THANK YOU GUYS FOR YOUR INQUIRIES LAST NIGHT...

...(since I didn’t come straight home & update you guys…busy day!!) & for well wishes today…very heartwarming!

THANKS for all of your skinny vibes, love & support...it obviously worked, cuz YES, I REACHED 50.2 LBS YESTERDAY!!! (week 38)

Of course I was beside myself when I saw that number on the scale! My leader was ALMOST as thrilled as I was, she knew how much this meant to me!

I sat down & had the hardest time holding myself together...I'm sure everyone around me thought I had a rotten WI or something cuz I was blinking back the tears. I had to just "breathe....just breathe Julie" Whew!

Michelle did the awards at the end of the meeting & left me 2nd to last (there was a man who reached 75# yesterday!!! YEAH!). I think that being a part of GOAD makes us a different kind of meeting member, don't you? I mean, Michelle asks me questions cuz she knows how I feel about this whole thing & knows that I'm able to get the "reality" of this lifestyle across to these people (WHEN I can keep it together, anyway...I almost lost it several times when I was talking) in a way that will hopefully make them think about challenging themselves & the way they think about how they are dealing w/ this weight of theirs. Whereas, this man who has had this incredible 75# loss had very little to say.

It was great! The lady next to me reached over & rubbed my shoulder & said "Congratulations!". I just love it when people reach out to you like that... it seems to happen to me @ each meeting when I've lost another 5 lbs or reached a milestone...very personal...knowing that they want to make sure you made a personal connection w/ someone.

Anyways…I immediately called my DH when I got out of the meeting & balled…. then called my parents in Colorado…I was so excited!!

You guys know how I feel about this…this has been such an incredible journey for me… a truly life changing journey… different, cuz I’m 100% here, you know? I’ve figured out how to make this a life one that I can embrace as my own & be satisfied w/ it!

Having all of you here right beside me is such a vital part of it…you have helped me to reach way down deep inside of myself, to challenge myself everyday to do my best… to do what I know is right & to know that this is something that I CAN DO & to be PROUD!

I AM PROUD of myself & I thank you guys for being here for me & for eachother and for letting me be such a huge part of your lives as well!

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I have a few new NSVs (Non-Scale Victories)!

#1 - I now weigh LESS than what my Driver's License says....and I just renewed it in May! Why in the world I didn't lower my weight another 50 lbs or so is beyond me!! LOL!!

#2 - I have a good buddy on GoaD that has challenged me to start climbing a hill in my neighborhood that I had been avoiding up till about a month ago. My neighborhood is just a "boot shaped" street...a full mile round trip if I leave off the hill, which you could call the "heel" of this boot. (the hill adds another 1/10th mile) It's a cul-de-sac that goes down to the lake & the kids love to go down there & throw rocks...climbing it after playing down there for a while used to wind me really easily. Well...not only have I increased my walks from 2 miles @ 40 minutes up to 3 miles in an hour, but I have added this hill as well. I head straight to it when I start out...walk down & then back up it once, walk a 1/2 mile to the end of the neighborhood (the toe...another cul-de-sac) & back to the hill to walk it TWICE...then back to the "toe" & then to the hill to walk it THREE times (I walk down, then back up...reach the top & then turn right back around)... back to the "toe", then to the hill to walk it FOUR more times (ten times total) & then up to the other end of the neighborhood (the leg?) & back to my house...3 miles/1 hour. I was just walking the full neighborhood 3 times w/out doing the hill & that was kinda boring. This hill certainly breaks the walk up a bit...give me a challenge to be proud of & doesn't wind me or slow my pace down anymore!! Awesome, huh??

#3 - It's been a while since I took my measurements, but all of my NEW pants are getting really baggy...I even had to take a safety pin to the waist of my jeans the other day! (no belts in sight!)

...look @ these numbers...(I didn't take my measurements until I had been OP for 2 months & had already lost 9 lbs)

BODY PART...INCHES LOST LAST 2 MONTHS...TOTAL INCHES LOST SINCE MARCH 2003
Waist......1.5"......5.5"
Hips......2"......7.5"
Bust......1"......5"
Upper Arm......0"......1"
Wrist......0"......1/4"
Thigh......1/2"......2.5"
Calf......1/4"......1"
Ankle......0"......1"

If you guys haven't taken your measurements yet, or in a while, do so!! THIS is why I don't really worry about what the scale says...these measurements & my clothes are telling me the WHOLE story!! Yeah!

Okay…I think I’m done now! LOL!!

Thanks guys!!!

xoxxoxooo......Julie