Stumbled into This, Becoming a Believer!

Greetings Everyone! This is such a fascinating site to me.
I really didn't set out to lose any weight, per se, or diet. For the last several years, I thought I have been in pretty good shape, at least not horribly bad, and would walk around four miles several times a week. I didn't eat alot of red meat, basically fish and turkey, and thought I had a basically healthy diet. I have been trying to get progressively healthier over the last year.
Over the Christmas holiday, I bought a new book, thinking it was written by models, and would help me acheive a slimmer silhouette with very less effort. Apparently, I am inherently both vain and lazy. Much to my chagrin, it was about a holistically healthier lifestyle and practicing veganism. After reading the book about 23 times, I was sold.
Subsequently, I started doing more and more internet research on nutrition, and found this site. It really is weird how things work out. Curious at first, I was really just trying to find out the calorie and other nurtritional percentages for this new type of eating, to make sure I was getting the right amount of protein from a vegan diet. I have spent hours reading the posts on this site. Unbelievable! Especially, the "700 calorie" one. That is me, exactly. I am in complete awe of how I have been starving my body for years, trying to maintain my weight, not to mention lose any, just to smell food and gain weight. It's really quite sad. But now, I have seen the light!
At first, I was very freaked out with eating all the calories that I am supposed to be taking in, especially when I work out. It seems counterproductive to me. I still am freaked out a little bit, but continue to re-read the 700 cal explanation on a daily basis to get that permanently in my starving head pscyhe. It does sound pretty logical to me and am so stoked to see if it actually works for me. Like I am the only body it wouldn't work on, right? My thinking exactly.
My first weight was an estimate, I don't have a scale at home. But the second week, I weighed at work and will use the same scale next week. I CAN say my tight jeans are already fitting a bit looser, MUCH to my COMPLETE amazement. Additionally, I did join a gym and have been working out there, lifting weights, low weight, high reps, so I'm not so sure the weight for me will be really accurate as far as fat loss vs. muscle gain. But my jeans are LOOSER, so it doesn't really matter to me.
All I can say is I feel FANTASTIC. I truly have not felt better in years. My body is probably thanking me for eating the right amount of food, and good, healthy food, at that. I love, love, love reading all of your comments and absolutely adore this site!:smooched: Peace.