JUST WANTED TO SAY HI...

Hi Mary Jo~ It was so great to see you post again, it seems like it's been a long time!! Sorry to hear about the tough times...money issues are such a drag, let alone an injury to your daughter. I'm so happy for you for you reaching your weight loss goal. Just make sure you are eating enough. I think we have to work as diligently on that as we did on losing the weight itself. It doesn't take long for health issues to arise when we aren't taking care of ourselves, and sometimes even when we are!! I look forward to reaching that stage, but I still have about 38 lbs. to go to be where I want. Life for me has been crazy~ I just got back from Oregon a couple of days ago after going to my 20 year high school reunion. The greatest compliment people kept saying was that I look just like I did in high school. Most of them never saw me heavy, since I didn't really gain weight until I was in my late years of college. Boy, if they only knew!! My reunion was after a previous family reunion and church reunion, all on consecutive Saturdays, so I'm kinda pooped. Hubby and I celebrated my birthday yesterday, with a party planned for Sunday. I think I'll just be glad when all is over so that I can finally rest for a little while. Congratulations again on your successes~ you have accomplished soooo much over the course of this last year! Keep your chin up... I'm praying that the perfect job will come your way soon! Hugs, Kerri

Hi Mary Jo and the rest of my fellow Junebugs! I'm glad to get an update on yall and see the honesty in all our posts. This journey is so worth it, but as we all know, its not easy! I'm doing well. I had a little speed bump in April and May in that I kept losing and gaining the same pound, maintaining about a 142-143 pound loss. I finally went in for a fill in Mid-May and while it was aggressive, it dropped me to the 150 pound mark by Memorial Day. I've spent my summer being very active, riding my Vespa motorscooter an average of 200 miles a week. I've walked from 30-60 minutes almost every day during my lunch hour at work, and every weekend day that is nice I spend 3-4 hours at my health club's outdoor pool, doing a routine of 20 minutes of swimming followed by 30 minutes of laying out and relaxing. It has exponentially boosted my weight loss - I'm now down 179 pounds! I'm getting really nervy-wearing shimmel tops once away from my office so I get the full sun benefit from my lunchtime walks. I have lots of loose skin under my arms but I'm trying to make peace with it - this is for me, not anyone else! I seem to be in this continually euphoric phase...I'm so happy, I exude confidence, and I get such a boost from being friendly and "out there" in the world. This is not always easy for my close friends and family who haven't quite caught up with the "new me." I wrote last week about some sabotage from a really close friend. I'm finding girlfriends telling me I'm too "Sex in the City" because my clothes are too tight (well dang, don't we all know about the weight loss clothes depreciation factor and ya gotta get new clothing tight to extend its wearing time???!!!), and telling me I'm trying to pick up men because I'm saying "hi" to them and being friendly. So I'm getting mileage out of sharing my feel good karma with others - sue me! Finding my way and adjusting to the attention I'm getting, from men and otherwise, is really difficult. I walk into Walgreen's mid-morning on a weekday and turn heads. I am learning to accept compliments graciously, but I still have days when I look in the mirror and see myself as 400 pounds. Then I have days when I don't recognize myself! I've said it all along - the weight loss is a great bonus, but to really be successful long-term, you gotta lose the "fat head." And I'm working on it - while enjoying life! Yours in 179 pounds down, Jen