The Year of the Cliché

Maybe it's because I feel such a need to change myself in big ways this year, maybe it's because I'm constantly looking for ways to keep busy. I don't really know, and to be honest, I don't particularly care. I've started several new projects in the past few days. I'm sort of like a New Year's Resolution on speed. I am every resolution anyone has ever had, all wrapped up into one neat little coil, wound up and ready to spring. Why not, I figure. I've never been this out of sorts so maybe at least one of my fancy new projects will catch hold and bounce me back up to ground level.  It's getting tiresome down here in the dungeon.

Today's project is multi-functional, and who doesn't like something that serves multiple purposes? For me, joining the Biggest Blogging Loser over at She Likes Purple is like having a trusty Swiss Army knife in my back pocket.  Not that I know many people that walk around with knives in their back pockets, or hell, anything, really... I mean, that's a pretty bad fashion faux pas, I think... but whatever.  This project is my Swiss Army knife.

Why? This is actually much clearer to see than my knife analogy.

1. Dude. I need to lose weight. I have gained back almost everything I lost in 2007, and it's as angering as it is embarrassing.
2. Since using my twitter account as a way to meet new teachers and share resources, I've found I really enjoy a community of online friends that help each other to become stronger, better. BBL is a great way to widen that circle. Circles are best when large.  Or so I hear.
3. Seeing a bunch of women tweeting about their daily work towards weight loss is a huge motivator. I feel like such a schlub when I am not meeting their goals.  Have I mentioned how competitive I am?
4. There is a hefty cash prize to the winner.  I like winning and I like money.  Need I say more?

This morning I stepped on the scale for the first time since pre-Thanksgiving and almost had to dial 911. Either I was seeing double and experiencing hallucinations, or my butt has expanded a lot more than I thought it had in the past month or so.  Tonight I need to take a picture of myself and send it all in, and for the next 12 weeks I'll be weighing-in and eating celery and brandishing iron (uhm, the weighted kind) with several other bloggers.

The goal in 12 weeks? 20 pounds seems doable, but it's only halfway to where I'm headed and as usual, my instant gratification self does not like the sound of that. But 20 is the healthy, logical answer, and since I'm a healthy, logical-minded person (haha), that's what I'm going with.

The winner will be the person with the highest weight loss percentage, and first place may take around $1000.  I can think of a lot of things to do with $1000, like shoes, MAC, vacation! financing some time at the local crossfit gym, which I desperately want to go to but sadly cannot afford.

So, hopefully 12 weeks from now you'll be reading a celebratory "Look How Much I Kick Butt!" post, and not a "WOE IS ME, I am lame!" post.

Either way, it's one more project to keep me busy, keep me moving forward, keep me out of the dungeon.