Introduction

OK-Sorry for the lame title to my first article. It's just that there is so much I want to cover on this blog that I couldn't even come up with a decent title to it! My weight loss journey has been a long one, full of hopes and disappointments. At one time or another in the last 28 years, I have always been either trying to lose or feeling like crap because I wasn't losing. Then came kids, long hours at work, the work related dinners, drinks, donuts, you name it and I gained even more.

Now, don't get me wrong; it's not like I ever gained a ton of weight. Mine crept up a few pounds per year at a time. In September 2007, I weighed myself at a scale our office manager had bought and was shocked to see 150. I am 5 foot 4 inches tall and at the time thought I was around 140lbs. In the grand scheme of things, most would say that this wasn't so bad, or that that they had much more to lose. However, no matter what the scale says, the feelings are the same. I felt like I was fat, unattractive, unsexy, ugly, my clothes didn't fit, etc.

These are feelings that I have had to wrestle with all my life, regardless of my weight (I was always thin.) I remember going into a shop when I was 22 and asking the girl if the dress I had just tried on came in a smaller size since the one I had tried on was big and she said, "sorry, we don't carry anything smaller than a size 0." And no, I didn't have an eating disorder, I ate whatever I wanted but I danced at nightclubs three to four nights per week, I had two jobs, went to school full time, etc. At the time, I thought I looked fat, ugly, ...all the same things I thought about myself when I had gained some weight. Now I see pictures from when I was younger and I think, "Good Lord, I was beautiful!! Why didn't I see that back then!?" But then again, all that negative self-talk was still with me until six months ago.

SO, here's where this blog comes in. In the last year, I have been doing some major soul searching. In the last 5 months, I have managed to lose 24 pounds without feeling like I was starving myself. Understand that I only have a total of about 30 lbs that I wanted to lose, results vary from person to person but generally, the heavier you are the more you will lose. Somewhere along the way, I have managed to learn a few things about dieting...and life. I want to share them with you. If I can help someone, anyone out there, make a change for the better in their lives, all this effort will have been worth it.

Please understand, I am not a psychologist, nutritionist, or doctor. However, I have done extensive research and can share with you what I have found out about supplements, diet pills, tricks even, that have helped me lose this weight. But more than that, my lifestyle has changed dramatically. Deep down I have a feeling I will never be the same again after this journey, and I am full of joy and gratitude that the change is for the better. So please join me on this blog, and I will show you how I lost weight without joining a gym, by eating whatever I wanted, without buying expensive exercise equipment.

Today, I weigh 125lbs, am fitter than I have been in over a decade, have energy to do what I need to get done during the day, am sleeping better, feel better about myself, and on and on and on...but I will get more into these details as we progress. In the mean time, a caveat:

While I do have tons of personal experience, I am no expert so please consult with your doctor whenever you undertake a new lifestyle change! Please look out for my next blog: "First Things First, Get Your Head Straight!"