First day at MFP. Neato!

Hey everyone! I just found your rad little corner of the internet and I must say... I'm super impressed! I've been (sort of) manually tracking my exercises and foods for the last 3 weeks. I am no stranger to dieting and working hard, but I recently realized how important it is for me to get back on the wagon. I've been a bit of a "yo-yoer" I guess.

Two years ago I lost nearly 40 pounds by pretty much just eating clean and doing some light/moderate cardio and fairly heavy strength training. I did well until I joined the up-and-coming roller derby league in my city. Things were new and fresh and I was putting a ton of time and work in to making things work. For the last year and a half I have been skating (anywhere between 2-3 hours at a time) 4-5 times a week, volunteering, doing committee work, and trying to maintain my regular work life. I got hungry... and tired. It was too much to keep my gym membership, so I dropped it a mere 4 months in to my new "hobby". I wasn't getting a balanced workout, and I was just exhausted all the time. I didn't think it was possible to eat enough to fuel my lifestyle, so I just sort of went back to eating whatever I wanted. My SO is an excellent cook (and a big fan of real butter) so some of the weight came back on (about 15 pounds).

After a pretty nasty knee injury I decided that I needed a short break from skating. Three weeks ago or so I found a brand new trainer in town doing Kettlebell workouts. I'd never tried them, but have always loved any kind of strength training and thought it might be what I need. I'm hooked. It comes incredibly naturally to me. I've been eating a diet that's sort of a mix between the Paleo diet and clean eating. So far I've dropped 14 pounds. I'm almost back to where I left off, but I feel stronger and more motivated. I'm doing mostly trail skates these days, not competitive skating. It's been a wonderful balance for me. I'm hoping to end up another 44 pounds lighter, but in better shape than I've ever been in.

I'm hoping to be doing a kettlebell fitness competition with my trainer at this time next year. She is planning to bring a coach in to train us both in the next few months. I'm super excited!

Anyway, if anyone out there is working towards similar goals, wants to "talk shop", is a skater, or loves strength training... I'd love an accountabilibuddy.