the new me?

It sounds like you have been working on your self-esteem. You will be so proud of yourself for all of the accomplishments that dieting will bring you (better health, better fitting clothes, etc) that you will devlop even stronger self esteem. Self esteem and self control go hand in hand, and both are great for dieters. Congratulations. I think you have made a wonderful choice. I wish you the best of luck.

Despite what way you lose weight the thing that does my heart good is to hear someone say that they are happy with themselves. That is what we all should strive for, to be happy with who we are. Until we like ourselves, we can never fully like others!

I think that is great! My friend was successful in losing her weight and is down to 130lbs. We created a blog focusing on Women's Health and maybe some of these sources will help. Don't worry, this will not break the bank as she bought some of these sources herself. http://WomensHealthMadeEasy.blogspot.com Good luck! From a former personal trainer, make sure you focus on diet and cardio exercise. Ab exercises are good to supplement your diet and cardio workouts, but don't put all your eggs in the ab basket. Cardio and Diet are KEY!