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Introduction Text I lost, then gained. This time I think I've got it figured out! I've been working to lose weight since May 2011 at 245. In late September 2011 at 229, I joined a gym starting with a kettle bells and a spin class there. Keeps me honest about staying active. In November I started the C25K. In February 2012 I started 10K Runner. On March 28 I finished that and started to run an hour 3 days a week, working on improving my pace with the Easy10K app, plus some other cross training (biking, kayaking). Lots of people point to pregnancy as a cause of being overweight. My daughter now 30+, so I kinda don't have creds on that anymore. I'm actually very good at losing weight, but an utter failure at keeping it off. So my journey will only be half over when I've met my weight-loss goals. Maybe a quarter over. I also have spinal stenosis, a birthday present from my dad's side of the family. This causes chronic back pain. But lately, as I've lost weight and become more active, I have much less pain. My hip bursitis that lasted over two years is gone, and now the plantar fasciitis is under control. I know that unless I control my weight, the rest of my life would be one round of pain after another. The body rebels. Now it's free. In my 50s, I am, at bottom, interested in not losing strength, flexibility, muscle tone, and skin tone faster than I have to. I want to look like a person as confident as I feel inside. I'm joining the site here because I've learned that having a community to share with and get inspiration from helps me stay focused. Thank you all for making me a Spark People Motivator. Wow. It has meant a lot to me to read about motivators on my journey, and I hope I can help people, too. Sometimes I think that I will wake up and find out I only dreamed I got this far. You all continue to motivate me. :) Time for an update -- 12-30-12 I'm guessing some of you can relate to this. The day after my birthday, Aug. 26, I fell out of my zone. Stress from a number of factors was the cause, but letting it drag on for months is entirely my own doing. So now I'm ready to turn dread into tread -- the treadmill and back to my exercise routine, back to tracking, back to what *works*. I had to start slowly in the beginning, and I'm going to do that now. It's a start. And it's different this time. I know I'm not going to go back to the way I was. My main 2013 goal, in general, without any stressing, is just going to be to get back to 152, my previous low of Aug. 25, 2012. After that, I'll work toward my final goal of 140. I can do it this year. I've kept 50 pounds off, so I can do that again! It's difficult to be honest about the gain, but I keep thinking that maybe other people can find strength in knowing they are not alone. And we WILL get there! Update 6-18-13 Didn't get too far, but as one kind Sparker helpfully pointed out in my blog this week, I DID keep off 32 pounds for over a year. That one comment alone made me feel like less of a failure. And I didn't get back into my size 18s, either. Note: if you got rid of all your clothes as you lost, GOOD MOVE. My #1 rule in all this was that I was NOT NOT NOT going to buy any more big clothes. I did a minor cave and bought two pair of size 16 jeans, since I need them to work in, but that's it. I'm making do with what stretches. Which is not much. And that is also a useful, constant reminder not to get any bigger, that this is IT or I'll be wearing nightgowns all day. So, I'm doing Re-Run 5K! Since I did it before, I figured this is my "re-run." :D I've been eating right for two days straight. (A streak!!) Part of this is motivated by my wanting to help my mom, whose open heart surgery is July 1. I want to get ready myself to help her recover and work out and get stronger than ever. I couldn't get motivated for me, but somehow, doing it for someone else makes it more important. If that works, I'll take it! Update 9-15-13 Mom is doing well. I'm working on beginning again. Still haven't gained everything back, thank goodness. I joined a new gym and I do ST and cardio at 6 a.m. MWF. I'm excited. Setting a goal of getting back to where I was (152) by sometime in June 2014. But I'm only going to weigh once per week. I get too caught up in numbers. I want to keep emphasizing lifestyle. I've missed being a runner. I hope that when I make my goal, someday a person will read this and not give up. Maybe it will be me. ;) _________ Feb./Mar. 2014 Gained 75 of 93 lost over the course of two years. Now I'm back at it again. This time it might take me longer, but hopefully I'll do a better job with keeping it off. At least I always KNOW my main problem is maintenance. I am working on losing as if I'm in maintenance, except for eating enough less to keep a slow, steady weight-loss. For me, I think that's about 5 pounds a month, but if it's a bit more or less, that's okay. Update 7-13-14 Not a big update. Just an attitude developing that I like. It's: If I can't live it, I'm not doing it. So, I work outside a lot, being a farmer. I've lost about 10 pounds since spring, which is good. Not fast, but steady. I'm making good food choices and trying to be really aware of what I want to eat, why I want it, and then whether or not I'm actually going to eat it. My food is quality, and I'm being pretty moderate. If I want something, I do eat it. But again, with awareness, and I'm finding I'm satisfied with a reasonable amount. When the growing season is ending, I'll have to pick up more exercise type activity, but I'm looking forward to that. My goal is 45 minutes of something per day, then. Kind of interesting to see an approach evolve. I CAN lose 2-3 pounds a week. I did it. I've done it more than once. But I can't maintain that. Maybe with the more moderate approach, that will be my answer to maintenance. I'm giving myself to Aug. 25, 2015 to see where I might be then, keeping this approach. Update 10-4-15 Just checking in, mostly. My main goal right now is to get motivated enough to start walking three days a week, working up to running. Yes, I do still like running, which I suppose sounds weird for a 53-year-old overweight person, but there it is. Right now, I'm aiming for losing about 17 pounds, to get to 200. I often like that weight, when I've been at it - I look less round-faced and more compact. I'm a person who carries more weight anyway, even when I'm thinner, so on me it doesn't look as bad as 200 sounds. And no, I don't think I'm fooling myself. :D I don't look as good at 200 as I do at 150, which is fabulous (;D), but I'm seeking manageable goals. Update 6-16-16 I read the book Always Hungry? by Dr. David Ludwig in January. I heard about it from Michael Pollan's Facebook page, then a profile on Science Friday with Ira Glass. I was hooked. I was about ready to throw in the towel, feeling that I would never learn how to eat right for my body. Now I know. I can't recommend this book highly enough. You know what my goal weight is? I don't have one. This program is about learning to eat again. I am literally never hungry, unless maybe right before a planned meal. I don't have any cravings anymore. It's like a miracle, but it's really science. It's about biology. And now I know how my body works. Read it. Join the FB community for support, and you can keep right on tracking here at SP. I have had to completely change the way I look at weight loss. You can see my profile - I lost 93 pounds in just over year. But I couldn't keep it off. No one can, because a person can't eat 1350 calories and exercise 2-3 hours per day forever. So I know that is a dead end. I don't look like those skinny pictures anymore, But I'm on my way to the right weight for me, And I will know it when I get there. Another new realization is that the most important thing to me is eating whole food in the right amounts with the right balance. That is, I'm learning how to eat right for me. The SIDE EFFECT is that my body is releasing fat. I've lost about 14 pounds since January. Some people would think that's not fast enough. But remember - I know how to lose fast. Now I'm just slowly, slowly losing. And eating great food. There will never be a time when I have to "go off my diet." I will just be at my best weight and stay there. Meanwhile, I went back to having a trainer. I love her! She comes to my house once a week and we are working on my core strength. Can't get over how much my back pain has improved. No more back spasms. I'm also doing yoga with her once a week in a class. It's been just three weeks and the difference is amazing. Next I'll be doing a longer bike ride once per week, and as soon as I can make time in my schedule, I want to get back to running, just because I like it. But not too much - get out and walk/run for about an hour three days per week. I am living right now as a normal person who knows how to eat, enjoys regular moderate exercise, and one day I'll be finished with the weight loss. Maybe not this year. Maybe sometime next year. But I don't care. I'm living my life NOW and I feel amazing. :)

Fit, strong, healthy - THAT IS ME NOW!!! New goal 2016: Lose weight gradually, maybe a few pounds a month, until I find the right weight. For the first time in my entire life, I don't have a number goal. It will find me.

The program from the book by Dr. David Ludwig: Always Hungry?: Conquer Cravings, Retrain Your Fat Cells, and Lose Weight Permanently Core strength workout 1x week Longer bike ride 1x week Yoga 1x week 10K steps per day Started running in late 2011 and I still love it. My favorite running apps are the ones by Jeff Galloway sold by lolo. My Hub and I have started doing a lot more outdoor recreation - hiking, biking, kayaking, etc. I love feeling strong and active. Current favorite: kayaking!

I'm subversive. Disguised as a writing instructor, I teach young people how to think for themselves. I grow and eat a lot of my own food. I grow organic vegetables and sell them at farmers markets and a CSA. This is a very strenuous activity, but not much cardio, so I'm adding more of that, along with strength training in my "off season." I want to be a healthy reflection of my farm produce! I'm 5'6." I always want to know height when I'm reading others' pages. I'm a UU. [waves to people who know what that means]

My mother in law lives with us. She has Alzheimer's, but is still very active. I help my dad a lot, as he can't drive anymore and needs the company since his wife died recently.

Add a Link �The greatest fine art of the future will be the making of a comfortable living on a small piece of land...� - Abraham Lincoln "Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections, but instantly set about remedying them--every day begin the task anew." - St. Francis de Sales
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