Geeky Canuck chick here!

Hello all,

I've been perusing the threads this past week and have decided that perhaps it might be a good idea to get to introduce myself. I'd like to 'stay on the wagon' and it seems like you are all really awesome and supportive.

A little about me:
I'm almost 25 years old, and a graduate student in my first year of a PhD (studying astronomy & astrophysics)... hence the 'geeky.' I'm also a fairly serious amateur photographer. Basically my life is about photons, haha.

My history and what brought me here:
I've basically always been on the heavier side, and at my last physical, the nurse took my height (5'4") and weight (178 lbs) and commented on my BMI - the first time a medical professional has ever done so. I don't own a scale (I was afraid of them!), and so I only got weighed, usually, at my yearly physical (or the off times I'd be in a friend's bathroom and was brave enough to step on the scale). It's been pretty much a steady gain of 5 lbs a year for the past 4-5 years or so.

So I finally decided to actually, physically, and concretely do something about it. My 'weight loss' ideas in the past were always somewhat abstract. I'd go to the gym, but I wouldn't monitor what I was eating - figuring, naively, if I kept the same diet, but just exercised more, that naturally I'd lose weight. Of course that didn't work out.

I got pretty into strength training for a while a year back, following the New Rules of Lifting for Women. Then I got sick for a month and stopped going to the gym. I've now started to ramp up my cardio exercise, but I'd like to get back into strength training, too.

I'd really like this to be a lifestyle change - for real, for good. This is the first time I've seriously monitored my food intake, and so far I think it's a great idea, and one I can stick to. As for my diet, I eat vegetarian or vegan meals a good deal of the time (partly owing to the fact that I have several close vegan friends), though I'm not a vegetarian. I don't eat any red meat, but do eat birds and fish.

Ideally, I would like to lose about 40 lbs, taking me down to around 135 lbs. And keep it off! I'd like to be able to play soccer for hours, to keep up with my partner during bike rides (or close to it, anyways - he's an avid cyclist), to not feel so tired all the time.

So that's me!
I'd welcome a few friends: people with like-minded goals & attitudes, or people who have been where I have been!

Glad to meet you all.