I ran a 5k this morning.  Not a huge surprise given I'm a runner, and do races from time to time.  Ahh...that is if you've known me in the last ten or so years.  This morning's race had some participants that made me excited.  They were folks from Rob's Biggest Loser.  I had heard of this program on His Radio...one of the DJs is Rob.  This 5k was the current participants' finishing point.  There were a lot of first time 5kers there too.   Now if you've read the about me section, you know I'm a Biggest Loser fan.  I've watched all but one season.  It's a show I connect with, and here's why...I was a fat girl.  At my heaviest, about 16 or so, I probably weighed 190, bumping a size 20.  I didn't like being big.  I was self conscious, felt horrible about myself, it was just embarrassing.  Being a kid, I didn't know exactly how to start losing weight.  I knew it was a calorie things overall, but what to do to get that process started.  Believe it or not that was a time the internet wasn't readily available.  So of all things I was watching the Rosie O'Donnell show one day, and Richard Simmons was on there....yep, that guy.  So he was talking about when he quit drinking sodas he shed 15 pounds.  Okay, that sounds good, let me quit that.  Now, yes, I drank a lot of sodas back in the day, and switching to water wasn't that difficult.  Sure enough, the weight did start coming off.  That motivated me to learn a little more.  I started looking at what I was eating, matching the serving size up with the calories, measuring, and writing it down.  From early 1997 until Spring of 2000 I dropped around 70 pounds.  However, my journey continued.  I learned more about food, how it fuels you.  I wasn't just counting calories anymore, I was eating healthier.  I even became a vegetarian.  Then one of my last semesters in college I had to take a required PE course, and with it was a walk/jog class (I did the walk portion-btw).  There I learned about the importance of exercise.  Still I wasn't so gung-ho on it yet.  After I graduated, I didn't have a job yet, so I had to do something with myself.  I started walking.  Then about a month later my dad found out he had a 95% blockage in one of his arteries (he has a stint, he's all good now).  Knowing that heart problems is a HUGE problem in my family, and I'm sure is setting on my DNA somewhere, I took exercise more seriously.  Walking slowing became running.  Then I added weight training.  At one point I was running 30-42 miles a week, and doing weights three hours a week.  Life got busier so I adapted my schedule.  When Jeff and I became serious, exercise slowed considerably.  In fact, I didn't get into a regular running pattern again until a couple of months after Ada was born.  I still have to find a place in the schedule to do a little weights...that's something I do need to add..emphasis need cause I hate them.  I still like learning about food.  I don't really count calories anymore, but I do look at the ingredients and nutritional make up of the food.  We try to eat whole foods, things that are mostly unprocessed.  I did start eating meat again, but it's not something that I eat all the time.  In these years I've learned an awful lot about maintaining.  I've learned it's not hard for me.  Why?  Because it's something that I want to do, and I know what will happen if I don't.  It's more about being healthy now than it is about weight.  I've made a healthy decisions a way of life, and thankfully it's become second nature.  At this point I know how to incorporate not so good stuff...cookies...in every now and then.  Also, let me just go ahead and admit I have chocolate everyday....two or three little dove dark square.  I have come to realize that anyone who looses weight has to really want it, it has to be for them, and it has to be done the right way.  Maybe if you gained a few over the holidays, then a quick approach will work. For those that gained slowly, there's a reason for it.  You've become accustomed to the way you eat and live.  It's a hard habit to break, probably harder the older you are.  Maybe you can start like I did....small...cut out one food/drink that's unhealthy, substitute it for another.  Learn how many calories your body needs, and just as importantly learn how many you're taking in.   I really really don't like quick fixes.  Those shake things...forget it...unless you want to have a shake for two meals a day for the rest of your life.  Exercise is not always fun.  I like running.  I love the way it makes me feel afterwards.  I'd be lying if I said I was pumped every time I started a run, or during some races I just want to die.  Start simple.  Go for a walk.  Try different videos or classes. Find an exercise you like.  I know that all that's intimidating when you're heavy.  You feel like all eyes are on you.  Truth is they are probably not, and the ones that are...well, there's a big percentage of them thinking you're doing something great.  If all of it's too overwhelming, get a support system.  Get your family and friends involved.  Find someone who's lost weight (the right way and for the right reasons), and talk to them.  Let me just say, it's so much easier and fun being the size I am now.  I feel so much better eating healthy and exercising.  Sure, it can be a big, long, tough change, but it's worth it.  I bet those first time 5kers from today would agree.