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Introduction Text I'm 52 years old. I am married to the man of my dreams, a wonderful, supportive husband. I also have a daughter (23), a son (22), a stepson (23) and a stepdaughter (22). On 04/07/10, I finally reached my WW goal, once again. I had lost 100 pounds as of 19/04/07, finally reaching my WW goal (BMI 23.0). I am 5'4". Unfortunately, I was very sick the summer of 2007 with an undiagnosed lupus flare. Being almost bedridden, I put about 45 pounds of that weight back, so I had to slog away again, trying to get back to goal. Reaching goal this time, though, seems a real triumph, since I did it while on two appetite-increasing meds -- Lyrica and Prednisone. The other big challenge was to stay on program when I was unable to exercise at various times. During those periods, I focused primarily on nutrition, since that was one thing that I had some control over. I practice martial arts (Tankyushin Aikido ... a combination of Aikikai, Karate, Judo, Jujutsu and a few other martial arts), take ballroom dance lessons with my husband, and work out at the gym and at home. I have a lot of beachbody, tai bo and other dvds to use in order to augment or switch up my workouts, depending on how I'm feeling. I enjoy being active, fit and healthy, in spite of having to deal the following chronic diseases/conditions: systemic lupus erythematosis (SLE), otherwise known in common vernacular as systemic lupus, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), GERD and osteoarthritis. I have gradually built up my workouts in intensity to the point where I can manage those conditions most of the time, although I am now struggling a bit to manage the lupus part of this equation, along with the fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue. The odd flare-ups do occur, as do sports injuries (usually related to the martial arts which I normally practice 2-6x per week). One of my big problems is not listening to my body, overdoing things or overtraining, and then collapsing big-time, thereby ensuring more time off than I might have if I'd paced myself better. Pacing remains a challenge for me, but I am improving over time. Learning to live well, despite my health challenges, has been a journey of discovery. I will continue to live life to the fullest, as I strive to stay as healthy as I can, while maintaining my weight loss. If I can do it, anyone can do it!

Martial arts goals: White belt -- Age 47 (Yup) Yellow belt -- Age 48 (05 April 06) Orange belt -- Age 49 (19 June 07) Green belt -- Age 50 (20 June 08) Blue belt -- Age 52 (27 March 10) Purple belt -- Age 53 Brown belt -- Age 54 Black belt -- Age 55 Hey, dreams are free, aren't they? I dream BIG!

I follow the Weight Watchers program with some tweaks ... essentially, I track all calories but eat mostly core or low GI foods.

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Come grow old along with me. The best is yet to be. ~ Robert Browning

Add a Link Tiggers bounce BIG! 100 pounds lost. 5'4". WW goal again (04/07/10) WW goal of 135.0 (19/04/07) Blue Belt in Tankyushin Aikido (27/03/10) Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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