Best Life Challenge: The Best of Barbara's Blog

Last year, Barbara says she experienced one of the worst times of her life. She says her husband cheated on her, fired her from her job and asked for a divorce. It was time for a full mind and body rejuvenation.

In her whole life, Barbara says she's never done anything balanced. She's either been very thin or very fat. She says she was once so overweight, she considered getting gastric bypass surgery. "My BMI was 39 and it needed to be 40 [to qualify for the surgery]. I was willing to gain weight at that time to be able to get the surgery," she says. "Now, I am glad that I didn't get the surgery." Instead, she's ready for a lifestyle change.

At the age of 50—"a young 50," she says—Barbara has even started to move on from her husband leaving her. She has met a man who, she says, likes her the way she is. Now she wants to like herself, too, and has added quitting smoking to her challenge. "I'm ready to do whatever it takes."