My journey begins

I teased ya'll on Facebook last week about a journey I was ready to begin. Actually I already started it, but a had a hell of a time setting this Blogspot up! I don't remember it being this difficult :(

I posted 29 days ago that I had quit smoking after many, many years. The response from my friends was overwhelmingly positive and supportive that I'm going to throw my weight loss journey out there. Suffice it to say, I have been fighting this fight for longer than I care to admit, each time losing weight successfully, but never keeping it off.

When I've embarked on a "diet", some of my more idiotic friends said things like:
Don't gain it back this time      or
Haven't you tried (WW, JC, NS, etc...) before?   or
You looked so good when you'd lost all that weight last time       or 
(My personal favorite)
You're so beautiful....(knowing they're actually thinking--too bad you're overweight)
I've heard it all.

Six weeks ago, my friend Judy Hull invited me to a meeting about some vitamins. I thought "Dear gawd--how am I going to get out of this without hurting her feelings?"
So of course I agreed to go, rather than disappoint her. (She has become my surrogate mom since Sally's passing)
All that aside, I was so impressed by this, after much research, I signed up for these vitamins. It's a multi-level marketing operation (I know---ooooooooo---MLM--- Brings shivers upon remembering the '80s when your "friend" would invite you over to watch a "video" and it turned out to be the cult known as Amway----ugh---but some of those f-ers were rich as sh(*!) Anyhoo......
Judy had given me some samples of their basic Anti Oxidant vitamins and when I took them, about 30 minutes later, I felt "different". Not amazing, or full of energy, just different--in a good way. The "vitamin" people had said you would feel something right away--i thought they were full of hooey. I felt this way all day! Amy Ringer called me about 3:30 that day, and when I answered the phone she said" What are you doing up? I was just going to leave you a message."  You see, I have had a "sinker" about 3:00 every day for as long as I can remember, and am usually napping at this time.
I told her I had taken these vitamins and I felt good. Again, not amazing or life changingly fantastic, just GOOD. 
She was of course very skeptical. (and still is) The next day, and the next I took the vitamins and still felt GOOD. More focused. Clearer. After I ran out of the 5 day supply, I went a couple of days without taking them. I didn't fall completely into the way I'd felt before, but could certainly feel a difference! Thank God my package came and I had a new supply of A/O!! I don't want to go a day without them again!
Along with the A/O vitamins came the Lean Extreme. Four little pills with all kinds of ingredients. Judy's daughter, Jennifer was taking these and had lost 2 dress sizes. That was what REALLY caught my attention about this. 
So let's back up about 3 months--I had looked into Lap Band Surgery and was seriously thinking about undergoing this drastic solution. Being the weenie that I am, I kept putting it off and putting it off.....I had tried every plan known to mankind and was still fat. I didn't want to go under the knife, but thought I had no other choice. Until.......
www.truestar.com 
Hence, the journey. I will post pictures soon chronicling all this--I'm just not ready to put them out there. My sister says I have to take these pictures with my bra and yoga pants only. She is crazy. I will find something "snug" to wear, but you all aren't ready for that. And I'm not on The Biggest Loser vying for a million dollars. I'm not even sure a million dollars would be enough for me to post a bra shot of myself right now. 
I am going to post about my successes, failures, struggles and victories. Maybe every day for a while, but definitely once a week.  When I was blogging about The Dish Diva cookbooks, I felt like I had to be insanely clever every time. Way too much pressure. I can be insanely clever--just not ALL the damn time...:) 
I started taking Lean Extreme on Monday July 29th, 2013. So far I have lost 3% of my goal. 
The actual # of pounds, will be posted at a later date--for now, percentages will have to do.
I hope those of you who choose to follow me will gain something from this. Even if it's one little thing, or I made you chuckle, it will be totally worth while. But I am doing this for myself this time. No one else. 
TTFN