living bloggers whom I, and you all, mingle with quite often in the blogosphere. And before I forget, Quaker has nicely offered up some coupons for you all to have your own oatastic oatmealpallooza.
But instead of typing more, let me illustrate some of the trip with pictures. I'm kinda bummed because many of my pics came out blurred so here were the ones that came out the best. First, here I am trying to make out with "Larry" the Quaker man. Really, that is what they call him internally. All I could think is "Larry the Oatmeal Guy: Git-er-done!" Seriously though folks, I need some major help finding a new squeeze because now I am resorting to coping a feel with statues of mascots of cereal. You gotta admit though that the puffy shirt action is kinda hawt! And, who doesn't love a man with a tray serving you breakfast in bed, yes?
Without further adieu, above is Anne of Elastic Waist who sat next to me, Jason from Twit2Fit with his synopsis (and I give Jason serious props as the solo male blogger amongst all that estrogen), Jennette of Pasta Queen who happened to take a cool shot of the faux snake skin lounger in our hotel rooms along with a shot of the other side of the room with the other bloggers, Mo Pie of Big Fat Deal, and Roni of Roni's Weigh who took some great pics too.
So, let me show you some healthy living bloggers actually working out...
Continue reading "In pictures: Having an oatilicious time with healthy living bloggers " »
Posted by Stephanie Quilao on Nov 13, 2008 in Interviews & Cool People, Skinny commentary & news, Steph's life story | Permalink | Comments (22) | TrackBack (0)
Tags: chicago, healthy eating, oatmeal, quaker
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