Changes for me, possitive changes !

I am of the firm belief that if you don't like something about yourself, change it. Simple as that.
Now, sometimes we get so accustomed to things, we forget that they are not the most positive things for us. Early this month I saw a friend in the store, she was half the size she used to be. We talked and talked about how she felt, why she made the changes and how she made the changes. I filed all this information in the back of my mind. She lost 100 lbs !
Well, this past Saturday I was pulling into Emery's work parking lot and saw a woman walking across the lot. I remember thinking, hummm, I don't know who that is. ( I know most of the ladies in the community ). I was a bit puzzled and just figured it was someone visiting. Later when I was sitting in the waiting area for Emery, this lady was there, she looked at me and said, "Hi Pat, how are you ? " I recognized the voice right away. It was someone I know very well, but hadn't seen in about 6 months. She had lost so much weight I didn't recognize her.
Mennonites and Amish tend to be large ladies by the time they reach their 40's. Years of baking and eating start to add up. Plus as they age, their children do a lot of the work in the garden etc so they aren't as physically active.
I asked her how she did it, and I got the very same answer that my other friend told me. Weight Watchers. The older I get and the more backpacking we do, I feel my added weight. Sorta like heading out with a very heavy pack on, in my case, on my stomach area.
I thought about these two ladies a lot in the last couple days and today made the decision to go to Weight Watchers myself. Yup, I joined.
I always excused my fat with things like, well I am still active, I run, I can do yoga, etc. But all those things would be easier if there was less of me.
Its beyond the point of wanting a gorgeous body, its about self control and health.
I ran yesterday 6.5 mph, it felt like I had on wings, but with this weight, that speed couldn't be sustained for very long. I want to run and feel light as though my body could fly if I just had a long runway and a bit more speed !
There must be some vanity involved too, if I am being honest, since I never like to post pictures of myself. Its too much of a reality check for me to see me on the screen. Mirrors are not a close friend of mine either.
In this world of excess, we shop too much, we spend too much, we want too much, and we eat too much.
Gluttony comes in many forms I think, and lack of self control shows in several ways.
In the last few years, I have tried hard to make progress in many areas of my life. Perhaps its a bit like seeking to find enlightenment, whatever that really is. It seems elusive at times and so hard to define. But when I see people react to me in some way, I check myself, my attitude, my ego, my motive.
If I am falling short of where I personally want to be in life, then I admit my error and honestly seek change in my negative behaviors. The one thing I have not worked on to any degree has been my weight. Oh I toyed with this and that, but liked the ideas that were the least invasive to the ways of eating that I held dear to my heart and cherished. Not willing to let go of.
I slacked off on the amount of running I do too.
Now time to change, to move beyond where I am. You all know my journey, which road I have set out on and I promise to share with you my progress and my falterings too. Hoping there are not many of those !
By next year on the anniversary of our first date, I want to be uploading a picture of me in those little jeans I wore so long ago.
And on the most serious level of this, it never seems to me that being overweight is a good witness. Self control of actions shows on so many levels of a persons life.