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Introduction Text I'm a Level 39 gurl (read the webcomic Dominic Deegan for the reference), and fill many roles, including mommy of a HFA/Asperger's witchlet. I'm also friendly, weird, a lover of the written word and comics/manga, proud owner of a sailor's mouth (when not around little ears), obsessed with scrapbooking and art. First off, I know many people on SP have struggled with their weight their whole life. Or have yo-yo dieted. The reason I'm mentioning this is that I haven't. By no means am I suggesting that I'm better than anyone else because I haven't struggled my whole life or done the yo-yo-dieting, because I'm not. I'm just different. I never worried about my weight until my son was a toddler. I never had to. Frankly, I'm struggling now, even after going one round with SP in 2012 and learning so much along the way, and the learning has continued. So my struggle with my weight has been more recent. I have maybe 20 pounds to lose. And I give credit where credit is due. All you Sparkers who have lost and maintained your new healthy weight and lifestyle, KUDOS!! So please don't take my story as an insult to your struggles, everyone has their own struggles, their own personal stuff, their own conditions that they deal with. We are in this together. I happily support anyone trying to get to a healthy weight. So...I started this journey back in 2012, though it feels so much longer! Maybe because I'm a mom, so I see the difference in my son from then to now. So I was level 33 when I decided I needed to lose some weight (first time in my life I've needed to make a decision like that). I was never super skinny, but never fat. I was always slim. Relatively active, though I wasn't a jock. I loved indoor rock-climbing and took martial arts in high school, and rode my bike and rollerbladed. Lost 7 pounds my first year of college after moving to Pittsburgh and having to walk everywhere, despite a college kid's diet. Transferred closer to home, but did dance and fencing, and still biked (until someone with sticky fingers stole my tire) and roller-bladed. And of course walking around campus. Hubby and I lived on Long Island (where he's from) for a couple years, and I took tap dancing one night a week while being at a desk job during the day. I didn't shy away from physical activity, including roller-blading in the park with a friend on and off. I don't remember how much I weighed before I got pregnant, but I know at one point early on I weighed 127. Fast forward to having a baby and the monster that is postpartum anxiety/OCD. My appetite was gone, so my weight dropped, a lot. It was a very dark time for me. Moving back Long Island after living in the Sunshine State for 4 years, my spirit and appetite returned, so the weight piled on. Beginning of 2012 I weighed myself. The verdict: 139, which is heavy for me. My clothes stopped fitting, and I still had the baby pooch and then some. I couldn't afford a gym or a program, read about Sparkpeople, and joined in February of 2012. I had a lot to learn, because the weight came off, but it took a lot longer than it "should have." As in I didn't always lose the 1-2 pounds per week, and sometimes gained. It was very frustrating. I started eating better and exercising a lot! a year later I was way down, in my doctor's opinion, too low. So I did the wrong thing. Stopped exercising and started eating. Very bad move. So, I'm starting again. I'm going for an 80/20 mindset. GF, DF, SF, but I do enjoy gluten, dairy, soy on occasion. Going and see what worked the first time around to incorporate that into now. My sinuses thank me for the dairy and soy makes me gassy. It's also estrogenic (mimics estrogen in the body and stops your body from producing it on its own, not good). I don't listen to BMI because it was never intended for individual use, it was for the population at large. NPR did a great article explaining it more in-depth, but a very fit person and an obese person can have the same BMI because of the formula. I try to avoid GMOs when possible because currently the way they're modified is bad for both plant and human health. I also try to stick to organic, going to Farmer's Markets. Also committing to drinking enough water. The common amount is 8-10 8 oz. glasses. Really it's half your weight, which is around 8 1/2 for me right now. So my current next step is incorporating more exercise into my day and starting earlier to burn those calories!

Reach weight of 115/120, build muscle and flexibility

Limit gluten intake to once per day (if any) Limit dairy intake (my sinuses thank me) Limit soy (makes me gassy and is estrogenic) Lean protein and healthy fat at every meal Three meals and three snacks Increase veggie intake Eat organic, non-GMO whenever possible Mindful eating (to avoid emotional overeating) Drink half my body weight in water every day No fruit before noon (keeps blood sugar down) Keep chocolate intake low and limited to dark chocolate Healthy fats are avocado, olive oil, coconut oil, 100% grass-fed ghee/clarified butter Using the trackers to see how everything's connected Changing things up for cardio and strength, cardio tends to be jumping rope (sans the rope if I'm in the house) Lifting heavier to build muscle and burn fat Loving the blogs Diary of a Fit Mommy and Deliciously Fit 'N Healthy (especially since she had diastasis recti and looks fantastic while keeping it real!)

5' 4.5" (not petite) Ectomorph/mesomorph Rectangle shape



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