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If 2014 set any precedent for this year, then 2015 is gonna fly by!”

This is a big year for me. I’m turning 30 this July and it’s kind of freaking me out a bit. My 20s were awesome. I’ve had a blast writing, traveling, got married, bought a house, paid off my debt, and did all the things grown ups are supposed to, right? I even launched this website and with the help of you, dear reader, have kept PrettySouthern.com going strong for four years! But my body has paid the price.

Jamaica Honeymoon

Me on my honeymoon in 2010

When I got to college, the world of late nights drinking, eating Pokey Sticks from Gumby’s, and the 3 a.m. trips to the Pita Pit packed on 20 lbs over four years in Athens. I was able to lose some of that weight after graduation (I dropped 15 lbs my two years out of school) plus I got “wedding skinny” where a gal stresses herself out so badly she drops weight during the last few days before the wedding. After getting married, the weight from “happily ever after” came back. Launching a food blog hasn’t helped for maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

I’m not posting the obligatory before and after pictures because I’m not unhappy with the way I look, quite the contrary actually; what I’m not happy with is that I can’t run a mile in under 12 minutes, and I’m stuck at a desk most of my day (the curse of being a writer is you have to keep your butt in a chair). My routine now doesn’t factor in 30 minutes of cardio each day.

The jiggly bits have got to go.

Therefore, over the first six months of 2015, I’m on a quest to lose 15 lbs before my 30th birthday. I’m calling it my #15in15. That’s about 3 lbs a month, and to burn a pound of fat takes roughly 3,500 calories. For all your FitBit users out there, y’all know it’s a lot of steps.

The good news is, I have friends to help me. PrettySouthern.com is going to shift gears a bit. We’ll continue to post our food blogger adventures with a few helpings of fitness. I’m going to get my butt kicked by personal trainers, check out some classes at Cyc and Pink Barre turn, plus try more healthy recipes. I’m also going to try and get at least 15 more minutes of physical activity in every day.

If anyone else out there has fitness resolutions for 2015, please share your story in the comments section below. Let us know your tips, tricks, successes and “opportunities”. We’re all in this together. After all, as my new friend Ulrick Bien-Aime says…

“Your health is your wealth.”

pretty southern Lauren Patrick is a native Southerner, UGA graduate, and the editor of Pretty Southern.com. Y’all can find her writing, wining, dining, and working out in Atlanta. She’s a member of the Atlanta Blogger Network and Atlanta Food Blogger Society. Keep up with her & Pretty Southern on Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.