One year ago yesterday I launched Sarah Chose Happy. I still remember toiling over the decision to start a blog for weeks on end this time last year. I had my editors (you know who you are) read a few of my initial entries and with their stamps of approval I moved forward. The point of the blog was always to be an outlet for me to express the challenges and celebrations that come with my weight-loss journey. Along the way, the blog turned into me setting an example to those around me. I like to think of myself as a trend setter and I always feel ahead of the curve. For example, I was rocking Navajo chic before the tribal print took over every clothing store. I was obsessed with chevron when people still thought it was just a gas station chain. While I certainly didn't start a "choosing happy movement," I do feel like I've seen more posts, discussions, and even a Today show series about happiness. I love that I've heard from so many of you about how you empower yourselves, or even your kids, to make being happy a part of life.
While I am truly great with directions, I've felt very lost as of late. Getting lost is starting to become a pattern in my life. In December 2013, I was the most lost I've ever been. I needed a way out of my life and had no idea where to begin. In January 2014, as you loyal readers know, I started my program and began to find my way out of the dark hole. Since that start day, I've been reading, researching, and educating myself on how to live a healthier life. I look for new workouts, I read articles on muscle development and weight training, and I'm constantly figuring out things about food and diet. I have to be honest and tell you that I find myself lost again. A few months ago, I started getting chronic headaches. I began attributing them to stress and tried to nail down a reason why every day I would wake up, and eventually go to sleep, with a pounding head. The headaches were sporadic at first and then came on daily. They were accompanied by a lot of sleepless nights and a whole lot of dizziness. After working with my doctor, we narrowed down that a change in my medication (the one I use to aid my weight loss) might be the culprit. As of two weeks ago, I am completely drug free. It's incredibly scary to be off of something that has helped immensely change my life. I suspect that only one of the medications was causing the headaches but decided to stop both of them simultaneously. I know that I don't want to live my life as a slave to these drugs and I eventually would have to come off of them as they are not long-term medications.
As a result, and some REALLY terrible eating habits, I'm up weight. I'm almost 10 lbs. heavier than I had gotten down to. The headaches really derailed my eating and my exercise routine. I was completely unmotivated and just didn't care about eating healthy. I stopped choosing happy. The last two months have been a total blur and most days I felt like I was in a fog. Today, I'm excited to report that I'm really starting to feel back to normal. I need to get back to the root of jump starting this second life (and this blog), which is me. I am ready to start investing back into myself. This is the perfect time because without medications I have to make sure that my diet and exercise are on point.
I want to thank all of my friends and family (and chocolate olive, too) for being supportive of me the last few months and for putting up with me. I haven't been much fun and my mood has been sour. I've been lagging in posts lately because I've just plain been unmotivated. I hope to start year 2 of blogging with more frequent writing. To do that, I've got to start living a blog-worthy life again! Thank you, thank you, thank you, as always, for reading!
