I believe there is strength in numbers, and I’ve always performed better when someone was watching. I’m thrilled that there are so many diverse women in our group with similarities and differences in our approach to weight management—we have a common thread but at the same time we can all learn from each other. Women are the best—we can talk about our struggles for hours with each other and be sympathetic and inspire confidence in each other…and not get tired doing it. My husband (love the guy) can only take about 10 seconds of discussing weight struggles. I’m so glad I will have this support system of women that knows how hard this can be and shares my goals on this journey. I know there are many women out there who may share in my struggle—and if we can do this together, all the better! I want to hear from you! I know that if you have about 30 to 35 pounds to lose, like me, people like us aren’t making headlines and there are not any role models out there—it isn’t exactly fodder for a reality program. And for someone like me, who carries weight well (people don’t notice if I fluctuate within 10 pounds…I hide it well)…this has been a private struggle for so long. Let’s shed some light here! Let’s exult in a 1.7 pound loss as progress! It’s all good and it is all good for us. I think and hope the Web site audience and I will be as close with me as I am to my group. Plus—the wonderful thing about the Web site community is the degree of anonymity—you can talk about things that you may not share with your loved ones—your anxieties, your failures, your secret hopes, your little wins that may not seem noteworthy to those in your life. That is what is so wonderful about our online community—let’s get real and at the same time, get down to business. Let’s do this thing for once and for all and make some real connections along the way. I’m looking forward to sharing my feelings with five other women, because these feelings define me. I have been in this struggle my whole life…it has made me who I am. I have a lot of wonderful, supportive people in my life, and the people I know personally represent only a tiny percentage of the wonderful people in the world who share my struggle. My five colleagues in this program are already like sisters and I know we will be seeing each other at our best and worst, and exhibiting the raw emotion that drives us to be successful in the program. I will be sharing those moments with everyone in the community and I hope that more people can connect with us and each other through our experiences. Our life is going to be an open book…I hope everyone will be inspired reading it!