*

 Yes I Know You Have Heard The Wind Blow Before. I Consider This Moment On The Same Level Of When I Decided To Finally Quit Smoking. The Very First Thing I Learned In That Very Long Struggle Of Trying To Quit, You Had To Do It For Yourself. A Lot Of People Could Care Less Whether You Smoke Or Not. I Had My Reasons For Quitting And It Was So Important To Me I Finally Was Able To Quit. I Tried Prior To That But Always Failed.
I Believe Once You Reach A Certain Level That You Consider The "Breaking Point", Your Chances Of Succeeding Has Increased To An Even Higher Level.
I Feel You Can Only Achieve Success At The End. My End Was The Cigarette Butt I Taped To The Bathroom Mirror Reminding Me It Was The Last Cigarette I Smoked And A Symbol To Remind Me Of All The Reasons I Quit.
Today I Face A Different Battle. A Battle I Am Determined To Win. Some Call It The Battle Of The Bulge. I Began Putting On The Excess Weight Shortly After I Quit Smoking. Every Time I Wanted A Cigarette I Would Put A Mint In My Mouth. The Package Said Fat Free So I Figured It Was The Perfect Thing For Me. Wrong! It Didn't Contain Fat But It Sure Did Contain Calories. 50 Calories Per Mint. It Didn't Take Long For Me To Go From Minus To Plus Size. I Had Been Skinny Most Of My Life. Weighing In At 126 Pounds When I Joined The Navy. My Grandmother Told Me I Must Be Either Sick Or Had Worms. Back Then I Ate To Live. Today I Live To Eat. What A Big Difference Between Then And Now.
I Believe A Person Reaches A Certain Point In Their Life When They Put Their Foot Down And Say Enough Is Enough.
When I Finally Smoked That Last Cigarette I Knew In My Heart It Would Be The Last. You Just Know. I Loved My Cigarettes, So I Thought. I Believe The Final Breaking Point Was The Cost. It Just Did Not Make Sense In Spending That Much Money Just To See It Go Up In Smoke.
My Goal This Winter Was To Keep The Weight Off That I Lost Last Summer. I Had Lost 17 Pounds. I Figured The Best Time To Lose It Was When I Am Most Active. All I Had To Do During The Winter Months Was To Maintain What I Had Lost. I Failed Miserably. I Had Gained 16 Of The 17 Pounds I Lost Last Summer. I Will Quit Eating All Together If I Have To. I Must Eat Breakfast In The Morning. The Most Important Meal Of The Day. It Gives Me The Energy I Need To Function Throughout The Day.
I Know A Couple People Personally Who Lost A Large Amount Of Weight And Have Kept It Off. My Goal Is 175 Pounds. When I Reach My Goal. Did You Notice I Said When? Once I Have Achieved, I Have Vowed To Keep It Off. I Realize I Must Change My Lifestyle If I Want To Shed This Unwanted Weight. I Will. I Can!
In Just 2 Weeks I Will Be Getting Started In My Big Truck. I Must Get My Butt In And Out Of It. This 16 Pounds Is Like Carrying Around A Bowling Ball With Me All The Time.
If You Want It Bad Enough It Will Happen. Mark Today On Your Calendar. It's The Day I Become A Determined Person. It's The Day I Drew The Line And Said No More. It's The Day I Said The Buck Stops Here.