Making myself accountable, again

This is my 3rd journey with MFP in the last 3.5 years. Summer 2011, I dropped 50+ lbs by making a decision to stop eating crap, cold turkey, log everything, and exercise regularly. I went from 230+ to about 185 in 3 months. Then, surprise! I got pregnant. Instead of being smart and keeping up with my routine, I took it, (and other major life changes), as an excuse to be unhealthy again. I shot back up to almost 260 by the time my daughter was born in May 2012.

I got back in the gym about 6 weeks post baby, but my heart (and stomach) wasn't in it. I was adjusting to my new stay at home mom life, and it took about a year before I was ready to get serious. In 2013, I started logging again, and began the stronglift 5x5 program and started running. That went well for quite a while and I lost about 50 pounds again, 240 to about 190. I hurt my shoulder somehow (bad form, repetitive injury, something) in November 2013, and that scared me out of the weight room for a long time. I still went/go to the gym 5x a week doing cardio, but my eating habits slipped again and the scale creeped back up to 240 +/-.

Right before Christmas, we took our kids to the great wolf lodge here as our annual Christmas present to them. If you're not familiar, it's like kid Vegas with a huge indoor water park. While we were sitting at the breakfast buffet, my boyfriend says, "we need to change our eating habits, we've put on a lot of weight recently." Though I know he meant both of us, I heard "Dang, you've gotten fat!" Not something you want to hear somewhere you're forced to wear a swimsuit, but he was right. The day after Christmas, I got back in the weigh room at the gym, dusted off my running app, and started logging again.

I know it's not a quick journey, but I know it's not impossible either. December 26, I weighed 242.6 lbs, and I will never see a number that high again. My goal is to be healthy: healthy BMI, BF%, diet, etc; to wake up in the morning and not be achy, to not dread running days (my knees aren't very happy with me right now), and to be able to out-play my kids! Weight loss is great, and being skinny would be a bonus, but I feel like those will just be a wonderful side effect!

I've lost most of my MFP friends (due to my inactivity, I promise I'm not a meanie), so I would love to connect and share! I log *almost* everything, (tonight was pizza night with the kids, but that doesn't happen often), and my diary is open. My MFPals were a huge reason why I was so successful the last 2 times, so send me a request! I'm 31, have 2 kids (boy, 8, and girl, 2, plus 2 bonus boys, 8 and 6), and live in SW WA State