I'm a 41 year old gal living on an island off the coast of Maine. I am a librarian, have two young sons and am married. I love books, music, dancing, camping, hiking, sailing. Been struggling with my weight for ever! I was around 160 for most of my 20's until I got together with my hubby. I gained until I was about 200. I lost some but got pregnant with my first son and gained 40 pounds!!!! I lost the baby weight plus 30 pounds and was about 175 when we got married in 2003. But it slowly crept up again and was about 190 when I got pregnant with my second son. Since 2005 I have been hovering around 185. In April 2010 I finally decided enough was enough. I was 40 last July and needed to get serious about weight loss. I have a rowing machine and really looked at my diet and was able to lose about 10 pounds over the past month and a half with minimal effort. Well, now I bounce around in the 160's and losing every pound requires maximum effort in exercise and diet. I tend to eat a lot less than I should. Not quite sure how to eat 1300-1500 calories in a healthful way!

I weigh myself every day, but try to keep in mind that it will fluctuate from day to day so I don't really pay too much attention, as long as the general trend is a downward trend! I also try to give myself a "free" day once a week to eat whatever I want and so slack off exercise if I want. I balance this with a "perfect" day where I eat extra great and push myself a little on the exercise. The rest of the week I do my regular exercise routine (rowing between 30-40 minutes 4x a week, weighted exercise 3x a week, throw in extra abs and yoga when I feel like it and have the time)I also love kickboxing and bellydance and do both at least once a week.

I have weight goals but I honestly don't care about numbers. I just want to be fit and energetic again!

Aiming for 55% Carbs, 25% protein, 20% fats
Goals: burn 500 cals a day with exercise

Goal 1: 160
Goal 2: 150:
Goal 3: 140:
Goal 4: 135: