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Introduction Text Hi there. My name is Carrie and I have been overweight for almost 10 years. It got gradually worse and worse till I found myself in a position that I needed to change. It affected everything including my energy, my health (I'm iron deficient), my work, my sex life, etc. The only thing is that during the 10 years, I saw something different when I looked in the mirror. I didn't see myself as overweight until I saw pictures of myself. People would often make comments implying that I was unhealthy and needed to change, but I was trying my best to ignore the obvious. Flash forward to the present, and I found myself at SparkPeople. So far, they have been helping me to track my fitness and nutrition. I must admit that my greatest issue was portioning which lead to this problem so having the nutrition tracker has helped me get to know my stomach in a whole new way and appreciate the point of being satiated. I work as an administrative assistant so my job is basically sedentary. Getting up and actually moving is a big deal and change for me which I am actually enjoying. I have been using the SparkPeople videos and am really enjoying anything to do with kickboxing. I wasn't an avid drinker of water before. Admittedly, I drank way too much pop and probably never water. I've now acquired a taste for it and am drinking it every day! I don't miss pop one bit. This change has been in progress since before I started with SparkPeople on July 17, 2010. I dropped all fast food joints from my diet at least a year prior to this because I wasn't impressed with the quality of foods at places like BK, McD's (it has actually been 9+ years since I had this, yuck), Wendy's, and A&W to name a few. Over the last few years, I have taken to homecooked foods but it wasn't until now that I learned to take it easy on the portions! I will eat Subway still but I'm having the 6" instead of the footlong! Besides the obvious goal of losing weight, I want to make a real change in my life. I want more energy to do things I used to enjoy before like dancing. I would like to save money both from the foods I eat and to drive less which means walking more. When I learned that I was iron deficient, I was even more motivated to change. I felt tired all the time and now that I am taking iron supplements and vitamins, drinking more water, exercising, and eating the right foods, I feel better than I have in years. More reason to continue on this journey. It feels right and I know that even if I have hard days, I know that I can get through it. Health and Happiness, Carrie UPDATES Starting 240 - July 30, 2010 230 - August 31, 2010 220 - October 24, 2010 210 - November 19, 2010 ......... Gap (got busy and went back to work and don't know when I hit 200, 190!) 180 - July 11, 2011 Update July 11, 2011 It's been almost a year since I started this life change and I am happy where I am even though I'm not quite at my goal weight and am still considered in the Obesity category. I am very happy with how I feel, how much more energy I have, and how I look these days. That's something that everybody else seems to notice more and I do get really embarrassed for people noticing and bringing it up. I guess I don't like that kind of attention even though I'm a Leo! I don't workout like I used to, and I do need to keep active and still have some ways to go (30 lbs to my goal weight). I have an active job which is really helping me that way and normally hike or am active on the weekends. Some walking to and fro bus stop each day. Eating/drinking. I haven't touched pop/soda for over a year and am sticking with that because it was my worst enemy. It gave me heartburn. I drank my calories in it and it probably was a major benefactor to my weight gain, that plus not exercising and overeating. I eat smaller portions now thanks to Sparkpeople and I can actually see what is a good amount for me to eat and still be full. If I eat out, I normally have a sub. On special occasions, I will partake in Chinese Food, Pizza, etc. but portion controlled. Lots of water, crystal light if I need flavour, and chocolate almond milk is my new substitute for regular chocolate milk. I enjoy treats when it fits in to my day. I watch the scale still and listen to my body to see if there is anything that I need to adjust. I like the concept that slow and steady wins the race. I have been extremely busy since I went back to work at the end of January. My schedule has been 10:30 - 6:30 (weird hours to fit in things) but it has been working for me. I'm back here on a day off nonetheless, to check in and think about what next I want to do. I look back at the girl I was, how tired, unhealthy, I was, and I know I don't want to go back to her. I want to continue and take care of myself and work towards my next goals in a sustainable way. Always health and happiness. Carrie

* Lose 30lbs * Cardio x 3 days per week * More fruits and vegetables

* Cardio & Walking * Drinking 8 + cups of water per day *Multivitamins and ferrous fumarate once daily

Name: Carrie Lynn Marie Location: Sooke, BC Age: 26 Starting Weight: 239.6 lbs Goal Weight: 150 lbs Height: 5 feet 5 inches

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. ~ Mark Twain The trouble with the rat-race is that even if you win, you're still a rat. ~ Lily Tomlin The secret of getting ahead is getting started. ~ Mark Twain Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. ~Dr. Seuss Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars. ~Les Brown

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