[Lori Bell]

Hello all, My name is Lori and I have read this board for a few months now, and finally decided to join. I didn't want to jinx myself and sign up because I notice many newbies seem to spill their guts and never post again...I've been there, done that unfortunately.

I'm almost 43, and I have been on more diets than Heinz has pickles. I have been plagued by obesity since I was a young child. I have managed to stay at a reasonable healthy size most of my life by constantly watching my calories and exercise. Anyway the last time I shed pounds, I swore that was the last diet I was ever going on, (because I hoped to never gain any back again)...but alas, I hit hard times and returned to my first true love for comfort. I comforted myself to an all time high of 333+ pounds. My highest ever before this was around 240 after a pregnancy.

When I started gaining (3 years ago) I eventually just stopped weighing myself. Something I had never done, no matter how big I was. The depression and social anxiety set in full force. When I finally got the courage to weigh myself, my digital scale read out said "ERROR" I realized I was was above the maximum weight of my scale. I freaked out. I was in shock to see my weight was that high, though I could feel every debilitating pound of it. My knees, back and feet hurt constantly. Personal hygiene became very difficult, my love life with my dh of 20 years suffered greatly. The breaking point was when my youngest son begged me to be a room mother for a class field trip to the circus, and I would not go because I was too embarrassed for his classmates to see me. I also knew I would not beable to fit into the seats at the auditorium. He was crushed and I was crushed. I couldn't take it any longer. A few days later I started counting calories, tossed out the crapola and purchased only healthy food. It was like a switch turned on, and the motovation came back. I also prayed about it a lot.

Funny, I though in a week or so my scale would be able to weigh me, but to my shock, after 2 weeks of perfect calorie counting, not a single treat or cocktail, the scale still said *ERROR*. I made a trip to Wal-mart and bought a new scale with a 400 pound weight limit, and took a deep breath and stepped on...333.0. OMG! I about died. I don't know my actual starting weight, but I was already noticing a difference on my SIZE 28W stretch pants...

My sons and In-laws have shown me some support, but my husband doesn't like to hear about my "diet" much. He canges the subject when ever I bring it up. My friends don't like to hear about my "diet" and I hate to annoy people with it, but it's such a big part of my life...I'm sure you guys know what I mean. My brother and sister who live across the country are both very supportive, but I only talk with them a few times a month. I just need to talk with people who want to talk about it...

I live in the country, and I would have to drive 30+ miles for a weight group of any sort, and also, way back when, I decided I would never spend another dime on weight loss again. I know how to do it, that has never been the problem, doing it is the problem, though support is always a great motivator and I never have much of that.

I hope to meet new people and give and get motivation. I have lost 60 + pounds in the last 5 months and hope to continue onto a healthy weight, (for me) of around 175...only 98 pounds to go

Oh, by the way, I have enjoyed reading everyones posts and checking out the before and after pictures. Thanks to all who share their lives with others.

[Justwant2Bhealthy]

LORI ~ glad you findly decided to join becuz the people here really do know how you feel as they have been and/or are where you are. Your story sounds so very familiar; I know it will resonate with many here. The most important thing is to stick around even if you hit some difficult times.

Those of us who have more than 100 lbs to lose have a much longer journey, but there are so many success stories here that you can know that ... "Anything is possible for those who just believe!"

on the first 60 lbs ~ that is quite a feat in itself, you know. Do come back often; hope we'll see you around!

ROSEBUD

[meowee]

. . . you've definitely come to the right place for lots of support and encouragement . . .

[tmeridith]

Hey there Lori! How are you? I was instantly attracted to your post - my sister's name is Lori Bell! After reading your post - I found out we are sisters in our weightloss journey and hope we can support each other along the way!

I, too, have lurked here for a long time - joining once or twice and never following through. Today, after having stuffed myself and becoming so disgusted with my actions - I am joining for the last time. I intend on following through - it has finally hit me like a brick wall.

I have been married for 10 years...soon to be 11 on the 27th of June. We have one son. He is five and more active than anything you can imagine.

Congratulations on your progress so far! You are doing awesome and I can tell you are committed! I am interested in knowing how many calories you eat a day - what kind of foods you fix mostly - do you have any tips for me?

I hope to hear from you! Congratulations again! YOU'RE DOING AWESOME!

Tmeridith

[Lori Bell]

Thanks for the warm welcome. I hope to stick around for a long while.

Tmeridith - I hope we can be of some support to one another, looking forward to reading your introduction. To answer your question regarding calories, I have been eating 1200 to 1500 daily. I do this little thing that makes it easy to remember, I call it the 3,4,5- 4,5,6 diet (Strange I know). So on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday I eat 300 calories for Breakfast, 400 calories for lunch and 500 calories for supper. (I've been known to switch lunch and supper occasionally.) Then on Friday, Saturday and Sunday I add 100 calories to each meal having 400 for Breakfast, 500 lunch & 600 for supper. I eat tons of vegetables and a couple servings of fruit daily to satisfy my sweet tooth. I make sure i get at least 4-6 OZ of protein daily and none of my carbs are "White" (refined) except for a plain baked potato about once a week. That is the only exception. I would die without my beloved tater. I always say if I was to be banished to a deserted Island and could choose only 3 food items to take along, it would be Potatoes, Tomatoes and CHEESE! You can make about anything taste good by adding those ingredients! I do drink one diet cola a day, but hope to give that up someday. I also drink lots of decaf coffee and iced tea (black). Oh, and water.

Hope to see you all around the board.

[BlzMaxGnrCCJkMly]

this is a great support system! glad you found us!

[WarMaiden]

Originally Posted by Lori Bell

My sons and In-laws have shown me some support, but my husband doesn't like to hear about my "diet" much. He canges the subject when ever I bring it up. My friends don't like to hear about my "diet" and I hate to annoy people with it, but it's such a big part of my life...I'm sure you guys know what I mean. My brother and sister who live across the country are both very supportive, but I only talk with them a few times a month. I just need to talk with people who want to talk about it...

This is a funny phenomena, isn't it? The people who are supposed to love us the most (husbands) are often our poorest supporters in efforts like weight loss or being more healthy. I pretty much don't talk with my husband at all about what I'm actually doing, beyond announcing when I'm baking something healthy, or insisting on changes to our grocery list. His attitude about my efforts is that I've tried it in the past and "gave up," so why should he take me seriously now? Also, I think making healthy changes often creates discomfort for the spouse (or even a friend) who is less-interested, because it puts a spotlight on what they're doing; it reduces the ability to live in denial.

I get my support from my kids, who talk with me now about healthy food, and are always willing to try out my "experimental baking" recipes. And from my mom, who has made some changes with me. And here, of course. So, not a perfect support network, but it's a heck of a lot better than nothing

Welcome in from lurk-land!