yoga, turning 25, finding myself on this crazy ride

First, I want to apologize for the long post, it appears that I had more to say than I originally thought.

This year has been an epic adventure so far, and its only June. I moved back in with my parents in November after life threw me a couple of curveballs. I spent a good portion of the beginning of the year making self-deprecating jokes about being almost 25, selling hot dogs for a living, and crashing in my parents basement. While funny and only sort of intended to make myself feel like shit, I have actually made a lot of progress this year.

I finally decided that I was tired of being uncomfortable with my weight. I had skyrocketed up to my highest ever weight after moving back home. I ate what I craved, when I craved it, and I was familiar with eating until I was way past the point of being full. Also, both of my parents are great cooks (which I am not), so I thoroughly enjoyed every meal. I started my "diet" on January 1st, a New Years Resolution that I swore I would stick with.

I swapped out high calorie, high carb, high fat, high sugar Costco muffins for spinach and fruit smoothies and 300 calorie breakfast sandwiches. I completely stopped eating lunch at the food court. Mom and dad jumped on the bandwagon and started healthy meal planning dinners with me. I almost totally cut out any alcohol. And in the first two months, I lost a total of five pounds. Every week when I weighed in I was crushed. 

For me, the trick came down to calorie counting. Back to that stupid in and out theory. I started tracking every single thing I put in my mouth and realized that I hadn't been losing weight because even though I had swapped to healthier alternatives, I was still eating too damn much. After that, I dropped 30 pounds in four months. I'm now at my 18 year old weight again. This has changed from being a diet, to being a lifestyle change.

About a month ago I figured it was time to start adding in some exercise. I didn't do it upfront because I'm lazy, plain and simple. I don't like jogging, lifting weights, going to the gym, any of it. I would rather sit on my ass and read a book that get my body moving. And then I discovered yoga. It has completely changed my life. It connects me to my body in a way that I didn't believe existed for me. It has been the first time in my life that I actually enjoy doing something healthy and athletic for my body. Every day I can feel my body changing, becoming more balanced, more flexible and stronger. Not only that, but it has done wonders for me mentally. I feel more at peace, more relaxed - the small things at work like a rude customer or incompetent coworker don't make me want to rip someones head off. I breathe through it and move on in a way I have never been able to before. When I skip a day I feel awful, or if I don't have time to spend on the mat, it makes me sad. I can't wait to see where my yoga practice is in a year.

I've also paid off almost $4000 in debt this year. Shortly after I moved home, my dad and I sat down and created a financial plan to get me back on my feet and completely out of debt. I still have a long way to go, but every paycheck I look forward to making another payment, paying something off, seeing progress. There is a strong possibility that by this time next year, I will be comfortably living on my own.

On Saturday, I turn 25. I feel like high-school graduation was yesterday and I wonder where the time has gone, but every day is more rewarding than the last and I can't wait to see where my road will lead.