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Introduction Text Eight years with SparkPeople! What an amazing virtual "home" and support network my SparkFamily has been! I am finding that even at 50+ years of age, I'm still working on finding who I am...! It's such a process. A few years ago I came across a song others here at SparkPeople might appreciate. As I listened to it I was overwhelmed with grief and excitement all at once: it captured my ongoing struggles so WELL! The parts of me that I've held back throughout my life, yet freeing so much potential NOW in my life for doing things that either were not possible before or that I would not allow myself to do. Somebody actually KNEW what I was going through! Without my weight, both literal and psychological, it's time for me to realize that it is truly safe to come out into the world and be as genuine and true to myself as I can. I've always so heavily censored myself in the past, especially the more child-like, fun-loving, spontaneous part of myself. Always out of poor self-esteem...fat boys can't be carefree, must always be on the lookout for ways to be acceptable to others! Because I certainly wasn't acceptable just as I was, without conditions... My savings grace was that there was always a voice inside that held onto all the experiences I wouldn't allow myself to express. As a child, when I spent my summers living a block away from Lake Michigan, I used to LIVE in the lake. My weight wasn't a handicap in the water! I would swim for hours at a time, as far out from the shore as I could. Resting while floating on my back, mostly oblivious of the lifeguards and their attempts to whistle me back closer to the shore. I would swim far out beyond the buoys marking the swimming area feeling as free and fun-loving as a child could be. I'm trying my best to re-visit and celebrate this child. I can't remember when a song has shaken me so much! Really opened my eyes to what I've been working on UNDERNEATH all the weight loss and healthy lifestyle pursuits! It's beginning to dawn on me that so many things I've censored from my life I can now pursue if I choose. So this song has become my new mantra...beyond losing weight and living a healthy lifestyle, I am going to do my best to be... Alive In The World by Jackson Browne, Solo Acoustic Volume 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMuABsC-Skg I want to live in the world, not inside my head I want to live in the world, I want to stand and be counted With the hopeful and the willing With the open and the strong With the voices in the darkness Fashioning daylight out of song And the millions of lovers Alive in the world I want to live in the world, not behind some wall I want to live in the world, where I will hear if another voice should call To the prisoner inside me To the captive of my doubt Who among his fantasies harbors the dream of breaking out And taking his chances Alive in the world To open my eyes and wake up alive in the world To open my eyes and fully arrive in the world With its beauty and its cruelty With its heartbreak and its joy With it constantly giving birth to life and to forces that destroy And the infinite power of change Alive in the world To open my eyes and wake up alive in the world To open my eyes and fully arrive in the world To open my eyes and wake up alive in the world To open my eyes and fully arrive in the world Here's an Amazon link to download the mp3 of this song for 99 cents! www.amazon.com/Alive-In-The-World-Album/dp /B0015FSMZE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=dmusi c&qid=1207778908&sr=1-2

I am making a concerted effort to lose 30 pounds in the next 6 months. I'm tired of "settling" for the mid-200s and want to make a concerted effort to reach a true goal weight of 200 and KEEP IT THERE!

Daily cardio workout (usually elliptical or spinning bike) of 30-60 minutes. When I can get outside and have the time I enjoy Nordic walking / jogging with my Leki Instructor walking poles. I also love to hit the open road on my bicycle... especially my Specialized Tricross Sport Double! :-) Strength-building with weights 3x weekly. Since 01/2014 I have been faithfully tracking my food to help me close in on my goal weight and it has been AMAZINGLY HELPFUL! Additional changes which I have locked in: 1) zero-sugar, 2) zero-grains and 3) limit my eating to only between the hours of noon to 8-9 pm, thereby creating a daily "fast" during the hours outside of that time frame. I need to keep my food choices as simple as possible and for the most part my food is fresh veggies with some fruit. For protein I rely on dairy, legumes, nuts and limited quantities of meat...generally lean chicken and tuna. I love tossing a variety of thi

My name is Don and I am a clinical social worker from upstate (i.e. rural, NOT the Big Apple!) New York. I am married and we have one adult son.

The most inspiring moment in a movie for me was in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest when Chief ripped that sink fixture off the floor, threw it through the window, hopped out and ran into the free world. For me, that is the PERFECT metaphor for my weight loss!

Add a Link Co-Team Leader for All Health Pros, Binghamton Area Losers & Laid Off But Staying Strong SparkTeams Tell Me What Is It You Plan To Do With Your One Wild & Precious Life? ---Mary Oliver Don't die with your music still in you. -- Dr. Wayne Dyer "We either make ourselves miserable or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same." --- Carlos Castaneda "You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection." --- Buddha
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