We at b have bored you for months with stories of our own trials and tribulations as we tried to diet and get fit: missed gym dates, pounds put back, benders and binges and failures of motivation. We've all had some measure of success, but most of us still envy Sisyphus, who at least had a clear goal in mind.

So we went looking for better (or at least wiser) folks than us - people who have weathered the challenges (eating better, fitting in time to exercise on a regular basis, etc.) successfully.

Here are four of them. We find each of their stories inspiring, but we're hoping you'll vote for your favorite and help us pick a winner of b's "bbuff bbeautiful Contest."

To vote, use the poll accompanying this story, email Maggie at maustern@sunjournal.com, call her at 689.2847 and leave a message with your choice, or send in the form found in the print edition. Polls close Tuesday, Sept. 4 at noon and the winner will be announced in our fitness finale issue Sept. 9.

Thanks!

The b team.

Phyllis and Don Simard, 63 and 57, respectively, of Auburn, have been walking every morning for 16 years. They're absolutely nuts about the habit, and Phyllis firmly believes that daily exercise is the answer to many of this country's ills, from depression to diabetes. This is their story, in their own words.

"It gets me through the day," Phyllis said in a phone interview last week. "We've been walking for 16 years, ever since I was diagnosed with osteoporosis, 1.5 miles almost every morning of the week. We might have missed 15 to 20 mornings (in the past 16 years). Because I have a hip to be replaced, we stick to the mile and a half. And it does help with the hip - I had been told I couldn't walk on that hip, but now the ache has gone away. It makes me feel better to walk and get my body moving." Walking has given Phyllis a laundry list of benefits. "I've maintained my weight," she said. "I've controlled my cholesterol and my blood pressure. And mentally, this is the best thing you can do. I take no medications, and neither does my husband (except a multivitamin). For Don Simard, the benefits are the same - prevention of illness, weight maintenance, relaxation. "If you walk those kinks out, you feel better. It's part of our day," Don says.

John Clement, 50, of Auburn, has lost 21 pounds since last July - mostly as a side benefit of a job change - switching from an inside-the-post-office job to a career as a mail carrier. Here's his tale:

"I get to walk and get paid for it," he says. "I'm averaging about 7.5 to 8.5 miles a day. And I just started eating better." After his father, who's in his 70s, had a stroke, Clement decided to do something about his health. An experience on a Caribbean cruise also made a huge impact. "We found a massive starfish down on the beach, and a guy offered to take a picture (of Clement, his wife and the starfish)," he explained. "When we had it developed, I looked at it and thought 'Who's that fat guy with my wife?' I thought, 'Wow, that's what I look like?' I knew I had to make a change. It's quite an eye-opener to see a picture of yourself."

Clement eats a 300-odd calorie hummus and veggie wrap every day for lunch. Part of his success has come from little tricks he has up his sleeve to prevent himself from succumbing to temptation. "Part of the key to it was not carrying any cash, because, you know as well as I do when you're out in the city and you're hungry and you've got cash, you're gonna spend it," he says. "I make my lunch. I have grapes when I get hungry." For dinner, he'll have what he wants, to keep himself from feeling deprived - but within reason. As his doctor once told him, "If you want a cheeseburger and fries, have it, but have it once a month. If you want ice cream, have it, but have it once or twice a month. Moderation is the key. Eat fruits and vegetables, have some fish now and then and don't make meats the main focus of your meal."

The best thing about his lifestyle change so far? "When I cleaned out a closet and found a pair of 20-year-old jeans that I fit into."

Danny Caron Jr., 17, of Auburn, already has a roller-coaster-esque relationship with weight and food, even at his young age. He's gone from underweight, to overweight, to losing 80 pounds and becoming an aspiring bodybuilding champion. Here's his story, as told by mom Maureen Caron.

Danny works out twice a day for four hours at the Auburn YMCA, and hopes to one day win the Mr. Olympia bodybuilding competition. But it was not always so, says Maureen.

"For several years, Danny suffered from Hirschsprung's disease (which affects the nerve endings in the colon and made him very sick). (He) became very sheltered, suffering from depression and anxiety," Maureen said. Fearful of eating, Danny was always underweight until he had surgery at age 13. "He went ballistic, he ate everything in sight because he finally could eat," his mother explains. Within the year he'd gained 80 to 100 pounds, she said. The breaking point came when he saw a class photo of himself and began delving into weight loss. First, she said, he tried team sports, but nothing quite felt right. Then one day he found himself in the gym, and began lifting. "Something just clicked," Maureen said.

"I've never seen this kid learn so much." Danny knows so much about bodybuilding now he runs an informal round table at the YMCA. "He feels better about himself," said his mother. He finally has a body he can trust. And at 6'1 and 190 pounds of brawn, his doctors have told him he has the perfect physique, she said. He hopes to become a personal trainer someday.

Marjorie Richard, 68, of Mexico, lost 17 pounds after getting a step counter when her son returned home from Iraq. Here is her story:

"I am the mother of a soldier who was gone to Iraq for 420 days," she writes. "I put my life on hold and stayed very close to home because I did not want to take a chance of missing a call from my son. Food was my comfort thing. I gained 17 pounds."

But when he returned home, she got right to work getting healthy again. "Right after he returned home, someone gave me a step counter. I started the day I received it and had a goal of 10,000 steps a day. I have kept doing this faithfully and some days even more than 10,000. The result is I lost the 17 pounds and feel great. I am almost 69 years old. I continue to walk daily but not for weight loss, but for osteoporosis prevention and just a good feeling."