Living a healthy life requires achieving a balance between your physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual needs. A dramatic tipping of the scale in any one direction can sacrifice the health of one or more of the other factors. Sometimes, our behaviors that we adopt with the intent to promote our health can be taken to the extreme and, as a result, we actually start to become unhealthy.

I have experienced this imbalance myself in the last few years, but I have worked hard to regain my balance. Recently, I decided to share this struggle and have entered my story "When a Third Place Finish Means Coming in First" in Fitness Magazine's "Face of Fitness Cover Contest." They have selected me to be in the running for a chance to win. The individual who gets the most votes this voting period moves on to the next round of the competition. I need your help with votes. You can read my personal story and cast your vote at http://photos.fitnessmagazine.com/category/vote/photo/743666. I hope that you will find my story inspiring and that you or someone you know can benefit from it. Any support that you can provide is much appreciated!