Hello world!

My name is Rae... and damn if I don't need to lose some weight.  I'm starting this blog initially just for myself... writing in it will help keep me motivated and involved (I hope).  I know that most of these blogs start off with "I weigh ###lbs, and I want to weigh ###lbs."  But me, I'm a chicken, and I am not ready to tell you how much I weigh.  Denial is not just a river in Egypt. *chuckling*

What I will tell you is my goal weight:  170lbs. Might sound like a lot, but when you consider that I am 5'10" tall, and really do have a rather large bone structure (as well as muscular calves that I swear could crush walnuts), 170lbs is a rather ideal weight for me.  I used to be a firefighter, and that was my normal weight, so that's what I'm shooting for.  Will I make it?  We're gonna find out, aren't we? LOL

I'll also tell you that I've got a long way to go to get there. I expect to be on this journey for the next year or so.  Perhaps longer.  Unlikely shorter.  I'm not going to follow some fad "lose it fast" diet.  I've chosen Weight Watchers... because of all the methods I've looked at, WW seems the most sustainable to me - and let's face it, they have a rather excellent proven track record.

In terms of exercise, I'm limited.  I have a few bad discs in my back, and the weight is making them worse.  Eventually I have to have surgery... but I am hoping that I can be a lot thinner before I have that done.  I also have fibromyalgia... which really sucks all on its own, but when you ALSO actually have a painful injury like screwed up discs, it's just that much worse.  Walking is painful.  Standing at the sink washing dishes is painful. Swimming is not, but I do not have easy access to a pool.  So for now, my exercise method of choice is riding a stationary recumbent bike in my living room.  For me, this is ideal - I can sit on the darn thing for hours at a time if I need to, reading a book or dinking online, and pedal my little heart out as much as I can before taking a break before pedaling some more.

I'll discuss my medical issues more in a future post... for now, I just wanted to get something started.  If Blogger or Google happens to lead someone here, that's great... Hi!  If not, that's ok too... this is for me... anyone else is just along for the ride. ;-)