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I think you are so awesome. Thanks so much for your updates and encouragement!

Well, after two years of no Zumba classes, my gym is starting a class every Tuesday night! Tonight is the first night and I'm SO excited. Of course, it's right after my other favorite class (Kick-n-Abs), so I am going to try to go to both!!! Teaching PE is exhausting, but I love how active I am becoming. If I could have more energy, I'd be at the gym every day after school, but I'm so excited for Zumba tonight!!!

I adore Zumba!

Thanks all! I'm really excited. I start Monday and I found out today that I am able to order $1200 of new equipment. My school has just started participating in the SPARK pe program and it is AWESOME! It is kind of based on small groups, so everyone is always participating and never waiting or sitting around because they didn't get picked. Everyone always has a piece of equipment and it is fun, fun, fun! I hope it will turn around my school's previously BORING (no offense to the little old lady who just retired) PE classes and maybe I will get to come back again next year!!! I will let y'all know how it goes!

Well, as of this morning I am no longer teaching Kindergarten! This former morbidly obese girl is my school's new PHYSICAL EDUCATION teacher!!! How awesome is that?! I can now exercise all day and not feel guilty if I can't make it to the gym after work!!! Teaching PE is something I never thought I would do. A year and a half ago I would have dreaded it. This is a VSG success for sure!

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one! It can be frustrating hearing about people getting to goal. I don't know if I'll ever hit that goal on the BMI chart, but I'm going to do my best to get down at least 40 more pounds before I start trying to get pregnant. Then I can dread becoming fat again! HA! I just hate cooking so much. I never have enough Protein around to go to when I need it. As far as exercise goes, I love it, and I never thought I'd say that. I have finally realized that finding something you love is the key for me. I will not work out alone, and I have no motivation on machines. Jogging kills my knees and it's way boring for me, so those group fitness and spin classes are my thing. I get up every morning and go to the 9 a.m. classes and three times a week I go back for an afternoon class. Once I start back to school I will really miss my morning workouts!! Best of luck to you. We can do this! Thanks everyone else for your kind words and encouragement!

This time last year I was still groggy from my surgery (best sleep I've ever had, haha), and now I'm posting a quick update: I have lost a total of 112 pounds (my ticker says 114), have about 55 more to go, and have been struggling the past few months with going up a few pounds and down a few pounds with no significant loss. This is somewhat frustrating, but my measurements are shrinking and I really have hit the gym hard since the end of May and my mom, who lives in another state, thought I had lost more when I went home last week, but I guess I'm just toning up. I work out 1-2 hours a day 6 times a week (never on Sundays), and I love it. I absolutely love the gym. I'm on summer break now and am dreading missing my morning gym classes when school starts again. I will be completely honest and say that I'm 100% sure my "stall" has been from the stuff I've been putting in my mouth. Too many carbs, not enough Protein, but as of Monday I'm back on track with protein and I've already seen the scale start moving back down. I'm really tall (6'2") and I say I'd like to get to 175, but I really just want to get to 200 and see what I look like. That was my dr's recommendation also. Also, my thyroid is not functioning properly as of May, so I'm on meds for that now, but no other prescriptions are in my medicine cabinet! I "celebrated" today by taking my wedding rings in to have them sized down. YAY! I don't really have any new pictures, but I will post one that made me look twice when I saw it because I didn't think it was me...go to my photo albums and it will be the one with me in a turquoise shirt and white shorts. In a size 16 now (started in a 26/28)

I just bought a Fiona Sports Bra by Moving Comfort from Academy. It has adjustable velcro straps (sounds weird, but they are awesome) and I love the support. We do lots of jumping in the gym classes I attend, and while they still bounce (I still got big ones!), they are supported by this bra unlike my Lane Bryant sports bras. I threw them out.

I have dipped veggies in it (carrots, broccoli), and I dip tortilla chips in it too! I like to put it over anything mexican, pretty much!!!

This is one of our favorites, but we have so much in the freezer that I won't have to make this for a very long time!