Sending out a hello into the ether!

To get to the point, we are two childhood friends who have struggled with weight and self-esteem issues our entire lives. We've heard it all: you are not alone, love yourself for who you are, losing weight requires self-discipline and perseverance, cut out carbs, don't cut out carbs, eat in moderation, eat like a rabbit, you have to exercise, exercise is not necessary (we could go on and on, but you get the point).

Then one of us stumbled upon Marianne Williamson's A Course in Weight Loss at Walmart and started reading it in an attempt to experience a weight loss epiphany like Oprah. Fast forward a year later, and said person has gained 40 pounds and book has been stuck on Chapter 16 in her Kindle for the past year.

We have both reached a point in our lives where we feel we need to take drastic steps to change our lives, to end this vicious cycle of guilt and self-pity and enjoy what's left of our twenties. Fad diets and exercise haven't helped us. We've both read enough self-help books to know there are 200 versions of the same moral: change must come from within. So we decided, as a duo, to give Williamson another try. Well one of us is, the other is approaching Williamson a blank slate. We hope our contrasting perspectives will bring about some new insights into the 'mindfulness' approach to weight loss Williamson so actively promotes.

We are going to blog our way through Williamson's A Course in Weight Loss, starting with the introduction and each of her 21 lessons for weight loss. We welcome any (helpful) suggestions, and we promise not to sugarcoat our experiences.

Here goes!