[StellaGrace]

Hey guys, I'm new here and first off I'd like to just say WOW ... just WOW ... what a fabulous site!

So here's my situation:

In the spring of 2002 I weighed 277 pounds and that "moment" that you hear so many people speak about, that "and then it just clicked" thing totally happened to me. I finally realized that all this extra weight that I was lugging around on my small frame was a kind of "armor" that I'd built between myself and the rest of the world and I also(thankfully) realized that I didn't need that armor anymore. It had far outlived its usefulness and was to the point that it was killing me. So after all of that "clicked" I started to lose the weight. I counted and accounted for everything that I ate and I started to have a real love affair with walking and a kind of love/hate thing with running. 21 months into that I'd lost down to 144 pounds (a good bit of which was my fabulous leg muscles!). I was still a bit heavy for my frame, but I was healthy and confident I could lose the last bit of weight given time. And then I got sick. In February of 2006 I started going in and out of the hospital with a digestive disorder, which is now something that may be chronic but is controllable. Essentially I stopped exercising a year ago (except for a few spurts) and I've lost the majority of the lean muscle mass I'd built up.

So after all that background here's my issue. For the past month or six weeks I've been eating a lot like I did when I weighed 277 pounds ... not the same kinds of foods so much (although I will admit to two doughnuts last week) but the same out of control mentality. Technically, I'm only a pound or so up from where I was two years ago and only 6 pounds up from my lowest maintained weight, but I KNOW that without lean muscle mass to help burn calories and the out of control way I've been eating lately I'm really going to start gaining soon. I'm not sure what I'm looking for here - maybe a bit of encouragement - a bit of accountability - a bit of been there, done that, survived it. Any words of wisdom, posts you could point me to, or encouragement you could give me would be MUCH appreciated.

Thanks!

[traveling michele]

Welcome!
First of all, congrats on the huge weight loss and keeping it off!
Question for you-- are you able to exercise now? If so, as you know exercising helps to boost your metabolism which in turn makes it easier to control your weight.
Are you tracking what you are eating? Sometimes writing it down keeps you "accountable". I know that I'm much less likely to put something in my mouth if I have to write it down. Come on over to the "no excuses" thread-- we are posting our "no excuses" motivations to spur good eating and exercise!

[JayEll]

Hey StellaGrace,

If you have been losing lean muscle mass, then you are already gaining fat... even if the scale hasn't moved much. I'm thinkin that you need get back into regular activity/exercise. Start slow! It's been awhile... But start.

You already know that you have to stop with the overeating. Like the first poster, I'd say get back to calorie tracking or whatever method you use to follow your food intake.

You are still at a point where you can get back on track pretty quickly! Begin now! You can do this.

Jay

[StellaGrace]

Thanks! I needed that. I'm able to exercise now ... no excuses! And I'm already feeling a lot more in control of my eating!

[WebRover]

First congratulations for losing all the weight and keeping it off.

You're already back on the right path. You've recognized the out of control eating before it got very far and you're trying to stop it. You found a great community to support you in turning it back around.

You've recognized it's time to get back to the things that you know work for you.

So, it's been a couple of days now. How's it going? Are you back in charge? Let us know how you're doing.

[StellaGrace]

Thanks for the support everyone! I'm pleased to say that the past few days have been great! Food intake has been good and I've started walking two miles a day again. My shins are a bit sore but it's totally worth it!

I think that just "saying" outloud that I was in trouble has really motivated me and now I have a greater sense of accountibility as well.

Even better I weighed in this morning at 1.5 pds down! (Sure it's mostly water weight but still ...)

Stella Grace

[Mel]

Welcome to 3FC, Stella

Congratulations on the loss and pretty much maintaining through what were tough times. It sounds like you are already back on track. Yup, admitting it out loud goes a long way to help most of us get back on track.

As you and other posters have pointed out, it's time to start exercising again. Rekindle that loving to move feeling. Pick up some weights and build some muscle. Even if you stay at the same scale weight, building muscle will make you smaller and make you look and feel better.

Congratulations for getting back on track!

Mel