This is an adventure

Okay, so here I am! This seems like the millionth diet I have been on, but in truth all the other diets I tried have failed pretty much before they really started doing anything for me. But there's a big difference here. Bikini Bound has offered to be my cheerleader, coach, and diet guru. I tell her what I eat every day, what I've done for exercise, and she gives me goals and gently chides me when I mess up. Having someone to report too is making a HUGE difference in how I view this diet.

There are several reasons I have always given up before. One, I hate vegetables. Yup. Hates them. I can eat potatoes and corn! (Starch) and carrots. I can eat romaine lettuce. Anything else makes my taste buds cry pathetically. So I am trying really hard to get past that. I know one of the biggest keys to living healthy and losing weight is vegetables. So that's gonna be a challenge.

I also have rheumatoid arthritis, which makes exercising challenging. I cannot get down on the floor. I have frozen shoulder on my left arm. I have severe knee issues. I also take Prednisone (a steroid) so that I can live relatively pain free, but that comes with a hefty price. Steroids make you gain weight. So I have to work extra hard and watch what I eat so much more carefully. I am finding that I really like working out at Curves. Right now I am on a three time a week schedule, and it's going really well! Hopefully I can notch that up to 4x a week soon, but I don't want to push it and hurt myself and be back down where I was, not exercising at ALL because of RA pain. But I'm discovering (much to my surprise) that I LIKE to exercise there. And with the weather here in Massachusetts getting more and more Spring-like, I think it will be nice to walk outside soon.

And here's the kicker... A year ago (May 8th, 2007), I had laproscopic banding surgery. To tell you the whole sordid, disgusting, and disappointing story would take hours and lots of typing and painful memories to recount. If you feel up to it, go check out www.livejournal.com/thefutureamy . Otherwise, just know that I was supposed to have the gastric bypass. For medical reasons, I couldn't. So I had the banding instead. It's failed. I had lost 30 pounds prior to the surgery. I have gained it all back.

I started this diet on March 15th. I weighed 232 pounds (or at least, that is what the scale at home said). I now weigh 224. On October 12, 2008, my best friend Tess is getting married. I am the maid of honor. I REFUSE to look like a beached whale in teal chiffon. I refuse to have a double chin. I refuse to panic because the dress she wants doesn't come in my size. I am going to get to my goal weight, and on the way there, I will end up looking beautiful in my dress at the wedding.

Yes I can do this.