My friend @kokogirl on Twitter came up with the great idea to start the new year with a "trim up challenge" for all her golfing buddies who wanted to participate. As tends to happen with these types of things, it soon spun out of control, and now we are lucky enough to have lots more (not just golfers) participating.

Personally, when I heard about the challenge, I jumped at it. I have lots, lots, LOTS of weight to lose, and it's way easier to keep focused when you have a support group around you to help out. The challenge starts on the 10th of January, and I personally can't wait. I've already started preparing myself by trying to drink more water, giving up soft drinks of all kinds (even diet) and drinking even more tea than I already drink. I'm only on my 8th day of no soft drinks, so I haven't really proven anything yet, but I can already tell the difference in the way I feel. No doubt as a result of purging my system of high fructose corn syrup poison.

Let's not go nuts though. I do still have sugar in my diet. Most of the time I drink tea with no sweeteners, but I do occasionally feel the need for a teaspoon of sugar, honey or agave in the cup. But still, I control the amounts, and the fact that it's real sugar can't hurt either. Right?

For more info on the Twitter Trim Up Challenge, you can go to this post on @kokogirl's site, follow this list on Twitter, or simply do a search for the #TTUC hash tag.

Current weight: 270
Initial goal: 240 by my birthday, May 25
Ultimate goal: Lose 70 pounds