hello!

Obviously, I'm new here. June of 2010, I decided I wanted to better myself and my life. I bought a Gazzelle Elliptical machine and an Instride stair stepping machine off Amazon and started watching whatt I eat. I've been doing 45min-1 hour on the elliptical and 40-45 minutes on the stair stepper on alternating days 4 days a week. I also walk 2-3 miles one day a week. I work 3 12 hour overnights, and I know damn well after my last overnight I'm not going to exercise when I get home, so that's why I walk. I am not and never have been one of those people that enjoys exercise. I also have a fear of the gym (due to having orthopedic surgeries as a kid and other kids making fun of me because I couldn't keep up) which is why I exercise at home. I'm trying to get into the whole exercising thing though. Due to my bone disease, I am unable to do anything high impact like running as I have weak joints.

I am trying to restrict my caloric intake to 1200 calories/day. This is actually not a huge deal to me and I often don't meet that, usually ending up around 1000 calories a day.

I am only 4' 10 1/2", so while 172 lb might not be such a big deal, it is on my tiny frame. I'm currently plateauing at around 140. Been here for a month and nothing is helping. While I've lost a liot of inches (9 from my waist alone) I've still got all the same problem areas I've always had= upper thighs, tummy, and upper arms.

I am a pescatarian, I eat fish, veggies, and dairy. I am going to low caloie/low fat route as I really don't think Atkins would work for me. Eating nothing but fish and cheese is not only boring, but expensive.

Anyway, I downloaded the myfitnesspal app a couple months ago and it's helped me stay motivated. This is my first time on the website. I