This came in last night - has to be one of my favorite posts ever on SparkPeople - from one of our all-time favorite members. In addition to losing 110 pounds in the past year, parttimer has also made 4,000 board posts to motivate other people on the site. Also, I LOVE seeing all the impact on her kids.

Go Moms! You can change the world (Dads too, but we have more Moms on the site since they are smarter :))

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parttimer has just submitted a new topic.

Title: One Year Today

Message: WOW - WHAT A YEARS IT''S BEEN. There have been so many changes.
The most obvious would be the weight loss - 110#. As I was out walking the
other day, my shadow caught my eye. It was skinny and had a waist. Where did
that come from? I''ve never had a noticable waist. My BMI went from a 45 to
a 27. The obese label is gone forever. That''s progress.

Flexibility - well I can actually tie my shoes with the bow in the center of
the shoe not the side. LOL. Although I''ve always walked, I now make an
effort to do it EVERY day for at least 3 miles, complete with stretches,
warmups and cool downs. We''ve also become more active as a family. The kids
love geocaching and we go whever the weather permits. It was great to be
reminded about this hobby through an article from SPARKPEOPLE. Hiking
through the hills and valleys is enjoyable and no longer as much a
challenge.

I still eat out more than I should but can make better food choices and
always stay within my calorie range with the correct combination of carbs,
fat and protein. My sodium level is way down as well as my blood pressure. I
was able to give blood again after being turned down for over 15 years
because of low iron. The entire family is eating more fruits and vegetables.
The kids are always carrying around water bottles - in the past it would
have been soda.

I''ve developed a more POSITIVE attitude towards my goals. Who am I
kidding - I never set goals before. I just made wishes and hoped that
somehow I would magically reach the goal. Setting steps and planning how to
reach those goals never occured to me. Since I never again thought about
goals, I never reached them. Weight loss wasn''t even a NEW YEAR RESOLUTION
anymore. Why bother? I''ve noticed that the kids have also begun to post
little motivational signs up in various places in the house and encourage
each other more. THANKS.

Using my SPARKJAR, I made a plan for paying for Christmas this year and have
it completely paid off. Something that never happened before. I also used
SPARKGUYS challenge to set up savings CD for each of my 5 kids and secret
savings for myself. 2 credit cards have been paid off and the accounts
closed.

I still have weight to lose but I''m confident that over the next few months
that to will disappear.

To SPARKGUY and his entire staff, I will always be indebted for this amazing
site and their support. It may be free but to me it''s worth a million. I
wouldn''t even have made an attempt if I hadn''t found SPARKPEOPLE. THANKS.

http://www.sparkpeople.com/myspark/messageboard.asp?imboard=33&imparent=4966420