About 2 years ago I decided to seriously try to lose weight. Over the prior years, it just got easy to eat and be comfortable and I finally got frustrated with how I looked and felt both physically and emotionally. Initially, I started dieting and running and with that,a decent amount of weith loss was achieved. After losing approx 40 lbs, I decided to join a gym. At the beginning, I mostly did cardio and my neighbors got me into going to spin classes which I came to like a lot. But it took a while before I got the nerve up to tackle any of the machines. I have never been very athletic and never worked out before so it was very intimidating. After about a year of that, I finally took my first step into the free weights area, now THAT was intimidating! I had read a bit on how to do various exercises so I just started playing around a bit and getting a feel for the weights. I am by nature a researcher and a planner and it didn't feel right to me not to have a good understanding of what to do with these weights. So, I decided to try the personal training program at my gym. I was lucky to go thru a few really good trainers and gain some valuable knowledge. I am now working with a trainer who recognized that I was ready for more....a lot more....and we have been building strength over the last several months. Most importantly, I feel like I have a good basis of knowledge and experience to perform my own work outs with similar intensity as I do with the trainer. Now, the goal is to take out the fat by 6/1/12 but I still need lots of help and motivation to get there. I recently said to myself "I can do this" when for so long it was "It'll never happen"....try and try as I did. I am riding this motivation and putting a goal out there publically so help keep me honest!

If I have been traveling for a few days and missed a few work out's, I feel awful. Exercising has truly become a part of my life that I enjoy and look forward to on a regular basis. When I am at the gym, I get motivated by seeing other people work out and I also learn things by watching. Working out at a gym around other people is probably one of the biggest sources of motivation for me.