Over a year....WHAT!!

      I can not believe I have neglected this blog for over a year!  I guess life and priorities get in the way.  Tonight I got on blogger to check my sisters blog and after reading her updates I switched over to my blogs and realized that I had not updated either one a very long time, but this one I really let go.  I know there has got to be an underlining reason like, I have really gotten off track and let my weight take over my life again and I was just down right ashamed that, in the going on 2.5 years with this blog that I could not meet a goal.  A goal that I had such a drive for. What happened?  Why could I not do it?  Why was this something that I failed at? 

This picture was taken a few days before I left Portland, Me and Mitchell at my going away party.

     The time has come, things WILL be different, things WILL change! I knew this would be an on going life battle for me.  I moved from Portland, OR to Sydney, Australia, graduated from culinary school

Last day of class, about to head to our externships

The day I arrived in Sydney Australia!

and now I am working as a "pastry chef".  Life is still busy.  Stuff is still going on to cause excuses, but excuses no more.  I am taking control once again and I will reach my goals this time.  I have a lot of driving force this go around.  First and foremost I want to be HEALTHY, secondly my grandma Koehn is turning 90 in September and wants to skydive.  I so badly want to jump out of a plane with her.  Now this is where my cheap side kicks in, if your over 200 lbs you have to pay more to jump.  Thirdly I bought myself a Christmas present this year, since I was alone for Christmas, I bought a 3 day Scuba Diving voucher to learn to scuba dive and become a certified diver up to 18 meters ( which is about 59 feet).  Fourthly I want to travel the world and bigger clothes weigh more which in turn makes my suit case heavier which equals more money for luggage and/or more bags (again with the cheap side kicking in).  I have many reasons this time and yes some sadly are probably superficial.
     Back in October I joined a gym here in Sydney.

  Well, the job I had the hours picked up so much I only went the first 3 days.  I was working 80 plus hours every week and getting really drained and unable to make it to the gym.  Since then I have switched jobs working less in hopes of getting to the gym at least 4 times a week.  Working as a Chef and being friends with Chefs I have found that drinking is very common after work.  We all were going out almost every night to have a beer, but it was never just one or two beers, it was beer and tequila for a few hours after working 14-15 hour day.

 Months of this behavior I realized something had to change, I did not want that to be my life.  Like most people I knew I could not make that change during the holidays so I of course I waited to after the first of the year.  However about 2 weeks ago I started going to back to the gym and when I joined the first time I checked my weight and I was 114kg (which is about 251 lbs).  If you have been following this blog you know I started this journey at 289 lbs.  I lost a crap ton of weight and then put a lot of it back on while in Portland.  So when I went back I checked my weight again and I weighed 98.7 kg (about 217 lbs).  HELLO!!  Do you see what that means? Since being in Australia I lost  15.3 kg ( 34 lbs!)!!  WHAT WHAT!!  That was the extra push I needed.  My original goal was to get to at least 199 lbs and now my friends that goal is only 18 lbs away! I plan to lose more than that but what was once my long term goal has now become my short term goal. What feeling!
This next picture is the most recent picture taken today...

Here I go, ready to take on my challenges and achieve my goals...hopefully you will follow me.