Introduce yourself here
Tell us about yourself...
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Greetings from sunny South Africa. I'm Varla and I'm blessed to get to spend my days playing with a variety of animals. I'm a zookeeper who works with reptiles, spiders, penguins and seals. My free time is usually spent training martial arts (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and judo) or hiking. I donated my kidney in July 2019 to a friend of a friend who has become like a brother to me since.
Due to some personal stuff I haven't been as consistent as I'd like over the last couple of years, but I thrive on comebacks from injury (I've done a few of those over the years) and have just been cleared to return after a pretty serious cut to my leg on a hike in March so I'm using that to get a new routine going and build back my strength and fitness and healthy eating habits. I'm 46 and perimenopause is adding in some extra challenges but I love conquering challenges so embracing that.
My goal weight is 68kg which is 12kg below my current weight, but I'm happy to get there slowly and focus of getting healthy routines going that will eventually get me to the goal.
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Hi I’m Joan from Missouri, USA. I donated altruistically in October 2023, have struggled with weight gain since, so need to get back on track. I am very active, I am on a rowing team, I also hike and climbed Mt Kilimanjaro in Jan 2025
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Hi everyone, I'm Hallie, currently living in Eugene, Oregon, USA. I donated in 2019, 6 months after my husband donated, both altruistically but motivated by a friend who needed a kidney transplant.
I've slowly crept up in weight over the last 10-15 years since I enjoy food but knee and achilles issues caused me to stop running. I'm working with a PT and am now gradually working back into running with fingers crossed for success. Meantime, I love weight training with kettlebells and hiking with my dog. I've chipped away at the extra pounds after consulting with a dietician who encouraged me to increase my protein intake to help me feel fuller while reducing calories. It's helped a lot with not feeling hungry or deprived. My goal is 20% of my calories being protein (~100 g per day), and I'll be curious if I see any impact to my creatinine/GFR values at my next physical.
My husband and I are about to move to Mexico for a year to shake things up a little and experience a new culture. Keeping tabs on MFP entries may get harder, but I'll do what I can. There will probably be a lot of tacos in my future.
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@mo_cubsfan Kilimanjaro is definitely on my to do list! Although currently I'm planning a hike in New Zealand first (already visiting Australia next year so thought I might as well go visit my friend's in New Zealand and they are really close to Abel Tasman National Park which has an amazing hike/kayak through the park).
@andyhah Glad you found other activities you enjoy while you get back to running. I'm also trying to focus on at least 100g of protein per day. And moving to Mexico sounds like an amazing adventure. My friend wanted us to visit when we were in the US last year but our budget and time didn't allow for it. We had an amazing time though, Miami to Austin in her camper van. Got to do Disney and stay with her friends in New Orleans and spend some time in Austin with her and her husband. South African money doesn't turn into much when I travel so a return is going to have to wait a few years (heading to the opposite side of the planet first).
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