By any means necessary

This is a place for me to gripe about the trials and tribulations of trying to live a "healthy lifestyle" while living in this crazy modern world with a demanding job and a social life. I have another journal but if I wrote over there about all the measuring, counting, planning, calculating, and general purpose obsessing I do about my weight and fitness I might seem like a nut. Plus it might seem like I never do anything else, as I don't update that journal on a truly regular basis.

This journal is also a way for me to be held accountable/rewarded for sticking with my healthy living plans. Just the latest in a long line of self-inflicted motivational tactics to keep me on the right track.

Some history for strangers: Same beginning as many of these stories, I was active and slightly pudgy in high school, gained some weight in college, then gained more weight after college when I started a desk job. In January 2001 someone sent me a link to The Hacker's Diet, I bought a scale and saw 191 lbs, and got serious. Lost 20 pounds relatively easily (I say now, of course. At the time it felt hard). Then I moved across the country, got into a motorcycle accident and regained some weight, got serious again and lost another 20 pounds. I really improved my understanding of the weight loss and weight maintenance game that time through. I've maintained that weight loss for about a year, and am now trying to lose another 10 pounds or so.

The Present: Those first few pounds are easy to lose. These last few pounds, the ones that have been with me since high school? They have a death grip on my midsection and aren't letting go without a fight. They want a fight? They want me to bring it? Oh, I'll bring it. But in addition to losing these few pounds I also just need to maintain an active lifestyle and relatively clean eating so that I can maintain my weight now and in the future. It turns out that being skinny and strong and fast takes a lot more effort and upkeep than being fat and soft and slow. Who knew?

The stats, for the stats obsessed: Female, 29, Caucasian, 5'7". Highest weight 191 lbs. Current weight 148 lbs. Current target weight 138 lbs. View the gory details in my weight log.