Hey girl! You're looking fantastic! I'm so proud of you.

(long post coming- brace yourself)
As for me, I'm turning over a new leaf again - good thing there are a lot of them on the ground right now!

I finally took the plunge and joined a gym, complete with some personal training sessions, metabolic analysis, etc. I have my first training session tonight and spent a whole 45 minutes on the treadmill. Yay me!

My best friend already has a membership at the same club and has lost around 115 lbs, and he's thrilled to have a workout buddy to keep inspired. This could be a great thing!

I don't know if I'll still be LC'ing (depends on what my trainer and I come up with) but I'd still like to be part of the team. Will you keep me???

My big inspiration? Two visits with my elder sister who's easily 150 to 200 lbs heavier than me and is getting incapacitated by her size and condition. I can't afford to be in her place in 8 years - sores on her legs, shoulder and back problems, foot problems, no endurance to even walk around. It was a good dose of reality for me of what's to come if I keep sitting on my bum and bingeing in front of the TV.

So, here's the beginning of my list of reasons to do it and stick with it this time:
- I want to be able to go dancing for hours on end
- I'm 38, and I want to have a partner, kids, etc (let's face it, the clock's ticking and I want to pick and choose who I want without settling because I don't think I can do better at my size)
- I want to fit into an airline seat, chairs, aisles in the store, etc etc etc
- I want to be able to take long walks without foot, back or knee pain
- I want to be able to climb stairs without getting winded or grabbing the rail for dear life
- I want to look and feel HOT (I've been avoiding s*x for almost 2 years because I don't want to be seen naked)
- I hate the flap of belly hanging over my "parts" (sorry - that's probably too much info)
-I don't want to be any bigger!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- no more shapers, girdles, etc!
- I want my pants to fall off my butt again, so I can start shopping for littler things instead of bigger things
- I want my feet to feel good
- I want to know that I'm doing something to care for myself!

If you've made it this far, I'm so proud of you - thanks for letting me blab on forever!

Hugs to whoever's left of our little bedraggled team!

Donna