Well, one day down in my determined effort to shed weight and live the best life I can.

A little back story (punny :)): I dealt with a great deal of pain from the time I was 17 until I was 22. I had three herniated discs in my lower back and it made everything painful. I was told the only thing left to do was a surgery that sounded really extreme, so I turned to God instead. I had always prayed and hoped and trusted he would fix me somehow and on June 21st, 2007 I was healed in Lourdes, France.

Now, one of the first people to be healed there in the 1800's was a blind man. When he was healed by the water there, he could see perfectly, but it baffled the doctors because his eyes still looked so damaged they didn't understand how his vision had changed so drastically. So, I have believed that from the moment I was healed and jumping up and down in a church and running around in circles in a quiet catholic setting, that the discs were herniated, but the pain was gone, and it was for 5 years. My orthopedist was in shock, he couldn't believe the change in me and what I could do, bending, jumping, running, and grinning from ear to ear. I went to him for check ups, but each time he simply said "you're good as new!"

This April I was doing weighted squats and WHAMO! I got a searing pain in my back that sent me to the floor. I have been dealing with sciatica for the last 9 weeks and yesterday I went to get an MRI done. Sure enough, the discs are still herniated, and even now the pain is nothing at all like it used to be! Its amazing. Even with the pain I have now, I am so grateful that I have been healed.

I must have a lesson to learn, or more growth to achieve. I never learned or grew as much as I did when I was in the constant pain before, in empathy, understanding, compassion, and appreciation for those around me. I trust that God has a plan. I also believe I need to fight through the pain and fix my bad habits. I have to treat my body the way I should have been for the last 5 years, the way I did when I was in even more pain the first time.

My results from yesterday are really good! 2.6 pounds down in a day!! Needless to say, I am encouraged and will be eating between 1050 and 1300 calories and doing my hour of cardio with a strength training session.

On a dream career level, plan to start 3 paintings that were commissioned by a chiropractor, they are three different vertebra from different angles with a DaVincian focus on angles and measurements, with a modern take on color and brush stroke. Also reading the classics one by one, "Catcher in the Rye" is the pick today, and I am picking up my French and my fiddle to get back into learning those too. Better get moving!