Editor's note: Last week, Times News reporter Judy Dolgos-Kramer continued the story of her journey toward a healthier lifestyle. Her story continues this week, as she shares how she made out with Pocono Medical Center's "Biggest Winner Challenge."

Last spring, after learning there was nothing wrong with me healthwise, other than being overweight, I decided it was time to get healthy. Part of that process was to participate in the "Biggest Winner Challenge."The "Biggest Winner" is a program exclusive to the Pocono Medical Center's Healthy Living Series and is the brainchild of Dr. Musa Tangoren. It began in late July and ran through January. As part of the experience, I agreed to journal my day-to-day progress.Last week, I shared a little about the humiliation I experienced going to the first meeting, but also how inspirational Dr. Tangoren can be. In this final piece, I'll talk about how I've done in the challenge and where I plan to go from hereSo how did I do?I will be the first to admit that I was not the most frequent attendee to Tangoren's meetings. Schedule conflicts and bad weather threw a monkey wrench into my best attempts to attend the meetings.But I was very lucky. After years of false starts and wasted efforts to lose weight, I had success very early with the program.In the first two weeks I lost 13 pounds, in the following three weeks, I stayed even. Not the most encouraging, but I was determined to keep this going, and I continued to do exactly what I had been doing for the previous five weeks. Over the next four weeks I lost another 15 pounds.In total I have lost 50 pounds and have pretty much changed the way I eat and think about food.One of the things Tangoren had said all along was you need to move and you need to exercise. I unfortunately wasn't able to really add exercise into the plan during the first six months. I had a few physical restraints that made that very difficult for me, and I choose to leave that part for what I like to refer to as Phase II of my plan to get healthy.I never thought I was ever going to be able to walk from point A to point B again without being out of breath. I have no idea when it happened, but I no longer wheeze at the idea of parking my car and walking into the grocery store or bank.In January, I began Phase II. I've joined a gym, and I have a set of rules I live by in terms of food. I've been pretty good at following them.I think that what has made all of this work for me is the fact that nothing is really impossible. It is all common sense and straightforward discipline.The most important part comes from simple success. If every ounce lost or step taken is looked at as one more stride in the right direction rather than as not being enough, than every day is a good day, even if it might look bad to someone else just looking in.My rules to live by1. Eat three meals per day. You can include snacks if you like but make sure you log everything that goes into your mouth. Everything, no exceptions. I use an app on my phone so I have no excuse because my phone is always within reach.2. Set a number of calories permitted per day and stick to it.3. Never eat anything after 8 p.m.4. Try new things, expand your food vocabulary. For me it was hummus, protein shakes and butternut squash soup.5. Drink plenty of water and flavored seltzer. Keep a glass or bottle handy at all times.6. Get plenty of sleep.7. Keep moving whenever you can.8. Never punish yourself. If you slip up, don't throw away the rest of the day. Start over immediately, right then and there.10. Don't cheat yourself out of a celebration or a special occasion. If this is going to be a way of life, you're going to need to learn to enjoy life while living it. So have a small piece of the cake; just don't eat the whole thing.11. Exercise, even if it means a short walk with the dog or swimming at the Y, add movement even if you don't burn a lot of calories. You are building strength by moving.12. Ninety percent of your grocery shopping is done on the outside aisles of the store. As an example, when I go to Kinsley's ShopRite I start at the fresh fruit and vegetables. Next turkey breast from the deli counter; the hummus is right there. If I were buying baked goods, they are next. Around to corner are the fresh proteins. Straight ahead is dairy, up the aisle to milk, eggs, yogurt, low fat cream cheese and cheeses, and you are at the checkout stand.13. I now bake our bread; four ingredients and no preservative.14. No artificial sweeteners, or very little in moderation. Very little natural sugars whenever possible.My go-to mealsOne of the things I have always been passionate about is food. It is how I was brought up. When I was in graduate school I taught cooking to some of my younger classmates, and people used to vie for the opportunity to be invited to a meal at my small apartment. So flavor is important to me.But you need to learn that fresh, healthy ingredients can be just as yummy as fat-laden comfort foods.One of my go-to snacks and lunch sides are pickles. I will pickle anything that doesn't move fast enough in my house. My favorite is to make overnight pickled veggies.I often make a big salad, and instead of a ton of dressing, I dress the top with my pickled veggies and add some green olives, pickled mushrooms and artichokes. If it still needs some dressing I splash on a few shakes of rice vinegar or white balsamic and a sprinkle of low-fat feta.At least three days a week I start my day with a protein shake. I start with a scoop of vegan protein powder, and about 10 ounces of liquid. I prefer half Trop 50 and half flavored seltzer, one quarter cup of frozen cherries and a handful of ice. I throw everything into my blender and I have a 250 calorie, protein filled breakfast.As spring rolls around, I have considered returning to the "Biggest Winner." I would love to see you there as well. We need to take care of this one body we are given, and Dr. T and his wonderful staff will help you to tune it up and get it running great.Judy's Overnight Pickled Veggies3 cups fresh cauliflower, broken apart2 med carrots, julienne¼ cup of water2 stalks of celery in ½-inch slices1 can black olives¾ white vinegar¼ cup olive oil¼ cup canola oil2 tablespoons sugar1 teaspoon salt½ teaspoon dried oregano¼ teaspoon pepperPlace cauliflower and carrots in a microwave-safe dish with the ¼ cup of water and microwave on high for 5 minutes.Stir in remainder of the vegetables. Pour remaining ingredients over the vegetable and stir. Cover and chill overnight. Pack leftover veggies in liquid in glass jars. Will keep for two weeks in the refrigerator.