NEWS:

I celebrated my 1 year wedding anniversary in September!

I got a promotion and raise at work, and now have double the hours there -- which means I have much less time for myself these days, but I'm loving my job.

My biggest issue right now is pain management. Several old injuries are irritated by the additional time spent on my feet and occasionally climbing ladders and stuff at work, so by the time I get home, going out walking or biking would ...

NEWS:

I celebrated my 1 year wedding anniversary in September!

I got a promotion and raise at work, and now have double the hours there -- which means I have much less time for myself these days, but I'm loving my job.

My biggest issue right now is pain management. Several old injuries are irritated by the additional time spent on my feet and occasionally climbing ladders and stuff at work, so by the time I get home, going out walking or biking would only make me hurt WORSE. I have to find some way to manage pain so I can exercise regularly.

-------------------------------------

My next goal is to get fit and prepared to start a family. I don't want to start out heavy, then gain 30+ pounds due to pregnancy. It'll be that much harder to get the weight off after, and I'm going to need the energy to keep up with the demands of an infant!

See my goals below.

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ABOUT ME:

I need to lose at least 1.5 lbs a week in order to reach my goal (or be anywhere near it) by October 31st, 2012. Easy, right? Well, that's what I thought, too! Turns out, that's harder than it sounds.

ABOUT ME:

I started the weight loss journey back in high school. Prior to Freshman year, I had been diagnosed with scoliosis and started treatment. Four years of wearing a solid plastic back brace from 7th - 10th grade discouraged exercise, especially when movement of any kind left sores where the brace rubbed!

I gained weight like crazy, going from about 180 to almost 300 pounds in those 4 short years. When the time finally came to be rid of the brace, I was so disgusted with the way I looked!

Junior year of high school, I decided I'd take control of myself and get a lot of that weight OFF, and I managed to lose roughly 80 pounds by Senior Year - fall of 2002! I can remember showing up to band class, seeing all of my friends again - some for the first time since summer - and seeing the shock on their faces!

It was addictive, I think. I wanted people to look at me and say, "Wow! You look so great!" So I enrolled in a weight training class that year and continued to improve. I may not have been losing weight, but I was losing inches!

Then, disaster struck. I was injured at my first job after high school. A foot injury that made wearing shoes, bending toes and especially walking SO painful. I could hardly go from my bedroom to the bathroom (a distance of maybe 10 feet) without the help of a person or crutches.

At first, I tried to keep up with my workout routine by doing small things that didn't cause me pain: crunches and upper body workouts. I tried to stick to a healthy diet, but as time wore on (the podiatrist said that cartilage is the slowest-healing tissue in the body) I became depressed. Would I ever walk without assistance? Could I ever do the aerobic exercises I loved most, like jumping rope and jogging?

Three years later, with very little improvement in my foot, I had gained about 20 - 25 pounds and things weren't looking too good for me. I had hit rock bottom.

Thankfully, once you're at the bottom, the only way from there is UP! In 2007, I discovered SparkPeople.com, and boy was I amazed to learn that everything on the site was FREE!

Since then I have dropped the 20 pounds I came to SP with, and I am in the process of losing the remaining 50-ish pounds to get me to a healthy BMI! Now, it's not just the desire to be confident and feel good that's driving me. I want to be healthy, I want to be able to be more active. I want my thighs to stop rubbing together when I walk (lol!), I want to get rid of my Bingo Wings and reduce back pain, and all KINDS of benefits that losing weight would bring to me, but most of all, I want to look AWESOME for my fiance. I want people to look at him with me on his arm, and be jealous of him and say, "Wow, he's so lucky to have her!"

That might sound a little self centered, but I'm only being honest! Haha

Anyway, thank you, SparkPeople, for giving me the tools I needed to get outta that "poor me" slump and back on the road to fitness!


2012 PROGRESS REWARDS (Adjusted to match Ticker reset):
When.... || I will get/do/etc... || Status of Goal

The Ticker = 10 || Spa Facial || 10 pounds to go!
The Ticker = 15 || 1 new outfit (pants & shirt w/accessories) || N/A
The Ticker = 20 || Manicure & Pedicure || N/A
The Ticker = 25 || 1 new outfit (pants & shirt w/accessories) || N/A
The Ticker = 30 || ??? || N/A
The Ticker = 35 || Full Body Massage || N/A
The Ticker = 45 || Tattoo! || N/A
The Ticker = 50 || Wedding Gown Commission! || N/A

--Other Indications of Progress--
I can fit BACK into size 16 pants || 2 new pairs of jeans || In Progress
I fit into size 14 pants || 2 new pairs of jeans || N/A
I fit into size 12 pants || 2 new shirts || N/A
I fit into size 10 pants || Some sexy Lingerie to wear for my honey. ^.^ || N/A
My bra size drops 1 size (band size = 38 or cup size = DD) || 2 New bras! || N/A

Read More About IREADYERMIND (Updated October 11)

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