First is the worst, Second is the best

Third is the one with the hairy chest?

I'd like to think of myself as technologically savvy, more than the average Internet user. But I don't know a damn thing about blogs. I used to really hate them, but I think this is going to be a good choice. I mean where else can to be completely honest but anonymously on the Internet? And that's the plan. Besides losing weight, that is.

When I was in middle school, my grandmother asked me one day what my usual lunch consisted of. I told her, generally speaking, it was french fries. I thought she was going to have a heart attack. From then on, nearly every time we would visit, she would ask me what I was eating. Since then, I would say that my eating habits have changed, some for the better, some for the worse. I stopped eating french fries every day, but I'm still certainly not making good choices.

Like Sarah, things changed for me when I got to college. I certainly wasn't a skinny minny before that, but learning that a shot of vodka has 100 calories certainly didn't deter me from taking (too) many. There was certainly some fluctuation in my weight throughout college, but it was always a span of about 15 pounds, and that's still 20 more than I had graduated high school with.

Fast forward 4 years to August 2008 when my grandmother passed away. Then 8 months later I lost my mom. And I self-medicated my depression with Spicy Nacho Doritos. I was eating my feelings in the absolute worst possible way. And I didn't care. And all those bags turned into an extra 25 pounds I've put on. I knew that when a pair of jeans that has usually fit poorly because they were too big began to fit poorly because they were too small, I was in serious trouble.

And so here I am now. And my goal now is to be one of those people who say "I look better than I did in high school!" Because Lord knows I didn't look good then. And when I reach this goal, I'll be lower than my weight back then. I've never really committed to a diet. I've done that whole going to the gym thing, and tried to watch what I eat, but rarely do those things happen at the same time, and never have they happened with the support and companionship of someone else.

On Day One today, I resisted every urge I had to walk over to the Demo Table at work and snack. And I had a salad for lunch. And a "salad" for dinner. It was more of a mishmash of veggies that I like, with some tuna thrown in for good measure and protein. Not bad for a first day. I'm proud right now. I know that this isn't going to be perfect, and I know that those Doritos and shots of vodka are going to come back to haunt me, but I'm okay with that. If you can make enough good choices to override the small missteps, that's what really counts.

To sum it all up, I'm pumped. I feel really good about this. Great success.