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Introduction Text Hi! My name is Rachel. I've been away from Spark for a long time. Too long, in fact. I let life take over and I have gained back a fair chunk of what I lost 5 years ago. I'm back to focus on what's between my ears so that what's around my waist will stay gone. That's a hard journey, but one that's worth everything I have. Below you'll find why I find myself back on spark. I look at pictures from when DH and I first met. I remember how great it felt to be able to walk all day and not be aching. This time my goal is to do it just a little bit at a time instead of putting the heavy lifting off to the summer months. I have had success with the support here and I will do it again. This time I have a better shot at maintenance as I've figured out what doesn't work. My biggest challenge as a teacher is remembering to put me first. When I was traveling with my 2 year old nephew this summer to go visit Grammie, the flight attendants all reminded me that I had to put my oxygen mask on first. Spark is my oxygen mask. "My will shall shape the future. Whether I fail or succeed shall be no man's doing but my own. I am the force; I can clear any obstacle before me or I can be lost in the maze. My choice; my responsibility; win or lose, only I hold the key to my destiny. " --Elaine Maxwell I am super excited to be sharing this journey with my parents and dog(Daddy: FAUXRIDER and Momma: RBRNB1978 and Moose: Raesmoose). This site has TRULY changed our lives. I spent the better part of my life overweight or obese with TERRIBLE eating habits and insanely low self esteem. I was the epitome of what happens when you skip breakfast and lunch and PIG out from the time I got home until dinner, usually consuming well over 5000 calories per meal. When I got laid off and had a few months stuck at home with just me and the dog for company I got hooked on watching Biggest Loser's first ever singles season. That started the gears turning. I started reading anything by Jillian Michaels and Bob Harper and then someone on Bob's site, told me to check out sparkpeople.com. With everything I needed right here on one easy to use site and the AMAZING, support network, I started soaring! 10 months later, I'm 165 pounds (down 60 from starting with SP). I'd lost almost 30 with Bob Harper's site before starting with SP. I love going home to hear Mom call me "Her skinny little girl." I have a spring in my step. I TRULY BELIEVE I AM BEAUTIFUL, I AM CAPABLE AND I AM LOVED. My smile is permanent! (December 2010) I am here to tell you that if I can do this, then ANYONE can do this! Put every thing you can into this site, get involved, hold yourself accountable, ask other's to hold you accountable, be honest with yourself and your sparkfriends and BELIEVE in yourself. You can be whatever you put your MIND to believing you can be. Quotes I've found that I love: "Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish" -John Q. Adams "Give thanks for what you are now, and keep fighting for what you want to be tomorrow. " ~Fernanda Miramontes-Landeros "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it may be necessary from time to time to give a stupid or misinformed beholder a black eye." ~ Miss Piggy ~Never frown, even when you are sad, because you never know who is falling in love with your smile.~Unknown �Things are only impossible until they're not.� � Jean-Luc Picard �It is difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow.� � Robert H Goddard �Few things are impossible to diligence and skill. Great works are performed not by strength, but perseverance.� � Samuel Johnson �So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable.� � Christopher Reeve �Every time you state what you want or believe, you're the first to hear it. It's a message to both you and others about what you think IS possible. Don't put a ceiling on yourself.� � Oprah Winfrey �If you believe it, you can achieve it� � Author unknown �Some things have to be believed to be seen.� � Ralph Hodgson �The thing always happens that you really believe in; and the belief in a thing makes it happen.� � Frank Lloyd Wright �In the province of the mind, what one believes to be true either is true or becomes true.� � John Lilly "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." -- Aristotle "Sweat are the tears of dying fat." -- Unknown Feed your faith and your fears will starve to death~ author unknown Sometimes the Lord rides out the storm with us and other times He calms the restless sea around us. Most of all, He calms the storm inside us in our deepest inner soul.- Lloyd John Ogilvie Faith is daring the soul to go beyond what the eyes can see.~ author unknown "Yesterday ended last night. Everyday is a new beginning. Learn the skill of forgetting. And move on." ~Norman Vincent Peale Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day Ralph Waldo Emmerson People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily. - Zig Ziglar If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you always got. ~Jim Rohn �Obstacles are those things you see when you take your eyes off the goal.� -Hannah Moore I heard an acronym for START yesterday that was good. S - Start slowly, set yourself up for success T - Try new things, don't say you can't do something or don't like something before you have tried it. A - Add movement everywhere, walking farther, calf raises while waiting in line, etc. R - Realize that you are human & will make mistakes T- Take time to recognize your successes - celebrate! God, grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change, the courage to change the one I can, and the wisdom to know it's me. ~author Unknown I found this in a blog and had to share it as it's hit so close to home, "The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right time, but also to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment...He who hesitates is almost certainly right." WILLOWWIND Thanks for stopping by my site. I look forward to talking to you soon.

8/10/13: 7/10/13: 31.22 BMI 187.4# attained 7/24 6/20/13: 31.98 BMI 192# attained Treat: $1 for every pound lost (restarting at 195) into the new wardrobe fund $2 added 6.27 $5 added 8.7 To eat meals and snacks regularly. Seek help here and at church as needed. Reach 10000 points in a year. Run in a half marathon Goals met: Consistency Award Be 175 pound before my 30th Birthday To pass the fire fighter's physical fitness test with flying colors in March. 1500 fitness minutes in a month while working.

Morning weigh in with Wii, 18 minute yoga and strength training followed by 20 minute jog.

I live in Rochester, WA. I'm engaged to the love of my life, Mike. I love reading.

Favorite TV Shows: NCIS, EMERGENCY!, American Loggers, Ax Men Favorite Sayings: What we do in life echoes in eternity... Tempus Fugit... Give me coffee and no one gets hurt.

Add a Link S - Start slowly, set yourself up for success T - Try new things, don't say you can't do something or don't like something before you have tried it. A - Add movement everywhere, walking farther, calf raises while waiting in line, etc. R - Realize that you are human & will make mistakes T- Take time to recognize your successes - celebrate! God, grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change, the courage to change the one I can and the wisdom to know it's me.
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