Betsey Schmeltzle:
After I recovered from the initial shock of hearing my name announced and seeing my "fat" picture on TV the morning of November 22, I was thrilled to have been selected for the Get Up Get Healthy contest.

While the challenge is a fun and upbeat contest, for many of us it is much more than that. Reading the other profiles made me realize that many of the others are just as desperate as I am to finally get in shape. For me, this opportunity could literally be a life saver. I did not mention this in my entry letter but in the last few years, I have lost my father and my younger sister to heart disease. In my sister's case, no one knew anything was wrong until her sudden heart attack. But, yes, she was overweight and out of shape.

So even though I am currently healthy, I can no longer ignore my family history. Especially this last year, I knew, that at age 47, I couldn't procrastinate much longer. I guess I just needed a good shove in the right direction...

And, boy, did I get it!

Mike Kocsis is a fitness evangelist. I don't remember ever having such a quick and powerful attitude adjustment! Everything he told us those first few sessions made so much sense. And the plan was simple! Just do what Mike tells you to do and it will be impossible to not succeed.

Well now we are in the sixth week and I am down 13 pounds and feel better than I have in at least 4 years. But, it is not just the weight loss (I still weigh a little more than when I tried Weight Watchers 3 years ago). I feel stronger and healthier and confident that I can actually reach my goal of running races  again. (read more)