Thank you again to all of you. To the poster who asked about the heat here, I have been extremely cold lately. Not sure if it's the weight loss or my operations, but something is a little off. It was 111 degrees this afternoon and it's the first day in months that I haven't had to put a light sweater on. Crazy huh? I ran a 5k this morning and came in first in my age group of 45-49, with a time of 27:31. That is really good for me. I pushed it quite a bit harder than I usually would. I really want to break into the 26 minute range this year. Thank goodness it started at 7:30 am before the heat got too intense.
Congrats!! You are such an inspiration!! This morning when my alarm went off for me to get up and go running, I wanted to turn it off and go back to bed. Then I said, "Um, excuse me, did you have brain surgery this week?" and I told myself, "Um, no." And then I told myself, "Even if you had surgery, Rhonda didn't use that as an excuse!" So I got up and ran. Cause if you can do what you did going through all of the stuff you went through....well, there is no plausible excuse that I can come up with to not do what I need to do. You just pretty much destroyed all of the excuses on the planet.
Thank you again to all of you. To the poster who asked about the heat here, I have been extremely cold lately. Not sure if it's the weight loss or my operations, but something is a little off. It was 111 degrees this afternoon and it's the first day in months that I haven't had to put a light sweater on. Crazy huh? I ran a 5k this morning and came in first in my age group of 45-49, with a time of 27:31. That is really good for me. I pushed it quite a bit harder than I usually would. I really want to break into the 26 minute range this year. Thank goodness it started at 7:30 am before the heat got too intense.
Thanks again for all of your responses.
What an inspiration you are for all of us! You need to write a book. I am so motivated now. Thank you for sharing this with us.
This is my first post, my first day here and I love that I found this post right off the bat! That is simply amazing and even though I'm new and I don't "know" you, I am so proud of you! Way to go!!!! This is great motivation for me!!
Well, I made it. This morning when I got on the scale I weighed 134. I started out at 235 almost exactly a year ago. The date was June 15th, 2010. Today is June 13th. As so many others here have said, "I am so glad that I started a year ago and didn't wait".
Many of you know most of my story, but for the goal post I will retell a little of it. I was never overweight as a child. My mother was very strict with what we ate. That didn't work out the best for me because as soon as I went to college in the early 80s, and had a meal plan, I would pig out. I finally felt free as though no one was going to tell me "stop eating, you're going to get fat". Then we would drink beer and order late night pizzas, (it started out because my roommate and I were in love with the delivery guy). When I started college I weighed 125. I gained about 40 lbs. in 2 years. I got married a few years after graduating and starved down the 40 lbs. That was the first time I had tried to lose weight.
I gained most of it back within about 5 years. I weighed around 165 at that time. I thought I was as big as a battleship. So funny how our perception changes. I remember vividly how this time around, on my way down the scale, I was overjoyed at seeing 165 lbs. When I got pregnant with my first child, I weighed around 150. After delivery, I weighed 190 and seriously never lost another lb. I didn't gain much with my second child, only about 19 lbs. but I was still huge from my first. After my third child, I shot up again, and weighed around 240, my highest ever.
I was told I had early onset Parkinson's Disease in 1999. I have had 4 brain surgeries since that time to help control symptoms. I don't want to bore anyone with the details of my illness, I would just like to say that since losing my weight, my symptoms have markedly decreased. I have included a few pictures, some from this month (June 1st) when I had my last brain surgery.
I ran a half marathon yesterday. I have run 3 halfs so far, and I have already signed up for a full marathon on Dec. 4th. I start training for that 18 weeks before on Aug. 1st. (Yes, I ran the half marathon 11 days after a craniotomy). Amazing huh? Even with my Parkinson's, I have never felt better in my life. I eat mainly organic produce. About 75% of my diet is made up of food that grows in the ground. I love it. I was addicted to sugar and processed crap foods. I would have never believed that I would so enjoy real food that our bodies are meant to eat. I was the epitomy of a sugar addict. So, I am living proof that anyone can do this. I completely avoid my trigger foods and will always as long as I want to keep my new size 6 wardrobe. I started at a size 18W.
Well, if you have read all of this, congratulations for not falling asleep and thank you. Best wishes to you all.
Rhonda
Rhonda,
Thank you for sharing your inpirational story with all of us. I read avidly and never once yawned. You are an amazing, strong, wonderful woman. It is an honor to read of your awesome success. Thanks for motivating me and reminding me that yes, I can and will succeed on my weight loss / health gain journey. Best wishes...you ROCK!!
Thank you ladies (and everyone). Whenever people take the time out to read goal stories and just say "way to go" it makes my day. Above all else, those of us who have lost the weight will probably say it is by far the toughest thing we've ever done. We know how people feel who are just starting and how people who have reached their goals feel. I wish you all the very best.
This weekend, Runner's World contacted me about my story. They published my letter in the July issue and wanted more info. To add to my successes a little, I had gall bladder surgery last Thursday (June 30th), and ran a 5k on Monday (4th of July). I won in my age group again with a time of 26:57.
...but seeing what you have accomplished in a year...wow I am so inspired, I really am ...
Yep, I read every word!!!
