Hi, I am an elementary school teacher and grandmother who raises Havanese dogs for a hobby.

I began using fatsecret in 2011 to fit into a dress for my daughter's wedding. It took me about 4 months to get from 156 to 139, but I kept the weight off for 4 years. Now I am at 146 trying to get down to 135 lbs.

I have been gluten free since 2009. During that year, I was hospitalized for sporadic ataxia, arthritis, nerve pain, and burning sensations in my hands and feet. All of these symptoms subsided after cutting out gluten. I know gluten intolerance is true because a number of times, the sudden onset of symptoms led me to discover gluten in a product that I had thought was gluten free. Three of my four siblings have similar gluten intolerance.

Anyway, I eat as many "real" foods as I can. I try to avoid commercial "gluten free" cookies, snacks or carbs and just stick to the basics except for Glutino multi-grain bread. With peanut butter, it is my favorite snack.

Update: January 6, 2019 - I got carried away with foil-wrapped chocolate Christmas ornaments and let my weight go up to 147 lbs. Up until mid November of this year, I succeeded for nearly 7 years at keeping my weight below 144 lbs. However, I have never achieved my ideal weight of 135 lbs. Currently, there is a powerful incentive to be more successful. My son is getting married at the end of March. I am going to make a serious attempt to stick to my own "Recommended Foods/Health Rules I have been fairly consistently following for 2 years. Hopefully, I can upload these into "My Diet" under My Toolbox.