Introduction: Michelle

I can track my weight gain easily. So easily it's embarrassing.

I used to be a swing dancer and dance teacher and I stayed thin. Thanks to swing dancing, I also had back surgery in 2002. That put an end to dancing for a while and I rapidly put on weight - but only up to 135. In 2003 I got married. The summer before my wedding I worked full time, used Weight Watchers online, and worked out 3-5 times per week. I was also incredibly stressed and easily got down to 120 by the time my wedding rolled around. I was a little too thin then, to be honest. You could see my collarbone and cheekbones. Although you know, I miss my cheek bones.

You can see my collar bone, my cheek bones. Those were the days.

After the wedding, my food "lifestyle change" changed right back to where it had been before. But I still managed to keep myself around 135 - 140. Then came 2007 - the year from hell. Kevin's father passed away in September, which was expected, and then my little sister passed away in October, which was not expected. I spent a lot of time at Cracker Barrel, inhaling comfort chicken and dumplings. And I kept eating. Our house no longer had fruit; it had cookies, cakes, and the worst food we could possibly buy. Apparently when I can't cope with something (like death), I eat. A lot.

In April, 6 months after Krystal's death, I sort of woke up and faced the world again. I went to the gym. That was one of the hardest things for me. When I got the call about Krystal last year, I was on the treadmill at the gym. So going back was a major milestone. I got myself a trainer. I work out with Jeannie once a week, but I haven't been able to get myself to the gym more frequently. We've spent the last few months working through some issues I was still having with my back injury, and just this week started really working out.

I also started dancing again in April. Inspired by the lackluster performance of Dancing with the Stars, I wanted to show I could out-dance the B-list celebrities. (Humor me here.) Once a week, I work my butt off on the Quickstep and Viennese Waltz. If it didn't cost so much, I'd be there 3-4 times a week. I jumped straight to some of the hardest dances and I love the challenge. My goal is to be competing again in 2009.

My biggest problem is dessert. I'm a picky eater. It's why I'm a wine blogger and not a food blogger. I love dessert. I love cookies. I love cake. I love sugar. It's gotta go. I have to find replacements. I've already given up soda and drink mostly water. However, I can't give up drinking. It would sort of kill the wine blog. ;-)

I also work at home, alone, and manage to skip eating all day. I need to be reminded to eat lunch and breakfast. If I'm not, I eat a gigantic dinner. That is not a healthy way to lose weight.

Past experience tells me that, having been a dancer and gymnast my whole life, my body responds well to working out. My weight is anywhere between 150 and 154 right now.

There's too much of me here.

My goals are to get to 135, a size 6 or 8, hopefully by the end of January. I want to work out more, even though I hate it. I'm going to cut out desserts and work on eating regularly instead of munching on cookies throughout the day and skipping meals. If I don't hit the weight, but lose inches, well, I'm good with that too. No complaints about packing on muscle.

I also want to mention that I've met most of the ladies on this blog in person. Having read their weights, I can't believe we all weigh as much as we do. Every single one of us knows how to hide it well - it's very impressive. But I know we're all painstakingly aware of it. I, for one, won't get into a swimsuit.

Yeah, it's time for that to change.