Hi! My name is Erika, I live in Saint Louis, MO and I'm really happy that I have found MFP and this group.

I am 24 years old, married and have no children yet (unless you count 3 awesome dogs). I have been overweight for as long as I can remember. About a year ago I decided to try to get my weight a little more under control and weighed in at about 305 pounds at my heaviest. I am now sitting at 275, but have been stuck at this weight for at least 6 months. Motivation has reared its lovely head once again, and this time I'm doing it FOR REAL! Ideally, I would like my weight loss journey to end at around 175 pounds. Clearly, I am taking this in small steps and am thankful for every ounce lost.

I have come to the decision, or maybe realization that I need to stop looking for weight loss "quick fixes", and buckle down and get into this life style change that is so important to healthy, and FOREVER weight loss and maintenance. I want to do this most importantly for myself. I am doing this mainly for health reasons, but also I could use a boost in the confidence area.

My biggest inspiration for starting this new lifestyle is that my husband and I would like to start a family within the next 2 years. At my weight and my current diagnosis of PCOS its pretty much out of the question. So I have lots of motivation to get myself healthy to be a healthy future mom.

With that being said, my biggest obstacle is that I just plain LOVE FOOD. I grew up in a very southern influenced household that made an excuse for eating at any time. Eat when your sad, eat when your happy, eat when there's guests, eat when there's nothing to do, and on and on. I'm slowly getting used to the idea that there are definitely other things in the world besides food.. however, it is difficult the wrap my mind around. Taking it day by day, realizing that tasty treats are ok EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, IN MODERATION and there are millions of healthy tasty options out there helps... and I can honestly admit that cooking is even more fun now that I am exploring and experimenting with healthy ingredients that I would normally over look.

Exercising has always been a problem area for me, not necessarily because I don't like to do it., I love the way I feel when I exercise on a regular basis. But, because I feel so self conscious! I really enjoy taking my dogs on walks, hiking with my husband and I even like going to the gym and huffing away on the machines... I just need to get over the idea that I look ridiculous... because I don't.. or maybe I do, but SO WHAT! Everyone does to an extent, right?

That's me in a nutshell. I really look forward to getting to know more people through MFP, and in this great group. If you can relate, or if you just need someone to help cheer you on please don't hesitate to drop me a line! I love sharing praise and motivation.

GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE!!!