Hi. I joined April 16, 2010. In my life I have lost (and GAINED) hundreds of pounds -- my heaviest was over 250 -- but now I am ready to get fit and healthy for the rest of my life. Although when I joined I only needed to lose 21 lbs. this time around (I caught it early, YAY!), what I really have needed to do is tone my body from all of that roller coaster on the scale. And I used to have a waist. I'm going to go find it. I love Spark People, use all of the features, and have as a goal to accrue at least 60 pts. by using a lot of these pages every day. I track everything too. Everything. Sometimes before and sometimes after, but I find this is the most helpful thing I can do. It's doing three things: keeping me accountable, making sure I'm within healthy limits on many counts (nutrition tracker does this for me if I only input the calorie range I want), and and it's teaching me how to maintain my weight once I reach maintenance. All was going so well (lost 9 lbs and 3 1/2 inches in 9 weeks and my clothes are fitting much looser. I could even wear some outfits that I had moved to another closet to give away.) That is, untiI I stumbled down a half flight of stairs on June 20, broke 7 bones in my left foot, sprained my right foot, and badly jarred my arms and shoulders. I've now lowered my caloric intake on the nutrition tracker, and this automatically calculates how much protein, carbs, and fat I should be eating. But this also makes sure I'm eating the right things. It helps that I only have healthy food in the house! Now, today I have great news. And it's all because of my Spark People compadres. I had written all 5 of my Spark Teams as soon as I could that afternoon, after all the ER hullabaloo was over and I was safely home again, but mighty scared what this might do to my program. For I was now chair bound, not even able to use crutches, I was given all wonderful advice, tips, and support. Because of this advice I immediately dropping my caloric intake by 250 calories/day. but I made sure I closely followed the Nutritional Tracker's guidelines for all the categories. Finally, yesterday I got a new cast and had a chance to weigh it. This morning I weighed in, subtracting what I had learned my cast weighs. I've lost: 1 lb. 3.25" over chest, waist, hips, and thigh !! And I have now crossed another decade number on the scale. I'm below 160 lbs. Yay! Thank you, everyone on these boards. You got me through and then I followed through. ``````````````````````````````````````` More about me? I'm a project manager for a nonprofit management organization and I love it! (I can even do the work from home on the phone and my laptop.) In addition, I'm a humorist/freelance writer and watercolorist. Also a former college teacher, public speaker, corp. trainer, and photographer. In terms of my writing, I just published a book in Dec. '09 and other writers hire me to edit their work. I have two grown children and 5 grandsons (plus twins baby boys on the way. Yes, 7 grandsons in all.) My life is very good and incredibly fulfilling. I just need to attain to my proper weight/measurements, and get physically fit for the first time in my life. (I'd never set foot in a gym and now I R a MEMBER of one!) For the first time in my decades-long life, though I've tried all the other programs before, I can now say am confident that Spark People is my answer. I am thrilled with all of these tools here on this site now at my disposal. I am so ready to meet new friends, and maybe even get a buddy or two. Write me a note!

Lose 20-25 lbs., and many, many inches. But mostly firm up my mid section (I used to be an hour glass. Now I'm a rectangle.) I want to learn how to happily manage my weight, body, and attitude toward food for the rest of my life since I've been down this road so many times before.

* I am faithful using the Nutrition and Fitness Trackers. * I think of ALL the food I eat when tracking my daily intake (even the food I shouldn't have eaten and would love to hide from myself ... and others.) * I read every email which arrives in my Inbox. * I get at least 8 glasses of water and 4 (upwards of 6) fruits and vegetables a day. * I spend time on the site, searching for articles to read, polls to take, and recipes to fix. * I go to the gym as many days as possible, usually 4-5. My goal is 30 minutes there each day, but life does interfere ... or I have to rest because I've overdone it. (brand new at gyms, never joined one before in my life ( ! ) so I'm still learning. * I have hope, and I'm working on patience. * I appreciate my new friends on this site and think of ways they can be resources. Twenty heads are better than one!

I'm a 4th generation, Southern California native, and dern proud of it. However, for the past twenty years I've traveled around the country for various reasons ... sometimes work, sometimes school, sometimes just a whim. I've settled in TX, SC, WA, and now Jackson, MS. I love to explore.



Add a Link Humorist and Author: Laugh Your Shorts Off, available at Amazon.com ``````````````````````````````````` Satchel Paige - "Work like you don�t need the money. Love like you�ve never been hurt. Dance like nobody�s watching. "
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