Greetings from Chicago!

kls13la

I discovered this web site a week ago, and I love it already.

How did I get here? I was one of those people who was always stick thin without even trying. I ate what I wanted and didn't gain a pound, with only sporadic exercise. Because I live in the city, I do a lot of walking, and I like my Wii. I've always enjoyed aerobics (particularly step), so I've done that off and on over the years. Then I turned 30. My metabolism noticeably slowed down. For the first time, I started gaining weight. I would halfheartedly "diet" and "exercise" and get rid of some extra pounds, then gain them back. It's been a slow creep for me, something I barely recognized was happening. In March I quit smoking cold turkey. I told myself I would eat whatever I needed to eat to stop the smoking. (Quitting made me ravenous!) I figured I'd deal with the weight gain later. Well, it's later!

I'm currently at around 145 lbs and am 5'6". I mainly want to get healthy and toned, along with getting down to somewhere between 125 and 130 lbs (my happy weight). I'm not in any hurry -- although my 20 year reunion is at the end of October, so it would be nice to look great for that. I really want a lifestyle change and want to think more about nutrition and fitness. It's only been within the past few weeks that I looked for the first time at a nutrition content on a package of food. I'm serious -- I used to just eat whatever I felt like eating. I can't believe the amount of sodium in many foods! I love the Food Diary portion of this site. It's been so helpful for me to log my meals to really see what I'm eating. It's also helping me not graze and hover around the candy bowl at my office. (Partially because I'm too lazy to figure out how many calories are in 4 M&Ms.)

At any rate, if anyone has similar goals and wants to be friends, let me know! I know I will need the motivation as the months go by...