Lynn Haraldson is a freelance writer and columnist from Clarion, Pennsylvania. She has maintained a 168-pound weight loss for more than one year and has kept an online journal of her weight loss journey since 2005 (www.freewebs.com/lynnsjourney).
A lifelong “dieter,” Lynn had been up and down the scale all her adult life, vacillating between 140 and 250 for 25 years. When her thyroid shut down in 1998, she went from 190 to 296 pounds in less than 4 years. Tired and desiring a permanent change, she joined Weight Watchers online in February 2005 and got to her weight goal in March 2007.
Lynn attributes her former weight gains and losses to a “diet and deprivation” mentality – eat what it takes to lose then go back to old habits. She “refuses to regain” because she has rejected old modes of thinking and has embraced a lifestyle of healthy eating and exercise.
Lynn continues to document her journey online at www.lynnsweigh.blogspot.com and has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Today Show, Entertainment Tonight, CNN, and several other news outlets. Her blog was featured in People Magazine’s annual “Half Their Size” issue in January 2008, and she has been interviewed by several writers and health professionals for websites, books and other magazines.
Lynn holds a BA in English from Augsburg College in Minneapolis. An award winning writer, she was features editor and a columnist for the Clarion News before jumping into the world of freelance writing where she writes for several academic, travel and business magazines and newspapers.
Lynn has two daughters and two stepsons and became a grandmother in October 2007 and again in May 2009. Grandbaby #3 is due February 2011. She lives in Pittsburgh.