Total Weight Lost
80 pounds
How Long Did it Take?
about 2 years
Why I Wanted to Lose Weight
I wanted to be healthy and I didn't want the health problems my mother has.
My Exercise and Diet Journey
At my heaviest, I weighed about 230 pounds and was 53 years old. I am 5'5" tall. A friend had introduced me to Sparkpeople.com. I joined in June 2006, but didn't do too much with it until January 2007. Sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas 2006, I realized I had to do something and whatever it was had to be something I could live with the rest of my life.
So in January 2007, I started wearing a pedometer and worked hard to get a minimum of 10k steps a day. When I started wearing it, I was getting around 5K. By April at 192 pounds, I had gone through 3 different pedometers and finally bought an Omron HJ-112. I was also walking over 15K a day. Now I consistently walk over 30K a day.
Along with the added walking, I tracked my food intake on Sparkpeople.com (SP). I followed "portion control" as my "food plan." This idea is something I can live with the rest of my life. There is no food item that is out of bounds. I just practice moderation.
Through the support of the teams, the educational articles and motivational competitions at SP, I began to release pounds. Now over 70 pounds lighter, I continue: tracking my food intake, practicing portion control, exercising by walking and strength training. I see this as my new lifestyle, a healthy lifestyle. Without Sparkpeople.com, I'm sure I would be even heavier now than I was in 2006. I would have continued in my unhealthy downward spiral. I thank God that Sparkpeople was His way to help me regain control over my physical life.
Lessons learned
- To achieve a healthy weight, it's not a diet, but a total lifestyle change. I had to take responsibility for my choices. To do this, I tracked my food and my exercise.
- A pedometer helps keep me accountable to move.
