Re-Introduction

Hi everyone! I'm NOT a new user... been here since September of 2009, actually! I thought that since I'm dedicated to really getting this done in 2011, that I should re-introduce myself.

I'm Trenton, 27 years old, from the Denver, CO area. I've been overweight ever since puberty hit! As a teenager, my parents never really brought up the issue of my weight, and I just didn't care enough to do anything about it in high school or college - I told myself that since so many of my extended family was overweight, that I was just destined to be fat myself, and that I wasn't *that* fat... Then I got into a serious relationship after college and got comfortable. I hit 230 pounds at age 25 - for a guy who is just shy of 5' 4", that is definitely in the unhealthy/obese category! I realized that I didn't like who I was on so many levels, including my weight.

I signed up for the gym in Jan 2009, but didn't really use it too regularly until that fall, when I found MFP and was inspired to really push myself. I started tracking my diet and exercising regularly. I lost about 30 lbs from Sept 2009-Jan 2010, but then I allowed life to get in the way... it was my last semester of grad school (and I work full time) and I just didn't make time for energy to be paid to diet/exercise/health. I regained about 15 pounds and spend most of 2010 bouncing between 195 and 210. As of late November-ish, I've been back on track and am down to 190ish - my last official weigh-in (last Wednesday) was 190.5 - I'm expecting I'll weigh in under 190 tomorrow!

I've always told myself that I hate running and that I'm just not good at it, but I decided to try C25K last summer as a way to challenge myself. It turns out I really enjoy running! I did two 5k's in 2010, but fell off the running wagon the last couple months - I've rededicated myself to continuing, and have signed up for a 10k on May 1st. I've detailed my training schedule in my blog and will be posting regular updates.

I enjoy cooking and love trying new, healthy recipes. I love things like the cauliflower-pizza crust and black bean brownies. I'm a firm believer in eating as little processed food as possible, and I'm working on trying to keep my sugar intake (natural and processed) at 10% or less of my calories every day. Both of these goals - significantly limiting processed foods and sugars - are works in process.

I plan on ending 2011 between 130 and 140 pounds - that's only losing about 1 lb/week - totally do-able! (My goal is set to 130, but since I've never been a healthy weight as an adult, that's pretty arbitrary - I anticipate ending anywhere between 125 and 135). I just have to take the momentum and excitement I've manifested now and carry it forward throughout the year. I CAN and WILL do this!