So, I've finally decided to be serious about this weight loss thing. I've been in a spiral the last few years and I'm looking to right the ship. Here's way too much information about me...

I was heavy in high school, and I started working out in college one semester and felt pretty good as a result, but couldn't keep it up when my workload increased the following semester.

6 years ago, I lived in Florida and had the best roommate in the world. We got along really well and she was studying to become a nutritionist and health coach. I was trying the Couch to 5K program, not really getting past the Week 2 runs before I'd quit. She wanted to start running too, so we became running buddies. I ran my first 5K, my first 10K, and my first (and only) 13K with her by my side. I'd say summer 2009 was the fittest I'd been in my adult life. I've completed a few half marathons since then (I think the count is 5, along with a few 5Ks and 10Ks), but my training fell apart without her. And as my weight has increased, I've developed foot problems that deter me from lacing up the old running shoes.

I moved across the country, by myself, in 2010; while living alone should be ideal for me, I'm more of a social creature than I let myself believe, and the solitude affected me deeply. I lost all motivation to work out, and would just grab fast food for lunch and dinner most days. Or some days I just wouldn't leave the apartment; if I didn't have food in the house I just wouldn't eat. The longest I can remember doing this was 2 days. A whole weekend of no food. Just because.

The fast food thing is still a bad habit that I'm trying to break. Grocery shopping is a nightmare. My "justification" is that I don't know what I'm going to be in the mood to eat later in the week, so I don't plan my trips to the grocery store very well.

In the past, I've tried big changes all at once. I've tried a one-thing-at-a-time approach - the one "one-thing" that has stuck pretty well is that I now drink iced tea instead of soda. I don't know if I'm hallucinating it, but my pants seem to be less snug than they were a couple months ago...and I don't miss soda at all. And my favorite fast food is Chipotle, which is far from the worst thing I could be eating.

My goals in the next 6 months are:
- to develop a workout routine, and stick to it - whether it's to a video every day on my living room floor, or hitting the bicycle in my apartment gym, or (if I lose a little tonnage and think my feet won't die on me) start a walking/jogging routine that will eventually lead to me being able to run races again. I think I'm leaning toward the videos, at least at the start. Maybe I switch to the bike if I get bored...or the elliptical. I think the gym has an elliptical.
- to make a habit of better eating. Learn what foods are my "go-tos", staples that I should keep stocked. Find some quick, healthy (and budget-conscious) meals that I can either whip up after work without a lot of effort, or things that I can make in bulk over the weekend and pack for lunch (or save for dinner). And I need to eat breakfast.
- to sleep better, and more often. That, to me, seems like the foundation. Being tired makes me less likely to work out, and less motivated to do things like cook dinner before collapsing in front of the TV.

They all seem like lofty goals, and they're probably not specific enough. I need to flesh them out over the next few days.

Here we go!