Since the birth of my second child 16 years ago, I have seen my weight increase from 135 lbs to a maximum of 195. I made it a point that I was not going to succumb to the obesity that is prevalent in my father's family.

Weight loss has been a challenge for me in the past 6 years due to the prescribed heart medication that I take for tachycardia/high blood pressure as well as inactivity due to my sedentary job and a 3 hour daily commute.

I enjoy hiking, snowshoeing, fishing and bowling as well as many other outdoor activities. I am also a huge football and baseball fan (Go Pack and Brew Crew!).

When I hit my heaviest weight in 2010 at the age of 43, I decided to start making time for myself and start exercising. So, I tried the Couch-to-5K program and lost 20 pounds within 10 weeks. In September, 2010, I entered my first 5k race and FINISHED - no earth shattering record breaking time, but I finished! Later that fall, I endured a painful bout of bursitis until June 2011, but I managed to maintain my weight. In June, I re-started the C25K program once again only to have severe issues with my right foot. I didn't realize until December 2011, that I had fractured it while running. Since I haven't been able to exercise fully, I have focused more on healthy eating. Even though I didn't manage to lose any weight during this period, I did lose 5" from my stomach!

The healing process has been quite slow, but I am pushing forward by using the arctrainer and weight lifting during my down time. I am looking forward to beginning a walking program soon so that I can be in shape for a 5k Mud Run August 18, 2012 - which will be here before I know it!