OK, so I'm the only one of the group who hasn't posted anything yet. And I mean anything--you don't know what I weigh, what my goals are, what I'm doing to achieve them--nothing! So this is my first contribution to this family affair. I was kind of holding on to the dream that I could lose 5 (or 10) pounds before I had to admit to anyone (including myself!) what I weigh, but unfortunately that miracle has, alas, yet to occur. So here I go.

On Tuesday morning I weighed myself. It was very upsetting. I knew that I had put on weight, and I knew that I no longer fit comfortably into, well, ANY of my clothes. I also knew that I was filling out my bras MUCH better than I ever had before. But I wasn't quite prepared for what I read on the scale. I weigh...drum roll please...158 pounds. No, not ounces, POUNDS. So, I says to myself, "Self--it's time to lose this weight!!"

My goal is 130 pounds by Christmas. I'd settle for 135. So I have to lose between 23 and 28 pounds. Which works out to a little under 2 pounds a week. I think that's doable.

According to the web site that Sarah sent us all (www.nutritiondata.com), in order to maintain my current weight, I need to be taking in 2376 calories a day. Obviously I don't want to MAINTAIN, I want to LOSE. According to one of Amy's diet info sources, in order to lose weight, you want to consume approximately 500 calories less than your maintenance intake. So that puts me at about 1800 calories a day.

A large part of my problem is my inconsistent eating habits. I don't eat breakfast, I eat lunch anywhere from 10 to 3 o'clock and dinner as late as 10pm. My body is constantly convinced that I'm starving, since it can never predict when my next meal will come. So it absorbs all calories as fat and stores it. Additionally, my metabolism is all wonky because I eat so late at night and not in the morning. And eating that late is seriously bad, because I don't burn off any of the calories!

I am fortunate that I don't tend to indulge in sweets--cookies and cakes and brownies have never held much appeal for me. I don't drink soda. I don't eat chips or junk food much at all. My weakness is alcohol. Especially going to see Charles play fairly frequently, I have started drinking A LOT more than I used to. And it's all settled in my gut.

So, here's my plan:
Only 1800 calories a day
Grains, proteins, dairy, fruits and vegetables
Cut back to only 1 spoon of sugar (or 1 packet) in my coffee
NO CAR BOMBS!!
Exercise daily

So far I've been following this quite well. Amy has pretty much logged in our food and exercise information for everyone. And so far I've lost....drum roll again, please...one pound. Blech. OK, so it's going more slowly than I'd hoped. And I had my period this week so I was REALLY counting on losing bloating pounds. But I'm not losing faith. This CAN BE DONE!!