lynne went on her first diet at the tender age of 12, spending the next two decades serial dieting, counting every calorie, restricting her food intake. by the time she reached her early 30s, she was done.

“i’ve always loved healthy foods and exercise,” lynne said. “but when my kids were little, i always worked, and didn’t set aside much time for regular exercise. once I turned 35, the pounds started adding on.”

it was a vicious cycle to escape - one that had inadvertently been ingrained in her since childhood.

“my mom was a yo-yo dieter with all of her self-worth wrapped up in the number on the scale,” said lynne, “and she unconsciously passed that down to her two daughters. and i probably did to my daughters to some extent too. my mom’s weight range was wide – probably 120 to 200, and she gained and lost it many times.”

when her mother became ill from cancer, lynne understandably used food as comfort, gaining more weight. when her mom passed away at just 65 years old, lynne decided it was time for her to break free from being overweight, to end the cycle of self-loathing about weight.

“i wanted to get fit on my own terms, eating healthy without dieting, exercising regularly,” lynne said. “that’s where fitbook has helped me so much! when i got my first fitbook in 2009, i weighed 165.”

she began scheduling her workouts ahead of time each week in her fitbook, because “if i don’t schedule them, they don’t happen.” she started training for + running half-marathons, as well as weight training. and the extra weight slowly but surely came off. now, nearly nine years later, she’s on fitbook number 36.

“i have saved 19 of them, said lynne. “i always save a book if i had significant results in any direction so i can use them as a reminder if i need inspiration or ideas of what worked and didn’t work.”

for example, there was a period when she turned 50, became an empty nester, and got a new, very stressful + demanding job that caused her to neglect her workouts, drop weight-training altogether and stress eat. and fitbooks #20-26 reflect that period - showing a weight-gain + telling the story in detail through faithful logging. being able to look back on both the setbacks and the wins has been an invaluable tool that has helped lynne set + reach a long list of goals, such as training for runs, limiting sweets, or achieving a certain number of weekly weight workouts. her latest goal, which has proven to be more challenging than she anticipated: being able to do “ONE DARNED PULL-UP!”

“at this point in my life, i refuse to diet, and i’m only willing to make changes to my diet, exercise regimen and lifestyle that i feel i can sustain,” said lynne, “so my changes are gradual, and maybe even just more about maintenance, but i’m okay with that. it’s a lot of work to stay fit, and fitbook is my favorite tracking tool. i know of and use a few fitness apps as well, but for me, writing is part of my process.”

now 55 years old + happily maintaining her 144-pound physique, lynne hasn’t counted calories since she started fitbook, breaking the cycle she unconsciously adopted as a kid. congratulations on your 36 fitbooks + allllllll your goal-getting, lynne! we are so honored to have been with you every baby-step of the way, and we just know you’ll get that darned pull-up soon! (don’t forget to write it down once you make it happen!)

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