Welcome, Melissa! (That's also my rowing double partner's name ). With the work you're putting in, and patience/persistence, I'm betting an athletic physique is in your future. The 15 pound loss so far is a great start - congrats!

Hi, Melissa! You'll find lots of support and encouragement here. I like to lift heavy things myself.

Welcome x

Congrats Tony! Good for you Melissa! Melissa, just remember it's a marathon not a sprint. Gradual changes in habits bring giant changes in health/weight long term but don't put too much pressure on yourself. I find that's why people quit. They try to do too much at once.

I read a powerful article last year. It was a study on habits. If people try to change just one thing a month, they have around an 80% success rate. If they try to change two things or more, the success rate is less than 40%. I see people all the time on MFP trying to change like four or five things at once -- that's tough to do.

If I was doing weight loss all over again, I'd just work on logging my food for the first month, then add in some more consistent movement in the second month, while still logging. Then perhaps more fiber or more vegetables the third month. Gradual, single monthly changes stick.