A year ago today I went to my brother's New Year's Eve party. The next day we flew home; I stepped on the scale and had added a couple of pounds of holiday weight. Given that I was already at my all-time high weight, I knew I had to do something and went with the old-fashioned New Year's resolution.

So on January 2, I began watching what I ate and exercising. An email reminded me that I had joined SparkPeople months earlier (doing nothing with it but reading an occasional article). I decided to log in and track my exercise and weight. Sometime early that week, I noticed a "bootcamp" and decided to join.

The result of using SparkPeople to support my goal is that I lost most of the weight by April and slowly took off the rest. I've been in maintenance for over two months and have logged in more than 12,000 exercise minutes for the year.

This year is going to be about maintenance: maintaining an exercise routine and maintaining my weight. No more yo-yo!

As I begin 2012, I'm a happier person than I was a year ago. I am happy with my weight and happy that I exercise regularly. I feel in charge of my health rather than out of control.

I'm thrilled to see a new bootcamp--the January Jumpstart Challenge. I'm in! Here's to a healthy 2012!