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Anne's Profile:

The essay I wrote for our last anniversary started with this:

When I came to Healthy Living two years ago I told myself I wasn’t there to work on weight. Just as well, I haven’t lost any weight that I haven’t found again. in the two years. But I found a lot of other things that will be more important in the long run. Mainly, I found a community where I felt safe and valued. It took me a time to believe the valued part. The only inspirational part I felt I had to offer was that I quit smoking not that long before I ran into Char and Jhrdy on the web. I’d been trying to get a forum on healthy weight loss going myself, based on essentially the same ideas – NO quick fixes – and ended up joining her crew.

As far as the weight is concerned, I’m still there! As for the “more important in the long run,” that’s still there too!

So where am I now that it’s three years? I’m progressing on my journey. I continue to learn, and some things I even apply (honest! Just not exercise!). I have a wonderful buddy in Puzz, and I get so much out of reading everyone’s posts. I have some favorites as I’m sure we all do, but most weeks I manage to read all of the personal and buddy journal entries, plus the introductions/miscellaneous entries, and try VERY hard to respond to anything in the Quit Smoking thread.

Fighting clinical depression is no longer the primary focus of my personal life. Largely because of the support I found here, and in a quit smoking forum before my experience here, I’ve found the ability to look at myself and see something other than the blob. (>Ya’ll haven’t convinced me that I’m beautiful, but keep working at it!) I find it almost impossible to express what a difference it makes to be able to cope with the depression without having to fight with it. My world has colors again, and I love color.

Looking over last year’s entry, that Sheryl was kind enough to send to me, I see I thought I had the baby steps mantra down pat. Hah! That’s a lesson I guess I’ll learn over again a few dozen times. I still believe that in the healthy journey, as in quitting smoking, there’s no failure as long as you keep coming back to the fight. And I’m as pig-headed and stubborn as ever.

On a lighter note, I just love it when Nikkosguy gets a punsterstorm going!