Finally, a minute to sit down and post!

I was really excited to get Jennie's invitation to this blog.  What a good idea!  Help each other, work together--instead of trying to do it on our own.

I think my goals are pretty straightforward.  After my son was born a few years ago, I decided that if I could get back to a certain weight, I would just be happy there and devote my effort and energy to things that mattered more in life than a number on a scale.  If, by this point in my life, I've never managed to look like a swimsuit model, why not start thinking a little more realistically?  At my goal weight, I feel good about myself, my clothes fit well, I can do everything I want to....did I mention I feel good about myself?  Isn't that 90% of what matters in this discussion?

So, right now, I'm only 4 pounds away from that goal weight.  I would really like to just bust through that invisible barrier and actually get there instead of hovering just near my goal.

Here are the things that make a difference for me:
1.  Don't eat in the evenings.  Stopping after dinner has a HUGE impact on my weight.  The 9 pm bowl of cereal is ALWAYS a killer.
2.  Avoid afternoon snacking--or turn it in to healthy snacking.  At 3pm every day, I just want to eat a box of cookies.  I either willpower through it or substitute fruit or veggies instead.
3.  Exercise regularly.  I liked a comment on this blog about how 30 minutes is good for maintenance, but it takes more than that to really move the needle.  I'm in the middle of the P90X series.  I've stopped and gone to using my stationary bike for the last few weeks.  Normally, I ride for about 30 minutes.  Since this blog started, I've challenged myself to go longer; a couple days I've ridden as long as an hour and burned 1000 calories.  Yeah!  You know what?  It's not that much harder than the 30 minutes.

I think I eat pretty well, so I'm not making a lot of changes to my diet.  Changing my snacking habits will be my main focus.  And I'm looking forward to more outdoor exercise now that we have all this wonderful weather.

So, my first goal is to lose these 4 pounds and get to my goal weight.  Along with that, I want to make the little changes necessary to just eat better generally, and I want to incorporate more active time into my life.  I can easily get drawn into "getting things done" (laundry, bills, cleaning, work) and forget to take time to just go out and play with my family. I'd like to see that change in my life as well.

I'm looking forward to making this effort with all of you.  Thanks again, Jennie!