Ok, so I have been on Alli for a year, my Alli aninversary was on 7/18.  I am so glad that I found out about Alli and this board!! I am a different person!! Even my attitude has changed!! Betty, I do owe you for that!! You kept saying to not look back but ahead, never to beat ourselves up for our mistakes, and Lord do I make lots of those!! There are quite a few of you that have been with me thru most of my journey, some are not even posting here anymore!! I do thank you one and all, it was the plan and your support that has made the journey so enjoyable!! Things that I do now that I was not doing a year ago: I park in the farthest parking space that I can find, usually I am lucky enough to even find a shde!!; I read all labels, most days I spend more time reading labels than actually shopping!, I buy baked chips or the new variety of fat free chips, all dips are tomatoe based, I use only olive oil or Pam spray; baking, boiling, steaming and grilling are the rule, not the exception!! I am in love with blueberries, grapes, cherry tomatoes and water melon, those are now staples in our home. Single servings of low fat cottage cheese are always at hand in case of one of my "I need cheese" attacks! Dely products, usually just turkey and ham, are all low sodium, yeah sometimes I do get the Swiss cheese low sodium too. I do try to exercise at least 5 times a week, usually at the pool, sometimes I do read more than I swim, but...I do my water aerobics. I no longer get upset if I blow the plan for a day or a week, mind you the week blown did cause me to gain 3 pounds!!, I know that I can get back on track and lose the weight, hey, I never did say that I was perfect!! I weigh myself every week, even on those occassions that I know the scale will be on my case because of my misbehavior! I have one heck of a lot more energy than I did a year ago, shoot I am always on the go! I have even gotten four of my neighbors to buy the dumbells that you use in the water. I am able to actually keep up with the grandnephews and niece, from 5 to 2 years old, lots of running around and screaming in that department!! I no longer wory about my ankles hurting or getting out of bed and not being able to stand up straight, amazing what those extra pounds did to my aches and pains!! I feel stronger, think that I can lift more than I can most of the time! I am enjoying the beach and the pool without worrying about how I look, well to be honest, I never did care much about how I looked, but now I enjoy buying the bathing suits!! If I were to mention all my Alli buddies, I would probably leave someone special out,you all know who you are!! I do thank you and am gratefull for your support during the times of trouble and for the laughter and "parties" that we have enjoyed!! I have made friends from all over, young and even younger!! Well shoot, when you are in your 50's everybody is young!! Ok, time for the pool, some exercise, some reading and some beers to celebrate! Well, if I celebrated my birthday for three weeks I figure an anniversary calls for at least a month of celebration!! Love to u all and my eternal thanks!!

Elia

 Excellent for you!!! Please share how your got over some of the first hurdles.  Also if you could share what weight you started and how much you habe lost over the year.  Please give us some more info. about when you 'thought' you were going to quit and didn't, I think that it would be inspirational.  Thanks!  Congrats And more power to you!!!!!  :-)

 Elia, I am PROUD, PROUD, PROUD to be one of your alli buddies, you are indeed my sistah friend!  For those of you reading this, I have been on the plan and active on this board for a year too, and I can tell you that Elia has propped all of us up more times than i can count.  She is the consummate alli message board member.  If it were not for her and Betty's  support and wisdom, I'm not sure I would have made it this far.  True, I still have a few more pounds to lose, and so does Elia, but we recognize what we are doing that is preventing it, and have the tools now to take those pounds off.  For me, knowledge was key.  Read all of the books that come with your starter pack, and do as Elia says and read those labels at the grocery store.  This is not even tough work, it is do-able for life.  Congratulations to Elia and everyone else who is making this work.

Judy

 Hey Judy hon, we have come a long way baby!! You have sure made this journey lots of fun!! You and the rest of the gang have helped more than words can express!! Love hon.

NHSkiGirl, I strted the plan weighing 164 lbs, I am presently weighing 141 lbs, so I have lost 23 pounds, may not sound like much but to me it is great!! I have reached a healthy BMI and that is one of the things that really keep me accountable to myself. I do not re,member if there was a time that I even considered quitting the plan!! I came into this new lifestyle with the attitude that this was my last chance to get my weight under control once and for all! Sure I have had my slip ups, but quit? Not on my life!! Hey, if with all my slip ups , I can do this, you all can too!!  There were the times that IO would go eat out and order what I thought was healthy, untill the plate was placed in fromt of me and I saw all that grease, those times I had very little to eat and drnk lots of water!! I try to go to restaurants that serve grilled food, but am still wary of some of the ingredients they use.  Good luck to everyone!!

Elia

Hi Elia,

It's hard to believe that it's been a year already! I have been so fortunate to have been a part of this journey with all of you.  I know how many of the diets out there have lied to all of you and how difficult it was to put your trust in this plan and a moderator who you have never even met. I also know that it is possible to succeed and that if people were willing to listen and share I could help them to see that this could work. It has been a privilege to work with all of you and to get to know you all. You have been an integral part of this board and continue to be an inspiration. Your hard work, commitment, and patience are the reasons why you have succeeded. I am so very, very happy for you!

 Congratulations,

Betty Kovacs, MS, RD

 Hi Elia:

I've been with you most of the way but don't post as much as you do.  You have done amazing and I'm proud of you and I'm sure your family and friends are too.  I could have written your posting but you will have to wait--11 more days and I will celebrate a year on alli too and also 15 months since starting my low cal/low fat diet--oops not a diet--lol.  You go girl.  You are an imspiration to many on here.

Linda