Hi Sparkpeople. I love this site! I'm a 30 something American, currently living and running in Holland.

Weight has been an issue in my life from my earliest memories. I grew up in the 1970's, when it seemed like all the kids were stick figures. But I was round. I went on my first diet when I was in 3rd grade.

Things came to a head when I weighed in at 200 pounds just before giving birth to my daughter. My post pregnancy weight stayed at 185. I would carry my month ...

Hi Sparkpeople. I love this site! I'm a 30 something American, currently living and running in Holland.

Weight has been an issue in my life from my earliest memories. I grew up in the 1970's, when it seemed like all the kids were stick figures. But I was round. I went on my first diet when I was in 3rd grade.

Things came to a head when I weighed in at 200 pounds just before giving birth to my daughter. My post pregnancy weight stayed at 185. I would carry my month old daughter around and people would ask me when I was due. Great...

Anyway, in 2002 after a few years of being unable to shake the weight or have more children, I opted for a huge change of pace. I decided to run a marathon. I completed that goal at the 1st Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco in 2003.

Now I'm 70 pounds lighter. My next goals: get to and remain at what I think is my ideal running weight of 125 pounds and to run the Rotterdam Marathon in April 2007.

I am also writing about my experiences living and running out of the country at my blog: Expat Runner In Zwolle. http://expatrunner.blogspot.com/