The next step...

was to follow the plan. Week one was surprisingly easy. I guess that was because I was determined.

The best thing to come out of that week was that my daughter decided to join me and see how it worked. That was a big step for her. She had been overweight since high school and wanted to be thinner. I think it's harder for young people because it is too easy for them to just eat what their friends are eating. I never asked her if she wanted to do it with me. I knew it had to be her desire to try it or it wouldn't work.

We both followed the plan that week and found that having a buddy in the house was working well for us. We really started to check out the nutritional value of the foods we were eating. I don't think I ever read the packaging before but it is really easy to figure out if something is good or bad for you.

The end of that week brought my first weigh in. To my amazement I lost 13 pounds that first week. I knew that it would only happen that first time but when you start with a big loss like that, it really makes you feel like you've accomplished something. It really gets you focused on continuing.

My daughter joined that week and had her weight recorded. We always add 5 pounds onto her weight loss total because we give her credit for being on the plan that first week with me. She is now at 56 pounds lost and has less than 20 pounds until goal. She looks fabulous and is obviously more confident. She also seems much happier. Oh, and she has a whole new wardrobe!