My Primary motivation during this challenge round was to see just how healthy I could get! So I continued focusing on all my "health" numbers such as waist size, body fat percentage, metabolic age, and cholesterol level. These were the tangible results that I could keep looking at to see my progress. HOWEVER, another very important motivator was being declared an honorable mention in the last round! WOW! Coming so close made me want to try even harder. But I could see it wasn't going to be easy!! More and more people were joining in on the challenge and I would have to step it up to keep up!

I reached a weight of 147.2 lbs - THAT is the smallest I have been in well over a decade! My goal was to get to 145, but hey, that's pretty darn close!! During this round I lost 9.2 pounds and 7.5 inches - add those to my previous results and I have lost 37.8 pounds and 30.5 inches!! That is serious shrinkage!

My total cholesterol level has gone from 248 to 182, and the good cholesterol is much higher than before! My doctor was very pleased to see those results and I was even more pleased to hear him tell me what a great job I'm doing!

My body fat percentage has been in the 30-31% range for the last few weeks compared to the 32-34% range at the beginning of this round. When I first got the scale to measure this in March, it was 39.7% so that is a very healthy sign!

BMI is now 25.3, down from 26.8 12 weeks ago and the obese 31.8 when I started!!

I can now comfortably wear size 10 jeans!! That has been a terrific morale boost for me. Since the jeans were on sale, I bought another pair in size 8 and keep them hanging near my treadmill for incentive to keep on shrinking!

At last I have the confidence to go to parties and other events! I no longer make up excuses for not going because of being ashamed of how I look. And I am armed with the right information so that I can make those "better bad choices" that Josh talks about. Now when I go to a party I can look for lower fat items on the buffet table and not end up completely sabotaging all my efforts.

There are times when my attitude is challenged and I do my best to stop myself from "stinkin' thinkin'" and seek out positive, helpful advice at the SBC website or magazines and books.

4. How do you truly feel, right now, about your body after your transformation? When I moved to Arizona in 1992, I remember very clearly getting my driver's license and filling out forms. One of those forms asked for my weight and I "lied" on that form. I said I was 150 lbs even though I was MUCH closer to 160. No big deal, right?! Well, apparently not because I still remember this!! ANYWAY, now that little white lie on my driver's license has new meaning!! I am finally UNDER 150 and I plan on staying under!! WAY UNDER!! I definitely like this smaller body because it can fit into smaller spaces AND smaller clothes! It is such a kick when I can even wear a generously constructed size 8! And I am proud of what this body can do! Exercise sessions in the morning actually give me more energy for the rest of the day and I no longer start nodding off in the middle of the afternoon! 5. How do you truly feel, right now, about your life--how has it improved? I am continuing to have fewer migraine headaches which is a great improvement in my life! They could really knock me out of commission for several days at a time and THAT is no longer happening! When I saw my doctor at the end of July, I asked him for a new prescription for the migraine pain medication. I have yet to fill it because I just haven't needed them! I am looking forward to the events that are coming up in my life now (vacations, family reunions, anniversaries, holidays, etc) instead of dreading them as before. It's so much easier AND an actual pleasure to shop for the right outfit for a special occasion. And I know that things are only going to get better as I continue to improve my health and reduce the size of my midsection!

The Slim Body Coach website is a major motivator for me. I have come to realize how important maintaining a positive attitude is when you are losing weight and all the support I get on the site helps me keep that positive attitude strong! Its great knowing the site is always there to turn to when you need an extra boost or a reminder not to give up-or give IN to cookies and ice cream! I love the interaction on the site! For some reason, it has continued to attract the nicest, most helpful people you could ever ask to be on your side! And I am proud to be able to call so many of them my friends!!

My Tanita Scale is also a big source of motivation. I especially LOVE the metabolic age calculation! Maybe it's because I am going into menopause, experiencing a bit of "empty-nest" syndrome and feeling that "mid-life" crisis, but I get the biggest kick out of thinking that I am getting younger. At the start of this round, my metabolic age was 47, NOW it is 40! How cool is that?!?!?!

7. What were some of your keys to success in losing weight? #1-CHANGING EXERCISES-I like trying out new ones to see if I can target a new muscle or two. I started getting another magazine called Shape, because of the bonus they sent me-color brochures with new exercises!! This keeps both my muscles and my brain from getting bored. #2-FINDING NEW INSPIRATIONS-When the results weren't happening as quickly as I had hoped, I sought out new strategies. When an email from WebMD mentioned a book called, The Thin Commandments, I decided to get it and see if it could help me. I even printed out the list of commandments and kept them on my desk. Much of the book dealt with things I already knew but just seeing things phrased a little differently can make something click. One of those "commandments" is to treat your calories like dollars. The author says you have to know how many calories you have in your "account" and budget them wisely. If you overspend calories and go into debt, that "debt" turns into extra weight. One of the most important ways to "stretch" your calorie budget is with exercise! Focusing on the exercise and calories burned really helped me concentrate on the calorie "deficit" and get my scale moving again! #3-MONITORING PROGRESS WISELY-Ironically, one thing that I believe to be a key to my success has also been a source of frustration during this round. My Tanita scale that measure my fat percentage, hydration percentage, muscle mass, DCI and metabolic age, contributes to my frustration because I use it every day to track my progress. I like having this information and tracking it in charts. It was fun taking those charts to the doctor's office! But by the end of July and through most of August, my daily weight was fluctuating like crazy and making me crazy too! To get an "accurate" reading of all the various measurements, you need to weight yourself later in the day. The manufacturer recommends weighing in before your evening meal so that you will be properly hydrated and the other calculations will be more accurate. However, it can't measure hormone levels, and mine are definitely changing. So, my official weights for this challenge have been from that evening weigh-in. I even tried taking just the weight measurement first thing in the morning to see what the difference would be. It would usually be about three pounds less in the morning, but tracking that only increased my frustration. So to be consistent, I am sticking with the evening weigh in and preserving my sanity! 8. What challenges did you have to overcome while participating in this contest? Fortunately, I didn't have any unexpected problems with my eye sight as I did last round. Although my eye surgeon still wants me to avoid high impact exercise or exercises that require me to lie on my back, I consider that to be a minor limitation compared to what others have to deal with. This round, my challenges were in keeping motivated when the scale did not show progress. I wanted to get to that magic number of 145 and it became apparent I was NOT going to get there by the end of the 12 weeks. I knew I had to tweak things to get the scale and the inches to fall. Josh's Slim Body Minute about fat burning strategies and Gail's Mini-Challenges came around at a crucial time for me and gave me the ideas I needed to get the fat burning again. Getting some exercise in BEFORE I ate breakfast and counting up the calories burned from exercise seem to be the tweaks I needed to get me through that blasted plateau!

I truly feel like a transformed woman now! My health has improved in significant ways, so much so that I can't use headaches as an excuse not to workout anymore as I often did at the beginning of this year. I am trying different kinds of fish, vegetables and fruit all the time instead of pigging out on macaroni and cheese, loaded baked potatoes, pizza, nachos and other staples of my old eating style! Oh, I still try these things now and then, but they no longer have the appeal they once did. I actually find myself craving healthier options-salmon and tuna are my new favorite proteins!!

But I also recognize that I am still transform-ING, so I can't afford to get overly confident and let up. I know that I have more miles to go on this journey, but I am committed to this new lifestyle and never want to go back to my old sedentary way. Exercise actually gives me energy now-something I never truly believed in the beginning. That is why I make exercise priority ONE and I plan the rest of my day around it, instead of just trying to fit it in when I can. The progress I have made means a lot to me and I don't want to erase it by sabotaging myself. My scale says I only have a couple pounds to go to get to my original goal, but the pictures show there are still more than a few "sticks of butter" hanging around. I am setting a new goal for myself of 139 pounds. That is the weight recommended to me when I first filled out my profile and at that time it seemed FAR too impossible to achieve-not anymore!

Another indication that I am succeeding is that family members and friends are asking me for advice on how THEY can get healthier. Even my husband, who also does most of the cooking for us, has learned enough from me that he has lost 6 pounds. Now, if I could just get him to exercise more!! A dear friend of mine is now convinced about the "power of protein" and is losing weight-now when I visit her she has healthier snacks, like almonds, to offer me!!

I feel like a winner because I am surrounding myself with a winning attitude, a winning lifestyle and all the great people who are winning at weight loss at the Slim Body Coach website!! I enjoy learning from them, sharing in their successes and I believe they are learning from me as well.

The journal remains my favorite section of the website because it is more personal and helps me learn a lot about myself and the others who are working so hard to get healthier. When I was feeling negative about being stuck at a plateau, I would read about how others were doing and it would help me get a better perspective. I don't like to record a lot of negative feelings because I don't want that to define me. Losing weight is not easy and for me, it only gets harder if I dwell on the negative. Giving others encouragement takes my mind off of any negative feelings I'm experiencing and makes me feel a little stronger.

In the last few weeks, I started using the Activity Tracker section of the site. I gave up on the Nutrition Tracker because I felt like it was taking up too much time for me to use and making me more frustrated. Even though the Activity Tracker is not perfect (I can't match up the exact incline and speeds I use on my treadmill), it is very motivating to click on your full activity log and see what you have been doing. Sure wish I had started using it sooner!! I have to credit Gail and her Mini-Challenge for inspiring me to use that tool! I am definitely motivated by numbers and watching those calories burned add up is fun and keeps me accountable!

During this round, I focused on using the Lipo Matrix, CLA and the yummy Vanilla Matrix Shakes. I am finding that exercise is my best energy booster, so I don't really need to use the Slim Seduction anymore.

Lipo Matrix has been part of my routine since January. When Josh offered the study special for it in July, I decided to take him up on it. I also tried a new measurement. On the first of august, I measured around my midsection at the belly button. My waist was 32-1/2 inches on that date and it really hadn't been changing much. So, I decided to measure around the old belly. It was 39 inches on August 1-ugh! But, it did keep getting smaller, so that by the end of this round on September 22, it measured 36!! Losing those THREE inches has been a big help in getting back into jeans again! So, I am definitely not giving up my Lipo Matrix!!

I still love those Vanilla Matrix Shakes! Just about any fruit works well with them and a little coffee turns it into a delicious latte. It's just not a great Slim Body Day without one of those shakes!

After raising five children, I now have an empty nest and it's time for taking care of me. I haven't had the time to ever be so selfish before. I saw my "Before" pictures and that was the motivation to spend this year reclaiming the real me. This is the 3rd challenge I've completed and turned in a packet. I'm making progress I never dreamed I could achieve. I can't stop my momentum now for a new body AND a SBC Cruise!

I started out in challenge one a size 18, with elastic waists. Now I am a size 12 with zippered jeans! I've lost 10 inches in round three and a total of 35.75 inches since round one… with a grand total of 55 lbs since the start of my weight loss efforts.

During round three, I've had a complete and thorough physical with all normal results!

My goal in round three was to try new exercise challenges that I hadn't done before. I finally got enough confidence to climb up on the chin up/pull up machine at the gym (the old model was called the Graviton). I called it "taming the beast". I now get on the huge piece of equipment every time I'm at the gym and it has become my favorite piece of exercise equipment. The confidence comes in climbing up where I'm "on display" to the rest of the people working out and in knowing that I can actually "do" this machine. I see it as something beyond the usual workout. I think it's the most under used piece of equipment in the gym. And I've tamed the monster!!

4. How do you truly feel, right now, about your body after your transformation? I am joyous about my more slender and toned body. I delight in wearing fun clothes that are not "hiding me" but rather adding to my self-presentation to the world. My collarbone is obvious in any picture now and my muscle formations are a new source of pride. People have called me "gorgeous", "Miss America", "a little girl", "skinny" and one lady I've known for years didn't even recognize me sitting in a room full of people… she thought I was a visitor! I love hearing these reactions from others. 5. How do you truly feel, right now, about your life--how has it improved? I'm so excited to tell you that I now have a job at a fitness center. This is something I would never have dreamed of months ago. I love my job and having a boss that gives me his blessing to "go do my workout" is the best part. I'm surrounded by people who are motivated to workout and are at the gym because they want to be there. What a perfect atmosphere to walk the walk with a healthy lifestyles and daily exercise! I'm fortunate to have this wonderful job because of my efforts to be slimmer and to have exercise as an important part of my life.

As I kept losing weight and inches, I just became more motivated to reach my goal. After all these years of trying to lose weight, I finally have this newfound success and I'm not going to lose it. Every day counts towards a healthy body and lifestyle. I take one day at a time to achieve the slender, toned body that I desire. I don't look for daily or even weekly changes. I go the whole 12 weeks of a challenge to measure and record my body changes as sometimes it takes that long to make the desired progress.

7. What were some of your keys to success in losing weight? I record the foods I eat and the exercise that I do. I particularly find support and motivation through the SBC forums and by writing in my SBC journal every day. I keep focused on my weight loss goals every day by doing these things. I also read and study information about weight loss and healthy lifestyles so I can make the most educated choices possible. 8. What challenges did you have to overcome while participating in this contest? As much as I love my new job, it was a change in my routine. My eating times changed, as did my hours for exercise. Additionally, round three was during the summer. My college age, football-playing son was home and always hungry and missing his foods that I don't keep in the house anymore. We used to eat out a lot together and this summer we had to change the time we spent with each other doing things other than eating.

I feel I'm an unofficial ambassador for any SBC forum members when they visit in the Denver area. I met and welcomed "newme2006" and brought her to meet the staff and coaches upon her request. I have persevered in the SBC program through three rounds and I believe y support for those on the forum is appreciated as shown by the comments of those who participate (and I'm number 8 on the "Top 10 Posters"). My own success speaks for the SBC Company.

I love the journal and the forums for daily support and motivation. The weekly minute by Coach Josh keeps SBC as a personal coaching experience. Listening to the encouragement by Coach Josh was like a one-on-one visit.

Slim Seduction and the Matrix Shakes are a mainstay in my daily routine. I shuffle out to the kitchen every morning to take the Slim Seduction before I do another thing. It carries me through the entire day. The shakes are a special tr4eat that I look forward to every day. I have them for breakfast or a mini-meal. I like the Vanilla Cake Batter flavor but I also have the Chocolate Caramel for a special chocolate fix! This round, I have also used Lipo Matrix. I have seen a great decrease in my cellulite, esp. in my legs and bottom. It's exactly what I needed.