Hi All!

My weight has been an issue my entire life, especially after having my last child in 2004. Now that I'm 40 (eeeek), it's twice as hard to lose it, and keep it off, but I'm trying once again to be fit for life!

On July 1st, I weighed 180, and began taking a prescription strength appetite suppressant, but ended up throwing the bottle in the trash after two weeks due to adverse side effects such as chest pain. I wanted the jump start they gave me, but not to the expense of my health!

My mother is 5'4 and weighs within 5 pounds of her high school weight, and being the daughter of that mindset definitely influenced how I feel about my body, and my weight issues. She definitely feels that people who aren't their ideal weight have brought it upon themselves, and that if they were only more disciplined, they'd be so much happier with their bodies.

When I was in the 8th grade I was borderline anorexic, trying to please her ("slipping" and having a cookie, only to be overwhelmed with guilt, and exercising for 3 hrs afterwards), and stayed slender until I had my second child (in 1998) - gaining and losing the same 30 lbs over and over again from that point onward. I've also had bulimic tendencies, until I began to develop symptoms of acid reflux disease about two years ago, and stopped.

I'm 5'5 and currently weigh 169.8 pounds. I'll be attending a wedding in October (my daughter will be the flower girl), so that's my first mini goal - to get to 145 over the next 10 weeks, and then to my ultimate goal weight of 125/130 by my birthday in December.

I try to consume between 1200-1400 calories a day, and burn 500 calories through exercise 5 times a week.

My husband is extremely supportive, and always has been - saying he finds me beautiful no matter what my weight might be - but I truly feel I want to be my best , not only for myself, but for him too.

Goodness, what an introduction! Looking forward to meeting you all!

~ Maureen