So i got on the scale this afternoon at Curves expecting to be heavier because of the time of the day and was very pleasantly surprised to see that i was under 180-179 1/2to be exact. So i've lost about 10 lbs and this is a big deal for me because i've never before this attempt, been able to sustain any kind of weight loss program that focused on changing my eating.

Using calorie counting and just cutting 500 calories per day from what i've figured it takes to sustain my weight is working!! It's slow going as i don't do that perfectly and sometimes just chuck the plan for part of a day or a whole day or sometimes a couple of days, but i keep returning to the basic principle of limiting my calories and eating more veggies, measuring my portions, etc.

Some things i've noticed. I fit more comfortably into some shorts i have, fit into a pair of pants i haven't been able to fit into for some time, my fingernails are stronger, I drink diet coke only very occasionally and regular coke less so and don't even enjoy coke as much when i do have it, i haven't been to mcdonald's in months and miss it only occasionally only a bit, but the gratification of eating a mcd's breakfast sandwich doesn't even begin to make it worth going back up this path i've started down to go back down the junkfood path-very exciting stuff!! And i'm finding i like the taste of whole wheat bread and the taste and texture of whole wheat pasta and 1 T of dressing on a big salad is enough and tastes good!!

I also have days when i just want to eat and eat and i'm learning how to cope with those days. I'm not super strict w/myself and as a result my rate of weight loss will be slower but hopefully also something i'll be able to sustain long term.

So whoo Hoo

Congratulations! That's a huge step! Keep up the good work!

Congratulations, Ailey. It looks like you have it all together as far as planning. Better yet, it's working for you. Keep up the good job.