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Introduction Text Don't just dream it, live it now! Update: January 9th, 2021: A new year. New goals. New plans. Make this year the best year of your life! Update December 1st, 2020: Being diagnosed with vertigo has helped me realize my head is even further from normal. My most recent doctor visit saw the doctor prescribing meds for that and my cholesterol. I'm not surprised that it's up because the past 18 months my diet hasn't been strong on vegetables and fruits. I recently subscribed to the Misfits box. Trying new things and working through my vertigo issues one day at a time. I've been sidelined with injuries, migraines, gout and vertigo so I'm working towards regaining my mobility and upping my walking and exercises as my head allows. My vision problems and past traumatic brain injuries are another issue that affect me greatly. Never give up. Approach each day with a positive attitude. Spread love, peace, joy, happiness and smiles. Update: October 11th, 2020: both my feet are giving me trouble now. Walking is difficult. Im breaking out again. No doubt stress related. Might be an allergy too but I haven't figured it out yet. My neighbor has been burning stuff since I got home plus it's harvest time here. Then, there's the fall allergens so my body is in fight mode and making me miserable. The remnants of Hurricane Delta passed through yesterday. Aches and pains are through the roof. Tomorrow the first of 2 cold fronts move through. Possibly frost Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Not ready for this! Update: September 21, 2020: My feet are very unhappy right now. I see my doctor tomorrow. My left foot is red and swollen in my big toe area like gout. The pain covers my entire upper foot area, the ball of the foot and toe areas on both feet. This stopped my nightly walks because I canget shoes on. My steps are diminished and my feet are elevated with ice as much as possible. My migraines are almost constant, maybe it's my sinuses that are triggering the throbbing pain. Update: July 28th, 2020: I've been home for two weeks now. My body is recovering from the stress and insanity of the past months. I'm in.my usual summertime migraine pattern, meaning daily. My eyes were checked this morning and with my current glasses I see 20/20 in both eyes. My glaucoma pressures are down and improving. Need to continue the glaucoma eye drops. My macula degeneration and diabetic retinopathy are stable. My blood sugar is back up again. Will need to watch things more closely and exercise more. My central air conditioning is out still. Waiting to see when they can get to me. They're behind schedule trying to catch up. Thankfully I was able to purchase small room a/c window units for two bedrooms and an additional two fans to circulate the air. Staying at home as much as possible other than to get groceries. I was pleasantly surprised to see that I was motivator of the day today. Update: May 25th, 2020: just got back from Tennessee. Home for a few weeks I hope. Need to make doctors appointments. Injury to my right shoulder yet again. Stress is getting to me. So much to do, timelines, pandemic still around, summer heat has arrived, crappy snappy people demanding everything now, dealing with the government during a pandemic and loss of a good friend a few days ago. Update: April 11th, 2020: I'm home now. Still will have to make trips back to Tennessee to work with lawyer and get things settled on.my brother's estate. Trying to get myself straightened up and back on track but that's going to take time due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Update: March 16th, 2020: I'm still at my brother's house in NE Tennessee. My brother, Scott, passed away at 6:48am on Thursday, March 12th, 2020. Learning new things about myself, life and friendships. Update: February 7th, 2020: I'm at home to see my doctors. I saw my primary doctor yesterday for routine blood work, renewing prescriptions, and discovering I have hives. I got a steroid shot for that. Today I see my retina specialist and hope I don't have any problems and need a shot. The last shot I had was December 2017. So I've been very fortunate with my wet macular degeneration. I was started on a new eye drop for my glaucoma, that makes #3 that I will have tried. I hope there's no pain and such with these. I discovered that I brother's scales were further off than I was afraid of, about 10 pounds. The hives have spread to my legs now. Fun fun fun, not. I return to my brother's house on Monday. He is scheduled for surgery on March 10th. He is alone right now and down in the dumps because it's done nothing but rain since Sunday evening. Same thing here at my house lots of rain and low areas flooding. Update: January 16th, 2020: I'm still helping my brother at his house. Waiting to hear from his doctors on what will happen next. He had his bathtub converted into a shower. It's finally finished. Had a whole house cleaning and washing everything in his linen closet and walk in closet. I'm trying to get my life a d lose this weight for good. I am recovering from a concussion. I hit my head hard on the edge of the refrigerator's freezer door corner. Apparently it left a small cut on my scalp. I've had multiple concussions so I understand that my recovery is dependent upon me getting more rest than usual otherwise the dizziness, motion sickness and nausea in addition to the almost constant headache will take over. I'm listening to what my body wants. Watching food and trying to adjust to the changes I've made. Update: December 1, 2019: my brother and I are back at his house in NE Tennessee. I have a sprained right ankle/foot, so I'm hobbling around doing my best to help my brother Update: November 22, 2019: my brother has been released from the hospital. It's been an ordeal that continues. We are still in Florida at a condo on the beach. We leave Saturday for his house. Update October 29, 2019: My brother is still in the hospital. He has a blood infection and is on IV antibiotics for 2 weeks. Can't remember when they started. He's still getting dialysis after a really bad time last week. His lungs filled up with fluid and he couldn't breathe so they did emergent dialysis. Discovered a blood clot in his foot. Had an IVC filter placed. It's been a hard rough time. Praying that physical therapy can start to get him out of bed and moving. Best rest for 5 weeks isn't good. I'm still at my other brother's house sleeping on the couch. Update: October 7, 2019: The fifteenth anniversary of my first husband's death by heart attack. My brother, Scott, who I travel with had a major heart attack on September 21st while we were on vacation in New Smyrna Beach Florida. He is still in the ICU. His kidneys are collateral damage according to the doctors. He's on dialysis three times a week. My life is on hold indefinitely. Update: August 14, 2019: Diagnosis early stage glaucoma. I have eye drops for this. One drop each eye twice a day, 12 hours apart. Not fun. The readings he got today were about 3 points lower than his nurse. They were about 6 to 8 points lower than the other day. They did a scan of my optic nerve. Plus those "wonderful" bright lights they shine into your eyes. Not as bad as usual because my eyes weren't dilated. So I see him and the retina specialist in November to follow up both the wet macular degeneration and the glaucoma. Updated July 9th, 2019: Had to cancel my gym membership due to health issues related to the auto accident and falls. Too many injuries in too short of time. Listening to what my body needs until I heal. Still walking. Watching what I eat too. Updated June 27, 2019: recovering from an automobile accident last Monday. I have whiplash and a sprained right shoulder plus seat belt injuries but thankfully nothing serious. I'm allowing my body to heal itself and listening to it. I was told not to lift over 5 pounds for up to three months. Updated May 2, 2019: been sidelined again by a stomach virus and all this rain. Slowly recovering. My sodium levels are usually the lowest end of normal. It's a problem that happens to me and a cousin a lot. I recognized my lifeless feelings and very low energy levels. I mean 79 steps in 24 hours? My body has returned to normal levels thanks to some salty foods and hydration. My weight probably will jump again but hopefully not much. Updated April 26, 2019: Been sidelined by pneumonia and a stomach virus so things haven't gone as planned. That's okay, I'm slowly returning to a routine. The weather's warming up but its raining a lot. So its indoor activity. Slowly building up the momentum. Updated February 18, 2019: I'm working on a new exercise and fitness routine to include beginner Tai Chi, walking, walking with Leslie Sansone, strength training and looking for stretching routine too. That plus working out at the gym again, hoping to get back to that soon. Set new weight loss goals and trying to get healthier, have less pain, better movement and lose this darn weight. Updated February 11, 2019: I'm still standing. I'm recommitting to a better exercise plan and lose more weight. I need to stop gaining a d losing the same 25 pounds. Updated: October 9, 2018: back from my birthday trip. I turned 64 on September 16 while in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. Now that I’m home, I’m allowing my body to restore itself. I’m still feeling the after effects from my last concussion and had been warned it could cause troubles the rest of my life. Having motion sickness, dizziness and extreme tiredness. I’ll be returning to my routine at Planet Fitness soon. Back to working on me again. Fortunately over five weeks I only gained about two pounds. Thank you all for your continued support and friendship. Updated July, 27, 2018: i did it. I joined Planet fitness yesterday and started a new path. Way outside my comfort zone here. Trying new things and loving the HydroMassage beds after my workout Updated: July 10, 2018: Working on me is a daily must. I'm recovering from a bad fall that left my ribs, sternum, knees and belly bruised deeply. I have pain deep breathing, coughing, sneezing and basically moving. My "midriff" and belly are swollen and so are my knees. At the present, putting on shoes and socks is a major challenge. Lifting weights is still on hold - first with my shoulder problems starting last November and now from the fall. I'm working on restarting my lifestyle changes again. I'll be 64 on September 16th so I need to get moving. I'll be celebrating at the beach with family and friends. I love using the Spark app and mostly the website. I treasure the friendships I have made while I've been here. Updated November 19th, 2017: Welcome to my page. My new motto is Live, laugh and love and spread joy to yourself and those in your life and that you meet. I've been on this journey for a while now. This is a lifestyle change and I want to make sure that my weight loss is permanent. I've been on diet after diet, year after year since I was a teenager. I'm currently at the lowest weight since 1988. So I'm thrilled with that. It's been a long hard journey. I have multiple health issues which I deal with on a daily basis and that have placed limitations on what I can do physically. Nine years ago I died from complications of gallbladder surgery and was blessed to have been given a second chance on life. The CPR messed up my already screwed up back even more. I was at my heaviest. I decided to make life worth living again. Small changes over time helped correct 50+ years of bad habits. I have asthma, allergies, fibromyalgia, arthritis in just about every joint (moderately severe in both hips), bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, Raynaud's syndrome, migraine headaches - which were chronic and daily, I have two screws in my left knee, my right knee hyper-extends, high blood pressure & cholesterol which is under control of medication, non insulin dependent diabetic which is almost under control - I still need to work on it a little more, wet macular degeneration in both eyes requiring periodic shots, have episodes of temporary blindness at random times, bioplar 2 depressive with panic attacks when I have trouble breathing, PTSD and I'm a super klutz. On August 10th, I had my 5th shot in my left eye. The vision has cleared up nicely. However, I went to the eye doctor and he found a left eye macular flame shaped hemorrhage. So I'm waiting to see the retina specialist again on December 12th. This is still my biggest concern is my eyes. I'm needing to work on better blood sugar control too - seems my blood sugars have gone bonkers again. I can't win! They go up for a while, get meds and then they bottom out all the time. Finding a balance is difficult. I understand the trials and problems associated with weight loss especially if you're suffering from depression. I also understand the trials and problems with arthritis and fibromyalgia. I do my best to help anyone that needs help or encouragement. If you need a friend, just stop by and leave me a message. I'll get back to you as soon as I can. If you need someone to vent to, I'm here. WE CAN DO THIS! ONE STEP AT A TIME, ONE DAY AT A TIME! LIVE YOUR LIFE NOW! Stop putting off living your life until you are a certain size or weigh a certain amount. Live today. Love yourself now! Tomorrow is not guaranteed. Live, Laugh and Love! DON'T DREAM IT, BE IT! (from The Rocky Horror Picture Show)

Remember that each day is a gift from God and cherish all your memories, friends and family. Spread love and kindness wherever you go, and don't forget to give it to yourself. There's no magic number I want to be. I just want to be healthier today than I was yesterday. Yes I want to lose weight but I want to live my life each day as best as I can.

Walking at least 4,000 steps everyday and work my way back to 10,000+ steps a day. Have patience with myself because I can no longer do the things I used to do. I'm getting older and less physically capable. Live each day striving to be better than I was the day before. Not beat myself up when I can't accomplish something that I used to do. My physical abilities are not the same. My vision problems are worse and cannot be fixed as well as they used to be. Eat more fresh and raw fruits and vegetables and cut down on meat consumption. Eat a variety of foods so I don't get stuck in a food rut and give up. Try new recipes.

I turned 66 on September 16, 2020. I have a soon to be 29 year old son, who's birthday is February 6th. . A couple weeks after my 50th birthday my husband died of a massive heart attack on October 7, 2004 just two days before his birthday.. Got re-married and divorced in short order two years later. Now I'm single and loving life, one day at a time. My younger brother had a massive heart attack 5 days after my birthday on September 21, 2020, while we were on vacation in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. His heart stopped for 18 minutes before the ICU nurses and doctors got it restarted. Then spent the next 9 weeks in 3 different hospitals in the area there. I stayed with my youngest brother, for 8 of those weeks. The last two I spent most of the time at the hospital in the rehab unit with my brother. We spent a week on the beach after his discharge then, came back to his house in Tennessee on November 30, 2020. I was my brother's caregiver full time now. He passed away from a heart attack

Today is the first day of the rest of your life so make the most of it. In November 27, 2007 I weighed what I believe was close to my heaviest weight, 278 pounds. That was in the hospital before I had gallbladder surgery, which I died from due to complications and was rescuitated. As of January 9th, 2021, I am at 204.2 pounds. My weight has been a struggle through taking care of my Aunt, then helping my brother with our Dad and finally with taking care of my one brother before his death. I'm taking things slow as my body just doesn't want to cooperate fully with me physically. I suffer from migraines, fibromyalgia, arthritis, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes type 2 taking meds, gout, scolosis, screws in my left knee, my right knee hyper-extends so walking can be dangerous. I have wet macular degeneration which may be turning in to dry macular degeneration. I also have glaucoma and I'm extremely nearsighted and have an astigmatism. I also have asthma and lots of

Add a Link Start with small steps and momentum will build. Celebrate moving in the direction of increased happiness now! With a plan and persistence moving towards your goals all things are possible! Adopt an attitude of gratitude. Be thankful for everything you have. It may not be what you want be show you're thankful for it anyway. Live, laugh, love and find joy in life, Ramona
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