I've been a "stalker" for years but decided to sign up today because this site really seems supportive.
Like most I did not get overweight overnight. In 2003 I got pregnant with my 2nd child, I went from 185 (already overweight) to 251 (at time of labor). In the 8 years I've yo-yo'd between 206-245 (pick a number).
The only diet I've been successful on is Medifast. My first attempt in 2009 I went from 240 down to 210 in 7 weeks. I let it all pile back on because I fell off the wagon. I tried again in 2010 and again got back down to 210 but again fell off the wagon. This is my 3rd and final try. I think the other 2 attempts I really didn't take it as seriously and also I am an emotional/stress eater and was having issues with my teenager at the time.
I am 3 weeks in and have been OP, without a slip. I am not one of those fast losers like some on Medifast. I actually prefer to take it nice and slow, feels much healthier but hey 3+ pounds a week is not a snails pace by any stretch of the imagination.
I'm not doing this for vanity reasons, mostly not anyway. I miss the simple joys of life that I took for granted - like walking a mile without my hips locking up. I miss playing in the park with my kids and dogs. I miss hiking. I miss dancing. I miss my life, I miss me.
In 1997 from May-October I did a low calorie diet fueled with 1-2 hours of exercise a day. I went from 175 to 135. So I know I can do it, it's just doing it and not getting discouraged when the scales don't move or when you have a life crisis not calling for pizza to comfort me.
This is really all up to me. Failure is not an option. I've conquered much harder trials in my life, this really should be a cakewalk (no pun intended).
So, Medifast if you don't know (which you'd have to live under a rock not to) is 5 packaged meals a day, 64 ounces of water, a few free foods, veggies and protein or what they call the "lean & green" meal. I really like the structure of this diet & the no-brainer approach - yes it's very restrictive and low calorie/low carb 800-1000 calories a day.
Anyway, I have some really good recipes that I plan to post & hopefully I'll start a blog to keep me motivated and inspired week to week. I expect this diet will take me 6 solid months to lose the weight, more or less depending on week to week and also the exercise I plan to introduce in the next few weeks.
