I used to hate going to the gym. I mean, I would pay for a membership and go every now and again, but I didn’t enjoy it.

One of the best parts of the Get Fit Challenge is that I grew to enjoy the gym. [Ok, "enjoy" is a strong word. Maybe I should say that I grew to appreciate the gym.]

I used to only go to piloga classes (a combo of pilates and yoga) and water aerobics. But now I’m also digging Zumba, the elliptical, the treadmill, and the weight machines.

And then sometimes [and here, 100 words later, is where this post actually begins], I try new classes. For example, I have tried Weight Training classes a few times. And I don’t love them. Nor do I particularly like them.

Last Thursday, I went to a Zumba class and then thought it might be fun [first mistake] to stick around for the Weight Training class, which involved such things at 10 lb weights, a medicine ball, a weight bar, a bench, a mat. Lots and lots of gear.

The teacher was mean. The class was packed tight. I was tired and in a bad mood.

So I walked out. Before the class ended, I quit. Packed up. Walked out.

I was discouraged. I was mad. I was tired and tired of it. I felt a lot of things.

But on Friday morning, I went back. I went back to the gym.

I had a good realization sometime Friday morning. It is absolutely okay if I don’t like the Weight Training classes. I’m not trying to enter a body building contest. I’m just trying to eat healthy and exercise. That’s it.

So if I dislike some of the classes that the gym offers, I DON’T HAVE TO GO.

But I do have to go back to the gym. I know that feeling of Thursday- the feeling that I failed at the gym. And a lot of times that meant I would avoid the gym for days weeks ever.

That’s the old me. Not Annie 2010.

I won’t let one bad workout day define my entire workout life.

No sir. I will not.

So on Friday, I went back to the gym.

Booyah.

Here’s the thing. The Get Fit Challenge officially ended 2 weeks ago, but I wasn’t allowed to talk about it. I know. No greater challenge exists for me than keeping good fun-time secrets.

So in order to not break any rules and get disqualified, I blocked it from my bloggy-mind. Then all the sudden you guys reminded me [over and over again, you sweet caring bloggites] that I hadn’t told you how it ended.

It ended.

And I lost 19 pounds.

I can’t even begin to unpack for you all the beautiful things that happened on the inside during this 15 week period. I think, over the next few months, I will be better able to talk about this whole thing.

For now I can tell you this- I absolutely loved being on television [no one is shocked] and I hope that part of my life gets to continue in some ways. On the other hand, I did not love having people approach me in the grocery store/restaurants to talk about the Challenge, though that was massively motivating.

Here’s the pressure I feel right now, and I’m just going to be dead honest with you. I feel this pressure to write something REALLY profound and life-changing that will make you decide to change how you live- some sort of inspirational speech that makes you cry and motivates you to step into that scary thing that seems too big to handle.

And I can’t do that.

Just like only you can prevent forest fires [that's true], only you can decide when you are tired of living in whatever swamp your heart and life are in. I can’t tell you more about my swamp exit and expect that to make you want to leave yours.

So I’m not going to try.

I wrote a blog post on Annie Gets Fit that I think says my heart pretty well. And also this Subway video is a major win. Tells exactly what I’ve been experienced.

But here, I just want to thank you.

Thanks oh thanks for all your kind words, emails, and support through this process. When I first wrote about my weight, it was torturous. Now it is normal. What a sweet transition. And that is much accredited to you, my faithful friends. I will never forget that day- when so many of you commented and emailed and squeezed life and hope into my heart. And you have stayed with me through these 19 pounds and however many more are to come.

Your prayers were my strength. Your words were sometimes my only reason to keep going. Your kindness and acceptance were my path to freedom.

Thank you.

My prayer today, as I thought about you and I thought about this Challenge, is that you would see God and His escape plan for you in your swamp (if you need one). And I pray that He would bless you 100 fold for your investment in me. And I also have been praying [and will you join me?] that God was and will be greatly glorified through this.

Love y’all. Like for realz.

[Thanks also for suffering through this lengthy blog post- I left you alone all Memorial Day weekend, so I figure I can go over my personal limit by a few sentences.]

I have two friends who call me “Fancy” and I don’t know if it is more an homage to my love for Reba or because I am, in fact, very fancy. But either way, it is deeply endearing.

[I tell you the weirdest things. I can't help it. Sorry.]

There are three seriously awesome things about today. And I’m gonna tell you about all of them right now.

1. SALLY THE GRADUATE

My baby sister graduates from Auburn University today. I literally cannot believe it. When I left for college, she was in 4th grade. It seems that I blinked and she’s now graduating herself. I could not be more proud and impressed with her ability to be a student and an adult. She’s awesome.

The best part? She’s leaving Auburn. And going to grad school at UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA. You know that old story of the prodigal son in the Bible? Yeah, we’re living it.

[Kidding, Sally. Don't call me all mad and stuff. Ok? Ok.]

[Oh, and this isn't your graduation gift. I actually have something for you. I promise.]

2. THE GET FIT CHALLENGE

Ends today. Phew. Not that I’m tired of being healthy- I actually seriously like that part. But I will not miss weighing on television. I won’t miss weighing at all. But specifically weighing on TV.

I just wrote my final post at the Annie Gets Fit blog. Enjoy.

After our final weigh in this afternoon, I will be getting a manicure and a pedicure. Sure, that’s too much information, but we’ve already gone over that I tell you weird things. But I figure mani/pedi is a better use of my time and money than a trip to Golden Corral. [Am I right or am I right?]

3. SETH GODIN

I find out today whether or not I will be spending next week in New York City. [Here's a quick reminder of why I would be in NYC with Seth Godin.] I have no inclination one way or the other. If I make it, I will be THU-RILLED and will begin to giggle immediately. If I don’t make it, I’ll be okay because my bestie Betsy will be in town next week and so I will get to see her.

So that makes for a seriously rad Friday. Hope your Friday is equally cool.

I’ll let y’all know when I know about Seth Godin. And I’ll let you know if I won the Get Fit Challenge on May 25th. [Sorry, gotta follow the rules.] And I’ll let you know if Sally leaves me an anger-filled voicemail on her graduation day.

PS- I made a video for SheSeeks yesterday about the Nashville floods and Compassion Intl and my shirt is all catawampus. So that’s cool [sarcasm].

First of all, thank you for your sweet comments and personal emails you sent yesterday, and for the last week, regarding the floods here. In fact, I got multiple emails from people headed our way to help volunteer. Amazing.

Here’s a few things for you on your Tuesday.

Tuesday is always the day that new music releases and I am THU-RILLED to tell you about a musician you may not know. Jake Ousley. He’s a sweet friend of mine and I absolutely love what he writes and how he sings. He’s also REALLY funny. Which you know goes a long way with me.

His first EP releases today. And if you have $5.94 that you are willing to drop on a new musician, this is where you should do it.

Here is the link to iTunes. Enjoy, my friends. Kentucky Moon is a personal fav of mine. Also, someone you know VERY well wrote his bio, so you can read that here.

Also, my friend Ishita has launched a new online magazine called fear.less. Now. Let me tell you. Don’t start reading unless you are willing to be brave- personally, professionally, all of it. Because these stories make you want to be the best you. Really, it is amazing and inspiring and I think you’ll love it. [That's why I'm telling you about it. I don't tell you about things I think you will hate.]

Also, I have a new Get Fit Segment that aired last week and I am SO SO proud of it. Unfortunately, they won’t let me embed it [whah whah], so I’m just going to have to beg you to CLICK THE LINK and watch it. Please?

[And I'm only telling you this because we are such good friends, but I was SO SICK on the day we filmed this. Like, flu-ish. That's why my voice sounds like that of an SEC linebacker.]

I also forgot to tell you [whoops] that my monthly article published at (in)courage last week. It is about the Get Fit Challenge, so if you have heard enough of my jabber, forget it. But if you’d like to hear another part of the story, head on over.

Also remember that I’m at Flying Solo all month, blogging about being single and finding community.

Also thanks for loving me even when I send you on a wild click chase around the internet.

Tomorrow I will limit your clicking and I’ll just tell you about my new job.

Cause I actually have a real job. In Nashville.

Weird, but true.

Still feeling a bit puny, but I wanted to share with y’all the updates from the Get Fit challenge.

If you can believe it, we only have THREE weeks left. That is crazy to me. Thirteen weeks have come and gone. Wow.

Here’s the link to this week’s post about going rock climbing (pictures included). As in me. Actually climbing rocks.

Weird. I know.

So head on over and check it out.

And here is this week’s video. You should really enjoy the fact that I filmed it in New York and you are actually watching the very moments where my body is being invaded by illness. Hard to catch on camera, I know, but somehow I pulled it off.

I’m a professional, I guess.

[video is here, subscribers, if you wanna click over and check it out.]

Y’all have a great weekend.

I’ve been accidentally holding out on you.

Not because I’m selfish, though, I might be just a smidge selfish. [Human. Sue me.]

But I mainly just forgot.

All I can think about is “Thursday is coming and my blog video is due for the Get Fit Challenge!” and I don’t have time to think “what if my bloggites forget to watch this?” until three weeks later when I realize that you may not have seen these.

[And if you haven't read it lately, here's the link to my GET FIT BLOG.]

So. Here you go. With the appropriate only-my-people-will-get-this title.

Get Fit Video #8: “Sometimes I actually make a fool of myself in public and afterwards I’m not sure it was worth it but the sandwich was good.”

Alternate title: “Molly gets a lot of shout-outs.”

Get Fit Video #9: “My friends put up with a lot. They really do. Bless ‘em.”

Alternate title: “Sour Patch Kids: A Fine Way to Waste Calories.”

Get Fit Video #10: “That one time that I ran out of time and luckily I had actually done this so I could make it into a video.”

Alternate title: “I don’t know what happened at 1:06, but I don’t hate it.”

We have about 6 more weeks left in the competition. I can’t tell you how much I’ve lost but I can tell you that yes, in fact, I am less Annie than I was in January. And I can also tell you that this week has by far been the most difficult and I’m pretty sure I’ve hit my limit and I’m not real sure I want to talk about this anymore.

Alas. We still have six more weeks of the contest. And years more of life. So. I will continue to talk about it. Because I’m learning to love bringing light into dark places.

See y’all tomorrow.

[there's a video here, my subscriber friends, just in case you can't see it.]

Because I left my pride in 2009, I thought I’d post the clip of my segment from this weeks Get Fit Challenge. It’s the first one where we filmed at the gym. So. Obviously. I’m very proud.

But seriously. I really do love this clip. The producer, Jenny, has become a sweet friend and I enjoy getting to talk to her. And our trainer Lisa is seventeen piles of patient with me and truly inspirational.

I am aware that the picture they post at the beginning isn’t me. No biggie.

And just so you know, they had me do the moving rock wall as a kind of joke and then BOOM they used it for real.

I’m pretty sure Jenny bamboozled me on that one.

Fool me once, I climb a moving rock wall.

Fool me twice, and I …. uh…. I don’t know what’s worse than that.

And 4:28? That was especially for you.

[First of all, a big HI and HELLO to my friends from the writing workshop on Tuesday night! Yay for bloggy talk and author talk and talking too much about car repair blogs! (This is your cue to say hi back in the comments, workshop friends.) Seriously- what a PLEASURE to meet you all and I hope to hear from you a lot in the future! Thanks to Denise and Shari for inviting me to speak.]

And yes, bloggites, of course I talked about you. And you. And obviously, YOU.

In case you’ve forgotten [you haven't, I won't let you] I’m involved in this Get Fit Challenge thing. And so I’ve been going to the YMCA a lot more.

Here’s the thing about the Y in middle Tennessee. It’s a BIG DEAL. Like, everybody in the whole city [ridiculous exaggeration] is a member. And in Nashville, there are probably 8-9 YMCA facilities within 20 minutes of my house.

I like.

So you can either join ONE of the Ys or you can get a CITY-WIDE membership that is, understandably, more expensive TOTALLY AWESOME. Because then you can go to any Y- you can take a spin class from Marisa at the East Nashville Y and then meet Lyndsay at the Green Hills Y for a Zumba class.

[Nope. Not in the same day. I'm hard core, just not THAT hard core.]

But, because I live on a budget, I’m a one Y member. Just Green Hills. I joined about 10 months ago and have always and only been to the Green Hills Y, though the others have beckoned me from a-near [opposite of afar, obviously].

And as I was perusing the YMCA website the other day, I saw that the Downtown Y had a water aerobics class called Aqua-Burn. To which I said, “Thank you sir may I have another” because I heart water aerobics.

Problem = it was at a different Y. So I called and they said I can come ONE TIME AND ONE TIME ONLY to try the class.

I walk in and the man scans my card. I go into a lengthy diatribe [shocker] about how I’m visiting because I may want to get a city-wide membership and I know I’m young but water aerobics is actually fairly challenging…..

He stops me, points at the picture on the screen and says, “Is that you?”

To which I reply, “Uh, yeah, it’s me. I had a great hair day that day and it was summer so I was tan and…”

“Ma’am. You already have a city-wide membership.”

“What? No, I don’t. I’ve been a member for 10 months and I’ve always just had a membership to Green Hills.”

He laughed and said, “well, you’ve actually always been a city-wide member.”

I’ve been wrong. For 10 months. I believed that I had to live with limits that were not mine.

And in some crazy way, God has used this to bring up a lot in my heart. How many areas of my life do I live under false limits because I believe something that is not true?

And I’m reminded of how Jesus set me free.

And I’m going to go to a different YMCA every day simply BECAUSE I CAN.

I am free.

In so many ways.

First of all, I am watching Jimmy Fallon and he has reunited the cast of California Dreams. And if you think I’m clapping and singing along to the theme song, you know me well. I’ll admit, I have serious questions about the current life status of some of these cast members, but if they would have known ME in 1988, they would have so questions about my current life as well. So.

I have a favorite soup. That is actually good for you. And absolutely ridiculously easy. And with winter ending soon [please, God, can winter end soon?], I thought I better offer this recipe to you now while you still have the chance. Cause it’s March, people. It might be about time to dust off your flip-flops.

I’m going attempt to avoid writing another pointless paragraph and just give you the recipe.

[By the way, I just went to the kitchen to get the family cookbook and came back with a bowl of granola and milk. I sat down at the computer and realized I grabbed a snack and forgot the book. Classy.]

CAULIFLOWER SOUP

[Now, you may love or hate cauliflower, but I promise you will love this soup. Trust me. It's cheap and easy to make. If you hate it, oh well. Not a lot of time or money lost.]

Ingredients:

• 2 bags of frozen cauliflower
• 32 oz box of chicken broth
• 3 T ranch dressing mix

[Seriously. That's like $8 maybe. Sheesh.]

Combine all the ingredients. Cook until tender. Puree with an immersion blender.

[Seriously. That's like 12 minutes maybe. Sheesh.]

It makes 4-5 servings that are each like 80 calories. That. Is. Crazy. Low.

When you are done, it looks just like potato soup- it has the same consistency. That says one thing to me– “ADD CHEESE PLEASE.”

So I usually do. Add a little cheese, some turkey bacon, and you’ve got yourself a great low cal meal.

Speaking of low cal, there’s a new post up at the Annie Gets Fit blog. We are 6 weeks in and I can’t tell you how much I’ve lost, but you better love me while you can, cause I am disappearing in front of your very eyes.

Happy Friday. Heart you, bloggites.

While I’m hanging out with my peeps at home, I wanted to let you know about a couple of things.

• I have a new article up at (in)courage. It’s all about the song “There’s A Hole In My Bucket.” Obviously.

• I wrote a new post on the ole Annie Gets Fit blog.

• There is a new video on the Get Fit page- my friend Annie and I are making a bean salsa medley thingy. Very healthy and very tasty. Watch the video HERE and then the recipe is RIGHT HERE. And though there is no cheese in the recipe, there is much talk of cheese. Per usual.

[The other option is to watch the video right here. It's larger and easier to see and I really do want you to try this recipe.]

• Thanks thanks THANKS for your prayers about my foot. It has healed well and I am back to exercising on it. [Not that I HATED having a day off or anything, but I am glad to be back to my workout regime.]

[Things I never planned to say: "glad to be back to my workout regime."]

See y’all tomorrow.