I've been here since January - new to Boards

I joined the site around 1/1/2011, but haven't taken the time to check out the boards. In just the past half hour I have realized there is a lot of good information shared here. I hope to spend more time checking out the message board and blogs.

I'm 37 with 2 girls, 2 and 4 years old. I've gone through a lot of changes over the years. Lost weight during both pregnancies and told myself I was going to do what I could to lose more after the girls were each born - never did. Between the oldest and youngest I gained the 40 pounds back that I had lost post pregnancy. After my 2nd, gained 50 pounds to hit my all time high. I managed to maintain that weight for 2 years.

I finally looked at my girls and said I don't want to be a mom who sits and watches - I want to be a hands on mommy, I want to run around the parks during warm days, jump around, swing, and just have all out fun with them. The time is here, the time is NOW for me. The first couple weeks were shaky, but the past month, I have really started paying strict attention to foods - I read labels at the store. I do allow some "snack foods", but I choose the healthier alternatives now. And you know what - a lot of those are actually tastier too. I found some Wal Mart brand Mozzarella & sun dried tomato crackers yesterday, portioned them out last night and had a bag of 1 serving today (glad I was at work) they were so good I wanted more. They were 10 times better than potato chips, and I'm betting a LOT less calories and carbs too.