About Me

I am a work in progress.

October 2009 at the Breast Cancer 3-Day

At the age of 30, I found myself in a weight range not unlike that of contestants on The Biggest Loser. I was unhappy with my life, my job, my body and decided instead of wasting more time, I’d work on getting rid of the extra baggage and creating a more fulfilling life. I started on Weight Watchers (WW), then started working with a nutritionist and personal trainer and also did Body for Life.

While I lost more than 50lbs in 2007, I’ve essentially been at a plateau ever since. At first, I blamed it on a back injury (and later surgery) which significantly limited my workouts for the better part of a year. Then I attributed it to sloppy food tracking or less than perfect workouts. Eventually, more than two years later, reality set in. I realized that I’ve modified my life, my diet, my habits and my lifestyle for optimum weight loss success but my body is not cooperating. Instead, my c-reactive protein levels have increased and my body and mind feel more fatigued than usual.

I met with an endocrinologist in March 2010 to learn that the thing stalling my weight loss is Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. You can learn about my experiences at the endocrinologist here, here and here. Essentially, she told me that my body holds onto calories much like a depression-era grandma–stuffing cash/calories in the mattress for use later. For my body, this means it holds onto weight like crazy. The endocrinologist recommended a 1,200 calorie a day diet or gastric bypass surgery. I’m still contemplating my options, doing research, looking into acupuncture and considering getting a second (and maybe third) opinion.

I think this will bring me to a new phase of my weight loss journey–one that will hopefully result in me losing another 60-80 pounds and finally being at my goal weight and optimal health.

I am not a dietician, trainer or weight loss expert, but I’ve learned a lot along the way. I’m passionate about health and wellness issues in regards to fitness and weight loss and I share the information I discover along my own journey.

My food philosophy is this: eat lots of produce, balance high-quality carbs with protein for each meal and snack and eat as few processed foods as possible. That said, I don’t deprive myself. Nearly every day, I reserve 100 calories for a cup of coffee (lately, it’s decaf) with half and half and a couple squares of high quality dark chocolate.

Throughout this process, I’ve surprised myself by learning that I DO have food issues. I’ve learned to respect food and actually become passionate for good food. On this blog, you’ll find plenty of recipes, book recommendations, resources, as well as my personal experiences with weight loss, fitness and my attempts to create a full life for myself.

BEFORE PICS (January 2007)