New to this...

Hello all.

I just signed up recently, and I am liking it already. My motivation to do this is #1, I am getting married in December, and also my office is doing a 'Biggest Loser' competition. I am pretty sure that I am going to win, but first I need to make sure to get into my routine.

I used to be skinny as a rail in High School (10 years ago), 6'4", 175-180 lbs., but since starting my desk job I have gained about 100 pounds, and have become addicted to fast food. Starting yesterday, I have struck down fast food, and will only visit that option as a last resort, and will try something healthier than a burger or beef sandwich or cheese fries (as goooood as they might be.)

So far, I have been walking from work to the local Meijer (grocery store) and back on my lunch break which is about 25 minutes of walking at a good pace. Many years ago, I ran cross country and track, so I know how far to push myself so as to not injure myself. I have also gone from virtually no fruits & veggies to eating an apple, orange, and 2 full stalks of celery with my Healthy Choice lunch.

My biggest downfall aside from the fast food is the salty snacks. I emptied out my snack & lunch drawer at work, and filled it with 40 single serving bags of baked lays products, and Sun Chips. So far, so good. Normally, I could sit and eat a whole bag of chips, or Cheeze-its like it was nothing, but so far today, after 8 hours of being at work, I have only had 2 bags.

I was also drinking soda like a mad-man. From there I was able to slowly get myself onto Crystal light, which is MUUUCH better than the soda, but it's pretty expensive. So now I am strictly on a 1/2 gallon of water (at least) during work, and then water with dinner at home. I SURE do miss the sweet caffinated goodness that is Coke & Pepsi, but I have to start doing better.

I am pretty excited today, as this will be my first GOOD day. Yesterday we had our weigh-in, and in my infinate brillaince, I went to McDonalds and got a Sausage Egg McMuffin, Sausage biscuit, large coke & hashbrown. My breakfast was nearly 1400/1860 calorie a day plan, but I didn't think about it, because I thought it was before the weigh-in, so it would be ok. I should have just chugged a gallon of water, THEN weighed in. Today's breakfast was 1000 calories less than yesterdays, and just as filling. Low-sodium bacon (4 strips cut in half, so I treated myself to 8, lol), glass of fat free milk, and 2 large eggs scrambled. With that breakfast, the fruit-filled lunch I described above, and a dinner of 2 Johnshonville Better with Cheddar brats in light buns, and 2 bags of chips, I am still 250+ calories UNDER what my plan calls for, and I haven't really been hungry at any point. When I get hungry, I open a snack, and that hits the spot, carries me over till the next meal.

I hope that I continue using this site past the competition at work, so that I can keep setting and meeting new goals for myself. Once I get on-track with something, I am pretty much LOCKED in. For example, I have journal books at work that I use to document calls made and received (as I work in a call-center, many calls a day), and I am on my 11th book right now. They date back to Oct. '04. I have also been tracking all of my gas reciepts since June '06, and have only lost 2 to date, once when I was sick and someone else filled my car, and once when I forgot to take the reciept outta the pump when I was tired.... random tangent. Sorry, just getting this out so that I can show myself I can DO IT.

Thanks!

-Zach