Hi there. I'm the missing editor, Denise. We no sooner started this challenge than I went on vacation. Great timing, huh! Actually, it was a stay-at-home, working at church kind of vacation. I spent the week chasing about 100 kids at Vacation Bible School. That should have been good for me, except for the daily snacks. Peanut butter on celery... mmmmmm. I never make it for myself, but when someone sets a whole tray of it out there among the melon and popcorn and cookies, I just can't resist.

I wasn't here last week for the big, end of the first week weigh in, but I did weigh at home and lost a bit, so I'm pleased with that. Just to give you some perspective, I'm the oldest in the group at 43, and I'm also the perpetual dieter of the group. My mom used to say I was born heavy, and I never got over it! I've tried my share of diets, including the dreaded Cabbage Soup Diet, with mixed results. I actually feel like I'm on a perpetual diet, because if I'm not paying attention, my weight just starts creeping back up. So getting motivated for this challenge is tough. Right now, I'm about 30 pounds down from my all time high (over 200 pounds... you don't need to know how much over!) I lost the 30 with a combination of Weight Watchers, which really does work if you're motivated to do what they tell you, and a diet my church sponsored called Prism. It's really hard core... don't eat anything processed and only 1200 calories a day. I'd never survive it long term.

So here I am. Still over 30 pounds above my goal (which, by the way, is a weight I haven't seen since elementary school!) Even with my "motivational issues", I must say that I am eating better knowing all my officemates are watching. This is a pretty good time to "start" a diet, since so many fruits and veggies are in season. Now, if I only had a personal chef to chop them up (and slather them with peanut butter... oh, wait, that's not on the diet, is it?) I'd be in great shape.

Don't expect much from me by way of exercise, either. I fully intend to go to Curves three times a week, although it seems to average out to two times more often than not. I meet a friend there at 6 a.m. (not my best time of day!) so I can get to work at a reasonable time. My knees aren't as young as they used to be, so running and such things are out of the question.

My goal is to get my weight to start inching down instead of creeping up like it's been doing, and to do some overall toning of my sagging self. Even if I don't win the challenge, that will be a personal success for me, and a good step for improving my health. Wish me luck!