First post...and 26 pounds down

Hi everyone. I have been lurking (not creepily, I swear) around the forums for a while and getting a lot of great inspiration. I am feeling pretty good about where I am at in my journey right now, so thought I would post some progress pics.

A little about me, I'm 25 and have struggled with me weight for as long as I can remember. During my 20s, I have fluctuated quite a bit. About 2 years ago I managed to loose 40 pounds, but life, a new job, moving and so many other things got in my way and I gained it all back. This summer I finally decided that I had had enough and that I needed to take control of my life. I started the Optifast program through Kaiser the 1st of September. For me, it just made the most sense because my life is so hectic at the moment, devoting time to cooking nutritiously has been so hard and that has been one of my biggest obstacles. I decided that I needed to learn how to reset my eating habits and my exercise habits. The program included a 2 hour long meeting every week with a great support group, and I am really starting to think that this is going to be a real and lasting change for me. My boyfriend even started doing a modified version of the plan and is losing, too!

Here I am at my highest weight, about 242 in August 2011


And today, at 215.5


I still have a ways to go, but am definitely motivated! I'd love to connect with some people!