Been using off/on for a year, but never introduced myself

tjah32

I signed up for MFP because it seemed like a more convenient version of a method I had found very successful in the past (had an excel sheet on my computer of food I ate regularly and would plan out what food I would eat at the beginning of the day). But the big difference there was that while doing that, I also had two friends I worked out regularly with, one of whom who had a temper if we would cancel going to the gym with her, which was actually fabulous motivation.

That was a few years ago now, I gained back some (though not all) of the weight. I don't know if I ever got the most out of this fabulous app, because I never actually reached out to the community, which I think I really need.

My biggest hurdle to get over, is my lack of motivation. A big part of this is knowing, objectively, that I actually am a healthy weight, and (please don't hate me for this) generally tend to stay around a fairly constant number regardless of whether or not I pay much attention. I think this is partly because as a nurse, my job has me on my feet and moving around significantly more then the average desk job does, and partly because I was lucky enough to be raised in a household where my parents were fabulous cooks; and while they certainly can whip up an artery clogging dish when they want to, I also grew up eating a lot of wholesome, cooked from scratch meals, so that's what I naturally tend to choose now.

And while this is all great for me now, I know that things will change. I'm currently a healthy, 25 year old woman, with an active job, and extra time to cook from scratch, and walk my dog and if I don't feel like getting off my butt and going to them gym, it won't effect me much in the short term. But in a few years, my fiance and I will be having children, I hope to eventually become an instructor teaching future nurses or get a clinic job which will be far less physically exerting, and I may eventually reach a point in my life where I feel like I have no time to cook from scratch every night and will instead reach for the boxes of hamburger helper, etc.

If I don't force myself to get in these healthy habits of exercising regularly now, while I have no real reason not to, then I hate to think what will happen to my weight and health in a few years after having children. I want to have healthy pregnancies, and remain a healthy weight after, and most of all, I want to be a mom that still exercises, so my children will grow up seeing it as something fun so that they are raised with these healthy habits as well.