I started Spark around my birthday three years ago, not for myself, but to help my mother who is not so good with technology. Then I got into it. I got so into it, in fact, that between March and August, my weight went from 190 all the way down to 156. I was eating better, running 5-7 miles, 5 days a week, running in 5k races, and down from a size 16-18 to a size 8-10.

Then I just lost it. Not the rest of the weight. The program.

I could make excuses for any number of events that happened around this time (job change, work stress, loss of time, etc.) but I think the real, honest truth is that I started to think I could eat what I wanted and drink what I wanted without tracking as long as I was exercising . . . except that I'd get too tired to exercise, or have a deadline to meet for work, etc., until I wasn't doing anything anymore. Worse than that, I was self-hating, focusing on what I did poorly and the bad choices I made and my bad self-image instead of looking forward.

About 3 weeks ago at an all-time high of 198.8 lbs, I decided I needed to re-commit to myself. Spark really DOES work if you do it correctly. I am living testament to that very fact. I'm not going to say I'm perfect, and this time around may not be perfect either, but I know I can do it (because I HAVE) and I know what I need to work on.

Keep going, everyone, because we can all do this! I wish I had the emoticon "I can do this!" but these are great too . . .