I'm Ready! :)

I joined MFP about 6 weeks ago, and I've used it behind the scene until just now. I wanted to get a general feel for how it would work for me, and also see how the community worked before joining the blogging world.

I had my gall bladder out in May (along with a hernia repair in my stomach and procedure on my liver), and since then, I'd been having issues with eating. I had no appetite, and what I did eat seemed to make me sick within 40 minutes. This may be true for many people with this surgery, but I was over it by mid-July. I wanted to enjoy eating again. My doctor recommended that I go through a fruit detox...yuck! After researching, I learned that a lot of people kicked the eating issues post-gall bladder removal by eating whole foods only. So, here I am.

I woke up the morning of July 22, emptied my fridge and cupboards of everything processed, and went to the store. There, I shopped only in the meat, produce and organic sections. I haven't looked back since. The energy I have ... amazing. The way I feel ... great. In the first 7 weeks, I've lost 20 pounds, and I couldn't be happier with the results. With this extreme diet change, I also began tracking the foods I was eating. This is where MFP comes in! It is empowering to me to know EXACTLY what I'm putting into my body. Honestly, I'm pretty much obsessed with it.

THEN, I woke up two weeks ago and decided I wanted to take on something else: fitness. Not only am I motivated to eat right and be accountable for what I eat, but I also want to physically feel much better than I already do. So, I enrolled in an 8 week extreme fitness program here in town, and it started three days ago.

I'll tell you what -- the way I look in my before photos and how sore I am at this very moment after only 3 classes is motivation enough to never let myself be this way again.

So *cheers* - here's to me, you, and everyone. This is my journey to a new me.