NAME: ABBAgirl
AGE: 38
HEIGHT: 5'4"
SW: 211 pounds STARTED: July 2007
GW: 155-160 pounds AIMING FOR: July 2008
CW: 188 pounds As of: September 21, 2007
STARTING SIZE: 18
CURRENT SIZE: 12-14
WEIGH IN DAY: Fridays, usually.

GOAL FOR THIS WEEK: To log all points, M-Fri. I have been a bit lazy on that lately. I am trying to make sure the programme is liveable and realistic, but I see I have slowed in my weight loss since not writing it down, so I shall resume and hope it shows on the scale!

HOW: Weight Watchers Flex Points programme, + lots of walking and some jogging (when it's half & half, I call it WOGGING).

WHY: PCOS, health concerns, and ... vanity!

I have always been up and down with my weight; or, at least since puberty hit! Throughout my teens and until having 2 kids, I weighed in at 170, generally. I have been on many a diet in my day, and the lowest adult weight achieved was 148. For about 10 minutes. LOL When I walked down the aisle some 13 years ago, I was a svelte & shapely 155 pounds.

Over the past year I seemed to gain an unusual amount of weight, and didn't really see why/how it had got there! At the same time, my hair changed texture (straight to very wavy) and I developed a "butterfly rash" on my cheeks, which had formerly been very porcelain-like. Docs started testing me for lupus and other scary things.

I was relieved, in the end, to only be diangosed with PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome), although it comes with its own dangers; mainly, a very high risk for diabetes, heart disease, & uterine cancer, to name a few. But what REALLY motivated me to change was the fact that PCOS means I will also grow hair on my face and lose it from my head!!! OMG, I am not usually overly vain, but I do draw the line at morphing into a middle aged male! Sadly, I have already noticed both of these symptoms, but thought maybe I was entering perimenopause.

At any rate, the first advice given to any woman with PCOS is to LOSE WEIGHT...FAST! Which is ironic, given that one of the symptoms is unexplained weight gain. I have heard that many gals with this ailment find it very hard to lose weight, so I am THRILLED with my progress so far. 23 pounds in 3 months is simply wonderful!

I AM HAPPY to finally fit into so many pants/skirts that I had long since grown out of. In fact, I have been making many trips to the consignment store to ditch my old clothes and pick up new ones! I have even been able to fit into my former bra size; not that I am overly thrilled with losing "the girls," but hey! I guess I need to shrink everywhere. I always lose off my waist first, which is the place I need to lose least. Again, highly ironic. Next go "the girls," leaving me feeling...er... a little deflated, I guess. LOL But the best, the ABSOLUTE BEST is when my rather ample derriere becomes ... well, smaller! Oh, the JOY! The sheer BLISS of not having huge saddlebags! Yes, I am a pear-shaped gal. Oh, so sadly. But once the weight melts away, I do rather resemble an hourglass! And those days are a comin'...

So thanks for checking in; I'll be sure to do lots of updates. Heck, I will even try to post some before and during pics so you can cheer me on! And if I am the only one who reads this, that's okay, too. I'm so glad I found this forum, it's such a great and inspirational tool!