[dhvaya]

Back in 1999, I weighed 123 pounds. Then in 2000, that weight crept up to 130 pounds. By the middle of 2001, I was 140 pounds, by 2002, about 150 and finally by 2003, a whooping 160 pounds. In Feb, 2004, I weighed 166 pounds and decided I should have a baby - my clock was ticking away fast and furious.

So I went on a combined exercise and diet regime and managed to kick off 25 pounds in seven months to go down to 141 pounds and by Sept, 2004, was finally pregnant!

Up until the middle of my second trimester, I wasn't gaining as much weight as I should and the nurse was actually worried! She needn't have because in just the next month, I gained 10 pounds and kept climbing higher and higher until I finally reached 180 pounds at delivery! With the birth of my daughter, I immediately lost 14 pounds to get back to my original TTC weight of 166 pounds in June, 2005.

What a coincidence... EXCEPT that I managed to gain the entire 14 pounds back in EXACTLY 2 months and was back to my third trimester weight of 180 pounds.

Since September of 2005, I have managed to come back down to 170 pounds - a mere 10 pounds in a year and finally frustrated, my husband dragged me down to the gym on New Year's day of 2007. He wanted the woman he married - weighing only 123 pounds - back. It's now or never and he's made it clear that he's tired of me sitting around and whining about my obesity and never getting around to really DOING anything. I have absolutely no energy left to run after my active baby - who's now a toddler. Women that gave birth with me have long since gone back to their pre-pregnancy weight while I blubbered around looking like a gaint whale run over by a couple of monster trucks.

Now or never as my DH said. I've lost only 4 pounds in Jan, 2007 - bringing my current weight down to 166/167 pounds (depending on when I take it!). I am not going to over-reach myself - I didn't gain 47+ pounds overnight and it's NOT going to slide off overnight.

My goal for Feb, 2007 is 10 pounds - yes, I'm aware that February only has 28 days but I want to hang in there and do it. I'm taking it off 10 pounds at a time.

I really need some positive vibes coming my way. I don't want to be obese for the rest of my life and my husband wants his svelte bride back.

So what are your stories and where, on your goal road-map, are you all currently?

-Dhvaya.

[trekkiegirl]

Hi dhvaya! I'm new here, too.

I started January 1 and made it down 10 pounds by January 28. It's sort of become a mini-goal in my head now, to see if I can average 10 pounds a month. I won't beat myself up over it if I fall short, though. Each pound lost is a small victory to me.

Anyway, I haven't really been following any specific program or regimen. And I haven't made humongous, drastic changes. I knew from past experience I couldn't just turn myself off without coming back on with a vengeance later. So the changes this past first month were more along the lines of food substitutions, lower-calorie alternatives. They may not work for or appeal to everybody but I've been doing stuff like eating one of those lo-cal frozen dinners (Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice, etc.) for dinner almost every day, eating lower calorie bread, using 1 piece of cheese when I had been using two, cutting down on the junk food and/or replacing them...for instance, I love salty snacks so I turned in my potato chips for lower-calorie pretzels that take me longer to eat cuz they're hard so fewer of them end up filling me up. I also ate more fruit last month than I did the whole last half of 2006, lol. My habit of eating for a long time has been of not eating large meals but then I end up feeling hungry again a couple of hours later so I would eat again, but something smaller, like a sandwich or a snack. Knowing that that's my habit and when my stomach does its usual growling, I just give it something less fattening but that still tastes good to me. I was mentioning to someone else via pm that I am realizing how much the mind, the body and the feelings have to want to work with one another and be on the same page. I'm not going to succeed in losing weight if I'm feeling deprived or resentful of what I shouldn't have or can't do. So I try to find better alternatives that can still be enjoyable.

I've also been doing short bursts of exercise, usually no more 10 minutes or so because that's about as much as I can handle at one time at this point. And that's been anything from using my exercise machine to doing simple exercises on my own, to dancing (or trying to, lol) to Indoor Walking (they have a 10 minute guide in the current First magazine) to laying on the floor and doing the bicycle. I'm basically tring to keep my body moving and my heart pumping for at least 10 minutes...and I often turn on the radio and do my exercises to the beat or time them to the length of the songs. It's just more fun for me that way and puts me in a good mood. And it's funny but I essentially always thought of walking as the way to get from Point A to Point B. But now when I walk the few blocks to and from work or to the store or wherever, I am actually mentally saying to myself that this is exercise and I adjust my pace to try to get more of a benefit out of it.

So...at the end of my rambling I guess what I'm saying is what's worked for this past month is starting out with small changes and adjustments and gradually seeing what else I can do from there.

[Gogirl008]

Hi to both of you! I haven't been around very long, but this is a great place for support and advice. I've always had ups and downs with my weight. But this time I want to loose it and keep it off. I'm trying some new things. More of a mindful approach. My problem has more to do with emotional eating. Until I get a handle on that I'll just keep having the struggle. You both sound really motivated. That's so great! Trekkiegirl you sound like your doing some great things. Dhvaya- pregnacy can really do us in. I'm also 5'3 and I was almost 200 when I delivered my first. I had gained 60 lbs with that one. I wish you both the best. Checking in here daily has really helped keep me inspired and motivated. Visit the support forum. Very helpful.

[Lovestorun]

You have come to the right place....!!!!!
Keep up the great work!!!!! You can do it.

[dhvaya]

Nice to meet you ladies. I'm so glad to know I'm not alone.

Lovestorun...You are INSPIRATIONAL. Look at the amount of weight you've lost! Woohoo, I'm finally confident that if you can do it, I need to get off my fat *** and do it, too!

How long did it take you to lose the 60+ pounds?

Trekkiegirl, yes, that's exactly what I'm doing too - setting up mini goals, so I don't get frustrated by the slow pace of weight loss. 47 pounds is a heckuvalotta weight to lose and if I didn't break it down, I'd never get started, because it just sounds so intimidating!

gogirl, I have a big problem with emotional eating, too. I suffered from severe post-partum depression and am only just getting better. I've had depression issues since 2000 - which is when I began piling on the pounds - but I've opted not to have anti-depressants. What happened was that I'd plonk myself down with a large plate of potato chips or french fries or maybe spanish rice with sour cream and down it all when I was depressed - which was pretty often. Then I'd look at myself in the mirror, get more depressed, eat some more.... the cycle couldn't be broken.

I'm finally at the point where I'm staying away from food as a means of comfort or a depression coping mechanism. I no longer drive through the fast food joints, or buy junk food or soda or calorie rich snacks at grocery stores, I stock my fridge healthy and tell my husband to stock up on snacks and soda at his work.

He's understanding and he's helping me out, and so far, so good.

I can't wait to be down to 152 by the end of February, 2007. YAY!