Jennifer Hudson was right...

It's a new dawn, it's a new day, and I'm feelin' good!

I have debated, heavily, on whether or not I would blog about this, put it out in the open, or tell many people. The reality is, most of the people who read this here blog already know the details of this post. So, I figure why not!?

I can't remember a time in my life when I wasn't "bigger" than the other girls. As with all girls, I have my days when I say, "I'm fat!" mainly due to hormones and emotions. The reality is, I'm not fat. I'm not skinny. But I'm not fat either. To go further, just because I am not "fat" doesn't mean I don't need to get some things under control while I am still young. There are benefits to still being a baby. :)

I have never dieted. I have never tried Atkins... I'm Portuguese, we eat Bread with every meal, it would never work. Jenny Craig is too rich for my blood and I hate the taste of lean cuisines and I imagine that is how all of the meals taste. MediFast wouldn't work for me because I actually like to eat. More than all of those reasons, I knew that none of them would work for me because I knew that the minute I started eating real food again, I would gain it all right back, and then some.

At the beginning of January, I decided to start keeping a food journal with the calorie totals. I simply wanted to know what it is that I consumed and just how much I ate. WOW! Talk about a wake-up call. Wow. Needless to say, as my eyes began to open wider and wider the desire grew stronger to change, to REALLY change.

On January 26th, I attended my first WeightWatchers meeting. I weighed in and started the long journey ahead of me. I wasn't shocked by the number that popped up on the scale. In fact, I was very aware of what I weighed in at, which I think helped all the more in this process.

I went to my second meeting, and first weigh in since starting the program on Wednesday and have already lost 2.4 pounds. I know what you may be thinking, "all of that work for just 2.4 pounds?!?!" Trust me, I thought the same thing, but then I took a step back and remembered that this isn't a diet, this isn't a program for me to lose weight before a wedding or vacation. This is the real deal. Learning to think before eating. Learning to be active daily. This is a lifestyle.

I am so fortunate as to have the BEST support system even outside of the meetings. I have friends who have been successful on the program, losing weight and keeping it off. I have friends who have never done the program but who support me 110%.

If I can do this, ANYONE can. I have a long road ahead of me, but I KNOW that I will stand on the other side so proud of how far I have come. Some people have asked me why I am doing this... The answer I give them is: I don't want to be fat on my wedding day. No, I am not engaged, which means I have lots of time to do this. :)