When I started my blog, I had one primary goal – to keep myself accountable. I figured, if I can keep myself accountable, and help just one person, it will be worth it. Little did I know, that starting my blog would afford me the opportunity to not only attend a Presidential Town Hall meeting, but to shake the hand of the President of the United States!

That’s exactly what happened yesterday. I’m still in shock, and disbelief that it even happened! BlogHer and SheKnows Media moderated/coordinated the meeting, where the President addressed the issues that matter most to the women bloggers invited to attend.

It was an extraordinary experience. Not many people can check off shaking the President’s hand from their bucket list. It was wonderful being in community with other women bloggers, and having the opportunity to hear the President’s opinion on subjects that matter most to us.

It doesn’t matter if you’re Republican, Democrat, Independent…meeting the President is an amazing opportunity.

Why does this matter on a weight loss/healthy lifestyle blog? Things like equal pay for women, higher pay for teachers, and rights for those with “invisible” illnesses affect your livelihood. They affect how much money you have…and ultimately they affect how much money you have to put food on your table. Let’s face it, the crappier the food is for you, the cheaper it usually is.

In case you’re wondering, I’m an Independent. I’m not big on party affiliation because I think it can be very dangerous when folks decide to align themselves with a party – and not with the real issues at hand.

For instance, one of the issues at hand was equal pay for women. There is no reason that should be a partisan issue, but when the Pay Check Fairness Act comes up for a vote that is exactly what happens.

President Obama explains, “The whole point of equal pay is people doing the same job and getting paid less. That’s the problem, The Paycheck Fairness Act would say not that women should get paid more, or the same if they’re doing less work. It’s saying they should get paid the same for doing the same work. This should be a no brainer. There are some things that are conceptually complicated. There are other things that are pretty simple. If you got two people doing the same job, they should get paid the same.”

If you’d like to know more about yesterday’s meeting, and the issues discussed, you can watch a video of the event by clicking this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sofeBipIJI Skip over to around 42:05 to catch the beginning of President Obama’s remarks.

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And, keeping with the spirit of my blog and keeping myself accountable…last week I gained. It was pretty significant too at +5.6. I kicked butt with last week’s activity, but ate terribly. This week I’ve been focusing on reigning in my eating.  I’ll let you know how I do. This journey is all about progress…not perfection!