A fresh new start!

Wow. It's been almost a year since I last posted here, and I know how pathetic that makes me look. I'm pretty ashamed of that, but don't we all need a fresh start every once in a while?

Here I am, March, 2008...on a new diet.

But somehow, this is different. I've tried (and failed) Weight Watchers six times now. I gave LA Weight Loss more money than I care to think about, and it worked, but it was so terribly strict that just living like a normal human made me gain back all the pounds I lost, plus many more. I couldn't possibly enumerate all the magazine diets, book diets, tv diets, and other things I've tried. It's insane.

This time, I went right to the doctor. I'm going to a bariatric specialist in Charlotte who knows what he's doing. It's a combination of diet, exercise, and medication that has me on the road to beating this issue about the head and neck and coming out the victor. I've already seen the results.

I began on February 13th, when I first went there. The number on the scale was enough to make my blood run cold, and I almost cried right there. But my sassy side took over, and I made the nurse laugh, then the doctor as well. He gave me my plan, my pills, and a "prescription" for a pedometer.

I went away that weekend to Tennessee to visit my friend Crystal, and I ate like a pig. That was it...as she called it, my "last meal and testament". It was all delicious, but of course, there's something more satisfying out there, and I knew that in my mind as I ate my last decadent meal.

So, I began on Monday morning, February 17th. I recounted the tale on my blog of how I didn't quite follow the diet instructions (always eat protein at breakfast), and the pills made me high as a kite. It was craziness. But I ate the way I was supposed to on Tuesday, Wednesday, and on through the weekend.

The next Monday when I got on the scale, I cried: I'd lost six pounds.

It continued into the next week, a few more pounds here, a few more there...until finally it came time to go back for my monthly appointment, which was on the 13th, and their scale read a number that made the nurse whoop with joy for me, and made me cry happy tears: I was 18 pounds lighter than at my last visit.

The doctor opened the door to my room yelling "Congratulations!", and expressed his pride at my hard work and the way it had paid off. I can't tell you how much that means to me.

He discussed the results of the blood tests that were taken the week before, and told me what I knew years ago, and was told by another doctor that I was crazy - I have Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. No wonder I have horrible pain every month...no wonder I have a friggin' beard...no wonder my acne is worse than it's ever been in my entire life. No wonder I haven't been able to lose weight no matter how hard I tried. Everything made sense.

He put me on a medication for that (it's called Yaz, and it rules), and gave me my new lifetime diet plan, which made me so happy. Instead of "bad" and "good" foods, he has it separated into "choose" and "avoid". That's real to me...this is not a "never" and "always" world, and we aren't programmed to live our entire lives without things we love and desire. Cookies aren't going to help my diet, but if I want one so badly I can't stand it, even after I've tried other routes to get rid of that hunger, darn it, I can eat that cookie. I just have to restrict my calories somewhere else. That's how it works...that's how I'll lose weight.

But you know, I haven't craved anything like that. I eat my stir-fried chicken and vegetables...snack on handfuls of almonds....and eat my yogurt like it's going out of style. And I don't mind at all what others are having. I have a singular focus in my heart and in my head, and I'm determined beyond reason to stay on this path.

Peeps, I've lost 24 pounds since February 17th. I have many, many more to lose, but I already feel a bounce in my step that wasn't there before. I've gone down almost two sizes in the last month, and my beautiful Easter dress was big on me in a size 22.

I'm getting my life back, one pound at a time. There is no stopping me this time, and I mean it - I'm held accountable by my friends, my family, two online communities, my coworkers, my doctor, and my own heart.

This is it. I'll make it this time. I'm already on my way.

(That's me on the left, with one of my closest friends...taken at Easter)