Hello everyone,
As I am reading lately lots of posts about people having difficulties re-starting the program and being 100% (and I am totally one of these people), I thought I would open this thread in order to share our experience and most of all to encourage ourselves to stick to the diet and just do it this time.
Here is my story : shortly after I married at a weight of 220 pounds, with a move from a province to another, and with a new lifestyle of misery to find a job and ending up working the worse job I ever found, working night shifts and being miserable all the time, the pounds started creeping up and up, I reached 250 pounds! And I do believe that I reached more than that at one time, but I did not want to weigh myself then.
After, I left the province I so much hated my life in, and came back to where we used to live before and started to rebuild my life, I was starting to physically feel very heavy, I couldn’t go up a flight of stairs without being out of breath, so I decided I should radically do something, I can’t live like this, I mean, I have never been thin, but I was sporty and I could move and move a lot since I used to exercise like crazy before with no problem at all. Anyway, back then I was getting hooked on watching the biggest loser and I was amazed at how the two sisters who were the finalist transformed themselves, and I so much wanted that, so, I went to the bookshop, bought myself the biggest loser diary and the biggest loser last chance workout DVD and started right away, writing everything I ate and exercising every week day to the DVD, I used to cry while doing it but for a whole period of a month, I never stopped, by the end of the month, I lost 7 pounds! I was happy, that my effort paid off… until I got my period, and gained 5 whole pounds back, I was furious, to have endured this much physical and emotional pain to end up losing ONLY 2 pounds a month! That was not acceptable to me.
So, I stopped doing the biggest loser’s diet and I started looking for another method of weight loss. (Note: I have already tried almost every diet under the sun before, I lost some and then I gained some). Luckily, one day, while looking over the internet, I found about IP, and I truly believe that it was God sent.
I started IP on June 30, 2011 with a weight of 248, I bought all my IP products and I followed the diet 1000%. To my surprise, the first week, I lost a total of 11 pounds! I was AMAZED, I was also a little bit angry as of why I did not find this diet much sooner.
I continued losing weight of an average of 3.5 a week, sometimes less, I never cheated until one time I had an office party at my work and I was starving back then, so I nibbled on some stuff I shouldn’t have, but I caught up with my diet and I continued losing, also, there was a period of time when I intentionally stopped because I thought I was pregnant, then I continued until around Christmas I reached a weight of 201!!!!! I was ecstatic, I took pictures of myself at the office party and posted them on Facebook and I was so happy how fast I lost the weight.
Stupidly enough, it was at this period of time that I decided that I am looking fairly good now, I can allow myself to have a Christmas break to enjoy myself and the food with my family. I swear to God, it was the biggest mistake of my life. What was supposed to be just a couple of weeks for a Christmas break, went on and on and on, until Easter, then after Easter, then until June, then until July !!! Oh my God, I was trying to go back to being 100% with no success at all, I will do few days on and more days off, I was so ashamed of myself and I couldn’t understand why on earth I did it quite easily the first time and it is this hard to restart, but I kept on trying and trying. Needless to say that the pounds were creeping back again, slowly but surely, so, for a period of time, I was between 206 and 210 and I thought to myself, it is ok, I can lose that in a couple of weeks (seeing that I lost 11 pounds the first week on round one), then I found myself between 210 and 215, then 215 and 220, but to my shock, last week, for the first time, and luckily it was for the only time, that I saw a number that scared me to the max, I reached 227 pounds !!!! That was last Monday, July 23, 2011; I was beyond chocked, how could I let myself go like this ??? So, obviously, I restarted my diet, with the best intention to be 100% this time, still, on the third day, I did not stick to my diet 100%, so I nibbled here and there, but this time, I was so conscious not to nibble on carbs and crazy bad stuff, so, I just added more protein and more vegetables, I ate a little bit of 0 carb cheese, and some nuts, I know all of which are not allowed on this program, but I thought that I would rather do this than go pig out on French Fries and burgers, and eat sweet pastries and cupcakes, so I knew I was not succeeding being 100% again and again, but at least I am trying to train myself to make better choices. I swear that after the fourth day, it was getting easier and easier, I don’t feel like I need to cheat anymore and I am not super duper hungry with uncontrollable cravings, yesterday and today were 100% and I am sure I can go on from here with each day getting easier than the one before.
It is not advised for us to weigh ourselves everyday, but this is what I do, since the very start of my diet, I am a daily weigh-in person, I am so happy to say that as of today, I saw the 216 pounds on my scale, making it -11 pounds in less than a week, my official weekly weigh-in is on Monday and I hope by then I will lose a couple of pounds more.
I know I wrote a lot, but I really wanted to share my story with all of you who are trying to restart, I know it is SUPER DUPER HARD, but it is not impossible.
Let us help each other, we can do this.
