...is a day in the WIN column. My name is Arlene and I was introduced to Sparkpeople a couple of years ago and have been somewhat active sporadically. I'm a cancer survivor, having gone through 2 separate rounds about 9 years apart. I'm divorced and don't have any children. I spent a good sized chunk of my life as a fairly normal sized person with pretty lousy eating habits. I was wearing a size 12 when I had my last cancer surgery in 1997. Over the next 13+ years I managed to put on a little over 80 lbs. Depression and stress have both factored into it along with a love of food, especially junk food. What probably started out as a coping method has become a health issue. Last year I started to set up my exercise plan and got it going for about 4 months then I was side-tracked by a more pressing deadline and completely dropped out. In January of this year I decided to get serious about exercise. I was doing pretty good working out at home to DVD's and walking near my home. I've had a couple of minor set-backs but I was doing ok. In May I saw a chance to get a gym membership at a gym I like and became a card carrying gym rat. I really like my gym and even though I've had a few weeks when I haven't been as consistent as I want to be, I'm making progress. More progress than I would have made at home. I never really thought I would belong to a gym but this seems to be working for me. I'm strength training 2 days a week and doing cardio 5 days a week. My cardio on my ST days is around 30 min and on non-ST days it's closer to 50-60 min. I don't want to run (no C25K in my future), I did plenty of running when I was younger and I don't really love it. I enjoy cycling so the stationary bike is part of my workout. I have a love/hate relationship with the Elliptical machine and I'm not really sure of where that will go. I want to do some serious hiking so it's still part of the program. Mostly, I'm working on increasing my walking pace, trying to get to 4mph. Right now I can warm up and still get my first mile in under 18 min. I'm doing some interval work but I'm flexible and if I hear of something that I think will work, I'll probably give it a try.

I really want to be able to do things I enjoy doing, to try some new ones and not feel fat and ungainly. * LOVE riding roller coasters. * Hike local trails with my camera. * Try cross country skiing and/or snowshoeing. * Take lessons in white water kayaking. * Ride my bike comfortably for day rides. A combo of mtn bike and road would be good. *I want to hike the back country of Yosemite, Yellowstone and other National Parks.

Right now my program is very simple: - 5-9 servings of fruits and veggies per day (the more the merrier) - Walk/Cardio, 5x per week, weekends can have longer walks. - Increase my dietary fiber by eating more high fiber grains, cereals and pasta - MEASURE & WEIGH my food to better control my portions - Fish twice a week - Check each week to see what's working and what isn't

I live and work in the wine country of Sonoma County, Northern California. I do drink but it's only occasionally. I do a lot of IT, bookkeeping, paperwork stuff which keeps me sitting most days. I have a cat, Bailey, a cream & white Persian who has a policy about interrupting my workouts. It's his job, I get it.

Babysteps - Just keep taking babysteps.

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