The big 3-0.

I'm far from being 30 years old, but as of this morning's weigh-in, I have lost 30 pounds! YIPPEE!!!! My goal was to lose 20 by graduation, and I lost 24 by that date (May 26). Then my weight loss went into slow motion. I really hit a plateau. I've still been losing pounds, but oh, it's been much slower, much, much harder.

So today I've FINALLY reached another milestone, and the challenge is to stay the course so I can meet my next short-term goal: to have lost 45 pounds by Sept. 1, the first UT football game. That's only 76 days away. Fifteen more pounds in 76 days? Yikes! But if I can pull that off, I'll have just 30 pounds to go to hit my goal weight. And then the true challenge--to stick with this PERMANENT lifestyle change--will begin.

My fear of failure has kept me from blogging about this (in spite of my weight loss ticker at the bottom of the page), but I'm to the point where I need to go public. I can do this, and for the sake of myself and my family, I WILL DO THIS.

And how nice that I'm not going it alone. Brett has been wonderfully supportive, quick to offer a walk around the block or to cook a low-carb meal. Ryan and Katie, too, have encouraged me with big hugs and sweet words. I need every bit of encouragement I can get because there's nothing like the siren song of Nacho Cheese Doritos or McDonalds french fries!