Welcome! Yes, and good work on the seven pounds. That's awesome.

You sound alot like me Jen. I am not following a diet plan but am eating healthier and am very careful about portion size. good luck and congrats on your weight loss!

Thanks everyone. It's actually now at 10 pounds. This rapid weight loss in the beginning is crazy, wow is it motivational. lol I think the extra burst was that I didn't eat much of anything yesterday (not to deprive myself, but b/c I was so busy I just wasn't thinking about eating - and not thinking about it in itself feels like an accomplishment - I had to actually force myself to eat for once lol). I also did an extra long workout. I've been tending to do about an hour a day the last few days even though my goal is only 30-50 minutes. As long as my body's OK with that, I'll probably stick to it. Having a dog to take out on the walks certainly helps... she insists that I keep going. lol

As for Zappos, I've used them before without much luck. Apparently I have very fussy feet. lol I tend to have to make two or so returns before I find well-fitting shoes that way, and I'm incredibly impatient. lol I haven't tried them for sneakers, so maybe next time... can't hurt, right? Mine are doing a little better now. I've started wearing an extra pair of thin socks under my normal workout socks, and it's made a huge difference in the comfort level. And I added the arch supports which seems to be helping. I'm not getting the shin pain I was getting before then.

And Trazey, I completely agree with you. Those ten pound increments are what keep me going. There's no better feeling for me (other than maybe dropping a size lol) than when I break from one group to the next - just getting out of the 290s felt awesome. As of this morning, I'm at 287.8lbs, going strong, and feeling like I could keep doing this forever. The extra energy is just fantastic. Makes me wonder why I ever stopped the last time!

Congratulations on your 1st 10!