MalaMala

Hi. My name is Sandy. I'm 54 (have no idea how I got there). The mother of three grown up, wonderful adults and the grandmother of two, Ethan (4) and Grace (1). I'm defining myself as a mother first, because that was my most important role. And, I pretty sure, I did a good job at that. All I have to do is watch them as adults. Especially my daughter who is the mother of my grandchildren. She didn't become such a great mother all by herself.

Now, a little about why I'm here. I have struggled with my weight all my life. Well, actually, in the beginning, I was premature. Three months. Weighed in a 2.5 lbs., lost a pound...and by some miracle, I survived. I'd say hitting 13 was when I started my struggles with being overweight. I remember clearly, being 113 lbs. I went to New York City for three weeks. Ate the wonderful New York Pizza just about everyday (by the slice) and gained ten pounds. I'm now 215 lbs at 5 ft even.

As I'm sure all of you have, I tried everything. And everything works. Really. But only for a while. The healthiest things I've tried and succeeded at are Weight Watchers and South Beach. My preference is South Beach. It's by far the easiest. There's almost no thinking to it. It's basically, health eating. The first two weeks are the hardest, where you give up all carbs and all fruits. After that you start adding the healthy carbs back in. And just about everything else, in moderation. The last time I did it (but sadly did not stay on it) was almost three years ago. I started in February at 217 and by November Thanksgiving 175. I was looking GOOD! I was exercising regularly. Even 175 would be considered overweight for my frame but I still looked good. But then came the holidays, and a vacation to Colorado the following year to visit my eldest daughter...and I didn't stay on the program one bit. So here I am.

I'm going to stay positive. I'm starting again today.