Hey everyone...I know, I know. I am a little late with starting my blogs. The important thing right now is that I am finally here! This is going to help so much. I am normally not very open about my weight gain/loss history, but this forum helps me get it all out there.

Hmmm...let's see. Where do I begin? For most of my life, I have always been fit. I was never a skinny girl, but I would say I had a nice, fit body. I guess my weigh gain history began about 9 years ago. In fact, I know it was Dec. 4, 1999- the day my dad passed away. That by far was the most difficult thing I have had to deal with in my 37 years so far. I suppose, no, I know I still deal with that each day, and over the course of 9 years, I gained about 10 pounds per year. Yes-that's what I said. You do the math. Currently, I am 90 pounds overweight. Easy to put on, hard to take off. Many people may not realize that I am extremely insecure, and that has to do a lot with the way I look. I know I am smart and good at what I do, but the outer appearance always messes with me...I hate it!

I have to admit that I like to be in control of things. I wouldn't say I am overly obsessive about it, but I work hard to be organized in just about every aspect of my life...except my weight. I'm completely out of control in that area. I've tried many things on this journey- low carb, WW, Alli (don't recommend unless you want to wear a diaper), green tea supplements, etc. This time, I finally feel like I am going to be successful.

I achieved two of my goals for this week- each day I stayed within 1200-1500 daily calories. I also wrote down everything I ate in a journal I am keeping now. The exercise goal- not there yet. I did order a Pilates machine from QVC (oh yeah, the Q baby!). I finally figured out how to assemble the whole thing, and did my first set of exercises last night. I am a little sore this morning, but that's a good thing. My goal is to do that at least 3 times a week. I also would like to walk around the neighborhood a couple of days a week with the hubs and my two beagles.

Anyway, I know this is very long, but like Anne, I had to get it out. I feel much better now! I look forward to sharing more with you all on this journey. Talk to you later!