Hello everyone.  I'm 57, married to the most wonderful husband in the world, have two boys (30 and 33), two grandchildren (also boys - 4 and 1), and live in the country.  I'm full blooded, second generation Italian and worry all the time like my mother, grandmother, greatgrandmother etc.  In addition to the worry gene, I also inherited the Italian figure.  As a matter of fact, if you line us all up, you wouldn't be able to tell us apart from the back! I'm the oldest of three girls. 

I love making jewelry and collecting as many plants as I can cram into my home and garden.  I work in the engineering department of a national manufacturer - firefighting, problem solving, training, policy writing.

I've struggled with my weight for as long as I can remember - I think I was born a size 12.  I've been on every kind of diet you can think of and have been successful many times.  Like most of us, it's never stayed off.  We went to Kaui last February and when we returned and I saw our pictures I was mortified, depressed and ashamed to see myself at 220 pounds.  Not only that, but I'm on blood pressure and cholesterol medication and was on the verge of diabetes. Something in me snapped and I woke up thinking that I just couldn't go on another diet and get even more depressed because I was on a diet.  I said to myself, "You just have to make wiser choices".  My motivation to stay healthy so I could dance at my grandchildren's wedding and stay with my husband for as long as possible helped me to take that first step.  I didn't have to wait until Monday, or after the holiday, or any of the other things us dieters wait for - I just saw every day, every meal, every piece of food as a choice that I could make.  Even if I chose to eat that piece of cheese cake, that was just fine too because it was my conscious choice.  I didn't have to beat myself up for not being strong, or have to start all over again next Monday because I had blown this week.  This mindset has liberated me!  I've been making wiser choices for a year now and am down 60 pounds and in a size 14 (from a 28).  My whole family and all my friends are so proud of me, but not as proud as I am of myself.

I found Calorie-Count by accident last fall while searching for nutritional information in certain foods. This has been such a HUGE help to me.  I'm not counting calories per se, but this site has helped to make me aware of the content of food and its relationship to weight (the Starbucks comparison is a stroke of genius). I've learned a great deal from all the postings as well, both in the subject matter but also in the knowledge that there are a lot of us going through the same thing.

I'll close with some key points that have been instrumental in my weightloss -

• every thing I eat is my own choice
• never skip meals - eat something every 3 or 4 hours
• weigh every morning and log it into Calorie-Count
• log every thing I eat - it's an eye opener
• one mayfield banana pop is only 50 calories and goes a long way
• nothing tastes as good as thin feels