Don't be fooled by the name. I am a 50+ woman and was recently told I was prediabetic. After years of wanting to lose weight, that gave me the push I needed. I cut out the carbs and check the labels on everything now. I exercise almost every day. I prefer active things like volleyball but have come to accept that sometimes all I can work in is time on the elliptical, sometimes split between morning and evening. It's not easy but it seems to work. Slow and steady.

My biggest challenges come from my family. I have a husband and three boys who can eat whatever they want as they are gifted with high metabolisms. I am surrounded by pasta and rice and cookie eaters.

I am not in the army and have never been. My family teases me and calls me the sarge because in the past I was sometimes easy on the kids. Since my boys are grown or almost grown, it looks like I did okay in spite of that. (And when I had to be, I was really the sarge.)

Guess now I have to be sarge to myself!