Hello everybody. Skyfire here.

[Skyfire]

I guess I'll start with this moment.

I am 5'7" when I first get up in the morning. The scale said 234.5lbs this morning before breakfast. I am a 34-year-old stay-at-home mother of two girls; one anosmic and thin 11-year-old nerd and artist (she is so chill), and a chubby toddler who's almost two, incredibly strong and into EVERYTHING. I am married to a wonderful man who is also fat (6'3" and 300lbs). We live in a one-bedroom apartment on the third floor at the top of a hill in a city near Seattle. I'm about 50,000 words into a novel I'm writing. I love to play video games; currently I'm into Skyrim, Terraria and Civ 5. I can walk all day, but I can't run for more than a few seconds without losing my breath. I can't give a level 1 on strength yet because I haven't tested myself.

I made the decision to lose weight on Oct. 11, because a long distance friend posted a photo on teh faecbok after losing 50lbs, and he looks AMAZING. I was 240lbs then. I've been tracking my food and exercise on myfitnesspal.com, trying to get a daily deficit of 500-750 calories. I've also been walking. I try to get in three walks a week. I've also been gaming on the Wii Fit, doing the aerobics games, half an hour a day, more if it's a walk day and I don't get in my walk. I asked on that other site about strength training, and someone posted a link to the nerdfitness bodyweight workout. I've explored the site since then and loved everything; some things even made me want to jump up and crow, and I never do that.

My long term goals are to lose 75lbs by Oct 2014 (down to 165 from 240), be able to run 30 minutes without walking, and "be stronger." That last goal will get more specific as I learn more about getting stronger, learn where I'm at and how long it's going to take me to get to where I want to be. Strong enough so that the things I pick up in every day life aren't too heavy, is roughly where I want to be. I'm starting today with the Angry Birds workout.

My level 50 involves parkour and being a bestselling novelist, among other things.

That's good enough for this post. I'll write a bit more about how I got to this point in another post, that you guys can skip if you want. First Rule of the Rebellion and all.

[Keggs]

Welcome to the Rebellion. Those are some nice looking goals.

[captncid]

Welcome, Skyfire! Glad to have you among the ranks!

One thing that has been helping me with my running and been intervals. I too want to become very proficient in parkour and was having the same issue when I started running. If you run for the few seconds you can and then walk until you catch your breath again, it will begin to help build your lungs and eventually you'll be able to run longer.

Great goals and I like that you have a time set in the future that you can healthfully achieve them!

[Skyfire]

I've always been pudgy and shy. I grew up in a "city" in Northern California, but way off in the outskirts on a road with no sidewalks, surrounded by dairy pastures and vineyards. We drove everywhere; I rode a bus to school. I hated school, was picked on, blah, blah, blah. I spent my childhood reading and playing video games. I was smart but unmotivated (the girl who tested into the advanced classes but flunked out because she couldn't be bothered to do any of the work). I tended to be part of a small group of friends, three or four at a time.

I was in the best shape of my life around 19 years old. I was 165lbs and riding my bike all over town. A lot of stuff happened. I got married, had a baby, we moved in and out of my mom's house twice over the next decade, and each time I lived with her I gained 40lbs (not blaming my mom here, it was all me; probably because I walked less when I lived with her). After yo-yoing a lot, I discovered Health at Every Size, and then got pregnant with my second child. I stopped thinking about my weight and focused on healthy habits, eating my veggies and walking up to 4 miles a day. 6 weeks after I gave birth I was 12lbs below my pre-pregnancy weight. Then the owner of our house sold it and we had to move. My mother offered to get us an apartment up north (she had sold her house and moved to the Seattle area), but we were reluctant. We lived in a hotel for four months while we looked for another apartment and my husband got laid off. We ate tons of fast food and free hotel pancakes, and got almost no exercise. By the time we slunk northward with our tails between our legs, I weighed 250lbs.

A year later, we're doing all right. My husband has a good job, and we're saving to move into a bigger apartment. I lost 10lbs without thinking about it, just because I was making my meals again and exploring my new neighborhood. I made some non-weight-related goals, but I just couldn't find the motivation to meet them; if this is the size and shape I'll be forever, why shouldn't I just eat whatever? I think HAES helped me normalize my relationship with food, which is a very good thing. I no longer eat a whole pan of brownies just to get them out of the house so I won't be tempted by them; now I eat one, because one is enough. But I have to admit that I want to be thinner; I want to find clothing easier. It will be easier to lift my body like I want to (pull-ups, for example) and jump around if I weigh less. I feel I'll look better if I'm thinner. I guess that's it.