Hi there!
Have been lurking since the summer and have watched the success of many of you but never actually changed my poor eating/exercising habits.
I recently turned 29 and my boyfriend of 3 years proposed in early November so it seems there's no time like the present to quit lurking and start doing something about the 50 or so pounds that have come on since I graduated from college in 2004.
I know some of my weight gain can be attributed to sitting at my desk all day as a Coast Guard analyst in Washington DC and there's also the issue of the weight I've gained from being in a happy, fulfilling relationship for over 3 years. However, I've reached the point where my "highest weight ever" just keeps going up by 10-15 lbs whenever I outgrow another size and think it's time to start working out again for a week or two before I lose motivation and go back to old habits.
My fiancee is in the Coast Guard and extremely physically fit and he's tried to help motivate me to get healthy and do something but it's never quite stuck until now. The combination of seeing photos of myself on a recent trip and having a sister who was smaller than me even when 9 months pregnant and now hoping to not cringe at my wedding photos that will be taken in a little over a year has finally pushed me over the edge to quit lurking and seek the support of the amazing people on this board!
I'm 5'4'' and am starting at 178 lbs. I hope to get back to 130 which is what I weighed the day I graduated from college. I've tried nearly every diet you can imagine at one point or another in my life so I'm going to be calorie counting and using MyFitnessPal to track my food and exercise. I'm going to be doing light weight training 2 days a week and some form of cardio 5-6 times per week for at least 30 minutes a day. I've already joined the December Challenge and have even agreed to share my weight with my fiancee once a week to keep myself honest and on track.
Looking forward to getting to know more of you!
Finally Ready to get my old body back!
Sounds like you have a good plan there (calorie-counting); I think it is doable for the wedding next year. You're very blessed to have a supportive guy there to help you along too ... best wishes!
It sounds like you are more than up for this challenge now so I look forward to hearing about your success x
