WHY HAVE I NOT FOUND YOU GUYS BEFORE TODAY????!!!!
I'll start with a (brief) introduction...
My name is Kristen. I'm a 38yo mother of 2 daughters (ages 9 and 7) and a full-time paramedic for the last 15 years. On December 27, 2008, I stepped on the scale and almost cried when I saw the number...188 pounds

. I'm 5'7" and I always considered myself in fairly decent shape. Unfortunately, 11 years of sitting in an ambulance, working nights, and eating mostly fast-food, along with having 2 children along the way, finally caught up to me. It was then and there that I decided to start on my quest to get back in shape.
For my "diet", I used some words of wisdom that a colleague told me many years ago..."Weight loss is easy...just burn off more calories than you take in and you will lose weight." So simple!
I started with a goal of getting down to 175 pounds by the time we left for our June 2009 WDW vacation. I did it! With the next trip planned for October 2009, I set the goal to drop another 10 pounds. I did it! But I gained 5 of it back at the Food and Wine Festival (hey, it was my birthday...can't a girl have some cake?

) By December 27, 2009, I was at 170 pounds so I'd lost 18 pounds that year

.
The next trip was spring break 2010 and I set my goal at 165. I did it! The next trip wasn't until spring break 2011 so I had a lot of time to reach my next plateau so I reached for the stars...I wanted to hit 155! On December 27, 2010, I weighed in at 165 pounds. I was a little down because I knew that I still needed to lose 10 pounds in 4 months to hit my goal, but I was glad to see that I'd lost 20 pounds (and kept it off!) since starting my journey.
Spring break, April 2011...I got down to 153 pounds and for the first time in my adult life, I bought a 2-piece swimsuit AND WORE IT on our vacation at HHI

. After that, I started to falter. I was in disbelief that I actually weighed 153 pounds since the lowest I could remember as an adult was 160 pounds. I started to revert back to my old "I can eat anything" and gained back about 10 pounds. UGH!! So, when I topped 160 again, it lit a fire under me and I started up with my elliptical machine and MyFitnessPal to get my calories under control again. On December 27, 2011, I weighed in at 160 pounds...28 pounds lost in 3 years.
That brings me to this year...
I've been hovering between 155 and 162 for most of the year. My exercise and calorie-counting have been very inconsistent and that's why my weight is again on a yo-yo. In August, I took up running. I was always told that I have "bad knees" and should avoid high-impact activities, but I needed a change of pace (no pun intended

) because the elliptical was getting SOOOOOO boring.
When I started running, I could run a 1/2 mile, at most, before I needed to walk. I started reading the RunDisney information and that was the best motivator ever. I told myself that I will run a Disney 5K by next year. I jumped in full-throttle and within 2 months, I was able to run a full 3 miles

. Now that I know I can do a 5K without walking (I've ran 3 miles about 6 times already), I have upped my goal...I want to do the Food and Wine 1/2 Marathon next November.
Today, the weather was finally acceptable (38 degrees, but sunny, with a slight breeze) and I had about 3 hours to myself. I decided to go as far as I could by walking 1/4 mile and running 3/4 miles. I ended up going 7 miles

. That is the furthest distance I've ever gone and I did it at a 12:36/mile pace. Not too shabby for someone who thought 3 miles was out of reach back in August.
Unfortunately, Thanksgiving was not diet-friendly. I had several "benders", mostly involving peanut butter sandwiches and pizza (not together....gross

) which have set me back. I also hadn't ran in 8 days before today. I have not had the courage to step on the scale this week because I really don't want to get discouraged.
So, that's it for my "brief" introduction

Now that you're all caught up on my journey, I'd love to join all of you on your quests for a healthier lifestyle

.