Why hello there! I go by Mylo on forums, and am currently working on becoming healthy so I can improve my well being. I have a hard time staying motivated and tend to be on a "I want to be healthy and happy" mood, so I don't beat myself up if I cheat a little here or there. When I can afford it I do an 80/20 paleo diet (I avoid processed foods, sugars, grains, legumes) but still eat dairy and drink alcohol if I so choose. I do eat the other foods if it's easier to do so (restaurants, family gatherings) or if I want them but I try to stay on target.

I joined the gym with my sister-in-law and started last Sunday. I went 6 days out of 7 last week and worked out for about forty-five minutes to an hour each time. I've been doing the Arc Trainer for cardio for about 10 minutes (slowly working my way up to 30 minutes on level 1, then going to step it up to level 10 one day at 30 minutes), then do arms and legs on weights.

My ultimate goal is to just be healthy and happy. I want to be at 20 - 25% body fat, which puts me at about 180 lbs...but I would like to lose at least 100 lbs and be at 173 lbs at the end of the day. From there I will decide if I want to continue to try to lose weight or if I'm happy and healthy at that point. I don't recall ever being below 180 lbs so I'm not sure how I will feel/look at that point. I do know that I don't want to be below 140 lbs, at least not in my head. We shall see when I get there.

I work full time as a quality analyst. I sit on my butt in front of a computer listening to calls for 8 1/2 hours a day, and on my free time I'm an online college student working on my bachelor's in health administration. For fun I enjoy playing video games, reading, writing, painting, or drawing (all things I do while sitting down.) Needless to say, I sit down too much and I'm in front of a computer too much. I'd like to change that, but it's difficult when you don't enjoy the outdoors. I'm hoping as I lose weight my pain will subside and heat won't make it hurt to be outside...and I'll enjoy the outdoors a bit more. For now though, heat and humidity (a.k.a. Florida...where I live) end up hurting my arthritis, and making me hate the outdoors just for standing, let alone exercising. I enjoy the gym while going with my sister-in-law. It's motivating to be with someone who is at the same stage as you.

Thanks for letting me join. I look forward to using this to help me succeed and reach my goals, where ever those may be. Good luck to everyone else's weight loss journeys.

Hi Mylo! Glad you've joined us! Another alternative to exercising outdoors or going to the gym is doing exercise videos in your home. Youtube has tons of them, everything from indoor walking to zumba to belly dancing! I was surprised by the selection of free exercise videos on there! It sounds like you have a good weight loss plan, so just browse around here and jump right in! Good luck!

Thank you for the warm welcome. I'll have to check that out on youtube. Any particular people you recommend to look for?

Well, you mentioned that you have arthritis. I have rheumatoid arthritis so I was not looking for strenuous or complicated exercise. Walking is more my style, and I do the Leslie Sansone indoor walking videos. She has a slew of them up on youtube, from easy 1-mile ones that you can do in less than 15 minutes to 5-mile ones with weights!

I'll have to check her out, thanks.

Welcome, Milo! You're off to a great start. This is the place to keep up that energy with lots of support, encouragement, and ideas.