Some pre-"diet" photos

I wanted to post some 'before' pictures, so I can show my progress. These pictures aren't exactly easy for me to look at...but it makes me feel GREAT to know that I don't really look like this anymore. Enjoy!
P.S.-Stay tuned...I have a really good blog that I'm in the process of writing. It's called "Dieting & The Book of Mormon". Oh yeah, be excited.

At work after the Stapler in Jello prank that was played on me


My roommates

Pretending to be my boss on Halloween

With my rommate, Aubrie, at the Mesa Temple lights for Christmas

At the beach in Ft. Lauderdale (right before the cruise!)

Still going strong!

Wow...sorry about the lack of updates! The last few weeks have been H-E-C-T-I-C. Hopefully everything will calm down this week and I can get back to posting weekly blogs.

Since I've been gone, I have lost a total of 13 pounds (-1.2 pounds every week). I AM SO HAPPY! I went to San Francisco a few weeks ago for the weekend and still managed to lose weight that week...maybe because we walked everywhere. A few weeks ago I bought a new pair of pants that are a size smaller than I have worn, and not only did they fit, but the are ALREADY too big. Who knew?!

I met with my counselor for the 4th time last week and he basically told me that I don't need to be meeting with him anymore, because I'm already doing everything right. I never thought I'd hear that...I told him that I wanted to keep meeting with him, just in case. I have my second appointment with my dietician on April 1, and I will give updates on how that goes.

Thank you to everyone for your emails and comments. I appreciate them all!

Motivational quote of the week:

"Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement.

Nothing can be done without hope and confidence."

-Helen Keller

Back on track

I am happy to announce-I lost ANOTHER 2 pounds this week. I am now 9.4 pounds less of myself. I am so happy! At church yesterday I had someone tell me I was 'glowing'. Maybe that is somehow tied into Cade's comment about me getting pregnant so I can lose weight chasing after my kid. Ha! I'm sorry to tell you Cade, I won't be getting married and pregnant anytime soon. Wow...I hope my mom isn't reading this. She's probably sorely confused.

Now that I pretty much have the first 10 pounds out of the way, I'm focusing on long term. I've proven to myself that I can lose the weight and now I need to work on keeping my motivation and determination. This is why I have failed in the past. I'm gung-ho about losing weight, but then I lose willpower, my cravings control me....yada yada yada. I know I have things in place to help me with this problem, but any help you guys can give me would be greatly appreciated. My counselor suggested I have people check up on me in a month or so. My gung-ho weight loss cycles last about 2-3 months, which means in the middle of March or April I might be running into some problems. If you feel so inclined, please shoot me an email (I'll list all my contact info below), a phone call, letter, etc. in the coming weeks to help me with this upcoming obstacle. I'm not anticipating any problems, but I know things happen, and live throws you for a loop. I'm more motivated now than I was when I started this journey, and that is something that has never happened. Thanks for the support!

Motivational song for the week:
"Right Now" by Van Halen (good lyrics!)