This is who I was when I first started writing this blog.

On July 24, 2011, I got a wake-up call.  My check-up appointment ended with me sitting in the office until my blood pressure came down.  I had never had high blood pressure before.  It caused me  to take a hard look at my life.   Clearly, some changes were in order.

I changed jobs and began a weight reduction diet.  The truth is, I didn’t really expect that diet to go any further than the 700 before it had; but, I was approaching menopause and had to give it at least a nominal effort.  I began to eat cleaner and closer to the source.  Weight fell off.  I lost the first 20 pounds within  month and a half.  A great deal of that was water, but I was happy to take it.  All totaled, I lost between 80 and 90 pounds.  I went from a size 20 to a size 6.  I felt fantastic.  Then I hurt my knee and lost my job.

During recuperation, I gained about 10 pounds.  That’s not too awful.   During my unemployment, however, I packed on another 20.  That IS too awful.

When I lost weight initially, friends and family asked a lot of questions about what I was doing and why.  The encouraged me to blog about the  journey.  Obviously, I didn’t do that.  However, since I now have 30 pounds to lose, with the encouragement of friends, I decided to blog about it this time.  I will share my victories, my defeats, my frustrations, my methods, my questions and I sincerely hope that you share all of those things, as well.

That diet ultimately DID go better than the 700 before it, I believe, because I used tools that shared my progress using social media.   My friends and family cheered me on, offered encouragement, and kept me accountable.  I lost weight because I had their help. Selfishly, I’m asking for it from them again; however ,this time, I want to use this vehicle to help others, as well.

I am not a doctor, a nutritionist, a dietician or a personal trainer.  I share with you my own personal experience and only what worked for me.  Consult your doctor before beginning any diet or exercise program.

Who I am today.

Y’all, I ain’t gotta clue. Lawd, ha’ mercy.

Okay, so that’s a super Southern way of saying that I have changed a great deal in the past five years (as we all have, I’m sure). Some days I know precisely who I am and some days, I’m a little lost. On all days, I struggle to be better than I was the day before and, sometimes, I am.