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Introduction Text It has been over Four Years on Sparkpeople: In the past four years, I managed to lose as much as 46 pounds on Sparkpeople and then managed to gain 16 back from going back to my old ways of eating and not exercising. But it is a new year (2014) and I am getting back on track. I have lost 7 of the 16 I gained and I want to lose at least 30 - 35 more and then focus on keeping it off. I joined Sparkpeople in October 2009, but didn't get going until the very end of February 2010. By the end of May 2010 I had lost a little under 30 pounds. Then life happened... I got busy, my son was preparing to go to college and eventually left for college, I had surgery for skin cancer and couldn't work out, I injured my knee and couldn't run... etc., etc., etc. However, during that summer I also discovered kayaking and somehow, amazingly, the good eating habits I had learned from February to June stayed with me (for the most part) and I managed to maintain the 30 pounds I had lost. Am I disappointed that I didn't continue losing that summer? You bet I am. Am I discouraged and ready to give up? Absolutely NOT. I came back to the Spark where it all started and took up running. I'm proud of myself that I didn't gain weight, that I did manage to squeeze some hiking and lots of kayaking into my summer days and somehow, even with the graduation and birthday celebrations, the many, many goodbye/hello/goodbye dinners we've had for our son as he has come and gone from here to school, I have amazingly been successful in maintaining a steady weight. Something I have really never done before. Usually I am up, up, down, UP, you know the drill. I ran/walked two half Marathons in 2011 with my husband. We completed our first half marathon in July 2011. It was H-A-R-D!!! But the oh, the feeling of accomplishment when you cross that finish line -- so worth the pain and work it took to get there. We ran our 2nd in November. Since then I didn't really exercise properly but managed to continue to eat right and maintain my weight loss. In mid-January 2012 I joined a fitness boot camp group that met in the early morning hours five days a week. I didn't stick with that for too long due to my extra long commute and the college classes I am taking towards my degree. In July of 2012 my husband and I completed the Peachtree Road Race - that was a blast and something I NEVER thought I would do! I remember when my sister told me she was running it a few years ago I said, Mari, people die on that run! I seriously never expected to be out there myself. I am happy to say that I made it up Cardiac Hill and my ticker is still ticking (smile). We did it again last year (2013). I also started working with a personal trainer and began crossfit classes (hard!). With that increase in exercise, I lost another 16 pounds, bringing the grand total to 46 by July 2013. Then my husband had shoulder surgery and couldn't workout and I developed a painful heel spur and somehow lost sight of my goals and from October to New Year's managed to gain some of the weight I had lost back (sad song :( ) Once I realized I couldn't fit into my skinny clothes and was very near to not fitting into anything I owned, I got busy and back on track. By early February 2014 I managed to lose 7 of the 16 lbs I had gained just from eating better and am working hard on the last 9 at which point, I hope I can keep losing and get another 10, 20, or even 30 lbs gone for good. The main thing I have learned through all of this is that consistency is the key. It is okay to have a few eating sprees, but you can't just completely go back to your old ways, you must be consistent in making conscious decisions about what you eat. Staying active as much as possible is also key to success. So get out there, enjoy some healthy snacks as you get on the trails, on the road, or in the water (Hiking/Running-Walking/Kayaking are my thing)! I hope you will see less of me as time progresses! One final thing, I would like to say thanks to all of you who have shown me support on these pages along the way!! It means the world to me.

My first goal was to lose 15 lbs. ** ACCOMPLISHED** My next goal is to lose another 10 lbs. ** ACCOMPLISHED** Made Done Girl of the Day 7/6/10!! Woo Hoo!! Next goal is to lose 15 more pounds. - then I'll be 1/2 way to my goal weight! -2 (13 lbs to go) -1.5 for a total of 3.5 (11.5 lbs to go!) -1.5 for a total of 5 additional pounds lost --- 30 lbs so far!! Only 10 lbs to the 1/2 way mark! -4 more -- total of 34 lbs GONE! Only 6 more to the half-way mark!! (3/24/2012). - 6 more - total of 40 lbs!! 1/2 half way to my goal - this is getting exciting. (10/11/12),

I aim to exercise a minimum of 45 minutes a day, 5 days a week. I combine Walking, Running, Circuit Training, Wii Fit, Wii Boxing, The Firm's WAVE, Treadclimber, Hiking, Dance, Kayaking and any other fun activities I can find to meet my exercise goals. I recently discovered kayaking and LOVE IT! You can burn sooo many calories in a very short but exceedingly FUN time! Try it. I am trackng my food daily. I drink a minimum of 8 to 10 glasses of water each and every day.

One of my favorite poems: I Died For Beauty I died for beauty, but was scarce Adjusted in the tomb, When one who died for truth was lain In an adjoining room. He questioned softly why I failed? "For beauty," I replied. "And I for truth - the two are one; We brethren are," he said. And so, as kinsmen met a-night, We talked between the rooms, Until the moss had reached our lips, And covered up our names. Emily Dickinson



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