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Introduction Text After a lifetime of obesity, I finally made up my mind...I'd had ENOUGH! I had to make a change and THIS TIME was going to be different. I could feel it! I've been dieting for 5 years. I've lost 176 pounds, around 80 inches and I'm down about 10 sizes from a 30/32 to a size 12/14 and a few 8/10's in my workout clothes. I have lost HALF my entire body weight!!! In one year, I lost 131 pounds and in the following year, I lost 45 more. Since then, I have been maintaining my weight (within a 5 - 10 pound range) but I want to lose a little more. I'm still working EVERYDAY to reach my goal weight. Thank you to all of you who share your stories! Your comments, motivation and inspiring stories and photos have given me courage and hope along my journey. You people are awesome! Keep posting those before and after pics. Those are the BEST!!! A special shout out to my dear Sparkfriends Bill60, Toothful99 and of course my sis Classicalshelly. You guys help get me through each week and you motivate the heck out of me. Hugs! Good luck to all of you. If I can answer any questions or share my experience further, just let me know. If I can help even one person, it's a blessing. I know what it is to battle with weight since I have fought it and been defeated by it my entire life...UNTIL NOW THAT IS!!!!!!

It wasn't a goal but I did my first 10K in April 2010!!! Ha, who knew I could do that? My 2nd 10K, April 2011! woohoo! Completed a HALF MARATHON, March 2012! That's 13.1 miles! My 3rd 10K, April 2012! 1. My first goal is to lose my excess weight...ALL of it... permanently! That's probably 180-200 lbs! YIKES! But I'm taking it in 10lb increments. Small steps to the finish line. 2. My second goal is to create a healthier body by exercising (which I do not enjoy- but I am doing it anyway).

What I've done is pretty straightforward - no tricks, no drugs- just hard work. Basically, I count calories and exercise. I started at my heaviest weight of 351.5 pounds eating 1500 calories a day. I now eat 1300-1400 a day. I've turned my life around and do everything differently than I've done before. *Workouts: I try to workout 5 - 6 days a week alternating exercises to not get bored. I joined a gym and workout at least 4 times a week there. I love doing the circuit of weight machines and I'm enjoying seeing my muscles develop! When not at the gym, I do 3-4 mi. (more if I'm feeling ambitious!) of walk/jog intervals at least twice a wk. Elliptical and Treadmill!!! (Truly it's a LOVE/HATE relationship!) I do 60 minutes at a time and burn a bunch of calories, like 800-1000, depending on incline and speed! Biggest Loser Last Chance workout DVD and Bob's Bootcamp DVD. I just keep active and moving!

I'm a southern girl, 47 years old and getting stronger everyday. I'm a mother of 5 - (3 boys and 2 girls). I have a great family - and some very special friends...they're my support system! My sister is also on Spark People...look her up, she's Classicalshelly. We have taken this journey together and she's lost 182 pounds! Congrats to her on being named a Sparkpeople MOTIVATOR. I am so proud of her.

"Life is an ever-changing process, and nothing is final. Therefore, each moment and every day is a chance to begin anew." “Being defeated is often temporary, giving up makes it permanent.” “Hard work spotlights the character of people; some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don’t turn up at all.” “The true measure of an individual is how he treats a person who can do him absolutely no good.” “Things don't go wrong and break your heart so you can become bitter and give up. They happen to break you down and build you up so you can be all that you were intended to be.” “Conscience is the inner voice that warns us that someone might be looking.” “People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing -- that's why we recommend it daily.”

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