Round Two!

Hello, new friends.

I'm a 26-year-old fine arts teacher from Iowa and am in my SECOND round of weight loss.

Three years ago I lost 30 pounds doing Weight Watchers, and spent that time becoming a sort of nutrition and exercise nerd. I can't even count the books, magazines, and internet articles I read making sure I was completely submerged in my efforts to be healthy. The results were great and I felt better than ever.. Then, well.... you guessed it. Three years later and I'm back at my starting weight.

What it really comes down to is that I forgot my mantra- "Nothing tastes as good as being healthy feels." Of course, "being healthy" is sometimes code for "being fit and looking my best," but overall health is the general goal here. When I was really focused on my goal and had a great strategy to reach it, I had no problem maintaining the attitude and the drive. As soon as I reached it, however, I slipped back into my old habits. This time, I will not allow that to happen. I have seen how easily it can all fall apart.

I teach mainly middle and high school students, and I see so much in terms of childhood and teenage obesity. I really, really want to be able to be a role model for these kids in every way I can. The other day, one of my students' little brother didn't recognize me because the last time he had seen me, I had been a lot thinner (30+ pounds thinner). If I can't keep control of my habits as a 26-year-old, how can I expect my hormone-laden, confused, self-conscious-as-a-general-rule teenage students to keep control of theirs? I'd like for them to watch me lose the weight and to know that they can look and feel how they want to with the right attitude and the right dedication.

As a dance teacher, I took for granted the amount of "exercise" I needed to be getting. In addition to my classes, I'm now committing to at least 30 minutes a day of walking, but that usually ends up being about 45 minutes of interval training (alternating walking and running). My daily calorie intake is fairly low to start with, and I try to earn back some calories with exercise. I've been back "on the wagon" since Monday and have already lost almost 2 pounds, so here's hoping I can keep it up and be at my goal (down 40 pounds) by the end of summer or sometime in the fall.

I joined MFP because I love the tools, the community, and the fact that it isn't going to cost me $40 a month like WW did. I'm looking forward to getting to know some of you, and begging you to help keep me accountable