K, Here I go :)

So, I'm excited! When I'm dieting and trying to stick to an exercise routine I NEED it to be in the forefront of my mind or before I know it I'm stuffing my face with chips and salsa or I've let the whole day go by without getting to the gym. But I don't want to be one of those people who are always gabbing about it to people who couldn't care less, you know? That is why I am happy to have a place to direct my thoughts and questions. I'll tell you right now, I'm an analyzer, a planner, and I love data. Numbers help me. I like the quantifiable, so that's the kind of approach I take with weight loss. I'll do my best not to drive you all crazy :)

Now my stats- I'm a SAHM with 3 kids. My youngest started first grade in September. Before that I home-schooled on and off and even with half day kindergarten, there is just always a good reason to skip the gym. When the school year started I told myself that if I couldn't make the time now, it would never happen and I just am not willing to be overweight forever. As it is, I have never been BMI "normal" my entire adult life. I lost 25 pounds from September until winter break and it felt great!! but when Christmas time got crazy and the kids were around all day I fell off the wagon big time. Luckily I have been able to maintain my weight, but I am "softer" for sure and I can't wait to get back to the gym and start building that muscle and see the scale drop again. I've got 10 lbs to go until that magical healthy BMI number and then another 10-15 lbs to meet my goal weight. Its hard to know just what my goal will be for sure since I've always felt fat and NEVER went near scales all through high school up until my first pregnancy at the ripe old age of 20 (and I was definitely over weight by then). The good news is that I am coming off my success from the end of 2011 and I know that what I was doing worked, so now I just need to get my head in the game again and get back to it! For me, that means HIIT cardio on the elliptical 20-30 minutes 6/week, protein shakes after my workouts, about 1500 calories a day(frequent small meals), weights 2/week and lots of sweat.

I'd love to hear about you and what works for you! My name is Jill, I am 5' 8'' and weighed in this morning at 175 big ones! :)