I am happy to report that I have just broken the 160 mark - 159.6. In October, 2006 I decided that 193 was fat on me for my 5'4" frame, and that I was going to do something about it. Seeing women who were not 'skinny' but looked good in their clothes, I would say to myself, "Why weren't you satisfied when you were that size?" If there was one thing that really made me realize it and prompted me to take action was walking into the grocery store to buy ice cream. I was ashamed to buy it - I was fat and buying ice cream. No, I didn't buy it. I started by trying to cut back - eat A cookie instead of half a pack, or a FEW chips instead of half a bag, a CUP of ice cream instead of three!

When I started to notice a difference I created the Ticker on my CQ blog, starting at 190. Even through the holidays I was able to lose a few more pounds. On December 4 (178.6) a new sub-group of the CQ for Newbies was established by Susan N called Stash 4 Pounds where we have a monthly 'official' weigh in, and we can 'report' on Monday each week. This is a wonderful group of women who are supportive and encouraging! Another neat thing about this group was that everyone contributed a starting squishie (packet of CQ materials), and with each month of gain added a little more, and the member who lost the most at the end of six months would win The Box - of which Judyth was in charge. The end of the six months was June 4, and guess what?? Yes, I won The Box at 163 - a 15.6 pound loss in six months. I have signed up for the next six months - there are 13 of us - and I have asked to not be considered next time for The Box. I have/will contribute, but someone else should win next time. It was a close race this time, with Carol L coming in with only a bit more over a pound away.

At times in the past when I wanted to lose, it was usually due to wanting to look better for someone else. Well, there is no Someone Else now - not even a prospect on the horizon, so it's strictly for ME. I also have high cholesterol and hypertension (heredity) for which I take medication, so it may help with controlling those issues, but I've still needed the meds in the past when I lost weight.

I eat chicken, seafood, veggies (come on garden!), pasta, beans, and fruit. Cherries and prunes are my favorites right now. Oh, and I've never been a breakfast eater, but am now eating a small bowl of raisin/nut/bran with skim milk every morning to "get the metabolism kicked off." Recently I've started taking vitamin B-12, and they seem to give me a little more energy. I have progressively gotten to the point of only eating fried food on a 'splurge' day - usually have one every couple of weeks - and with smaller portions even then, but pretty much what I want. The last was Chinese with my son. I don't eat much red meat, and try to stay relatively low fat. I'm also a sugar addict, so I try to avoid sweets, too, 'cause if I ever get started it seems I can't quit.

I still need to incorporate more exercise into my gardening, household chores, and walking the dog daily routines. I must also confess that I started back smoking - not a good thing at all - which probably does contribute to a few of the pounds lost in the beginning. There's really nothing profound in what I've done, but a couple of tips I have to keep in mind:

You can't eat it if it's not in the house and Keep those hands busy to help control snacking.