Hello!!!!!!!!!!! :)

Hi - I am from a NW burb of Chicago and I am new to this site (logged in about 5 days ago). I am a mommy to two beautiful children and I don't want to be known as the 'overweight' mommy. I want to live a healthy, active lifestyle and have that be the model for my children as well. Growing up I always dealt with a poor body image and really had a super low self esteem. I did the wrong things to deal with my weight - instead of eating right - I didn't eat at all...instead of working out i picked up smoking. I quit smoking cold turkey before I found out I was pregnant with my first son - so I know that if I put my mind to it I can lose weight and eat healthy. Another big push for me to become immersed in a healthy lifestyle is because of all the complications I had with my pregnancies - it really hit home. With my first I was diagnosed with pre-clampsyia and with my second I developed gestational diabetes. I was monitoring sugars, injecting myself with insulin and it scared me to no end! I cannot imagine a life filled with needles and insulin! With my last pregnancy I hit my highest weight, and when I went in for my 8 week wellness check up - I weighed in at a whopping 192 and was in a size 16. Since then I have gone down to a range of 182-185 and I am now a size 14. I am now taking a more active role to mointor my caloric intake including fats and carbs and really becoming accountable for what I eat and do to burn off. I have been going to the gym now 3-4 times a week for the last two months and I walk everyday for at least 30 minutes during my lunch hour. I hope that this site will help me better track the things that I need to make myself accountable for and I hope to find some support to help me 'push on' and keep on track. This is for me to get healthier and feel better about myself, but it is also a life long journey that I hope will show my children that it is easy to stay active and that eating healthy can be fun! My ultimate goal weight is 130 - which is what I weighed in 6 years ago on my wedding day - I hope I have the drive to accomplish what I set out to do!