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" &amp;quot;I didn&amp;#039;t have the time or energy to take care of myself.&amp;quot;  My problem with weight began after I had my three daughters. I gave birth to my oldest, Nicole, and never lost that extra 5 pounds of baby weight. The same happened with my next two daughters, Paige and Brittany. After they were born, my attention shifted from taking care of myself to taking care of the children. My husband worked a night job, so I would drive the girls to school, work a part-time job, then chauffeur them to soccer, softball, and cheerleading practices. We ate fast food three or four times a week. I didn&amp;#039;t see it as an unhealthy choice \u2014 it was convenient, cheap, and the girls loved it. I didn&amp;#039;t have the time or the energy to think about my health, and it showed. I gained about a pound or two every year, and my weight slowly crept up to 157 pounds. &amp;quot;My biggest motivation wasn&amp;#039;t my appearance \u2014 it was my health.&amp;quot; I didn&amp;#039;t like the size 14 person I saw in the mirror. But my biggest motivation to lose weight wasn&amp;#039;t my appearance \u2014 it was my health. I felt physically exhausted all the time \u2014 I&amp;#039;d even lose my breath from walking up a few stairs! Then, in December 2006, my mother came to visit us. She&amp;#039;s 100 pounds overweight, which is considered morbidly obese, and has developed heart disease, high blood pressure, and thyroid problems because of it. I realized I was following her same patterns of eating unhealthy foods and not exercising. I watched how she struggled to breathe and move around our house, and I didn&amp;#039;t want that to be me in 20 years. I knew I had to take control. &amp;quot;I resolved to get in shape \u2014 for real this time.&amp;quot; My New Year&amp;#039;s resolution that year was to get in shape and lose weight. I&amp;#039;d made that same pledge in the past, but this time I made it more manageable: Instead of thinking about the 30 pounds I wanted to lose, I focused on cutting calories and burning a few more each day. I started drinking lots of water, ate more fruits, vegetables, grilled chicken, and fish, limited junk food, and didn&amp;#039;t eat after 7 p.m. My plan was based on common sense: If I made healthy eating choices, it would eventually start to show. At work, I created a recurring lunch appointment in my calendar to walk for a half hour on the treadmill at my company gym. Then I drew up a weekly weight-loss chart to track my progress. Because my children are older \u2014 my eldest is 20 and youngest is 14 \u2014 I had more time to prepare meals for the next day and to exercise. January was a slow month; I only lost 5 pounds. But I felt healthier and energized, which encouraged me to keep going.  &amp;quot;I feel so much stronger now.&amp;quot;  After a month, I worked up to walking 45 minutes a day. Then I adopted a run/walk routine. I started running to challenge myself, burn more calories, and get my heart rate up. At first, I could run only for one minute. But soon I could run for five minutes, and by May, I was running exclusively. Once I started running, the weight came off at a much steadier pace \u2014 I lost 1 to 3 pounds each week \u2014 and that was a huge motivation to keep going. I also asked a trainer at the company gym to show me how to lift weights to tone my arms, legs, and core muscles. I kept running on my lunch breaks, and my husband and I joined a gym near our home, where we work out about three times a week either after work or on the weekends. On June 25, I reached my goal weight of 125 pounds. &amp;quot;When I did my first half-marathon I won first place!&amp;quot; As I started running and got closer to my target weight, I began to set new fitness goals for myself. In June, I ran my first 5K race. Then I ran my first 10K and placed second in my age group. In August, I started running outside with a coworker; now we run between four and six miles every day at lunch, which usually takes about 45 minutes. (Luckily, the company gym has a shower!) Just three months ago, I completed my first half-marathon \u2014 and won first place in my category! I also love to participate in charity runs, like the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. I got our company involved in the Corporate Shield, a program in which different companies compete in races throughout the year. Out of 240 employees, 25 showed up at our first one \u2014 not bad considering it was a 19-degree January day! At work, my colleagues call me their corporate cheerleader. I send emails once a week about the benefits of walking and running to coworkers who participate in the races. I&amp;#039;m lucky to be surrounded by people at work who have the same fitness goals. We inspire and motivate one another. &amp;quot;I run circles around the old me.&amp;quot; I had a physical not too long ago and my test results were fantastic. The doctor told me that I had the blood pressure of an athlete! I hope that my active new lifestyle will prevent a lot of the health problems my mother has experienced \u2014 problems that come with being sedentary and overweight. If someone had told me two years ago that I&amp;#039;d be running in 10K races, let alone half-marathons, I would have laughed at them. But I&amp;#039;ve learned to love running, especially because it doesn&amp;#039;t take any special talents; you don&amp;#039;t have to know how to dribble a basketball or swing a tennis racket \u2014 all you need is a good pair of shoes and the desire to do it. I have more energy now than I could have ever imagined. I feel so proud of how strong I&amp;#039;ve become, and I love how I look! Some of the guys at the gym tell me they&amp;#039;re envious of my muscles. My husband is enjoying the end result too \u2014 he can&amp;#039;t keep his hands off of me! "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.redbookmag.com/body/health-fitness/advice/a3624/rlhl-32-pounds-less/>