THERE'S A 1 ON THE SCALE!

That's right, folks! I broke that darn tootin' (lol) zero this week, and all I can say is "sigh".

To date, I have lost 30 pounds, and just over 30 inches off my whole body! I am SO proud of myself, and SO thankful for all of you. For your encouragement when I get discouraged and your praise when I succeed. You guys are the best!

I recently read an article in Health magazine about a woman who lost 125 pounds. I would type out the whole thing for you, but I'm not sure if that's legal. I'll just give you the jist of it. Her wake-up call was the day she realized she was ONE SIZE AWAY from the largest size Lane Bryant carries. This was in August of 2006. She made small changes to begin with. Cut out soda COMPLETELY (not really an easy change, but a GOOD change), but it wasn't until the following November that she got herself to step onto a scale. She weighed 293 pounds. She felt she needed to do something drastic, so she signed herself up for a water-aerobics class. As for her diet, the only changes she made (IN THE BEGINNING) were these: 1) She shrunk her portions and 2) she cut out fast food. Soon enough she started to feel better and had less pain in her knees and back. With the relief from her physical pain, she started walking, cycling and lifting weights. By July of 2008 (just a month shy of two years), she had dropped 125 pounds. Her original goal with this was just to feel better, and now she feels like she can "really live" (sue me, Health Magazine, for stealing that one quote.) She's thirty years old, started out a size 24-26, and is now an 8-10. If I could find a way to get her photo up on here I would, because she looks FANTASTIC.

So the moral of the story is that it's possible. This was such an inspirational story for me, and I hope it inspired some of you, too! If you're already in great shape and don't need to lose weight, I hope it inspires you to keep going and spread the word! And if you do need to get healthy and lose weight, I hope it shows you that YOU CAN DO IT. I believe in each and every one of you, and I love you all!