365 days to a whole new me.... (w/ pictures)

Wow! I just joined today and yours was the first story I read. It was amazing and so inspirational. Although our path to weight gain differs somewhat since I have been dealing with my ups and downs all my life, I hope to achieve the same results as you have of feeling & looking healthier and maintaining it. The maintenance part is my biggest struggle so any advice you have would be much appreciated.

I don't really have the maintaining thing down yet....and still have a lot to learn about making good choices. Especially when traveling. I do know that the food log, for me, is a critical part of my success...and likely not something I will give up (at least not at first). I don't really watch the mix of food as much as I do net calories. I still make mistakes, and have bad days. (Last week was pretty much one long string of bad food days). I like food. And wine. Actually, I really, REALLY like wine. I am finding, at least for me, it all comes down to managing the portion sizes - and being active enough to counteract my food indulgences. I remember my first day. Keep reading the stories, and stick with it. Log EVERYTHING. on good days and bad. The bad days are there to learn from them. Just a few days ago - I ate an entire sleeve of ritz crackers with cheese spread....after I went over on calories. I logged them all. I won't do that again anytime soon...at least not without putting in a monster run or several hours in the pool.

You can do it!