An exciting announcement

Good morning! I'd like to introduce to you the new and improving Jennifer!

As most of you know or can guess, I have struggled with my weight all of my life. I can even remember the day I became aware of my size: it was in the kindergarten girls' bathroom and a classmate told me I looked pregnant. I was devastated.

I have always been tall and proud and I used to "carry" my weight pretty well....until I had two kids in two years....and until I turned 35.... I have tried Weight Watchers 3 times and I have started/stopped "diets" more times than I can count. Even still, I don't consider myself a "yo-yo" dieter because the most I have ever lost was 23 pounds and that was just last year! I am a terrible "dieter" because, frankly, eating is fun to me. I like to have fun and I like to eat! Being from Louisiana, I grew up thinking that celebrating and eating go hand-in-hand or, in my case, hand-in-mouth, and it is very hard for me to break that thinking pattern.

So...this past Tuesday night I decided to do something about it; to stop all of the complaining and self-loathing and to simply "pull up my big-girl panties" and do it. I am now the new spokesperson for Jenny Craig! Okay, I'm not really the new spokesperson but I am a client. Some of you may know that my degree is in Food and Nutrition. So, I should know what to do to lose weight and get healthy...but that obviously doesn't mean I do it. I, like many others, simply want to be told what to eat and Jenny Craig does that for me. I just look at my menu for the week, grab my food, and eat it!

Yesterday was my first day on my road to success. I woke up ready to get started and didn't have the usual "ugh, I'm on a diet today...misery, here I come" feeling. And guess what! I didn't have those misery feelings all day! Usually, when I start a diet, I'm ready to quiet by lunchtime. This time, though, it was no big deal. I ate what I was supposed to eat...when I started to feel hungry (which, surprisingly, was about 3 hours later, not 3 minutes later), I ate again, and so on and so on. I felt great all day...I had energy, I didn't need to take a nap, and I was in a good mood! Very impressive for a first day of "dieting." I realize I need to stop using that word because it implies that this is a temporary thing and, Lord, please don't let it be a temporary thing! I truly want this to work. I want this to be a life-style change. I know it won't always be this easy. I will have to face eating out, eating with friends, parties, HOLIDAYS, etc. But I am hoping and seriously praying that I can do this and succeed.

This blog will help me stay accountable, for sure. I thought about keeping my JC client status a secret and then surprising everyone with my new svelte figure later on but, then I realized, that I need your help and support to keep me focused and encouraged. And, if I can help any of you by writing about this, that is awesome, too. In fact, I have 2 coupons for 50% off a JC membership for a family member or friend that expire sometime in October...if you want one, let me know and it is yours!

My goal is to lose 62 pounds but if I get anywhere close to that I will be ecstatic. I realized last night that my 36th birthday is 6 months away. What a great birthday present to myself: to be healthy and happy with myself. I can't wait to see how close to my goal I am in 6 months!

Day #2 is beginning and I need some breakfast! Have a great day, Everyone!