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People read the celebrity magazines to see who the latest trend-setters are. I was a trend-setter too, but unfortunately, it was because I was an obese child in America 30 years before it became a national health crisis. I was, and am, an emotional eater, and I turned to food to deal with a difficult childhood. By the time I graduated from high school, I weighed about 240 pounds. By the time I was 20, I weighed 280 pounds. At that time, 2 very good friends of mine helped to pay for me to go on the all liquid diet that was all the rage, since Oprah had just done it. I lost about 85 pounds in 3 and a half months, but there was no exercise involved in it for me, and I had about as much long term success with it as she did.

That was the first of several times over the years that I lost and then regained significant amounts of weight. I always was on some diet or another, but I never made healthy eating a way of life and I never exercised, so I always gained the weight back.

Then one night in September 2004, I couldn't sleep so I turned the TV on and saw an infomercial with this guy named Tony Horton, for a product called Power 90. As I watched, I appreciated the fact that he wasn't trying to tell me I could have washboard abs in 5 minutes a day 3 days a week. I could see that the program involved work, but that made sense to me. So, I did something I had never done before, and that was order a product from TV. When it arrived, I opened the box read everything, and said, "wow this looks great, I'll start Monday!" Then I put the box in the closet and promptly forgot all about it.

By April 2006, I had moved and was in even worse position in terms of my weight. I had lost about 15 pounds with Weight Watchers, but I was still 320 pounds. I remembered my Power 90 and decided to give it a try. I got off to a shaky start, and I did lose some weight, but not as much as I would have, had I been consistent with my workouts and nutrition. Then in May, I had a crisis. I was outsourced out of my job of 9 years, and had to move back here to the Chicago area where I am originally from. (I was living in Massachusetts, at the time) It was October before I was settled into a new job and apartment, and was preparing to start working out again, when crisis number two hit. On the morning before my 39th birthday, I banged my left shin on the bed frame while making the bed, and opened up 2 old scars. I have circulation problems in my legs, so any open wounds on my lower legs do not heal. I had this problem once before, in 2001, and it took almost 2 years for the wounds to heal. I was now in that position again. Per instructions from the dermatologist treating my wounds, I was ordered to do no type of exercise at all except for limited walking. I was now started on a round of weekly or twice weekly visits to his office for dressing and medication changes. In July 2007, a plastic surgeon attempted to use a skin graft to close the wounds, but it failed. Unfortunately, it took nearly two years for my wounds to heal. Just before Christmas 2008, my wound opened up again. This time I was sent to a wound care specialist, and so this time it took "only" eight months for me to heal up. I have stayed on the Team Beachbody Message Boards all of this time, making wonderful friends. I have gotten great support and learned a lot about fitness and nutrition. I am excited about achieving my fitness goals the right way, incorporating exercise with healthy nutritional habits. I look forward to meeting you!