What are you doing right?

A thread on OH asked folks to list the things they are doing RIGHT. Loved this thread - lots of great stories from people and ideas for what I could be doing better.

Here's the list that I posted: --- Here's what I'm doing that's good:

1. I log all my food on www.fitday.com --- this keeps me accountable to myself and also helps me ensure that I get all my protein per day. It's also a reality check for me on some foods that I think are fine, but after logging them I discover I was mistaken (i.e.: brats for dinner last night was a no-no). Logging also helps me mid-day know if I need to adjust my eating for the rest of the day. If I'm low on protein I know it right away and can adjust accordingly. 
2. I'm training for a half-marathon. I still have a problem wrapping my head around that concept. In less than a year I will have gone from morbid obesity to a half-marathon... how is that even possible? But I can see the finish line in my head and I know I can get there. I signed up for a 20-week walking training program - at the 15-week mark I'll do a 10 mile walk, then 6 weeks later is the half-marathon. I'm walking nearly everyday and it feels great! 
3. I'm working on more than just the eating and exercise. When else in my life will I have the opportunity to make dramatic changes in my life? For the next 6 months I'm adding a new aspect of my health each month. Here's my schedule of goals:
1. May 13- June 13 Spiritual Health
2. June 13- July 13 Financial Health
3. July 13- August 13 Emotional Health
4. September 13- October 13 Relationship Health
5. October 13- November 13 Intellectual Health
4. Being the leader of my local support group really forces me to connect with other people. Before surgery I avoided other people and was content with being a homebody. Now I'm thrilled to be making new friends and helping others realize their weight loss goals. I've found some awesome, life long friends because of WLS.
5. Besides the support group that I lead, I also attend 2 other support groups. One through my surgeon's office and another in a nearby town. Again, more friends, which is great. But also the more people I meet who have had WLS, the more I learn and the better equipped I am to face my own journey and struggles with this new lifestyle. 
6. I'm supporting my community by shopping regularly at Goodwill. LOL! I'm keeping a running tally of how much I am spending on clothes since surgery... it'll be interesting to see what that ends up being. And everything I collect along the way (and all those clothes from pre-surgery) will be sold at a yard sale later this summer to raise money to buy a whole new wardrobe. 
7. I'm a big believer in "knowledge is power." If I see a question here on OH or read something interesting on a website ... I will dig deeper to learn what I can about that topic. I spend more time doing research now as a post-op than I ever did in any college class in my life. I've learned so much in the past year, I amaze myself. I try to share the things I've learned with others by posting on my blog and profile. 
8. I took a 10-week group therapy class shortly after my surgery through the psychologist's office who works with my surgeon. This class helped me identify exactly why I got fat in the first place, taught me about how to have a healthy relationship with food, helped me set goals for my future life after WLS and helped me develop coping techniques for cravings and negative self-talk. I wish every WLS patient was required to take a class like this after surgery - it's amazing what you can learn about yourself if you just take the time to look deep enough inside. 
9. Giving back. When I first started my WLS journey a lot of people helped me by providing information, advice and links to awesome resources. Now that I'm on the other side of the journey, I feel like it's my duty to give back to those who are just starting. Helping others is becoming a passion. 
10. A schedule is very important to me now. I eat and take my vitamins on a very specific schedule. If I didn't have this regimine I could quickly get off track and fall back into old bad habits. Using my cell phone's alarm feature really helps me remember what I should be doing. Most of the schedule is ingrained in my day already, but there are a few things that I tend to forget, so I've got those things programmed into my cell phone and an alarm reminds me what I need to do when.

That's all I can come up with at the moment. Thanks for posting this thread. So often we focus on the negative aspects and what we're doing wrong. But when we're reminded of what we are doing RIGHT, we know we're on the right track and can keep plugging along toward that finish line of success.

Pam