My name is Lo and I’ve decided to join the ranks of those brave individuals who blog about their fitness journey. I’m also going to try to make this the only post in which I use the phrase “fitness journey.” Yet it is, without a doubt, an accurate, though overused, description of a large part of my life.

The basics about me: I’m 35 and I really don’t know how that happened.  I’m 227lbs right now–I can tell you how that happened. The highest I’ve been is 243lbs. The lowest I’ve been since adulthood is 209lbs. The low was achieved on Weight Watchers, but didn’t last long after I stopped counting points. In January 2012 I started working out at my local Planet Fitness 4 times a week. I’ve been line dancing on Tuesday nights and Friday nights for about a year now. This is really the first time I’ve ever worked hard at combining exercise and eating healthy.

I live in a cute little apartment in eastern PA with my dog, Kasey. I have trouble finding places to put on all my books. I’m horrible at math. My best friend is tall and skinny and is my workout buddy. I like Brussels Sprouts. I sleep on my stomach. I don’t have a TV. I tend to ramble…

My goals for this blog:

Honesty: I may not tell you everything, but what I tell you will be true.

Accountability: I would love to have regular readers of this blog who will wonder why I haven’t posted about working out for two days and ask about it. But also, I will write boring “stats” posts to have on record to keep myself accountable.

Opportunity: I’d like the opportunity to share this process with you. Because people who are fighting this fight, you know how hard it is, and maybe feeling I’m there with you will make it just a little bit easier. And people for whom this particular battle has never been a problem–oh how I envy you that–I’d like to give you the opportunity to draw parallels to your own particular fights, because I know everyone is fighting something in this world.

Long range, I would love to see this blog create opportunities for me in many different ways. I’d love to have the opportunity to meet people who get something out of this blog. I’d love to have adventures because I write this blog. I’d love to be given the opportunity to write elsewhere because of this blog. All that is way down the road.

But here, today, I’m taking the first step.