I compete in a martial art known as Aikido. This requires me to be quick on my feet and still have a strong center of balance and core. I move surprisingly well for someone my size, but that's the limitation. I need to be a different size/be stronger to move even better than just "unexpectedly".

I also joined Weight Watchers a few years back and lost 40 lbs by following their plan and exercising just what I felt like doing. Its interesting just how much you can lose without any real structure.

So naturally (b/c I didn't have structure), the second I came off Weight Watchers and got into a relationship in w/ someone w/ poor eating habits, I gained all the weight back.

I have muscles I didn't have before WW, but they are heavily atrophied and need to be unlocked again.

My goal is to get back to my smaller, fitter self, and learning lasting steps to ensure I stay a healthy size and can move how I want to move.

I love learning all the different ways you can push your body and finding out where you're strong and then making yourself even stronger.

Obviously there's an attraction to the many people who transform into these statue-esque people but even beyond that, there's something really amazing and inspiring when you can just look at someone and say "they are STRONG".

I think mental and physical strength go hand in hand. If you have a weak mind, your body can only get but so strong, regardless of what you do. But the passion and conviction required to become these "models", that's true strength.