April 9th, 2019 - I made the appointment at Jenny Craig. I had been feeling lost this past 4 plus months. My weight had been creeping up. It started around Thanksgiving, and by the end of February - It was up a good 10 pounds, and by the end of March .... 15. IKES. I can pin point one specific thing ..... but the less obscure thing was the fact that I went Vegan in October. At first with great success ..... feeling fabulous, curing constipation, eating lots of veggies, fruit, beans and legumes, and whole grains. But by Thanksgiving - I found myself adding more and more JUNK food (Vegan no doubt - HA! But JUNK). I would falter back and forth from eating really "clean" to "clean" plus JUNK. As the winter marched onward - I was eating more "Vegetarian", as milk products kept finding a way in - PLUS the bouts with JUNK. UGGG. My weight was marching upward all this time. Finally, the first weekend in April - I knew this "Vegan" quest was undoing me. Maybe it works for "Rip Esselstyn" but I wasn't able to master it in Maintenance. LESSON #1 - If something ISN"T working ........ STOP IT! No matter how "righteous" it sounds!!!!!! I suddenly realized I needed to GET BACK TO JENNY and reinforce some of the things I had previously learned. I stewed about it all of Sunday night, because of the "Cons". The Cons to me are: COST. PRIDE - In thinking, I knew what to do on my own, if I could just muster up a plan. and INCONVENIENCE of the 90 minute drive to my center. COST is by for the biggest Con. But I reminded myself it can be my biggest .... PRO. Because if I'm going to make this type of investment, I am motivated beyond belief to not WASTE the money by playing around with it!!!! By Monday morning I picked up the phone and made an appointment. BEST DECISION EVER. The center was quiet, so Amber spent an hour with me, really talking through how this happened. I left knowing, there is no shame in saying - This is a life long Journey for me - but I have the BEST solution for ME, and I will keep working on this, for AS LONG AS IT TAKES. LESSON #2. I need Exercise. At my age - it's just an equally important component to my health, as what I eat. My journey over the past few years hasn't really included exercise. I walked, in season (warm that is!), but other than that haven't ever exercised. This go around Amber raised her eyebrows, when I said "I'll walk 30 minutes" LESSON #3. I need much more accountability and training from my JCC in Maintenance. I really didn't get it the first time around. I can't blame them. I didn't really ask enough questions, and I am the kind of person who pushes the program away at Maintenance. This time I won't. Amber reminded me to SELF ADVOCATE - set up an hour appointment to learn the maintenance JC plan - then to GET TO THE CENTER every week while I'm learning it, just like I did when I was first learning in the very very very beginning when I found JC!!! And .... to follow the Maintenance as outlined ..... EXACTLY. Just like I did in following my JC meal program. So - Hear I go. I'm so thankful I have J.C. - It really has been my path to a healthier me. I'm not done, and I won't quit. But I'm in a much better place than I was a few years ago when I first started! The Journey continues!!!!!

2013 my HW (303 lbs.) vs. 2019 my Current Weight (218 lbs.)

Each year I create a theme as part of my weekly planning sessions for work and personal life. This year the theme is "the Future is Now". It comes from my realization that if I want to be thin {some day} then I need to make decisions now to create that future. I can't indulge my food cravings and expect to ever get to my future state. Every minute of every day is a *now* moment. It doesn't mean that bad decisions kill any chance of attaining goal - it just means that the poor decision is delaying my success. Small decisions have big impacts -- for good or for bad. My future state (and goal weight) is created in the NOW moments - held in my hand.

I see that my last blog post was January of 2017. That means I am coming up on two years since I quit JC and decided to try other options. Just for the record, nothing worked and I got to my highest weight of 316 pounds before I finally sought help from a doctor. I have lost 32 pounds since May. And it feels good. But I have been here before - so that is why I am back to JC. Of all the things I tried, I feel that the JC Community was by far the most supportive and most helpful. I picked up my food and had my first meeting with my JC consultant last night. Today I sit here feeling pretty good. Before I started writing today I went back and reread my previous blogs along with the comments. My last post was very negative and discouraged - One of the comments encouraged me to 'get deep into it' and 'read and reread all the JC literature'. I am here to get deep into it. I am here to make this a lifestyle. I am here to get support and to offer support. I am happy to say that Wednesday, November 14, 2018, was the start of my New Beginning.

There is nothing like sitting down to a nice table setting: a hard mat (much easier to keep clean: you wipe it down after each meal and voila), a napkin, a nice set of flatware, your water in crystal (why wait for company?), a colorful meal nicely plated. The trouble when you are trying to do a plan like Jenny, which focuses not only on healthy ingredients but on portion control, is that the size of today's dinner plates is huge. So today I decided: I am serving myself on salad plates. They are the perfect size for my meals, and will help retrain my eye in what a proper and healthy portion looks like. As Yoda told Luke, "You must unlearn what you have learned."

Hey Guys - Wanted to post a picture of me at a lower weight when I started dating 6 months ago. I was still a little high for my maintenance but not where I am today. So as I embark on Jenny now - with the goal to get back down to my lower goal I wanted to see what I am shooting for. Net-net I am proud of how I look today - and of the weight loss. Sure I want to get back down to have wiggle room and fit into my smaller clothes. But seeing this picture - and I know I am not a size 24W and at Lane Bryant (Bless their hearts - they really have a fantastic store for me back in the day so I am grateful they are in business). But I am grateful I only have 10-15 lbs to lose now and sooo happy I know how and know we can do this Thank you all for your support! This forum is a ton helpful for me. So I do apologize for a keeping it real and personal and being long-winded. But hey we used to spend a lot of time eating... now we can read and write. Here's the picture of me yesterday (In shorts) at my JCC Center). This is my before shot for this go-around at about 155 .... and the picture of me in Black is at about 145-147 back from the date where Greg and I got to know each other in San Antonio and Austin. Let's do this. I am looking forward to a fantastic after shot in a couple of months or even before I start my job in 2 weeks - maybe a progress shot? OK so here's the updated progress week 2.. seems crazy that so much stuff fits better - it's officially on jenny scale 3.6lbs but I feel better,. No dating or happy hours. No alcohol, no job right now (i start Monday) and only 1 party where I had club soda and not too much food. Anyway, this morning scale said 150.5 which is what it said the ay I weighed in at Jenny - so same as Wednesday, I guess now it will move slow maybe. But also I'm using new muscles in my gold lessons and practice.. so I feel better, Check out my Before and After if you want inspiration was I am sure my small weight loss is not that inspiring. But the real deal was when I went from 207 to 137 starting in August of 2016.. Now I have luxury problems - but for a lifelong compulsive overeater it's super important to get back to having a better relationship with food and not gaining,! Here's the July 2018 shot where I am trying to get back to... or even before that when my weight was at the low end of my goal... for wiggle room

Synergy noun two or more organizations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects. I've discovered the perfect podcast to support me on my weight loss journey. Today my weigh in was 139.5 which is a number I've not seen in decades and just 3 lbs from goal. After 6 months of ups and downs of Week 1-2-3-4 rotations --- I am so close to actually doing it! I can hardly believe it! So close to actually reaching a goal and not quitting after a few weeks (or days). Heck Ya! This feels awesome. But I'm scared. Scared of what will happen when I step off the JC track and start to plan and prepare my own diet plans and meals. What will I do to keep up the momentum and HOW will I do? Lucky for me that I discovered a podcast that resonates deeply and brings me the realization that to move beyond the diet I need to end my habits of emotional eating and over eating. Why do I eat when I'm not hungry? Why do I get urges at 4pm like clockwork to start eating and eating? Sometimes I can't stop myself! What can I do to save me from myself? The podcast Real Weight Loss Real Woman ( realweightlossrealwomen.com) has been a game changer for me and I now see a path forward - building on what I've learned and how I have changed through my months on Jenny Craig diet. The coach, Cookie Rosenblum, gets me and challenges the very behaviors that I see struggle with today. I am evolving in my weight-loss journey from aiming for a number on a scale to having a goal to be a naturally slender woman eating my own natural diet. Ending my emotional eating and bad binge habits. I would never have come this far without Jenny Craig and it is so exciting to feel the synergy and power within me.

I spoke to my JCC last night. It went well enough, I suppose. I lost weight, which is the focus of it all. But the truth is, she sounds as if she is on some kind of a script. Here I am, reminding her (she had clearly, clearly forgotten) how I had gone down to see my father in the hospital last week. How he was dying. How I had to say good-bye. I told her I went off-program for six days. She glossed over all of that; it just was not in her notes and she did not know how to respond. I told her that being back had been good; that having the program, the scheduled meals, the meditation practice, has been so healthy and mind-saving for me. She acknowledged what I had said, but didn't really have more to add. I felt let down. I know. I know. I am very sensitive right now. But I desperately wanted some kind of validation about everything I have been going through, and the fact that JC has been a bit of an anchor for me these days. Instead, she just went right into, "Do you think you'll have any obstacles this coming week?" I wanted to laugh. Or cry. I mean, I don't know, sweetie. It's possible that my father will die this week. Oh, and I am working on my taxes, which are totally up in the air right now. And I have to start my Continuing Legal Ed. And did I mention my father is in hospice care and might die this week? But don't you worry, I am not reaching for the raw cookie dough. Not yet. Meh, don't listen to me. I have a migraine, and am in a bit of a mood.

I am grateful that Jenny Craig diet has helped me put an end to mindless snacking and drinking in early evening hours. It feels really amazing to skip the evening glass(es) of wine which on bad nights might turn into a dinner of wine, baguette and Camembert cheese. Not drinking alcohol regularly has made me realize how bloated and fatigued I used to feel. I'm also coming home earlier in the evening because I don't succumb to the late afternoon munchies - chips and candy bars. I get hungry around 4:00 so that is my signal to pack up and go home and eat dinner. Since I'm home earlier and not drinking alcohol I have enough energy to tackle projects at home or head to the gym. My face is looking great - clear, redness has gone away and amazingly so have the dark circles under my eyes. Moving my diet to eat more healthfully and earlier in the day I think has helped make me have better mental alertness and clarity at work. There are a ton of benefits beyond just the number on the scale and in many ways those are more important to my overall health.

Something fun that you may or may not know about me is that I used to be a blogger! One of the main topics I always enjoyed sharing and writing about was my weight loss journey. Another interesting fact that you probably don't know about me, is that I am a brain stem surgery survivor. I underwent life saving and life changing brain stem surgery back in February 2012. I used my recovery as an opportunity to do something I had always wanted to do... start a blog! Essentially, during and after my recovery, my blog was something I used as an important tool to get my life back on track after a traumatic experience. It was my recovery tool. It was a means of building community and bringing attention to topics that I found inspiring and wanted to share with others. I enjoyed life as a blogger for a whole six years then decided that it was time to move on. I work full-time and it was unreasonable for me to try and keep my blog going when I know I was not able to put into it what I knew in my heart, it deserved. In February 2018, I decided to shut down my blog. xtinedanielle.com will always live on in my heart as a passion project turned recovery tool that I enjoyed doing for a certain, very crucial season of my life. You can best I saved every post ever written. It was an outlet that I treasured. It was an outlet that I miss! ANYWAYS - back to starting this new blog here on the Jenny Craig community that I love so much. I am excited to get back into the groove of blogging. I've been reinvigorated to be as active as possible on these forums. There are so many great people here and I'm blessed to be a part of this community. We are doing awesome things everyday, with the help of Jenny Craig, to reach our help goals and reach for more for ourselves. So welcome to my blog! I'll be writing as often as I can and sharing my journey. Please feel free to follow along, leave a comment, and get in touch! We are here to support each other, inspire each other, and help each other. - Christine Danielle

This is Week 3 and I am psyched up for great things this week. No distractions - i.e. business lunches, business trips, social dinners. Focus is the word this week. I'm feeling well nourished, heightened clarity and a sense of control despite being at a ski cabin with all manner of Distractions (chips, wine, ya' know...). In my Ink+Volt work planner/journal the quote this week is "Starve your Distractions. Feed your Focus." How perfect is that!? What does "starving my distractions" mean? Back at home it means removing Husband's cookies sitting on top of the microwave to a drawer in another room of the house! And feeding my focus with a motivational quote in it's place. What distractions in your home need to be starved? How can you feed your focus and lose the weight this week?

SO as many of you know , i have had some struggles lately. Travelling againn for work - and eating up a storm. Broke up with a man - and started a new job. And I am a Compulsive Overeater.. So I let that impact my food decisions and now I am 20 lbs up form my goal and ready to get back on the horse. I would love to literally hit the ground running - but had a keratin treatment and no exercise allowed for a few days - cant get hair wet. So I am just going to work on food consumption, Which is really DO Jenny, Keep away from wine, and drink a ton of water. OK _ Lets get some now...OK OK So starting a plan again actually makes me happy. That seems weird right? I love and adore food - yet starting myself off here, starting the challenge, just getting my water seriously gives me hope and makes me happy. Need to remember that when I decide to open a bottle of wine etc. So my plan is to get through Day 1 tonight - Just a day of Jenny (I'll post on daily thread the food plan) and water... And then tonight pack for work week and go to Jury Duty, Depending on when they let me out of Jury duty (assuming I am not part of the jury) . Anyway for four weeks I have travelled, eaten anything, drank anything - and well that is not working, So this week I start a new plan - I jump on to actually sticking to Jenny - and being the one who does not eat. This should be interesting. OK Off to MAcy's to find a few items for work. ..Pack and do taxes today. WE got this.

This Monday was my daily weigh-in and to my surprise I lost exactly 2.0lbs for the week. That is such a huge loss for me so I was extremely excited. A typical weekly loss for me is between .4-.6 lbs making this week’s loss the same as some entire months for me. Contrast that to some of the people on a Facebook group I also belong to. People routinely will start a post saying, “I stuck to the menu and I exercised and I only lost 2lbs. What did I do wrong?” There have even been people who complain about losing “only” 4 lbs in a week. I don’t know how heavy these people are or how much they are used to losing but I have to think the expectations are in need of some serious adjustments. I also tend to take these comments personally (although they are not about me, so I shouldn’t.). I think, “Oh, so the 2lbs I lost this week is a failure? How dare you?” These people are are considering their week a failure but there is something to think about... failure and disappointment are not the same thing. In my book if you have lost weight, that’s been a successful week. You may have lost .5lbs, or 1lb or 2lbs. Whatever the weight loss, you are now lighter than you were the week before and if you keep repeating weeks like that, you will reach your goal. Heck, some weeks, just not gaining could be considered a success. So what my Facebook friends are actually experiencing is not failure. Instead, it’s disappointment. Disappointment - the feeling of sadness or displeasure caused by the nonfulfillment of one’s hopes or expectations. They’ve had a successful week with their 2-4lb weight loss but they are disappointed because they were expecting more. If this is you, I would suggest that you haven’t failed at all, instead, you just had the wrong expectations. I can just as easily be guilty of this myself but if we could adjust our expectations, we would all be much happier and thus less likely to give up in frustration. Although I love the Jennt Craig program, their marketing sets us up for disappointment by setting our expectations high right from the start. Right on their front page it says "Lose Up to 16 lbs in just 4 weeks" - hey that's 4 pounds a week! I immediately do the math and figure out that with 60lbs to lose, I’ll be at goal in 15 weeks, just short of 4 months. This sort of expectation is guaranteed to disappoint. I’m 18 months in at this point and still working on it. Read past the headlines. "First 4 weeks only" and "Avg. weight loss in study was 11.6lbs for those that completed the program" (that's 2.9 lbs per week.) So chances are, you are NOT going to lose 4lbs a week even in the first 4 weeks. If you are average, you will lose about 3lbs a week. A good number of people will lose less. After that, your weight loss will even slow further. At the bottom of the page, they say "Members following our program, on average lose 1-2 lbs per week." So to more appropriately set your expectations, think maybe 3lbs a week for the first 4 weeks and then 1-2lbs a week for subsequent weeks. But also know your body. I’ve been doing this a while and understand that I’m much slower than that. I averaged 2.15lbs per week in my first 4 weeks and after that averaged about .8lbs per week. (Discounting a 3 month plateau in the middle, which is a story for another day.) Also know that loss over time is an average. You have to look at the big picture. You’re not going to go in there week after week, losing exactly 1.5lbs each week. Some weeks you’ll lose 3, some you’ll lose 1. You’ll go a week without a loss and then suddenly drop 4. Weight loss is not the simple math you might expect. It’s not just calories burned - calories eaten = weight lost. There’s a bit of mysterious sorcery involved there too. Chart your progress and calculate averages over time to get a more long term view of your progress. I was disappointed for quite a few months until I did the math and realized that at .8 lbs per week I was actually very close to the recommended (and expected) rate of 1-2lbs per week. That eased my frustration by quite a lot. Moral of the story: Why be successful and yet disappointed at the same time because you thought you should have been MORE successful? I promise you will be much happier if you can adjust your expectations.

I love taking a restorative yoga class at my gym. One of the favorite parts is the pieces of wisdom that I collect from the teacher - Kristine. She reminds us to set a daily intention through the choice of a word. Often my intentions are around clarity or calmness and usually I think of my weight loss goals in context with that intention. Lately, I have been gathering new ideas from my Jenny Craig consultant - Jessie. This past week she shared with me that she thinks of her meal as just something that will hold her over until her next meal/snack in a couple hours. I realized that before JC - I often thought of lunch as needing to hold me until dinner - which would often be 6-7 hours later which would give me an excuse to load up on a huge sandwich or a full size enchilada platter. Often consuming 800+ calories in that one meal. When I think about just eating enough for 2 hours of nourishment/energy it really helps me with portion control and the recognition that my hunger is gone. What are some ah-ha moments you have had on our Jenny Craig journey? Do you have one you can share? Post it here, please!

The phone rang early this morning. I hate it when that happens. When the phone rings early in the morning, it is either telemarketers or bad news in the family. Either way, brace yourself, right? It turned out to be bad news in my extended family. Not a death or anything like that, but something stressful and unpleasant (forgive the vagueness, but it is personal to someone else, and I want to respect their privacy). It upset me quite a but (and will place some level of stress and burden upon me, some known already, some vague and unknown for now). Normally, I would have reached for cookies or cake or donuts or some other form of sugary comfort. After all, I "deserve" it, right? I "need" it right now. Well, no. Not today. I went about my day. Drank my water. Told my husband what was going on. Had a mug of tea. Ate my Jenny breakfast. Lit a candle in the bathroom and made a bit of a spa morning of it (exfoliated, moisturized my body, etc.). As noon rolled around, I had lunch. Classic Chicken Carbonara. It was soooo good! If that turns out to be the highlight of my day, I'm good with it. I realize I am blogging a lot, and most people are not. This is my way of keeping myself accountable. Time to take an Extra Strength Tylenol. And to remind myself that life happens, but I will do what I can to help those that I can help.

SO here's my newest project. Hopefully when it is done - I weigh 137 & have learned more on maintenance. 10170191_LoveableLacyJumper2-in-Paintbox-Yarns-Downloadable-PDF_2.pdf.pdf

I have been on every "diet", fad and otherwise, known to mankind. They work for a bit, I can lose around 8 or 9 lbs and then I fall off the wagon. I have spent a great deal asking myself why that is? Why can my friend lose 60lbs on Isagenix and keep it off and I can't stay on it for 2 solid days? How can my husband lose 30lbs eating BACON and I can't. Here's why-I haven't actually committed to a plan in YEARS. Not once. I pick and choose the elements of the plan that suit me at the time, as long as I don't have to give up my 2 glass of wine a night (ok sometimes more) habit! You know where that got me....60lbs heavier over the last 14 years. I always had a reason that I couldn't focus on myself..didn't have time bc of the kids, travelling, couldn't afford it... We've all told ourselves those stories. About a month ago, I took my oldest daughter (20) on a girls weekend trip to Miami Beach and we had a BLAST. It was such a wonderful time, just her and I. She's in college with a boyfriend blah blah blah. I don't get the quality time with her like I used to. She took TONS of pictures....OF ME...IN MY BATHING SUIT! She was documenting our awesome weekend away and kindly asked my permission before posting to Facebook but OUCH! I honestly think I had been in denial all these years about how big I had actually gotten because all of my pictures had to go through Quality Control before I'd allow them online. It was really an eye opener for me and required me to seriously consider how I was going to handle this. Am I going to continue pretending I don't have time and my cute personality will get me by while eating cheese and drinking my chardonnay? I'm way past the, "I'll just eat healthy for a few weeks" phase, this will need to be a long term commitment. That's when I decided that I can't continue to play these games with myself and called Jenny Craig! I have a super supportive husband and another teenager at home who works quite a bit and the timing felt right. We don't have any major "events" coming up for the next 2 months while I get settled on the program which has always been one of my issues in the past. I'd try to lose weight for an event and not for myself and my well being. So, the stage is set for success.... Fast forward 1 week.... down 6.1lbs!!! I have read in other blogs, not to complicate it. I am taking this 1 week at a time and my goal for the first week was just to stay on plan for 7 days. For the first time in my life, I was honest with myself(because apparently it took 46 years to learn that if I am not, I'm only cheating me...) and I kept my "blinders" on. I ate only what was written on my menu sheet, and my pre-measured salads, veggies etc. Did I miss my wine? Actually NO. That was a habit my body was ready to break! I've slept better than I have in years and aside from the **** monthly visitor that showed up this morning...feel fantastic! I would like to use this space to document what hopefully will be a new relationship with food/wine and myself.

I figure I could quite possibly be the slowest person to lose weight on Jenny Craig and still be on the program. I first started Jenny Craig in April 2017 with about 60 pounds to lose. I could probably stand to even lose a little more but even at 51 years old, with decades of adult life behind me, I’ve never actually figured out what my ideal weight should be. I picked a goal weight that just tips me into the “normal” range for my height. At 5’8” most BMI calculators say I should weigh between 122-164 pounds so I’m going for 164. Which brings up a point... I’ve always been incredibly irritated by the concept of BMI. “They” (the mysterious people out there who write important things) say that height/weight charts are inadequate and we should use BMI instead. So they come up with a formula that uses height and weight to come up with a number. I’m sorry, but that is the exact same thing as using a height and weight chart! It still completely disregards body composition, meaning muscular people will be judged overweight, while someone with very little muscle could be totally flabby and out of shape but not be considered to be overweight. But I digress. So having arbitrarily come up with a goal, I began my latest journey. I say latest, because probably like most people here, this ain’t my first rodeo. I’m sure my tale is a common one. I started high school back in 1980 weighing 144lbs and thinking I was fat. It didn’t help that I had teeny tiny friends that complained that stores just didn’t sell clothes in sizes smaller than 00. I would compare the tree trunks I had for legs to their little chicken legs and think, “Ug! Fat!” Or I had those friends that were 5’10” and would get their too small jeans wet and lay down on the bed and slither into them. And I remember when 17 Magazine would publish the stats of their models. Hey, she’s 5’11” and weighs 118lbs. Confirmed! I’m fat! I’m 3 inches shorter and 25lbs heavier. Looking back, I was probably perfect. Isn’t it true that we never appreciate what we have until it’s gone? What a waste! The rest is history. Loathing my body and armed with plumeting self esteem, I headed off to college to gain the Freshman 15. Creep, creep, creep. Up the weight went year after year. Graduated, got married, got a job, life revolved around social eating. I hit my peak at 224lbs and that was the last straw. I did not want to turn 30 as a fat woman. I joined Weight Watchers and was completely devoted to that program, I lost 80lbs in one year. I got down to 147lbs. Almost my high school weight. I still thought my thighs were fat though. Looking back now at photos, my face was gaunt and I looked too thin (and my thighs were NOT fat). That weight was impossible to maintain. Creep, creep, creep. Pregnancy and two kids later. Weight watchers again and triathlon training. Lost 20 or so pounds. Creep, creep. Back all the way up to 222.2lbs. Almost to my highest weight. So here I was again. April 2017 and joining Jenny Craig. This time it wasn’t fast. I lost pretty steadily for about 8 months, just slowly. Then slower, then not at all. I spent from March to July of this year losing and gaining the same 2 lbs. I’ve buckled down now and have again started losing steadily for the past 5 weeks but just about a half pound a week. I’m OK with that though. As long as it keeps going down, I’m making progress. 17 months on program and I’ve lost 38lbs. 20lbs to go. At this rate I’ll be at goal next June. I’d actually like to get to goal by the end of this year. We’ll see. I’ve said to some other people recently that you can control how well you stick to the program but you have no control over the results that reflect on the scale. So I’ll have to keep working the program and be content that I will acually get there in the end, even if it takes a while.

This past Thursday I had an appointment with my endocrinologist (I'm a diabetic) and I thought he was going to throw confetti in the air. He was so impressed with my numbers and the reduction in my weight. My A1C is down from 9 to 6.4, my cholesterol is great, my blood pressure is good. EVERYTHING was where it needed to be, with one exception; I need more iron. I am going to try to remember to take the iron pills I purchased the last time he presented me with this information. Praise God for the great health report. Princess

I'm not sure what made me type in "Jenny Craig" on my phone, one night, a few weeks ago.It seems that I have been yo-yo dieting for the last six years. Up 20 lbs, down 25, up 30 again. Like many of you, I've given many diets and workout programs a go. Paleo, Whole30, keto, vegan, myfitnesspal, crossfit etc. I seem to be really good at losing 20 pounds, but its past that mark where I usually fall off the wagon. When I started Jenny two weeks ago, I weighed 220lbs. The highest I've ever weighed. My goal weight is 140lbs. I feel like I don't look like myself. I feel physically big. I don't like taking pictures. Working out is not fun anymore. I live in yoga pants and sweat shirts. I don't like being naked. I want to be thin again and I need help. I needed to do something different. I'm a super busy professional with no time to meal prep or plan. Worse, if I was counting calories, I'd feel overwhelmed. Tracking food is a part time job, plus I get obsessive about it. Worse, I try to break the rules. I needed a meal plan where I just buy the food and eat it. So far Jenny has been AWESOME. What I love is honestly the food. I don't feel hungry, except sometimes in the evenings. Its tasty. I honestly cannot complain and this is coming from someone who thought they'd HATE prepackaged foods. In 2 weeks, I am down...drum roll please...7.4 pounds!!!! crazy. I feel great. Thanks Jenny!

First week into the program and I have lost 6 pounds! I know the rate of weight loss will slow down and that is okay; I have lost weight and gained a few times over the past 10 years. This might be a long story but I am asking that you read this to the end with the hope that it will encourage someone and maybe give me some encouragement also. I have been on Slim-Fast, Nutri-System and Weight Watchers. I am the heaviest now then I have ever been. Day one of Jenny Craig - 188 lbs and 5'2". One week later - 182 lbs. I am almost 41, married for 18 years and have 2 kids. I have high blood pressure and high cholesterol. There was quite a bit of traffic tonight on the way home tonight; so that gave me sometime to think. I was trying to figure out how my weight plummetted to 188 lbs. I can't say that my weight started becoming out of control; it was me. My son was diagnosed with autism at the age of 4. This was 7 years ago. This was truly a shock for me. I suspected he had ADHD, but never autism. Anyways, I was desperately searching for everything and anything that could help him. I was strained. My marriage was getting strained. It was around this time that I slowly began to gain the weight. I was not taking care of myself. Also, I began to have a glass of wine at night which soon grew into 3 or 4 glasses every night. Well, you know the saying, days turn into weeks, weeks turn into months and months turn into years. Not paying attention to my health had brought me to 188 lbs which I was just one week ago. I also need to mention that I started Jenny Craig just 2 days after my mother-in-law passed away of a heart attack. She had high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. My parents were so worried about me that they offered to pay for Jenny Craig if I would like to do the program. I accepted their offer. I realized that my time to lose the weight and get healthier was now. I could not put it off anymore. I need to be here for my children for a long time. And so, this is the beginning of my journey...