Eating more consciously now feels like a way of being. I actually think about how my food got to my plate.

My father turned my life around insisting I be more than I was and by believing I could be more.

When you give up on life, never give up on yourself, because there is so much for you to keep on giving!

I pray to be used in service to a greater purpose higher than my own

I grew up in the country, which is probably why I'm so attached to the land. I love it. I love the lay of the land. I love walking the land. And I love knowing that it's my land.

When I woke up in the morning and look in the mirror I realise that one of the reasons I don't own a handgun is, I would have shot my thighs off years ago.

I'm starting to cry. I'm remembering those years I struggled with my weight, those times when I saw my reflection in a store window and didn't know who that fat person was, years when it was a big accomplishment for me to exercise at two dots on the StairMaster. And now I'm finishing a 26-mile race. Damn! This is better than winning an Emmy!