Carry that Weight

What would you like readers to know about you?
I'm a 46 year young female. Very much pre-menopausal. (just ask my husband and son) I have been a bit overweight my whole life. Not ever obese but just on the heavy side. In fact the heaviest I ever was, was when I got married. My husband is a great cook but I hate to cook. I enjoy sports and when I can get motivated I actually enjoy exercise. (I even like to sweat) I'm a busy person. I have a full time job, I have an Internet radio station that takes up a great deal of my time, I'm a singer/songwriter/performer and a wife and mother. So, I really don't have a lot of free time.

Why did you choose to join this project?
My best friend asked me. :-) Plus, I'm always striving to be a better person.

What do you hope to gain?
Hopefully not any weight. LOL But seriously, hopefully the impetus to finally get off those 25 pounds that would make me feel healthier. I don't feel the need to be skinny or fit into a size 6. Size 10 would be just fine for me.

When will you feel you have been successful?
In all honesty it's not about the weight loss for me, it's about eating and feeling healthy. I have a six year old son who is a rolling ball of energy from morning till night. I would love to just keep up with him. I've had some health issues over the last year, could be just because I'm getting older, but I feel if I have a healthier lifestyle I might actually not get sick or maybe I can recover from those illnesses quicker.

What is your plan?
Wow, good question. I really don't have one. At this point my plan is to drink more water and start exercising on a regular basis. I am going to try to get back to being a vegetarian again too but I will need to be more careful about getting more protein in my diet. I'm gonna take it one step at a time and see how it goes.

What is your history with this battle?
I've always been a bit overweight. Not obese but just heavy. I've never felt skinny but always longed to. However, now I'm at the point I can accept that this 5'7" body is not inclined to be another Heidi Klum. Both of my parents were amazing cooks. My dad made cookbooks much in the style of Julia Child. (lots of butter and fat) So, everything he made was high calorie. My mom was a dietitian, who actually would at times try to rein in my dad's love for making fatty foods. However, my dad loved to eat what he loved to eat and I loved to eat what my dad made. My husband and I joined Weight Watchers about 15 years ago and I lost about 20-25 pounds but we we moved and I never got back into it. Plus of course my husband lost like 50 pounds and got a pin and everything and I was struggling every week just to maybe lose a pound. So that was discouraging. AND then I gain the weight back again. About 9 years ago I lost weight again because I became really active, running 3 miles everyday and working out. I dramatically changed my diet and I became a vegetarian. I lost once again about 20-25 pounds and felt the healthiest I ever was in my life. But as things always seem to go for me. I fell down a staircase and broke my ankle and lost the enthusiasm for working out. Plus it was damn painful for about a year. I stayed a vegetarian for 8 years though until about two years ago. Some thoughts about why I'm overweight, I've always had low metabolism, I'm a pretty laid back person 90% of the time. I had a bad thyroid for a long time and finally had surgery last year. That helped me some and I have lost about 10 pounds since then. I don't think I'm an emotional eater but it's a possibility.

Do you promise to share success and struggles?
Why the heck do ya think I'm doing this! Keep me honest people!