I am a 43 year old single woman. I have been single for the past 4 years, my previous relationship was psychologically abusive causing me to be very cautious and affected my overall self worth.

I had also lost a colleague. He had killed his wife as well as himself. It was a very emotional time for us all. As I am naturally a positive person and was working in the “helping field” it shook all our worlds that this person that we knew and worked closely with could do such horrible act of violence.

I moved back out to BC at that time and worked at a youth detox facility. Although I was longing to meet someone again, I took pride being a role model to the female youths and showing them that being alone is better than being in an unhealthy relationship. I also started to work in a non profit working with people living with HIV and who were facing multiple issues such as homelessness, addiction issues, sexual exploitation, and mental health issues. My job is to help connect them to resources, offer crisis counselling as needed and so on. Both of my jobs can be very challenging and taxing both physically, mentally and spiritually. I strive to give my clients and community alike the utmost care, respect and qualitative service.

Having said that it has been difficult over the past two years as I have been dealing with an health issue that has been very debilitating, causing me chronic pain and fatigue. So that I could still maintain working, I would literally sleep from the time I got home after work till the next day and sleep all weekend just try and recharge to get me through the workweek. As time went on it was evident that the treatment that I was receiving was not effective and the only course of action was for me to have surgery.

They had discovered that I had a large mass in my abdomen and that I would require a hysterectomy. At this time it was a very trying time emotionally as my family is living back east so I felt very isolated and we weren’t sure whether it was cancer. It was hard to wrap my head around the thought that I won’t be able to have children. I was worried that this would impact my chances to find my perfect guy!! I have since had my surgery. Thankfully I am cancer free!! I did go through many setbacks with infections and hormone imbalance and not sleeping through my recovery. I am still on medical leave and struggle financially and sleep deprived.

I hope that you will see me as a deserving candidate, and would love to be able to have some pampering and TLC so I can go back to work looking “great” and so I can start dating again!!

I am a very happy 50 year old woman with a great husband and two wonderful kids, ages 8 & 12 (I know I started late). Having younger kids will definitely keep you young at heart! However, over the past 3 years our lives have been on a bit of a roller coaster ride. My husband found out that he was deploying to Afghanistan and 3 weeks later he was gone for 11 ½ months training and serving in Afghanistan.

When you are the one staying at home you do everything you can to keep things normal. It can be exhausting, but you just do it (I sound like a Nike ad). When you do get phone calls from your husband, you can’t burden them with home troubles. The last thing they need there is to start focusing on problems at home. So every phone call is filled with sunshine and happy thoughts. It’s also so important to set a good example for the kids. You end up with some pretty broad shoulders!

Unfortunately, our son who was just starting Kindergarten at the time became quite ill. His separation anxiety grew very high and ended up affecting him physically, an illness that lasted well over a year. Our daughter had to cope with her little brother’s health plus her own issues about her dad being in a war zone. I did all I could to nurture and help them. You just wish you could take the pain away and make things better.

Thankfully, my husband came home safely and our kids are doing so much better. Once my husband came home, he started fixing things around the house, including replacing all the burned out bulbs on my “Vanity” mirror. Well, when you are now under flood lights, there is no way to disguise what you look like! I got a good look at someone who looked so tired. I had aged of course, but it was just looking so tired that got me. Now, make-up will definitely help, but I don’t always have time to spackle those lines in!

When you spend so much time taking care of your family, you don’t always take care of yourself. You just keep going, because the “mother ship” can’t go down. I now recognize that it’s not being selfish to want to do something for yourself. My dear husband told me he loves the way I look. I think it is sweet that he feels that way, but I want to do this for me. I truly believe that if you feel good about the way you look, that your outlook on everything is so much better. You know how it feels when you get all dressed up and everything just works; you even stand taller because you feel good about yourself. I am an optimistic person and it’s time to say good bye to looking like I need a week’s worth of sleep!

The perfect rewards for my baby steps in the right direction It all started last November. A lifelong friend had just reappeared from the past, before he disappeared again, taking his own life. His death was such a shock to all of us, and it really made me think. Suddenly – more than ever – I knew I wanted to live a healthy, happy and positive life. I even knew how to do it: 1. Eat healthier food and less of it, 2. Exercise, 3. Repeat every day for rest of life. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? But it took a few months to figure out how to get started.

I have always been on the overweight side, but after having kids, I got more and more so. Meanwhile, I also got inactive: a vicious cycle. I liked lying around all evening reading or watching TV with my family. I tried to get out for walks or go swimming with my two daughters, but this wasn’t happening with any regularity. Maybe once a week – not nearly enough. I decided I needed help. I did some online research, and found several bootcamp-style classes. Yuck, that sounded horrible! I remembered watching a bootcamp class at a park once: women running around the field, doing pushups, squats, and crunches. It looked painful. But if this is what it would take to get me healthy, I would consider it.

I was filling out a survey for a Biggest Loser-style bootcamp, when one of the questions made me pause: “what activities do you like?” Well, I thought, I love swimming and biking, and hiking, but I HATE running. That’s when I realized I don’t hate all exercise. I just had to figure out what I liked and what I could do, then DO IT. This is how I decided on my “baby-steps” strategy. Rather than joining a bootcamp class that I might very well resent and most likely abandon, I decided to do this one step at a time.

On Boxing Day, I found a free website, and began tracking my food and exercise. Immediately, I started eating better, as I realized I would have to be accountable to myself for every bite I popped in the mouth. Then, I conquered my paralyzing fear of … The Gym. I really wanted to use the gym in the building where I work, but I was intimidated by my fit fellow employees in their snazzy workout clothes. What would I wear? How embarrassing would it be if I got exhausted and gave up after 5 minutes and these people were watching? Then I got some good advice: “Just go! Everybody is there for the same reason as you: to get healthy.” This was enough to push me in the right direction.

I brought some gym clothes to work and started slow. I got on the exercise bike, and rode for 10 minutes and I was exhausted. But I washed off and changed, and I went back to work feeling great. It took me more than a year to get into that gym, but I did it. I was so proud of myself. Since the beginning of January, I have gone to that gym 3-5 times a week. That makes me very proud, but I am most happy about the exercise I have been doing at home. I have been swimming, hiking, and bike riding with my girls and I LOVE that I can incorporate exercise into the time I spend with them! It is really fun and we are all getting great exercise. It makes me feel like a great mom.

It is March now and I have lost more than 15 pounds so far. I feel strong – and not just in my body. I feel so proud of my example to my girls. I want them to be proud of me and not embarrassed. I want to be a good influence. I am changing my attitude and the way I look at myself. I am taking care of myself and I am open to positive experiences. This contest would help me continue this journey: it would be a perfect way to help match my outside appearance to the fantastic way I have been feeling inside. I don’t think too much about goals – my goal weight, or my goal size – because the important thing is: I know I will be doing this forever, getting healthy and happy, and enjoying life. I know all these baby steps are turning into good habits.