In Perpetual Pursuit

It's a constant struggle for me to maintain a "trim" figure and healthy weight. Not only genetics, but I have an autoimmune disorder that makes gaining weight as easy as blinking, and losing weight is a constant ride on the struggle bus. Well, that and I love tacos and I REALLY love ice cream. Somehow I picked up some really bad eating habits as a kid. Some of it came from being really involved in swimming and at the time "Carb loading" was a huge thing. I lived on and FOR pasta. I was ALWAYS hungry as a swimmer, and no one ever taught me to eat for my body type. We did a LOT of heavy eating at buffets. One time in HS I remember going out with my boyfriend to a buffet after swim practice and eating 6 plates of food...which was mostly starches, and thinking I could still eat more. I don't remember a time in my youth when I didn't hide some kind of sweet food in my bedroom to binge on...I specifically remember the time I emptied dry cake mix into Tupp...

My Story When I was ten, I cried during my first swim practice. And my second. And probably my third. Quite possibly for weeks. But I loved the water, and eventually, that water became the ONLY place I have ever felt truly at home. I almost quit swimming when I was in 7th grade. I got a new coach who pushed me a little more than I preferred and I didn't like it. My parents made me stick it out. And that year, that coach lit a fire under me that has never been put out. (Coach Jen, I can't thank you enough for the push, and coach Drew for two more years of great coaching, but not for cracking a raw egg on my head or entering me with short course yard times at a long course meet).  I will never forget the moment when coach Jen told me "Keep swimming" during a distance set, and I looked at her and said "but I'm done!" and she looked at me with a look I will never forget, and moved me up a lane. That was the day it all "clicked" Growing up, I...