I'm new and I'm fat, but I'm ready to be ALL THAT!

Haha, I know, that subject line was really corny. But I'm here. I had never heard of this site before this morning when I was simply looking for a weight loss ticker. I'm so glad I found this! I have to say, I only just created this account this morning, and input my info, and it says, "If every day were like today, you'd weigh 180 lbs in 5 weeks."

I haven't eaten anything today (it's only just 5am now), so I haven't put anything in. But... that's kind of depressing. Really? That's all I'd lose if I starved myself every day for five weeks?? I mean, it would be 20 lbs, but... *sigh*

Well, nobody said this was an easy road. As I constantly remind myself, it didn't go on overnight, it certainly won't come off overnight, either.

I've attempted to lose weight before. I actually *did* lose some weight about a year and a half ago, because I entered a contest. I was really pushing myself. But we moved and I couldn't participate in the contest anymore, and I went right back to my old ways.

This time my motivation is much more personal. I mean, there is the part of me that is just plain vain and wants to look sexy and thin again (like I did back in high school). But then there's the part of me that wants to truly TRULY be healthy, and I want to teach my kids how to be healthy, too. Then, there's the other issue; my brother was killed in a car accident in January, and I'm the only living child that my parents have left. I want to do all I can to be here for them for the rest of their lives. I can't bear the thought that they could end up childless due to something that I could have prevented.

So this is the very last time that I'm doing this.

I bought myself a gym membership the other day, and I've used the treadmill for the past two days. I'm REALLY enjoying it! I love walking on it, and I love how I feel afterwards. Yesterday I even did some work in the weight room, on my arms. On the treadmill, my second day, I walked 22 minutes at 3.5 mph.

I would really love to meet and become friends with some other people who are just as serious about this as I am this time. People who will hold me accountable, but not be critical.

The "diet" (aka life change) that I've decided to follow, is that I will have a healthy cereal for breakfast about 90%-95% of the time, like Cheerio's. For me, this is no problem, because I *love* Cheerio's, Chex, Basic 4... those are my favorite kinds.

For a snack, I plan to have fresh fruit. I wish it weren't so expensive though! Holy cow, produce is like, through the ROOF lately! Anyway, fresh fruit or veggies. I want to mix it up a little with some kind of proteins too, though... like eggs or cottage cheese. I'd love any ideas for healthy snacks that you guys have.

For lunches, at least for the first little while, I've been planning to buy Lean Cuisine types of meals. The only problem with this, is that I have a four year old and a two year old, so doing that means making a different lunch for me than for them. My kids LOVE fresh fruits and veggies. Any ideas for kid-friendly, easy and healthy lunch ideas would be greatly appreciated! (Especially if they're cheap, but I won't push it. ) Also, I've heard that the food quality in those frozen meals is poor. I really need some other recipes, please!!

For dinner, I plan to try to make healthy meals. I have a weight watcher's cookbook that I have used a few times, and I'm always up for trying something new that is truly tasty. My husband is wonderful about trying new things, although he can be pretty picky about food. He won't eat onions, peppers, nuts or beans of any kind. :P We do love us a good salad though... everyone in the family! So it's a good start. Edited to Add: I got off on a tangent there. Haha! What I was going to say is that I plan to make healthy meals, but whatever I have, I need to have portion control. This means that even if I have something healthy half the week and something not-so-healthy for the other half of the week, I'm not going to punish myself or feel bad, because I *am* going to work on having only one portion of whatever it is that I eat. (This is a problem for me. I'm working on only taking one portion, which means asking for an extra plate at a restaurant to dole out the proper amount, etc.)

Umm what else can I say? Oh I can be obnoxious about smileys, without intending to. Please forgive me! I can't wait to meet some new friends who are on the same *serious-about-this* journey that I am!