Katie has actually been spread thin...

Well, apparently I picked a silly time to start trying to document my weight loss; it is the federal, fiscal year-end and my life has not been my own for the past few weeks.  Good news is I have lost some weight and have been eating well (for those most part).  Bad news is that exercise and blogging haven't been happening...  I promise myself I will get back on the horse next week and will be back on the interweb regularly soon!  

Exercise. Ugh.

Being a soccer player for most of my life pretty much took care of my need to "exercise." I loved playing soccer; it never felt like work. I never dreaded going to practice, but rather, I couldn't wait to throw on my cleats and get on the field. During pre-season my freshman year of college, I used to drive three hours from my home town to my school for a two hour practice on Sunday evenings and then drive back home. Yes, I drove six hours round trip to get to a soccer practice. Seems a little nuts, but that is how much I loved playing soccer.

Unfortunately, due to some health issues, soccer/most contact sports are not a possibility for me right now. I am struggling to find some sport or exercise regime that gives me that same pleasure. Currently, I am just getting in the bare bones routine at the gym at work: twenty minutes of three and a half mph walking on the treadmill to warm up, about fifteen minutes of stretching, alternating days of upper body and lower body weights, and then finishing it off with another ten to fifteen minutes of five mph "jogging" on the elliptical. On cooler days (and by cooler I mean one of those rare <85 degree days this summer) I have really enjoyed walking a few miles in the prairie preserve near my house but it doesn't necessarily feel like I get much benefit in the same way as the workouts in the gym. Anyone have any suggestions for workouts, specifically ones that I won't have to join a gym or pay some instructor to get the benefits? Oh, and anything other than biking. My bike and I are fighting right now....

And it begins....

It's my birthday month. Hazzah! Two Septembers ago I decided to give myself the gift of being smoke-free and I am very proud to say I have accepted that gift and, I am still going strong. This September, on the verge of the last year of my twenties (gasp), I've decided that I am giving myself the gift of a kickin' body by my next birthday. This way, no matter what happens in my 30s, I will have walked into that decade of my life looking good and, more importantly, feeling good.

In order to help me stick it out, I am going to take anyone with me who wants to come along on this ride. Feel free to cheerlead, give me grief, send good energy or kick my butt back in gear if I fall off the wagon or get too whiney. Also, feel free to join me on my quest. Life’s challenges are always easier when you share them, right? So... that means I will be posting my actual weight and pictures of my progress. Yes, my actual weight and bodily imperfections all over the web for the world to see. Brilliant, Katie's Brain. Just brilliant.

So here goes….

Facts: I am 5'6" currently weighing in at 163 pounds. Out there. Ugh.
I will post pictures in the coming days.  Yikes!

Goals: My short term goal is that I will lose 15 pounds by November 1, 2010. My long term goal is to be down to at least 130 pounds (anything under 130 would just be a perk) and keep it off so I am sleek, svelte (love this word!) and feeling fine for my 30th birthday. So ultimately I plan to lose 33 pounds.

Process: I will slim down using a combo of diet, exercise and a lot of distraction from those lovely, lovely foodstuffs, i.e.; cakes, cookies and cupcakes. Oh, and I will have to limit my intake of mandarin oranges. Those who know me know I love me some mandarin oranges. (Sigh).

And off we go…