A NSV has brought me here...

So after a pretty awesome NSV today I have decided to jump in on the community part of MFP. Some background… I'm 25 years and was pretty active as a teen. Then freshman year of college hit, and so did the dreaded 15. My weight plateaued at 150 and stayed that way for 6 years. I was never happy with it but not really motivated to change either. I now work as a travel physical therapist and my fitness attitude has matched my location. I gained 10 lbs in Virginia. Lost 10 lbs in Connecticut. Gained 4 lbs in Oregon (I lived in probably the only unhealthy part of the state).

Now I'm in the SF bay area and have found my motivation again. After a particularly snarky comment from a guy at a bar followed by a realistic assessment of my weight and fitness, I joined a gym, set a goal, and made a plan. Since the beginning of February I've lost 13lbs and am now running over 25 miles a week (and slowly but steadily improving on both!). I've got more pounds to go but I'm on my way. My ultimate goals is to run a marathon. I've rejoined MFP at the encouragement of my brother and I'm paying attention to more than just calories now. This is probably my last travel job before I move back to Texas so I'm working to make this a permanent lifestyle change.

So on to my NSV. I've noticed small changes myself (clothes fitting better or..gasp... baggy!, improved endurance, ect) but nobody else has noticed (or if they had they haven't said anything). I'm very self motivated but it's still nice if others notice. Well today at the gym a guy that I see there all the time (he's an Anderson Cooper look a like so he stands out to me) stopped me and said (and I quote) "hey I just wanted to say I see you here all the time and your commitment is really paying off. Not to be weird, but you look great and are killing it on your runs!" That put a smile on my face for the rest of my workout and has motivated me to join this community. I want to pay it forward and encourage/congratulate others! A little compliment goes a long way! So feel free to add me!