Welcome to my new Blogspot!!!!!

Hello there world!!!!!

This is not my first attempt at blogging, but I thought it was time I had an OFFICIAL blogspot to let the world know what I was doing. Granted, most people already know what I'm doing if they are my facebook friend. (I'm pretty good at keeping my status pretty well up to date) Anyway, I'm not going to be too open about what is EXACTLY going on in my world on here, but I will be sharing things that I feel people ought to know. I have a lot to say really. One thing that I really ought to be talking out more about is my recent weight loss. Many people have noticed and they keep asking me - "What are you doing?" and "How much have you lost?" etc. and well, here's the story...

So, up to about a year and a half ago, I weighed about 270 lbs. I had been this big for quite some time, and was maintaining pretty well. I had been 270 lbs throughout my mission, and also when I came home. I didn't see anything wrong with me really. I was pretty comfortable with who I was. (too comfortable) One day though, (and I can't even remember what spurred the thought) I started thinking about my future and about kids, and marriage and stuff, and I realized that if I really wanted to have healthy pregnancies and healthy kids, that I had to start focusing on getting my own self healthy. Plus, my parents were dealing with all kinds of health issues that were obesity and diet related which also encouraged me to want to make a change. So, I started with a cleanse (Isagenix) which my sister had been doing. I did one cycle of the cleanse - it was super expensive, but I found that I had lost 20 pounds after the cleanse and got myself down to 250 lbs. I was pretty impressed with this, but decided that I certainly could not keep up the cleanse as it was too expensive. Anyway, I maintained the 250 lbs for quite some time. I went on a trip to Scotland and came back (after eating their wretched fat encrusted diet at fast food and fish and chips places) I was at about 255. Pretty good really when you think about it. In January of 2007, I decided that it was time I got serious about exercise. I had been exercising off and on for a while, but not consistently. So, I started by going to the gym at the hospital every day after work. At first, I was doing 30 minutes of cardio and 3 times a week, doing weights, etc. I found that after a while this got pretty tiring. It was too much too soon, and my body was not impressed. Not to mention my mental well-being. So, I committed to stick to 30 minutes of cardio a day. It was doable. So, after work every day, I did 30 minutes of the Ellyptical (I chose the Ellyptical because of the low-impact effect of it) So, got used to that and pretty much made that my routine. Then, in the summer of 2007, I got interested in taking on new business opportunities - mainly because I needed extra income and the cost of living in this city is ridiculous. So, I found this one MLM type business - Herbalife, which I felt pretty good about getting involved in. I invested (a huge unmentionable number of funds) and started up the business. Well, I haven't done very well with it business wise (I'm no sales person), but since August 10th, I have been on the Herbalife products, and continuing with my exercise regime, and I have now lost almost 50 more pounds. Basically what's involved with the Herbalife plan is replacing 2 meals a day with their shakes; making sensible choices for your other meal of the day, and supplementing your diet with herbs which help to increase your metabolism. It's been ok overall, and for my busy lifestyle, it suits me fine. Anyway, from start to finish, I have now officially lost 65 pounds!!!!!!! I have 55 more to go before I get to my goal of 150. At the moment, my routine has increased up to 30 minutes of cardio 5 days a week, walks on my lunch breaks with co-workers, and at least 30 minutes of Yoga every night (7 days) before I go to bed. (that one's more for my mental and spiritual well-being, but it helps with muscle toning as well) So, I feel probably better than I ever have in my entire life. I feel like a whole new person, and I'm really happy about it. I've always wondered what the person underneath all the excess fat was like, and I kind of like her. So, that - my friends is the story about the weight loss. I will continue, and keep you posted about my progress over the next year as I continue to lose weight and increase my well-being overall. Let me know if I can help any of you with your goals.