Good morning everyone.

Major happy news for me - I've reached my high school weight of 135 lbs. MAJOR GOAL. Part of me would love to lose more but I have to be very, very careful right now because of my emotions that I eat all my meals. Yesterday I was in grieving mode and could hardly eat and threw up dinner. I cried and it felt great. It took me 2 years to really grieve at 21 when my Dad died. I drank heavily and lost a dramatic amount of weight for many reasons - some of them wrong.

So now I'm switching to slowing down the weight loss and focusing on maintenance / health eating. I will let MY BODY determine where it wants to settle now. I could lose another 10-15 pounds but I'm not 21 anymore. At 5'3" this is a healthy weight. Not skinny, not fat - healthy. When I was good in my 20's I maintained 128 in the military. It's a future goal that I'd love to hit but with more exercise not food.

The major factor at any time in my life when I followed the advice of a dietitian for 2 years in the military diabetic clinic was the drinking of water, incorporating 3 fruit and 3 veggie service and watching how much bread/carbs I ate during the day. Bread/carbs is my comfort food - cereals especially. It was suggested I replace that with fruit like apples, peaches, plums etc. That made a huge difference having a mid-morning fruit snack and in the afternoon. Sometimes a couple of crackers with peanut butter if I was run down or tired to sustain me. Water really is a catalyst to let your body shift pounds, fat and reshape yourself.

I'm going to rename the detox diet to the Gag Diet. Man that first day sucked. But, I'd do it again every once in awhile because I have had more compliments from friends on my skin and overall appearance in my face it's unreal. I still can't believe I the red veins in my eyes have shrunk. Has to be the food. I've also made a conscious decision to spend the $9 on a big bottle of liquid Stevia (health food store) natural sweetener and get off all artificial sweeteners when possible. I am seriously wondering over the years if they have contributed to my overall not feeling well.

So excuse me while I happy dance all over this board today!!!!

I could not have reach this goal without your continued support and wonderful friendship. You have all made a difference in my life so much I will continue to post here all the time because I am now working on lifelong healthy living strategies. I deserve to take better care of myself inside and out - you help me with that. I love all of you and hope I can return the support you have given me.

WE can all do this together. If it's not the right time for you to lose weight for any reason I can personally tell you it is the right time to take care of yourself with healthy eating. Don't deny yourself any pleasure just try to remember portion sizes and

LOVE YOURSELF

By loving yourself first and not blaming yourself the rest will be easy. Love yourself so you can love others with east.

That's what I am working on this week. LOVE MYSELF

C'mon and join me - LOVE YOURSELF

Say this with me - I LOVE MYSELF

Make today count. We are all special and have many gifts to offer each other. Friendship is sacred. We can do this by continuing to share our journey together. Don't sweat the small stuff!

LOL

Peggy