Throughout my childhood and 20’s I was overweight. I was told I was “big boned” and not athletic. I admired pictures of models in sports magazines who wore two-pieces, but knew I’d be the woman who wouldn’t even brave wearing shorts.

That all changed in my late 20’s. At 214 pounds, I went to a gym. This was in 2001, and I hadn’t seen the Secret, but I visualized the numbers “124” instead of “214” when I had to announce my weight in the eliptical machine. I had not weighed that since the third grade, but I believed it could happen. I signed up to run a marathon, and trained for about eighteen months. I decided to stay an extra week in Hawaii, where I was running the marathon. I bought my plane tickets, but I lagged on making lodging arrangements, because I was waiting for a payday. As it turned out, time going by was not in my favor. All the hotels were booked near the holidays and they were double the expense. My family told me to cancel my trip, but I just said I wasn’t going to worry about it. I visualized a place already open for me.

A couple nights later, I was on a blind date at this guy’s company Christmas Party. He introduced me to a friend, and I small talked about running a marathon in Hawaii in the coming days. He said, “Oh, that’s just great! My friend’s mom works at a hotel on that island.” I told him about my situation, and he said, “Don’t worry. I’ll talk to my friend.”

Well, I ran the marathon! And when I was done, went to address he had emailed to me, and my eyes nearly fell popped out of my head. It was the most exclusive hotel on the island! I never met the woman, or her daughter, I brought the woman a small gift and card. The bellboy escorted me up to one of the top level rooms–with a cornerside view–of the ocean! I paid next to nothing–I believe it was $30 a night–to stay at the premier hotel with its private beaches and spas. I remember not having enough “cash” money to eat more than a few bananas and juice a day, yet having this feeling that I was going to be okay, and was comfortable and well cared for.

The real miracle came when I was going through my “runners log” as I sat in one of the fancy lawnchairs on the beach the next day. A magazine clipping of a woman fell out. She wore a bikini-two piece, was tanned and was on a beach. It wasn’t a super revealing picture or anything, but I clipped it out way back then because she looked fit.

Just then, a hotel beach worker asked if I wanted a cold towel for my brow, or a pineapple slice. He was standing at the end of my lawnchair. I was shy as I squinted through the sun at him and saw my arms, stomach, legs for the first time in a context they had never been–in a swimsuit on the beach. My eyes welled up when I realized not only was I wearing the exact same suit the woman was wearing from a clipping I hadn’t see for at for at least a year, but I HAD THAT EXACT LEAN, STRONG, FIT BODY! I looked to where I had been journaling my weight each week. There it was; my final, beautiful, magical gift: I weighed the “124” I had imagined nearly two years earlier! I had actually shed a full 90 pounds.

Gratitude and Blessings to all.