lost 9 lbs just in time for my vacation!

this is a small achievement compared to what a lot of people on here have accomplished, but for me it's a big deal because i've never had a successful weight loss attempt before! 9lbs is almost a third of my goal to lose, and i achieved it steadily over a period of about five weeks of logging.

my girlfriend and i met on the internet over two years ago and danced around each other the whole time (she waited patiently for me, i was an idiot who didn't realize how i felt until way later even though i'd loved her from the beginning too). she's from barcelona and now lives in mexico for work, and i'm from the US, but about eight months ago we decided we love each other enough to ignore the distance and make things work anyway. she decided to get her second master's degree at a good university in my city, so we'll be moving in together this fall, but in the meantime we've been tiding ourselves over with visits - she came up here in november to meet my parents and spend a week getting to know the place she'll be moving, and now in two days i'm going to go down to mexico to meet her parents and spend a week relaxing on the beach! we're really blessed that we've had the opportunities to see each other much more frequently than most long distance couples do.

she's really the reason that i'm here - not because she makes me want to change my appearance, which obviously i wouldn't tolerate in a romantic partner, but because she's a runner who eats well and stays fit, and by her example she inspires me to take better care of myself. i want to be able to share a healthy life with her - prepare great meals together, join her (and keep up with her) on runs, and be the best version of myself so that i can be the person she deserves.

whoops, this turned into me gushing about her instead of talking about my weight loss - but the point is that i'm so excited to see her and to show her my progress, because she's been so supportive throughout my weight loss effort and has been really encouraging and proud of me! (plus, i'm excited about my bathing suit.)