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Introduction Text hi everyone :-D i'm kristin from milwaukee, wi... a 26-year-old senior web designer at kohl's. i grew up in southeastern wi and went to school for graphic design/studio art/spanish/communications at carthage college in kenosha. i love the color green, animals, classic rock & reggae music, modern art and my fiance dave. nearly four years ago, after starting my first post-college full-time job, i put healthy eating & exercise to the wayside. unfortunately, being active for 20 years and then stopping so abruptly made me gain weight super fast... i was at pushing 150 before i knew it. i was tired all the time, and i felt so heavy next to my 115-lb TWIN sister! how horrible. after seeing photos of myself during a trip to NYC in october 2005, i'd had enough. in the first week of november i joined a gym and started the LONG road to cardiovascular fitness. i attended a free session with a trainer where they took my health measurements about 1-2 months into my membership, and i was still at 143 pounds. i'm pretty sure that i was closer to 150 at some point, but still - it was then that i knew i had to change my habits or i'd be overweight my whole life. that's when i decided to start running. for the first couple weeks i could only jog one mile. i got over the hump by using the elliptical machine when i got too tired or winded. i joined sparkpeople in january 2006 with a new year's resolution to watch my caloric intake. WOW, has that helped!!! actually seeing everything i put in my mouth in a list form made me realize that i wasn't eating too much, just the wrong things. one of my proudest achievments is that i've become a true vegetarian; i'm such an animal lover that it seems wrong to me to NOT be one. also, i've upped my mileage to be able to run 8-10 miles at a time, if i so desire. i never thought i'd see the day when i could do that. usually, though, i just stick to 6-7 miles per day, 4-5x per week so i don't wear out my legs. UPDATE - 11/26/07 i have a brand-new goal - i'm training to run a marathon! i do long runs on sundays, and yesterday i did my longest run ever. 13.5 miles!!! that's more than a half-marathon! i'm super proud of myself... but now my quads hate me. they'll get over it :) UPDATE - 2/19/08 i'm up to 20 miles on my sunday long runs! i'll do a long run 3 out of 4 sundays per month so i don't burn out my legs. hooray! UPDATE - 3/31/08 just had my wisdom teeth out, so i'm taking it a little slower this week. trying to keep the mileage up though! i think these updates are getting lengthy, so i might try this whole *blog* thing. we'll see if it's for me :) i've been working on this for over two years now, and i've settled at a comfortable weight that fluctuates between 118 & 123. i'd like to get to 115 someday, but for now i'm very proud of where i'm at... more than 20 pounds lost!! i never thought i could do it, but with a TON of determination, support from the love of my life, and especially sparkpeople's help, i've met & gone over my goals. never in my life have i felt healthier or more confident. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! *kd*

*to finish the milwaukee lakefront marathon on october 5, 2008 -- DONE! my time was 4:11:04 ... eat your heart out, katie holmes ;P *to train for my second lakefront marathon in 2011 ... and maybe to break four hours this time! *to maintain a healthy weight of 120-125lbs *to eat healthfully :D *to inspire others to get active and take the initiative to change their lives!

*i'm doing 4-5 days of cardio per week, plus abs & occasional classes at my gym to incorporate weight training. also, i'm watching my caloric intake, drinking more water and trying to eat more fruits and vegetables. *completed the lakefront marathon! after a brief injury hiatus, i'm getting back into running shape. i'm taking this year off from marathoning and hope to run the 2010 lakefront marathon!

*kristin *27 years old *senior digital designer & team lead, e-mail & social media design for kohls.com *currently living in muskego, WI with my fiance dave. he looks like bon jovi ... all the ladies that are 35+ REALLY like him. OW OW ;) *graduated from carthage college in kenosha in may 2005 - graphic design, studio art, spanish & communications *liberal vegetarian and animal lover. twin sister of katherine, a master of english linguistics.

good luck to everyone on their weight loss journeys! i love meeting new people, especially when we are on the same page lifestyle-wise. finding another healthy eater and exerciser makes my day! just send me a note and i'll get back to you. :D *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* i LOVE: *art & art history *all things green *my love, dave *fat animals *sushi *living in the city *going vegetarian *SATC (i'm a carrie) *the beatles, led zeppelin, incubus, david bowie, the grateful dead, jason mraz, dmb, etc. *palm trees *watching sports, especially baseball. go brewers! *getting hooked on DVDs of TV shows ... my newest fave is Dexter. love it! *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ although i am happy with my body, it's nice to have a little inspiration :) here's who i aspire to look like: *Marisa Miller *Reese Witherspoon *Kate Hudson *Mandy Moore *Jessica Biel

Add a Link *kristin* "she's only happy in the sun" (harper)
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