OOOHHHHH!!...mothergoose68 you are my hero!....I know you have got to be soooo happy!...All the hard work is really paying off!....Your amount of dedication and strength it took to see it thru is what we are all striving for! I want to say that you are lucky...but luck has nothing to do with it. You put the effort and hard work in..and this is your outcome.
OK now it is time to fess up.......If you had to give us one heads up on keeping motivated...What would it be?...Motivation is my main problem..I cann't seem to be able to smell the roses fast enough...heck.. I cann't even see the roses must less smell em'!
Mothergoose's MUST for today.......go out and buy something REALLY nice for yourself....How about a new outfit..something you would have never bought before!...or maybe a new pair of earrings! Maybe a manicure/pedicure..or maybe a new haircut/style...Go ahead ...you deserve it! QUEEN MOTHERGOOSE..
OUR HATS ARE OFF TO YOU! GO AHEAD SMELL THEM ROSES!
Along with feeling and looking great physically, this accomplishment must be a fantastic confidence booster. I bet you've got a whole new sense of empowerment You'd better be proud of yourself girl, I know I am. You're really helping urge me on too, and since we have the same goal weight and goal timeline we can have a nice friendly competition going on. GIRL POWER, WE CAN DO IT!
Again, congratulations! Pat yourself on the back until it hurts!!
Congratulations Mthrgoos - you have achieved something truly amazing! I have seen your pictures and the difference is phenomenal - be very proud of yourself. And I agree - go out and treat yourself to something gorgeous!
THANKS so much everyone!!! I really appreciate all the support and encouragement.
I hadn't even thought about doing something special to celebrate, but now I'll have to think about that!! Not an outfit. Since I work at home, I can just wear jeans all the time, and I usually just get 2 pairs in each size. As soon as I can get into the next size down, those 2 pair head off to the GoodWill. I don't want to spend too much on clothes until I get to goal. I do need a haircut though, so maybe I'll splurge on that.
I don't know what's keeping me motivated this time. At first I was just focused on getting healthy and not so much on losing weight. Then as the weight came off, that motivated me to really keep going and to exercise more.
Thanks so much to everyone!! I do feel great and motivated today. I'm doing the happy dance!!
Mthrgoose, I'm overwhelmed by what you've done. One in the eye for people who believe the statistics that say almost no one succeeds...
Just by being here and telling us what you've done, you're inspiring and motivating people (some of whom despair of ever getting a handle on their health) to do well by themselves.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart. You're my inspiration!
a 150 lb weight loss is impressive, but the fact that it's only been 8 months worries me. that can't be healthy. i remember you saying that you only eat about 800 calories a day, exercise a lot, and sometimes you even get lightheaded. that's starvation right there.
believe me, i want to see you succeed, and i know that escaping the obese person that you once were is a wonderful thing, and you're working hard for it. but you might want to stop for a second and make sure you aren't hurting your body. not to mention, what are you going to eat to maintain your goal weight once you get there?
I appreciate the concern. I have been checking in with my doctor on a regular basis and he says that I'm healthier than ever. Just a couple of months ago he ran all of my bloodwork and checked everything and everything was great. My blood pressure is finally not high any more and everything is in normal levels for the first time in a long time. He's keeping an eye on me and he says that everything is going great and to keep doing what I'm doing.
I really do appreciate the concern. It was Sandi that encouraged me to check in with my doctor and that gave me the peace of mind of knowing that everything is fine and going well.
A doctor said so few calories are ok? Mine said to keep myself to 1200, if I could because even that was low. Combine that with excersise and I would be golden. She told me anything lower would be unhealthy.
I couldn't imagine only 800 calories. 1200-1400 is hard enough!
I mean, this isn't a diet -- it's a life altering change. I know I couldn't stay at 800 forever. And I wouldn't want to lose the weight so quickly and then put it back on. Perhaps that's why she recommended an alternative route for me then, huh?
I want to keep this [and MORE!] off forever! Here's to wishing everyone else's GW's to be true!
Congratulations. You have lost the equivalent of another person!!! (and if she were short, she'd be overweight)
As I've been reading Thin For Life, which is compiled from many interviews with people who have lost weight AND KEPT IT OFF, it struck me that the very first Key To Success (there are ten in the book) is that you have to believe that you can lose the weight.
That may seem obvious, but when you hear day after day that only 10 percent of dieters actually lose weight, and only 10 percent of those who lose weight keep it off, it can get downright discouraging. Over and over again on this and other boards I hear people talking about the need for motivation. Too many days I hear my internal monologue say "what difference will one cookie make? You're not gonna lose all that weight anyway" until I want to scream.
But here you have the motivation. People like mthrgoos68 who have lost 100+ pounds, and the others who have lost it and are maintaining... they prove that it IS do-able. Thank you all for sharing your journey with us. Those of us just struggling to start again really hang on to your successes for dear life.