Welcome to the New Year!

My Take Shape Pantry--which is starting to get organized.  This is my safe cupboard where anything is up for grabs--choose one every 2-3 hours, five times per day!  Love it!  Notice the brownie and the soft serve ice cream vying for center stage.

When I was thinking of starting Take Shape for Life, I asked Shirley (who is now my health coach) if she thought I would just be setting myself up to fail if I started before the holidays.  I mean, in the past, the holidays would have just been a great excuse to exercise my food addiction in front of the world.  Don't we all love to overeat and blame it on "the holidays"?

Shirley said, "Well, would you like to go into the holidays down 20 pounds by the New Year or would you like to start the New Year with an extra 5-10 pounds that you'll need to lose?"

I chose to start it with the 20 pounds down.

The only problem is...Shirley was wrong.

Today is January 1 and I thought I would weigh myself, just to see what my weight was on the first day of 2012.  As of today...

I am down TWENTY THREE* pounds.  

HOOOOOOOOO HAAAAAAA!!!!

Take THAT, Holiday Binging!

My 2012 will be like Shirley's 2011.  Yesterday she said to me:
Your 2012 will be like my 2011. I started the year saying that I thought it would be quite a year. It was, but I couldn't even imagine how wonderful it would be, in more ways than I could have dreamed.

It's great to have a coach that understands where I have been, who identifies with the tears that have been shed and the hopelessness that had overcome me.  It's also great to have her example of how TSFL really does work and does change lives.  She is an inspiration and I am so grateful that God brought her into my life for this time.  Love you, Shirley!  Thanks for all you've already helped me accomplish.

And, much thanks to the Lord Jesus Christ for His unbelievable love for me. This truly has been OUR journey from the very start. He led me here when I was unable to even get up out of the mud and mire of my own life.

So much more to experience in 2012....can't wait!

*Not my official weekly weigh-in, as my weigh-in days are Wednesday--but sure is fun to know!