My name is Zelda. I'm 35 years old and live in Washington with my husband, two cats, and six chickens. I have been overweight pretty much all my life - probably since I was 5 or 6 years old. I met my husband about 15 years (and 80 pounds) ago. At that time I thought I was oh-so heavy, but what I wouldn't give to be 200 pounds again! I was pretty fortunate that, even as a heavy girl, I was strong and did well in sports and helping my dad at work. I had a couple injuries in my late twenties and never quite bounced back from them (including a snow-tubing accident that's had long-lasting effects)...but it was really more than that...I think I got complacent and comfortable. I did pretty well for a couple of years after that working out and eating well...I didn't lose a ton of weight, but I was feeling fit and energetic. Well, my husband and I have moved states three times in the last 2 years and I haven't dealt well with work stress...and, perhaps those are all excuses...but I am now at my heaviest and the least fit I have ever felt. Even when I was overweight before, I could do pretty darn well keeping up with my peers in group fitness training. I tell ya...that is not the case anymore. Walking 1 mile is no longer easy. It's hard for me to admit to myself that I've slipped so much...that I can't just jump in where I left off 2-3 years ago...that I'm going to have to build back up - likely 1 mile at a time.

...and, as if I couldn't make things worse, I kinda made some *big* mistakes recently in the nutrition arena, and gained something like 9 pounds in the last 3-4 weeks. Not good. I weighed myself on Tuesday this week and was in for a rude awakening (even my weigh-in app asked me if I was sure I was on the correct profile because of the big increase from my last weight-in). I wasn't sure whether I should laugh or cry. Hahaha. Oy vey. So, I'm here to be accountable, to better focus on being in a healthier state of mind, and to engage (instead of sitting on the sidelines, as is normal for me).

My current weight is 287.8. My goal weight would be somewhere in the neighborhood of 160-170 (that would still be 25-35 pounds overweight, but I'm okay with that).

I'm stepping well outside my comfort zone and I've shared quite a lot. So, sorry for the long-winded introduction. I just figured it was time to be real, open, honest, and active in making changes in my life.

Thank you for reading. I look forward to advice, feedback, and learning from one another. Hope you are all staying happy and healthy during this quarantine/shut-down. Strange times!