Quote:
Originally Posted by jolaha
Thanks for all the welcomes! And Robin...your before/after photos are awesome! 40 weeks???? Do you have your story posted here somewhere? I'd love to hear about your journey.
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Thank you sooo much.
I was amazed, just simply amazed at how much more energy and stamina I have now. I used to practically pass out on the couch by 3 PM every afternoon. My hubby now calls me the energizer bunny. I don't stop for a second. It's just the greatest. I only wish I would have done it when my kids were younger.
I'm sure I've posted my story enough times to make everyone a bit ill
. I just can't find one right now. Oh well. When I hit goal and I WILL hit goal, I will write up my whole long winded story in detail with new before and goal pics.
For now I dug up this I from an old thread though, it was titled something like "Secrets for Success".
A few things that have helped me so far:
-Planning, planning and then planning some more. I NEED to know what's on the menu and to know that I have healthy, TASTY food coming my way. This also involves keeping a well stocked house. In the beginning it meant emptying the house of all junk. My 3 teenagers and 1 DH no longer let me do this as much. Oh well.
-In the beginning - no eating out. And now, just a rarity.
-Drinking lots of water. It keeps me hydrated, keeps my mouth busy, keeps me full. It satisfies me.
-Looking at this as what I am going to GAIN, not LOSE by giving up the high calorie/high quantity of foods
-Keeping a journal. Especially in the beginning, this was VITAL. Whenever I would want to breakdown and eat something - I would turn to my journal and read/write the reasons why I am doing this.
-It's really important to be honest with yourself. So I think for me, calorie counting is the only way to go. Just cutting back didn't work for me. Neither did just elminiating the junk. I NEED to set limits and tracking those pesky little calories keeps me honest with exactly what's going into my body. For me it is the ONLY way. Those little suckers really, really add up.
-When getting off track, it is mucho, mucho important to put it past you and get right back on the band wagon. Slip ups are bound to happen and luckily we don't have to be perfect. There IS room for error. The less errors though......
-I think someone's already said this, make exercise like brushing your teeth and doing the laundry - you don't HAVE to like it, you just HAVE to do it. Not doing it was NOT an option for me.
-I had to put my weightloss front and center, something very difficult for women and mothers. I had to really, really focus on it. ALthough it might have been selfish, in the long run - it benefits everyone and everything around you. There is not one person in the family who will not benefit from my being healthier and HAPPIER.
-Yes, it's calories in vs. calories out, but I knew I had to make those calories nutrient rich. For so many reasons. Fiber keeps you fuller longer as does protein. That's a GOOD thing. I like volume (recognizing my weaknesses), so for me vegetables makes perfect sense. So I eat lots and lots and lots of them.
-Yes, everything in moderation. BUT in the beginning, that wouldn't have worked for ME. I had to completely and totally do without. I didn't know from moderation. That's why I was 287 lbs. I had to totally and completely give up the sugar, flour, pasta, chocolate, bread, rice, cakes, cookies and stuff. Not even the 100 calorie packs. Not even brown rice. Just inviting those into my diet was an invitation to start the cravings going. Plus it just put me in the wrong frame of mind. Frame of mind is very, very important to me. And most importantly - I overeat them. I just don't have much control with them, it's a weakness of mine. So therefore I had to elminiate it. Even in the beginning when I refused to touch any of the stuff, it didn't matter to me. I did NOT feel deprived. I felt EXCITED that I was taking such good care of myself and an end to my unhealthy, inactive life was in the near future.
-Don't be afraid of the scale. It's just a tool. Don't be disappointed if it doesn't move in the right direction sometimes. IF you eat right and exercise you most DEFINITELY WILL lose the weight. Especially when starting out at such high weights. It's a given. It is the one advantage the morbidly obese have. So when I had a slow week, I really, really had to tell myself this.
-But you must be HONEST with yourself. Really, really honest. You can't expect the scale to magically move down, if you haven't eaten right and exericsed. It just doesn't work that way.