Spark Spotlight: Rhea (RheaElizabeth)

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: Rhea (RheaElizabeth)
Age: 73
Location: Somonauk, Illinois
 
Small Success of the Week
 
Rhea is a role model for getting fit at any age. In fact, she recently finished her first official 5K race with a first-place win in the 70 and over age group. But she doesn't want to stop there—she wants to lose weight and get as fit as she can and isn't letting anything stop her.
 
What's your overall goal?
 
I joined a local gym in the hopes of working on balance issues and getting some exercise through their Active Adult program. My goal was to lose weight and get as fit as possible "at my age," but I got much more in the process—friends, challenges and fun!
 
How is SparkPeople helping you get there?
 
Seeing the success stories on SparkPeople and reading all the information about health and exercise keeps me motivated and trying new things that help me to be successful in my healthy journey. The recipes and workouts are a great help.
 
What's your biggest challenge right now?
 
Staying the course when I'm on a plateau! I do weigh myself every morning so that I stay on track with eating right. I've lost almost 60 pounds since I started in late November 2016 and now the weight is coming off slowly and it can get frustrating to do all the right things and not see the scale move. But my body is shrinking and everyone sees the difference.
 
What advice do you have for someone who just joined SparkPeople today?
 
Get into the journey for the long run and don't give up! If you lack support at home or with family and friends you still can get support on SparkPeople and if you stick with it you can be successful. I'm rooting for you!
 
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!