Long as I could remember. I was the “cute, but chubby” girl. In the first grade, I weighed 90 pounds!! I was the one that adults would say, “She has such a pretty face, if only she could lose a little weight…..”
Fast food was my obsession. I loved French fries…..they were everything. I never met a French fry I didn’t like. When I was in Middle school, every Friday Mom treated us to somewhere special. I would get off the bus and no matter what had happened that day, I knew we were going to go and eat later that evening. There was a place where I grew up in Houston, called “Master Burger”. They had small orders of fries: four for 25 cent with a coupon. I would get the Master Burger with Cheese and four orders of fries and sometimes onion rings as well. I would eat it all!!
College was where I had my first wake up call to do something about my weight. One of my mother’s friends was into fitness and losing weight. She recommended I try Slim-Fast. I did it for about two weeks and lost 14 pounds. I was hooked. So, then I started exercising, watching what I ate and really giving it my all. I went from 194 to 130!! I was wearing a size 8 and thought I was the queen of the world. But the part I didn’t learn was HOW to eat and WHAT to do after the diet is over. I was finally thinner, but very unhealthy. I realized that you can’t live on shakes for the rest of your life. So, before long, I put the weight back on and was heavier than when I first started out.
In spite of my weight challenges over the years, I met a wonderful man in the fall of 1997. Shawn and I were married on May 20, 2000. On our wedding day, I weighed 175, which I had accomplished to fit into my wedding dress. Before I got pregnant, I had swarmed up to 210 pounds. We had our daughter in 2004, which surprisingly, I only gained 30 pounds, so that took me to about 240 pounds. After Kayla was born, I dropped 25 pounds just like that. I thought to myself, hey, let’s try losing some more. So, I did finally get down to 188 and was feeling pretty good. I got on a 1500 calorie diet plan on my own. I exercised and was feeling pretty good about my accomplishment. But then, the yo-yo dieting started all over again for me. I returned to my old habits and the weight returned as well. I was back up to 215 pounds.
A job offer came to me in November 2006. We moved to Austin, TX. I continued with my bad eating habits, rebelling on being healthy. I tried to convince myself that since I keep going back to the 200 pound range, maybe this is just where I was meant to remain.
Finally, my turning point came. I had to get self-employment insurance because my consulting firm was not going to be able to provide group insurance to the Texas employees. So, that meant every consultant for my company working in Texas had to get their own insurance. Once the agent found out how much I weighed, they put me in a high risk category, which meant my rate changed so drastically. This was the wakeup call I needed.
On December 28, 2006, I started my weight loss journey, weighing 215 pounds. For once in my life, I realized, it was an addiction with me and fatty foods. I didn’t want to go back this time, but go forward. I didn’t need to be skinny, just healthy. I started changing the way I was eating and got into exercise. After a year, I got to my ultimate goal of losing 92 pounds!
I have been maintaining my weight loss (between 121-124) since March 2008, which is over a year and half. I am now a size 4-6 Petite in pants and skirts and small in tops! I use to be a size 22W pants and XXL in tops. This makes shopping so much easier and more fun now!
But the three things that are the key to my success are:
I have learned to find sensible alternatives and still get the same satisfaction as the high fat foods gave me. Some people want to challenge me to see if I will stick to my new way of eating. I use this as a tool to make me stronger. I have adopted a new way of thinking and along with it came a new life.
Before I go out to a restaurant, I research online for calorie and fat counts. I know what to order before I get there. I only eat out twice a month, and I make Smart Ones part of my lunch menu at least 3 times a week!
I have learned on my journey that you must plan or you will fail. I have finally learned that I am a food addict and I have to be aware of that or I will end up back in the plus-size department. But with a little planning ahead, I believe I will make it this time.
The surprising conclusion is that I don’t even like the way those fatting foods made me feel. I know that I didn’t like the way they made me look. So, do I miss it?? Not one bit, because when I look in a mirror, I am so grateful to God for helping me to find a new life.
I named this my final journey because I have finally realized that this weight loss adventure will last forever. It's no longer a race to the finish and then return to old habits. Yes, I've done that. Gotten to goal weight and didn't learn a thing about eating habits and what causes me to eat. When I had 40 pounds to lose...I took a lot for granted and NOW I have more than 150 pounds to lose and realize this must become a lifestyle. I'm learning a lot about me as I CHOSE to begin the Weight Watcher program again. I've learned that I CAN do this one day at a time. I've learned that little goals can be rewarding. AND I've learned that I do not have to reward myself with food. When I read about the additional 35 points a week, I secretly planned a splurge......but as the week went on, I didn't need or want to use the points. Granted this is my first week, I'm always gung-ho the first week. I relied heavily on Smart Ones this week, to help with portion sizing and "to not eat a meal while I cooked a meal." I have always been a "taster". Next thing I know ,I've eaten half a loaf of bread while "tasting" what I am cooking. Losing weight this time is definitely more challenging. At present, I cannot walk any type of distance. So I am relying on diet rather than exercise. This will change as I lose the pounds. It took me years to get here, Now I'm ready to get on with it and am excited to say that week one was successful. I lost 9 pounds. Good for me!!!!
So I just started the weight watchers plan on my own. No online or meetings I have faith in myself that I can do it. I know that I need 22 points a day and I am loving the meals the scramble egg and potatoes are my fav so far. any tips or help will truly mean a lot. i am also starting to bike a few miles a day to push it even more
I'm a 38 year old single woman in Dallas Texas and I've just lost 28 lbs since Mid-February 2010. It all started when I got VIP tickets to see my favorite singer, Aaron Lewis of Staind. I wanted to lost 20 lbs so I started eating Smart Ones for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I lost 14 lbs by the time I sent to the concert a month later. I decided to keep on with the weight loss. After all, I was a size 24, and quickly pushing up to a 26. I couldn't have that. So I kept on. I did have cheat days. I did go to On the Border and have chips and queso, but I've been making the healthiest of choices like chicken fajitas.
I don't drink anyway now, but I used to. And I'm convinced that quite alot of the weight I have on me is from drinking. I had some GI problems about 2 years ago and had to stop drinking. With the exception of the very very occasional margarita, I don't drink at all. I don't have a problem anymore not drinking when I'm out with the girls or on a date. It's just part of the way life is now.
So, I have added alot of yogart to my diet; fresh fruits and those frozen digestive veggies in single size packs. I drink alot of apple juice each day, and take vitamins regularly now. And I buy alot of Smart Ones. My newest fave is the mini ratoni in the vodka sauce. I have to eat alot of whole wheat fiber and that's perfect for me.
So like it says in my title, I have actually hit a weight under 300 lbs. Yesterday morning, I weighed in at 298.5 lbs. UH do you know how hard I've worked towards this? that officially makes my weight lost 28 lbs. I cannot tell you how important it has been for me to hit that goal. I have faught and faught with cravings, tried to eat healthily while maintaining portions sizes, tried not to eat chips and queso, and stay away from fast food. UH! I did it. I actually had the thought that I order a pizza to celebrate. Only for a split second. I dismissed the thought of that immediately.
What's next. Well I've hit a major goal. I think I need to add exercise. I really don't exercise much and part of that is fighting in my mind with this voice. The voice tells me I'm not good enough, to rebel against what I know I should do, and that it won't matter because I'll fail again. I hate this voice. This is the voice of my mother and the voice of an old ex-boyfriend. I hate this voice and I really wish I could be the voice in my head instead of them.
How interesting that this is being written on Mother's Day. I don't speak to my parents so I feel a little bad for outting them here, but I decided I needed a journal, to keep track and accountability. I don't know if anyone will read this, but honestly, it's not for you. It's for me. I'm going to try to be braver. I'm going to try and kick out that voice in my head keeping me down, and fat. look at the success I've had already. I need this, for me. I'm committed. It's gotten pretty easy now that it's been 3 months. it's like the decisions are already made, just have to follow them.
that's all for now,
Jackie
If anybody is wondering why you haven't seen me in so long, there's a very simple answer. (You know, I said I would stay in touch even though I'm not spending much time around the computer anymore.) Well, here it is: I was going to contact you guys as soon as I finally lost the ten pounds. Lol, now you know why you haven't heard from me yet.
So, here's what's wrong with the 'weigh every day' method' (which I was really liking for a while because either way - up or down - it was motivating). When you get stuck for, like ten days, there is that temptation to say, "Oh, phooey, this isn't working anyway," and deepen your relationship with the loaf of rye bread and the enormous package of provolone cheese that your husband bought when a friend came over. And I can't blame John, either, because I'm the one that asked him to get stuff for a deli lunch (silly me) for a musical friend who was coming to rehearse with me. So, using the scale frequently works very well, except when it doesn't!
Also, I can't resist telling you: I have a slight 'fiddle injury' to my little finger and have to go to the acupuncturist. The wonderful thing about this is that , even though my little finger won't bend very much, I was able to play three tunes in our Irish music recital yesterday and all went well. (No notes for the little finger, believe it or not.) Although we were missing two accordions and a banjo due to work conflicts, we rocked! Okay, more soon, and I will tell you when I finally lose that ten pounds! Off to walk now, before it rains.
P.S. I've actually lost about 8 pounds, which is better than nothing, but still 22 to go. Still eating Smart Ones, still liking the key lime pie.
Another week has flown by, I've stayed true to journaling my food, even when I didn't want to write down the oreo cookie (single) that found me. This week I had a lunch date with some friends. I fretted about it for 3 days. We were going to Arby's--one of my favorite fast food places. I always ordered a regular Arby's, curly fries and a Jamocha shake. I knew this would have to change. So I went to the Arbys.com website to find nutritional information. There I calculated that an Arby's Jr. would be 4 points, a regular Arby's would be 8 points. The site mentioned that they had side salads and dressing. After calculating the dressing points I decided to bring my own. So I practiced "Arby's Jr. and a side salad, please" over and over in my mind and I headed for my lunch date with a tupperware cup with dressing in my purse. When I got there I was told that they had discontinued salads. What to do??? I ordered a regular Arby's and a diet soda. As we were chatting at the table and having already opened and tasted my sandwich I noticed that it was not a regular but a MEDIUM. I had already taken a bite or two and was too embarrassed to take it back and say "you gave me the wrong thing." The best plans sometimes don't work out. So I enjoyed the rest and the company of my friends. When I got home I calculated the sandwich cost me 10 points. I just adjusted dinner to allow for the extra points I used. If this had happened to me before returning to Weight Watchers I would have ordered my old favorite as soon as I learned that the salad wasn't available. So I felt victorious that I did not order the fries or shake. What I noticed, was how much I missed having a vegetable with my lunch. So we'll plan our lunches somewhere better suited from now on.
I was hungry this week and have been trying to figure out why. I wasn't feeling bored which is what usually gets me started on a binge, nor was I particularly happy or sad. I'm thinking it's the lack of variety in my food choices. I've been eating pretty much, the same things for the last two weeks. So this week I'm going for variety and adding some new veggies to the menu. I need to treat this as a lifestyle versus a diet. All in all the experience has been good and I've lost another pound and a half, bringing my total lost to 10 1/2 pounds. I'm so excited. I'm ready to work on my next 10........just 17 more sets of 10 and I'll be at goal. This is the most important thing I have ever done for myself and I will not let the enormity of it get me down.