That’s a big number.
Yesterday marked the one year anniversary of beginning my weight loss journey. On December 29th 2009 I decided enough was enough. I didn’t want to be fat anymore. I didn’t want the label “morbidly obese”. I didn’t want my thighs to rub together or have to pick my clothes according to how many x’s were on the tag. I didn’t want to sit in a chair and have the arms dig into my hips or layer my clothes during the summer months because I would rather be hot (and grossly sweaty) and hide my fat. Most importantly I didn’t want to be absent in my surroundings any longer.
I began to move more. I watched the food I put in my mouth. I began to participate in my environment. One of the biggest decisions I made as I started this journey was to end my membership to World of Warcraft. Now if you’ve been on this journey with me from the beginning, you already know how much of an impact this game had on my life. If not, just trust me when I tell you it helped me get to a lovely weight of 270, fueled my depression and for the most part was the only thing I did for the previous 5 years.
In order for me to play, I had what’s called an “Authenticator”. I would push that little black button and it would spit out a six digit number that I would then enter on my computer screen in order to get to the game. I would then proceed to play for hours and hours. Pretending to be something that I wasn’t. Building relationships with other people who I only knew by character names. Riding off into the proverbial sunset hoping that at the end of the game I would find happiness. When I decided to end my subscription, I kept that authenticator on my key chain to remind me that WoW was not where my life was. To remind me that here was where my life was: being present, being mindful and just being me.
I decided a few months back that on my one year anniversary I would hit that black button one final time. It wouldn’t be to log into WoW and get lost in a reality that no longer exists for me. It wouldn’t be to hide from who I am and to fantasize about what I want to become. I am who I want to become. The journey has been difficult. It has been full of doubt, fear and anxiety. Riddled with pain, confusion and sadness. It is that same journey that I felt pride, faith, and understanding and filled with love, clarity and pure happiness as I moved away from a past that had no hold on me and toward a life that has been waiting patiently for me to show up and be present.
When I pushed that number it was going to represent something that I would do for the entire year of 2011. It would involve physically moving, something I didn’t do for so long. It would be a daily reminder of the life I will NEVER return to.
Now six digits is a large number. In order for this to be a successful move in the right direction, the goal needs to be achievable yet challenging. Something that needs to be done on a regular basis or it will get a little out of control but something that doesn’t take too much time out of my daily life.
So on my one year anniversary I kept my word. I pushed that black button and it spit out that delicious number: 201421. The movement? It’s how many stairs I’m going to climb. That’s right people, I’m going to climb the equivalent of approximately 13,428 flights of stairs (average of 15 stairs per floor). That’s the equivalent of climbing the Empire State 108 times. I’ll be using the stair machine at my gym to keep accurate calculations. Other daily steps will not be counted. In order to accomplish this goal I will need to climb an average of 37 flights of stairs each day for 365 days. Not only possible but absolutely achievable. I won’t be able to get to the gym everyday so I’ll need to make sure to bank stairs when I can.
So there ya go! Happy weight loss anniversary to me! January 1, 2011 I’ll begin climbing stairs and getting even farther away from the life that no longer defines me!
WOOT!!!! 😀 You are gonna be like the wooty girl on youtube by the end of next year! ::gigglesnort::
YOU NEVER CEASE TO AMAZE ME!!!! Well done, Tara!!!! Looking forward to watching you CONQUER this next part of your journey! #OneStepAtATime
Go Tara Go!
GOGOGOGOGOGOGOGOGOGO TARA!!!!
what a great idea..good luck…
Amazing, just one year and you’ve changed your life. Congratulations, and best of luck with your 2011 challenge!
Wow! I will be cheering you on, Tara!! Seeing your success over the past year has truly inspired me to make 2011 MY year!!
Congrats and Happy Anniversary…I find your blog very inspiring and truthful and touches me in so many ways and levels. Keep working towards your goal and keep us posted on the journey…it helps!! 🙂
What an amazing goal for 2011! I found your blog a few days ago & have been catching up since then. Love it and your inspiring journey …
Great idea and really motivating. Now I want to play the button game 🙂 Maybe you can click it for me (and whoever wants) to pick a matching feat. It’ll be our WoW real world takeback of our life. As an ex-WoW’er I can totally relate to your posting.
I can’t wait to see your updates throughout the year toward your goal. You’ve totally got this!
Tara, you are heroic and inspire me enormously. I needed some serious inspiration today, and found more than enough here.
xoxoxo Happy climbing!
You’re awesome and I cannot wait to see you accomplish this goal!!
WWToTD?!?!
Thanks for being you!!
You will rock those stairs because you are awesome and you just plainly rock…those steps don’t stand a chance!
much love!
This is one of my favoritest posts ever!! I got chills as I read it! I hope you go to NYC and climb to the top of the ESB at least once!!
Love it as always. Bust the shit out of those fucking stairs girl!
I love this concept! It’s the perfect way to close that chapter of your life permanently. I. LOVE. YOU. SO. MUCH.
Fun fact- you’ll be covering about 305-314 miles (assuming that the rise of each stair is 8-8.25″).
Wow. You amaze me.
Awesome! Gave me shivers reading it! Love your goal. I want something audacious like that too!!!!!!
You Rock! kick some stair butt!
You go girl! You can do this!
You are so clever with stuff like that. Very cool idea Tara. I am hoping for big things in 2011. I just want you to know, that I am so incredibly happy to have met you a year ago and to see the transformations we both have gone through. <3
What a FANTASTIC idea to use the authenticator – to a game that helped you escape life – as the spring board for the next big chunk of life that you are biting off to chew. Go Tara go! Love you oodles!!
Congrats on such an awesome year Tara. You have been a constant source of inspiration and support for me. I am so looking forward to finally meeting you and running with you this summer – Ragnar WILL happen!!
I think your idea with your old WoW authenticator is great – a symbol of what you once were, and what you have now become – a stronger, healthier, happier person.
[…] Climb 111,111 steps and join Tara on her step voyage […]
[…] case you missed it I started my Great Stair Climb of 2011 at the beginning of January. I am on a mission to climb 13,428 floors (the equivalent of climbing […]
[…] started some awe inspiring relationships. You made a birthday wish come true and set up some serious goals for the next coming year. The one important thing you learned while living through these stories is that life isn’t […]
[…] could be strong. Fast. Conscious. In 2011, to set a goal I hit the authenticator and was given the random number 201421. I set the physical goal of climbing stairs (approx 13,500 floors). I didn’t make the goal […]