Hi, my name is Cherie. On Saturday I did something I have been wanting to do for most of my adult life. I made a decision. Now this may sound like I am indecisive or that I am being flippant. Let me tell you a little more about my self and maybe you will come to understand why what I did last Saturday is truly a big deal for me.

I am 54 years young and very proud of it. I have lived most of those years. There were some that I sleep walked through, but that is another story to be told later. I am 5 ft 9 inches tall. My hair color is, at the moment, light brown. It can has changed over the years but not in too dramatically. I have been blonde and once, for a very brief time, a Lucy redhead but now days I tend to keep in the light to dark brown ranges. I have light olive skin thanks to my Native American heritage and hazel eyes. Eleven years ago the man I was married to for 16 years became a was-band. I have one daughter who has given me two very beautiful grandchildren. I have friends who live near me, friends who live some distance from me. I have people in my life who have been friends for a few days and some who have known me almost forever.

Enough about me at the moment. And more about why I succumbed to become Blogger. I am computer literate. I have used computers when screens were green, letters where white and a floppy disc really was. I didn't understand why someone would want to write about their lives and who would want to read about it.

But that all changed yesterday. Saturday, June 6, 2010 I went to the gym I where I have been a member for about a month of and signed up for a contest. The contest is about getting in shape. Losing weight and building muscle. Over the next 12 weeks I will be writing about how this journey is going. I promise to be honest. If I eat a potato chip (or bag, I mean really, who can eat just one) I will write it down. If I don't work the full hour of cardio I will tell. But I will also brag if I finally get the scale below 200. Ok, I will brag when it gets below 250.

You see, I don't believe I am alone on this journey. I think there are others out there, in cyber space who have had a similar struggle with shedding the weight. I feel strongly that a very deep rooted reason for my holding on to this protective blanket of fat is because I am scared to be thin. I don't want to be scared any more. I don't want to walk and my ankles hurt or my knees give way. I am almost 55 and I want to enjoy the next 20 or so years. And I have two grandkids who I want to run and play with.

So I invite you to come along. Share with me, if you like, how you shed the weight. Or why you want to give up the security blanket of fat. Is there one way to lose weight and keep it off. Not really. But I plan on exploring how I can change my mind, my thoughts and my self image. I am writing this because I am going to make it this time. I am shedding the weight. It will not be lost because I don't want to find it any more. And by talking about what I intend to do, win this challenge by having the most dramatic change in 12 weeks, I am making myself accountable to any who may chose to read this.

Until tomorrow....and yes, I will post pictures...ugh.