Here We Go

It helps to vent when you are trying to change your lifestyle and shed lbs. This diary will be our venting source. It is a place where the ladies in our family may let out their diet/exercise frustrations and celebrations. By reading about other peoples' success and obstacles, we may be more inspired to stay on track. The women in my family are not blessed with slender physic and tight abs, no. We have to work very hard to be thin. VERY hard.

The Whitney Story: I'm 22 years old. I'm an intern/waitress who's just graduated from college. I want to have a great figure to go with my fresh start in life. I'm considered overweight, not nasty or anything (depending on the day/outfit). And I'd like to be at the low end of my healthy weight according to The Charts. I have tons of motivation to get fit; job promotions, energy, ability to wear cute outfits, for my boy, for myself, my friends happen to be tiny and cute, I know it's possible because I have done it before... and much more. I recently joined Spark People and a weight loss contest at work. I have until March 11th until the final weigh in. If I lose the most body fat by then I can win $100. My ideal workout is a great, long run on a treadmill followed by as many ab workouts as I can stand.

The Leah Story: Leah is my little sister. She's a 19 year old student on her way to earning a degree in digital photographic imaging. She has never been fat or even overweight. She is very good about not letting her size get out of control. Leah watches the scale and if she starts to feel like it's not agreeing with her, she changes course and crazy diets. Leah wants to get in shape for Spring break this year where she and her skinny little friends will be partying at the coast. You can't stand next to a 115 lb girl in a photo and feel hot unless you work hard at it. Leah's goal is toning up. Although she hates working out, Leah will try fun exercise like roller blading, rock wall climbing, trampoline jumping, or planned aerobic work outs. She keeps the work outs interesting.

The Laura Story: Laura is our Mom. She, too has always struggled with weight issues. Having two babies was a bit of a set back. She has a husband who tends to sabotage her diet because he cooks the best foods and feeds late night cravings. Lately, Dad has had some cholesterol problems so he needs to be watching his fat intake too. That should help the diet. Mom, like me, has issues with yo-yo dieting. That's where you are eating right and exercising for a while, then you just want to eat something with cheese on it. And there goes all that work and you're back up to the bad weight zone. She is inspired by watching diet shows on TV like The Biggest Loser and the one where all the best friends get a personal trainer together (not sure what it's called).

We are not going to yo-yo this time. We're sticking to it no matter the set backs. And we're going to let it all out on this blog. I'd post before and after pix if they'd let me. We'll see how that goes.