Instead of spending $150 on getting this product directly from the company, I’ve bid for it on eBay just so I can get started with this program.  I was unable to locate it anywhere else for a reasonable price and as of right now I’m winning with my bid for $30 on one just posted on eBay this afternoon.  I know it’s no where near what this person spent for it but I’m certain the only reason they’re getting rid of it is because they were unsuccessful at following the program the way it’s laid out for you.

I’ve done a lot of reading, and even joined a forum or two and I’m confident that this program will get me down to my goal weight.  It offers just about everything I need in regards to recipes and exercise so I’ll be able to continue with my already extraordinary weight loss and move full speed ahead to the body I’ve always wanted.

A few people (in real life) have asked me why I’m only going down to a certain weight and I’ve explained to them time and time again that I’m not looking to be a skinny-minnie movie star, I’m looking to be healthy.  I’ve never been a small girl, and I never will be.  While many would consider 150 lbs. to be “fat” I consider it to be the ultimate goal.  I’ll still have some meat on my body, the way nature intended and I’ll be more comfortable in my own skin because there won’t be so much of it.  It has a lot to do with self esteem and I honestly don’t know one person who can say that at 250 lbs. they’re completely comfortable with who they are.  Unless of course they’ve weighed much more than that at one point and time and are working their way down from their highest documented weight.

I’m by no means saying that someone being 250+ lbs. is wrong.  What I’m saying is that it’s wrong for me. So far I’ve lost 60 pounds, bringing me down to the 200lb mark that I haven’t seen since high school.  It’s a great accomplishment for me and losing another 50 pounds to get down to where I truly feel I need to be is something I need to do for myself.  I don’t look down upon anyone at any weight.  I know that no matter what weight you are you’re no where near content with yourself.  Most are looking to be anorexic thin, others want to be toned, some just want to wear a good pair of jeans for once in their life.  No one will ever truly be content with their body and I can honestly say that I don’t know what 150 lbs. is going to be like for me.  Physically speaking I know that it’s an ideal weight for me, especially considering the size of my head (I don’t want to look like a balloon, you know?)  I just think anything smaller, for my body type would look ridiculous.  So what’s the fix?  Get down to where you feel you’ll be comfortable and go from there.  Hell, by the time I reach 180 I may be completely content with myself.  I just know that as of right now 150 is a reachable goal, from my current 200 lb mark to my goal of 150, I may stop along the way and just step back and enjoy the fact that I’ve lost the amount of weight I have and I should be nothing more than proud of myself, and content with how things are going for me.

My life is more enjoyable now.  Clothes feel better, my self esteem has dramatically gone up, as has my energy level and even my relationship with Sean has improved.  What could be better than that?

It’s been a while since I posted here, mainly because the rush of the Holiday Season had my full attention.  It’s now January 1st and it’s been almost one month since I’ve last said anything here about weight loss, dieting, and life in general.  This doesn’t mean I haven’t been busy!

My resolutions are the pretty common ones.  I’m continuing with my diet, stepping it up a notch by going onto an actual plan.  I’m unsure if I’m going to take the route of Weight Watchers or the Micheal Thurmond Six Week Body Makeover, but I do fully intend to take the bull by the horns and get myself onto a set program for even better results.  I’m now 50 pounds lighter than when I started my diet, which was no easy task in six months but I’ve accomplished every one of my goals through dicipline and a complete lifestyle change.

The only thing I haven’t changed is my smoking habit.  I’ve been a pack-a-day smoker for quite some time now and I honestly can not handle it anymore.  I run slower because I can’t catch my breath, no matter how many showers I happen to take during the day I still reek of smoke because it’s the first thing I do when I step outside, even if it’s just to dump the garbage.  I purchased ‘Quit smoking the easy way’ a book that has been around for 20 years and I’m confident that if I follow the methods I’ll not only be thin thanks to my diet, but a non-smoker.

Another resolution added to my list is school.  I’ve decided to go to DeVry.  Sean is helping me with the financial aid forms so that I can insure full financial aid.  I’m under the age of 25 and I’m no longer living with my father.  The only job on the books that I have at the moment is paid blogging and other odd-and-end jobs here and there that I work on the side, so figure I’m only making about $12,000 a year.  That’s no where near enough money to fund school and living - so hopefully I’ll get the financial help.  I’ve been paying taxes for years, the least the government can do is give me something back for it - you know?

The day after Christmas I headed down to the DMV, I’m officially a Delaware resident and almost as soon as I get my license down here Sean wants to move up to New Jersey because it’s the half-way point between our families.  I’m not sure of how much I like the idea but I’m sure we’ll talk about it a bit more over time anyway.

I’m currently up in New York for the holidays.  We came up here on the 29th and I think we’re going to extend our stay for a few extra days.  Originally I was only coming up until Friday but I’m hoping to at least finish out the weekend and leave on Monday.  Sean doesn’t seem to mind so I guess that’s all that matters.

On Monday Sean and I were up in New York picking up the loan check and I have to say that now that the money is sitting in our account we’re antsy as heck to get out of here. My diet slipped a bit this week, but I’ve been doing well on my portion control up until Monday evening. It was my birthday, we went up to Bertucci’s because it’s one of my favorite restaurants up there.

I did good on not inhaling the bread the way I used to, anyone knows that fresh baked Italian bread right out of the oven is the best stuff in the world. I picked up the Baked Tortellini & Chicken Gratinati which has Tri-colored cheese tortellini with grilled chicken, cream, ricotta, mozzarella and Romano, brick oven-baked and sprinkled with diced plum tomatoes. It’s a high-carb meal, but highly recommended if you’re really going to CHEAT on your diet. Don’t inhale that bag of chips, spend $12.50 and pick this meal up. If you’re used to the portion control then you’ll obviously be able to save it for two more meals the way I did. I had some of the left overs for lunch yesterday because I was starving and that was really the only thing in the house. I also had a slice of pizza for dinner before we left, but who can seriously come back to New York after being born and raised there and NOT pick up a slice of real pizza? Seriously now!

Minus that little cheat, I’ve been doing very well. Sean and I are going to be making the move to Ohio over the course of the next couple weeks so we’re probably going to be picking up some kind of fast food just to throw in our stomachs but I know that a grilled chicken salad with no dressing and a bottle water is just fine for me to be comfortable. I’ve also loaded up on quite a few different brands of the to-go packs, mainly oat bars but I did get the 100 calorie packs of Doritos, I can’t ever finish them in one sitting so it’s not like I’m cheating too much.

Sean saw an infomercial for Micheal Thermond the other night and I think he’s going to pick it up.  I’ve done well on losing the weight by myself at this point but I think going on a set plan will bring in even better results for me.  It’s a customizable plan to fit your body type and it includes recipes, exercise and other lifestyle changes that many people have trouble adapting too.

I like that half of the clothes in my closet don’t fit me anymore, it’s such a cool feeling.

An unexpected October heat wave came through Delaware this past week.  While I was still able to accomplish all of my daily routines, this doesn’t mean I was happy about it.  It’s a myth that you lose more weight in the summer than you do in the fall.  I understand that sweating more is good for you but when you’re already feeling dehydrated due to a recent illness, you’re not exactly looking forward to your usual exercise routines.  I’m still doing a few miles a day on the walking front.  I will say that I’m not going as far as I used to based on the fact that I haven’t been feeling very well, but I’m still eating right and I guess that’s all that matters.  I’ve managed to master an 800 calorie diet, and I’m still working hard on losing about 1000 calories a day.  My water intake has gone up, my crystal light intake has gone down.  While I love the flavors, the plain water is equally as tasty for me now that I’ve found a brand of water that I’m content with.  Deer Park has the best taste out of all of the water I’ve been consuming over the course of the last few months.  I’m down another couple of pounds, I’ll get around to updating the sidebar sometime soon.

Guess I should get myself ready for bed.  I’m a few hours behind on my schedule but I’ll make up for it tomorrow I’m sure.

Recently, Sean and I purchased a Wii and before I even knew what hit me I was up and moving around in ways that I hadn’t in quite some time. By default the console comes with 5 sports games, I spent most of last night Boxing to work off a lot of aggression and apparently 2 more pounds as of this mornings weigh in. It’s been almost a week since my last weigh in but something today told me that I needed to hop on the scale and validate that feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Knowing full well that the Wii can’t give me everything I was looking for, I’ve been poking around the net looking for exercise equipment and came across fitness-superstore.co.uk. They have everything from rowing machines to elliptical cross trainers and exercise bikes. Everything is reasonably priced, based on a trusty currency converter so I could see what the US based prices would be. I would love to own an exercise bike though, considering the very long walks I’m sure my legs can handle an hour or so a day on a bike.

For a while now I’ve been waiting on the main office of the community to get the club house up and running. They’ve been telling the residents for the last two years that they were going to have both the gym and the pool setup by early 2007. That came and went. The club house is standing, the hole for the pool has been dug out and even some parts of it are completed as far as laying cement is concerned but now there’s a notice telling us that we can take our community card and go to their sibling community just to use their pool. However, we’re still unable to get into the club house to use the equipment. It’s not even in there at the moment though so that makes the building completely useless to us.

This is why Sean and I spend so much time walking because joining a gym in a resort community is just priced way too high for us and at the same time, there aren’t any major fitness chains surrounding us either. I wouldn’t mind Bally’s or even Jenny Craig for that matter. Both of those chains have a pretty major following, minus the fact that they’re rather pricey as well.

But, I’ve been doing very well with just food portions and exercise. I am considering purchasing an exercise bike though, I just need to figure out where exactly I plan on placing it. The house is loaded up enough as is. I know I’m marrying him and all but would it be wrong to get rid of his side of the office so I could put in a small gym there? heh.