I’ve had a few people ask for an “after” pic, so I had Mike snap a pic of me this morning before I walked out the door to work.

People keep asking me if I feel like a totally new person and really, the answer is no. I just feel like ME again!

Well, today actually started off pretty icky, as I had a dentist appointment at 9:00 am this morning for some fillings (my weight was not the only thing I neglected over the last 10 years… ) and when I got home I was feeling pretty rotten. It was this weird combination of complete numbness (which is annoying) and yet still some pretty significant throbbing where the numbness was slowly wearing off.

So after sitting around for awhile wishing I could eat (dentist said not to because I could easily bite my lip), hubby said that while I was gone, the floating SlimGenics Manager (who was my center’s manager when I signed up) called and said that he was at my center today and would love to see me. I figured, well, I can’t talk well, but I also can’t eat, so I might as well go weigh-in and say hi.

I weighed in yesterday and was .75 lbs away, so I wasn’t expected much today, but I was stunned to be down an entire pound from yesterday, putting me .25 lbs BELOW my goal weight!

I started Week 1 of Balance on Tuesday and it’s been awesome. I feel like I’m eating so much more normally (even though it’s not really that big of a change), but so much healthier than I used to. I really feel like I can do this for the long haul!

Thank you SlimGenics, for giving me the tools to get here and the tools to STAY HERE!!

I now have only 2 weight loss weeks left (well, I actually have 14 left that I either paid for or earned) and as of my weigh-in on Saturday, I have only 4.75 lbs to go! I lost 3 lbs on the week (yay!) for a total loss of 94.75 lbs!

Of course, as has almost always been the case when I’ve been close to milestones, I ended my week .25 lbs away from another one! But hey, getting under that 5-pound-to-go mark is also a milestone and I hit that this week!

So hopefully I’ll hit 95 lbs when I weigh in on Monday, and then the next milestone up will be GOAL!!!

While sometimes it feels like I’ve been dieting FOREVER, it hasn’t even been 9 months since I started SlimGenics! I would say that I have most definitely experienced a “results not typical” amount of weight loss by giving it to God and doing the work to strictly adhere to the SG plan. He must have known that I would need to finish a little early since we would be leaving Minnesota this summer! (Imagine that! )

I need to lose just under 2.5 lbs each of my last 2 weeks in order to hit goal before starting balance. I had said that I would be happy just getting within 5 lbs (I am stopping the weight loss phase 2 weeks earlier than the original weight loss weeks I purchased; I’ve earned an additional 10 along the way), and since I’m already there, I’m obviously extremely pleased with how this has gone. I know I have a shot at hitting goal before balance, but I’m honestly not counting on it. I know I had a great 3-lb week this week, but I’ve had many more 1.75 lb type of weeks lately.

Either way, just 2 weeks to go and we’ll be onto the next phase of the diet! Please pray that I have the motivation to end strong as I transition into Balance!

For those of you who have been following my blog for awhile, you might remember in the fall when I finally caved and put on jeans and went to weigh in. I had to make the leap at some point, because I wasn’t going to wear capri pants all winter long and I really don’t feel like changing every time I weigh in. So, I bit the bullet, put on the jeans and weighed in, knowing that I would “lose” about a pound of weight loss, since the jeans weighed about 1 lb more than cotton capris. I continued to weigh in wearing jeans all winter long… until TODAY!

Today I took my pound back! I weighed in wearing cotton summer pants today (not capris, but they still weigh a lot less than jeans, I’m sure) and I think it couldn’t have come at a better time. I ended up down 2 lbs for the week, putting me at 90 POUNDS even!!

I am now less than 10 lbs away from my original SlimGenics goal. I do plan to lose more (shooting for about 10-15 MORE than that original goal), but I am going to stick with this goal for now, since I have only 4 weeks left before they put me on Balance for my last 4 weeks in Minnesota. Once we get to Texas and get settled, I am going to go back to the weight loss phase until I hit my new goal and then I will do maintenance (though I assume I’ll have to do Balance again first).

I’m counting on you guys to keep me accountable during that time. I know full well how easy it would be to NOT go back to the weight loss phase once we get down there, but I NEED to. I know I’ve come a long way, but I’m NOT done yet!

So, even though it may have taken a change of clothes to do it, I ended up with a 2 lb week!

Have a great weekend everyone and if you’re in Minnesota, enjoy this rare, beautiful day in the 60′s. We’re smack dab in the middle of our moving garage sale and we’re thankful to have at least one of three days give us a little sunshine!

So I haven’t had health insurance at all since I left my full-time job when my son was born, because I’ve been too heavy to qualify for individual insurance.

Well, we’ve recently started working with an AWESOME financial planner through Thrivent Financial (they are a fabulous Christian non-profit organization = financial planning services are FREE!!) and they found us a great PPO health insurance plan for the whole family that costs only about $45/mo more than we have been paying for just Mike & Zach! Sweet!!

I know I’m definitely not too heavy to qualify anymore, but here’s what I DIDN’T know: my weight is now low enough that I actually even qualify for PREFERRED rates!!

Now, I’m only in by about 1.5 lbs, but I don’t care! That’s enough!! And I’m not done with this journey, but it still feels great to know that I’m healthy enough for even the greedy insurance industry!

Oh, and just another little thing. I hit my 80-lb milestone today too! 80.75 lbs total; 2.25 lbs on the week!