I know my right hand looks like dinosaur talons (can you tell I have a young son?) but I wanted to sneak a TWO into my pose-replication!

 Happy Exhaustion is officially two years old!

Look how little change there is in those after-after-after pictures! SCORE!

Guys, I maintained! I really, really did! Happy dances all up in this piece.

On December 6th, 2012 I stepped on that scale and the goal that once felt so out of reach had become my reality.

On that day I set up this blog with no intent to become a blogger. I just needed some extra online space to answer all of the questions that came flooding in when I announced my success to my social media circle with my very first Before & After picture. (The first two of the four seen above)

Two years later, Happy Exhaustion is an essential part of who I am.

As I considered what I wanted to say in this anniversary post, I thought of my Healthy & Strong lifestyle like a 2-year-old child.

On my first anniversary,  my Healthy & Strong self was only a one-year -old. It was barely past it’s infancy, just learning to stand on it’s own two feet. I could hardly believe I had kept the weight off, which made me feel a bit unsteady. I was still afraid I was going to fall and lose it all.

Now that Healthy & Strong is a 2-year-old, it’s running all over everywhere. It’s pretty sure it’s the boss of the household. But it still slips and falls, has temper tantrums, and has a lot to learn.

This year has been one for the books. No danger of forgetting the year I was on the cover of PEOPLE Magazine!

I wanted to pose with this week’s edition of PEOPLE as proof that this pic was taken today, but the current cover is just WAY too depressing for this celebration post. Luckily, Sexiest Man Alive is still on the stands. That’ll do.
Sexiest Man Alive is allowed to pose with me 🙂

PEOPLE was the hands-down highlight of this Happy Exhaustion year. It still feels like a full-on out-of-body experience. I’m grateful for the new friends I made at the shoot for reminding me it was real.

Happy Exhaustion even kicked off a new career for me this year!

A few months ago, I became a goal coach. I have the privilege of working with people in pursuit of their own Happy Exhaustion. I get to blog in person!

With all of the precious lessons I have learned along the way, I’m able to help others to tailor their own approach. It’s a dream job for me, and I feel very lucky to have it.

If you could use the support of a cheerleader who understands *all* of the excuses and obstacles on the road to fitness, reach out to me over at the Happy Exhaustion Facebook page! I have yet to meet a  roadblock that I  can’t wrestle into submission 😉

Now… my Proof of Maintenance picture. I gotta tell ya – I contemplated not posting this part.

But, as my brother pointed out – I have already ‘primed the pump’.

I have stated publicly & repeatedly that this picture will be here, and I don’t want to appear to be hiding anything when the rubber hits the road!

I toyed with the idea of only posting the Red Dress pictures. Because, really – that’s so much more important than a number on a scale.

Every single one of my clients is married to the number on the scale. *I* am married to the number on the scale.

I don’t want to be. I don’t want my clients to be, either. I want us all to use the way our bodies feel & the way our jeans fit as our guides.

Some day I hope to occupy that head space. I thought leaving out this picture would help to make that statement.

But, since I tied myself to the tracks… Maybe next year will be Red Dress Only. Today, you get some proof 🙂

It’s not the number from the scale in my Miami hotel room during the PEOPLE shoot. It’s better than that – it’s my happy place. It’s where I reached my goal. It’s where I was this time last year. And despite the way the scale can drag me down, you know I enjoy when it lands where I like it to!