Julie: Week... yeah. Miss me?

So, several years ago, a really well-known and world renowned doctor diagnosed me as having Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, which is linked to insulin resistance. Dr. Glueck (he's local) discovered a treatment for it that helps someone with the symptoms restore fertility, rebalance hormones and lower cholesterol. I stopped the treatment (Metformin) because it made me really ill, and at 21 or so, I didn't want to feel sick all the time.

However, I went for my annual checkup with my GYN a couple of weeks ago, and he said, "Wow, is this the most you've ever weighed?"

It's hard to say "Hey now, not only had I eaten lunch, but I was wearing tall leather boots and winter clothes, butthead. I weighed five pounds LESS this morning!" when you're wearing a paper hospital gown.

Instead, I said, "No, I've been about twenty pounds heavier."

"Do you think you should go back on the glucophage?"

"Uh, yeah. Probably."

So he wrote me a prescription, and I started taking it a week or so ago, and upped myself to the full dose a couple of days ago. It really does make me sick, but I know that it'll eventually go away. It has changed my eating habits. I absolutely must eat with it, and I take it in the morning and evening, so I'm eating breakfast again. It has to be something substantial, so I've been doing bagels and light cream cheese. Lunch also has to be light, and honestly? Dinner is light, too. I felt awful after eating a big dinner the other night, and I just need to change the way I eat. I can still eat what I like-- just a lot less. The clean plate club no longer exists.

I think I may go back to Dr. Glueck, too. He has a great dietician and can keep my lipids and other hormones under close watch, and I think my insurance covers it.

(Yeah, and I also just saw a picture of myself from the Obama Victory party. From below. I look pregnant. That's just not normal. Kate says it was a bad angle. She's really sweet.)

Meanwhile, don't Michelle and I look pretty? This is why photos should be taken from ABOVE.

Shannan: A Milestone (week 3)

This weekend something exciting happened. I was able to fit into a pair of pants that I had not been able to wear for nearly two years. It was an amazing!

I am not sure what made me decide to try them on, as I mentioned before, I had not been able to wear them since 2006. For whatever reason I did and they fit.

It's such a small thing but I feel like it's given me that extra boost of encouragement I needed. I mentioned to some of you that I had a horrible diet week last week. Between an anniversary dinner and then dinner out with my girlfriends on Friday I hadn't done much at all to move the needle backwards on the scale.

This week I am feeling a new energy. Just that little taste of success has really made me want to loose this weight more than ever. Who knows. Maybe I'll be able to fit in go one of my "going out"shirts from the good ole days by the time this is over?!?!?!?!

Weight lost this week (no idea how this happened): 1 lb

Total Weight Lost: 5 lbs

Update: Ok. Because Amy asked, here is one of my favorite shirts from back in the day. The picture doesn't do it justice!

Introduction: Michelle

I can track my weight gain easily. So easily it's embarrassing.

I used to be a swing dancer and dance teacher and I stayed thin. Thanks to swing dancing, I also had back surgery in 2002. That put an end to dancing for a while and I rapidly put on weight - but only up to 135. In 2003 I got married. The summer before my wedding I worked full time, used Weight Watchers online, and worked out 3-5 times per week. I was also incredibly stressed and easily got down to 120 by the time my wedding rolled around. I was a little too thin then, to be honest. You could see my collarbone and cheekbones. Although you know, I miss my cheek bones.

You can see my collar bone, my cheek bones. Those were the days.

After the wedding, my food "lifestyle change" changed right back to where it had been before. But I still managed to keep myself around 135 - 140. Then came 2007 - the year from hell. Kevin's father passed away in September, which was expected, and then my little sister passed away in October, which was not expected. I spent a lot of time at Cracker Barrel, inhaling comfort chicken and dumplings. And I kept eating. Our house no longer had fruit; it had cookies, cakes, and the worst food we could possibly buy. Apparently when I can't cope with something (like death), I eat. A lot.

In April, 6 months after Krystal's death, I sort of woke up and faced the world again. I went to the gym. That was one of the hardest things for me. When I got the call about Krystal last year, I was on the treadmill at the gym. So going back was a major milestone. I got myself a trainer. I work out with Jeannie once a week, but I haven't been able to get myself to the gym more frequently. We've spent the last few months working through some issues I was still having with my back injury, and just this week started really working out.

I also started dancing again in April. Inspired by the lackluster performance of Dancing with the Stars, I wanted to show I could out-dance the B-list celebrities. (Humor me here.) Once a week, I work my butt off on the Quickstep and Viennese Waltz. If it didn't cost so much, I'd be there 3-4 times a week. I jumped straight to some of the hardest dances and I love the challenge. My goal is to be competing again in 2009.

My biggest problem is dessert. I'm a picky eater. It's why I'm a wine blogger and not a food blogger. I love dessert. I love cookies. I love cake. I love sugar. It's gotta go. I have to find replacements. I've already given up soda and drink mostly water. However, I can't give up drinking. It would sort of kill the wine blog. ;-)

I also work at home, alone, and manage to skip eating all day. I need to be reminded to eat lunch and breakfast. If I'm not, I eat a gigantic dinner. That is not a healthy way to lose weight.

Past experience tells me that, having been a dancer and gymnast my whole life, my body responds well to working out. My weight is anywhere between 150 and 154 right now.

There's too much of me here.

My goals are to get to 135, a size 6 or 8, hopefully by the end of January. I want to work out more, even though I hate it. I'm going to cut out desserts and work on eating regularly instead of munching on cookies throughout the day and skipping meals. If I don't hit the weight, but lose inches, well, I'm good with that too. No complaints about packing on muscle.

I also want to mention that I've met most of the ladies on this blog in person. Having read their weights, I can't believe we all weigh as much as we do. Every single one of us knows how to hide it well - it's very impressive. But I know we're all painstakingly aware of it. I, for one, won't get into a swimsuit.

Yeah, it's time for that to change.