My good friend, Sara, who is an awesome SAT instructor, is also an amazing trainer.  She recently had a baby (6-8 weeks ago) and is back to her pre-baby weight -- probably even less.  She approached me at my desk last week to help me to lose my baby weight, with her direction, and I said yes (my baby is 12 years old).

We tried this before -- boot camp style, where she triumphantly made me vomit (my proudest Biggest Loser moment), But we stopped -- her pregnancy, my move, her move, we couldn't get it together -- until yesterday.

I warmed up on the elliptical (the machine I love to hate -- or hate to love) then did upper-body weight work mixed with cardio.  I've never trained with a trainer before and to have her there, pushing me, made all of the difference in the world.

The gym at my apartment has all of the same equipment that she has, but in the hands of an experienced professional, it all made sense. I look at the stack of free weights, and the combo machine and I'm lost.  With Sara's guidance, I felt like a pro.

This was just day 1.  I've commited to Sara two days a week with her training, and four days on my own.  I'm excited to be doing resistance training -- I can figure out cardio on my own.

Tuesdays and Thursdays -- my promise to myself and to Sara. 

I said I would post as soon as I hit it, and this morning, after sleeping in a Ben & Jerry's tie-dyed Wavy Gravy T-shirt, I stepped on the scale and there it was:

I haven't seen that number since before I got pregnant -- 1997, to be exact. (Yes, the baby is a teenager.) In fact, it's even a half pound less than pre-baby weight.

Yes, I do believe I deserve the applause from the fancy people. This 30 pounds from the all-time high was damn hard. But I feel like I'm over a really big hump. Onward and downward.

Thank you, Bob Harper and Richard Simmons, for making my recent California trip memorable and more active.

Thank you, also, to my Weight Shrink, who is helping me work on the most important piece of the puzzle -- the weight between my ears. (And she knows what she's talking about -- she's down more than 120 pounds and super close to her goal weight.)

Also, thanks Weight Watchers Online. I recently decided to go back to it when the scale stalled. Like the Lose It app, it also counts down my tally for the day, but I think the calorie count is a little better in line for me. Also, I can now use its awesome Android app to look foods up on the go.

To celebrate, I'm lacing up my shoes and going for a big long walk. Because I don't want the scale to jump back up. This moment has been 14 years in the making and I'm not screwing it up. Plus I still have a ways to go.