Spark Spotlight: Alex (ALEXTHEHUN)

By , SparkPeople Blogger
At SparkPeople, we love helping people accomplish big goals—but we believe it's equally important to celebrate the small successes along the way. Each week in the Spark Spotlight, we'll check in with a featured member about his or her proudest moments, biggest challenges and advice for others on living, thinking and feeling healthier. We hope these quick snapshots will help motivate you to keep moving steadily toward your own goals, week by week.
 
This Week's Spotlight: Alex (ALEXTHEHUN)
Age: 65
Location: Arlington, Texas
 
Small Success of the Week
 
Alex, a professor at the University of Texas at Arlington, didn't let cold weather keep him from achieving his goals. Instead, he took his exercise inside, walking and climbing the stairs to get in a good cardio workout and making sure he kept his #fitnessfeats streak going.

What's your overall goal?
 
My overall goal is to live a healthier lifestyle. Specifically, I needed to lose weight and eat better.
 
How is SparkPeople helping you get there?
 
I found SparkPeople in looking for nutrition trackers. To this day, I still use that feature almost without fail. But, of course, SparkPeople turned out to be much more than that. The community of people helps me maintain a good perspective.
 
What's your biggest challenge right now?
 
I have lost 60 pounds [and] I still have about 20 pounds to go to reach my goal. My main challenge these days is complacency. It is too easy and too tempting to be happy with the success I've had and not try as diligently as I did months ago. I have to be mindful of that. The good records I've kept through SparkPeople help me quantify that.
 
What advice do you have for someone who just joined SparkPeople today?
 
My advice to anyone starting at SparkPeople is to keep showing up. Don't be impatient. It's the slow changes that are the longest lasting.
 
Want to be the next small success we spotlight? Share your successes on the goal feed or in the comments below, and you might be the next person we contact!