It appears you have not yet registered for SparkPeople. To get a free nutrition and fitness plan and join our community click here....

SparkPeople Sponsors help keep the site free!

<- View All Community Highlight Emails
SparkPeople: Weekly Community Highlight
  Week of 3/12/2009 - Featured Board Post

Ten Hours
YOLOVEESTU



Preamble:
I've always been an active person. An active eater, to be specific. I was chubby in high school and in college that morphed to pretty darn chunky. I picked up running but apparently eating a donut every time one returns from a run negates the weight loss effects. My mom got breast cancer my junior year so I came home to help out. This put a stop to my exercising for some time. When I picked it up again I worked harder than ever: two hours of biking, lifting and running every day. The result? Four pounds lost in three months. Depressed? Yes.

Eureka:
I was looking for a way to share workout logs with my friend from college and discovered SparkPeople. I was instantly addicted and on the site for hours every day. I finally understood the "with proper diet" part that trails every weight loss product ad. I'd post a bit, soak up the articles, make up healthy recipes and track my calories like clockwork. My secret obsession, though, was looking at SparkPages (kind of creepy, I know.) I just loved seeing all the different types of people and their motivations, transformations, accomplishments and dedication. Whenever I lost sight of my objectives or laziness threatened, I'd go look at the pages of people who had pushed through their own issues to achieve their goals.

Finale:
I lost about 25 pounds and many inches in my months of using SparkPeople. It's not as much as some people but it still means a lot to me. I'm joining the Marines, something I wanted to do for quite some time. When I first signed up I was over the maximum weight limit and got some dubious looks from the recruiters. I leave for Basic Training in ten hours and I am the trimmest, fittest person in my ship group. I don't look forward to getting yelled at or anything but, for once, I have complete confidence in my body. I know I will be able to perform whatever is required of me, something I wasn't very sure of a few months ago. So, thank you to the wonderful people who run this site and the amazing people on it who inspired me to push myself each day.




Read and reply to this post.




Our goal is to make the SparkPeople Community the most positive online community in the world for reaching goals and getting support. In this weekly email, we share an inspiring member post from the millions of posts at SparkPeople each month. 		 


 
Today On SparkPeople
Featured Article
SparkPeople's 500-Calorie Thanksgiving Feast

80% of SparkPeople members try to cook healthier versions of holiday favorites, according to a recent poll. Eat better this Turkey Day with these nine exclusive recipes that are BIG on taste and tradition but low in calories.

Read More
MessageBoard Hot Topics
Top Searches
Modified Pushups on Foam Roller
This Pilates-style pushup is great for the triceps!
Featured Recipe
Chef Meg's Zucchini Muffins
Submitted By: CHEF_MEG

These muffins are very filling!

The whole wheat flour makes for a dense muffin, which I like. You only need to eat one! If you want a lighter muffin try using whole wheat pastry flour, which is more finely ground and available in the bulk bins at larger grocery stores.

See This Recipe on SparkRecipes
Activity Stats
  • Calories Burned: 6,932,722,203
  • Pounds Lost: 9,208,985
  • Cups Water Drank: 213,069,125
  • SparkAmerica Minutes: 940,528,023
Join SparkPeople For Free!
Get a personalized diet and fitness plan, great newsletters, post to our message boards, and even your own personal SparkPage!

Join Now For Free!