When I was contacted by SparkPeople and asked to write about the trials and tribulations of weight loss maintenance, I immediately wrote back and asked Stepfanie how she knew that I had three teenagers in high school? Tool number 1 for keeping off the weight – a good sense of humor helps! I’d like to start out by telling you some of my weight loss history and talking to you about your dreams for yours. I realized one day at work when I had trouble walking up three flights of stairs after a fire drill that I was in terrible shape. That same week I was approached by four brave souls who asked me to join a "Biggest Loser" contest. At first I was stunned, but I now look back in extreme gratitude that friends would step out in intervention to help me. My dream at that time was just to lose 20 pounds. I never dreamed I’d lose 95 pounds and keep it off. My dream was small, but I was committed to it. I wrote on the memo of my check for the competition “The Winner.” I was so confident that I could lose that 20 pounds, and I did--and I won. The second time around I wasn’t such a good dreamer. I entered but didn’t believe I could win, and I didn’t. But the good news was that I continued to lose and workout. Fast forward to a new job, where they were starting a 90 Day Wellness Challenge, and you have the happy ending to my story. I was introduced to SparkPeople as a part of that challenge and I have never looked back. I dreamed big that day and wanted to win the challenge for the prize of a complete Wii Fit system right before Christmas. I won and just kept on dreaming after that. I read a blog by Coach Nicole in 2009 about her first 5k and thought why not run in my own 5k? I started running then. In 2010, my best friend and I did three 5ks and improved our speed and weight loss together. I use the term speed loosely, of course, because it wasn’t fast, and maybe wasn’t even pretty, but we did it. I celebrated my one year SparkPeople anniversary and had even bigger dreams. I remember the day we were leaving a sporting goods store after picking up some new gear. I asked Susie how many races she wanted to run in 2011 and she didn’t even hesitate – let’s do 12, she said! We’ve had some crazy races through our journey. My biggest dream was to run in and finish my first half marathon this year and I did that in March and that’s when I thought, "I’ve been hanging around Coach Nancy too long!" Just joking Nancy – you’re one of my inspirations! I’ve also had the joy of running with my daughter (in a tutu no less)! I’ve also struggled through some difficult races and times too. I’ve celebrated (my second SparkPeople anniversary and love this site and this community more every day. So looking back now, it’s easy to see the scope of the dream I could have started out with. How about you? Do you believe in your ability to win this race toward a healthy lifestyle? Do you have a big dream or a little one? Can you imagine going from this: BEFORE:  to this AFTER:  If we can do this, then so can you. Will you join in the dream with us? What questions do you have about losing 95 pounds--and keeping it off? |
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