Feeling Fine. Looking Better.

It's Sunday afternoon, and I'm sipping on a nice cold cup of Starbucks' Iced Americano. There's a slight drizzle coming down outside, but inside is nice and cozy.

Life is good at the moment. It's busy, and that's part of what makes it good.

A year ago, I was experiencing a much different life in Seattle. I didn't have a career job, and I wasn't sure that would come together. I weighed 45 pounds more than I do now, and I wasn't happy about it. Still, I wasn't willing to do anything about it. Moving to Seattle had been a dream come true. The missing piece was getting all of the other stars to align.

As I sit here with a now almost-empty venti iced coffee, I feel full again. I have a career job that I love. I've lost the extra weight and am still working on getting in the best shape of my life — already, I'm wearing the size of jeans I wore in high school. Getting into smaller jeans never was my goal, though that inevitably came with it. Instead, I was focused on better overall health and continued weight management. I wanted to be able to walk up the hills of Seattle without being completely out of breath.

Not only can I breathe more easily, I'll be running my first 4K one week from today. While I'm not a runner, nor do I want to be, making it through the race without walking would be another milestone to attribute to my six-day-a-week fitness regimen.

Feeling better and looking better certainly have made life in Seattle better. And, let's face it, life in Seattle wasn't all that bad in the beginning. Well, maybe the economic struggles were a little tough to swallow. But everything else was way better than just OK.

It's amazing how much better life can be when things start going your way. With a little extra effort in scheduling time for the gym and making that a priority, I feel like I have a better grasp on my career and my future goals. Fitness has changed my attitude at work and on a daily basis. There's no great secret to losing weight — eat better, exercise more, look and feel better. That's the formula.

While I'm still not quite where I want to be, I know I can push myself to that next level ... if the 4K doesn't kill me first.