This is ridiculous. I am about ten pounds heavier than I was this time last year, which is ten pounds heavier than I was the year before that. I saw a picture of myself from three years ago and thought, “Oh my goodness. I was small!” Because three years ago means about thirty pounds ago. You see what I’m getting at?

This was me at 22. Ha!

Last year, I began my quest to shed some pounds. I started with my trainer at the beginning of April and was on this diet/lifestyle-change hoird until Labor Day weekend. I started dating this guy and my attentive eye started to wander as we began to dine out…often. And just like that, the 8 pounds I lost, I gained back within two months (isn’t that disgusting). Now, a year later, I’ve added about 5 more pounds to that 8. I’ve gone up one clothing size but it didn’t really hit me hit me until I was looking for something and saw that in some realms, a size 12 (which is where I am), is considered plus-sized.

OH NO MA’AM. I can NOT be plus-sized. ME? Nawl, you not talking about me. Well, yea, I am. And apparently, I can be. And if I’m not now, I’m headed in that direction. This was such an eye opener. I kept putting off weight loss and exercise that I allowed myself to get to this point. I know some people are all “pro-plus-size” and you can be sexy at any size, but the Devil is a liar. See, in order for me to live the life I know I’m here to live, I can’t be dying or getting sick off of some weight-related disease. So, going forward, I declare the following to myself:

• Make time to work out. If not making it to the gym, I can walk the parking lot at work during lunch OR get some Wii dance/exercise action in. I need to do something to work up a sweat.
• Count calories. I need to stop going by the YOLO diet and get real. I always did really well when I counted my calories and drank plenty of water. I still drink a lot of water, but I could definitely drink more. And I could get rid of the occasional cinnamon melts for breakfast.
• Create goals. To track where I am from where I want to be, I need to have some checkpoints along the way. Yay to five pounds in a month in a half. Whoopee to ten pounds by Halloween. Go head girl to fifteen by Christmas. And not only that, but show ya right to staying under my calorie count for three days in a row. Look at you now to eating out less than 3 times a week. Gotta celebrate all the wins.
• Hold myself accountable. I will do my best to track EVERYTHANG on MyFitnessPal and this tumblr, 25 Down. And by everything, I mean from what I had for breakfast to what I wore that day and how my thighs were busting out the pants to dancing to the BEP for 36 minutes after work. By doing this, I can’t hide.

I thank God for a low body fat ratio so I don’t actually look my weight. And I thank my mom, aunt, and maternal grandma for my great fashion sense that allows me to cover my pudge (never catch me slippin’). So, seeing as how my body is a temple, I gotta start treating it as such. I never want to buy another ladies L shirt or size 12 pair of jeans again.

I can do this. Watch me do this.