Hey fattie, your excuses are why you are fat!
 

I figured the title of this thread would probably get your attention and maybe ruffle some feathers. If it did, then good, that was the point.

First off, a little about me. I'm a 38 year old dad, I gained the typical pound or two a year and it slowly started to add up. Then I went from an active job to a desk job, but didn't change my eating habits and guess what??? I got fat! It wasn't until I quit making excuses and realized that I was the problem, that's right, me... I was the reason why I was fat, that I could make a change. My job changed and I didn't. I finally put my excuses aside and started eating better, took the stairs instead of the elevator, started walking, drank only water... a lot of water. Before I knew it, the weight started to fall off. "How fast?" you may ask, how about my first 20 pounds took all of 42 days! So lets set this straight, it took FAR LESS time to take it off than it did to put it on, once I dropped the excuses.

I'm not going to bore you with statistics, nor do I have the time for them. This is from my heart, not something that I copy and pasted! Being fat will likely decrease your life span and the time you do have alive will not be as enjoyable as it could have been. You'll probably spend more time on your sofa or favorite chair than you will outside enjoying good weather.

So let me ask you this... have you made the commitment to truly change yourself, for YOURSELF or are you making excuses?

People know that for alcoholics & drug addicts to recover, the first step is to admit that there is a problem... not to make excuses. So why do we make so many excuses yet expect to change? Here's are some common excuses that fat people (yes I said the "F" word again) make.

1) "I can't afford to eat healthy." - Can you afford to be unhealthy? Can you afford to have a double bypass? Can you afford to leave your children early?

2) "I can't afford a gym membership." - Get off your ass and walk, it's free! Quit waiting for that parking spot b/c it's closer to the door of Wal Mart, walk dammit!

3) "I don't have the time, I have a family to take care of." - Get off your ass and go play with your kids. Take them to the park and do something with them, don't just sit there. Turn off American Idol or Survivor and go walk.

4) "It's in my genes, I come from a big family." - This may be true, it's in you JEANS b/c you came from a lazy family that had poor eating habits. Now it's your turn to break the cycle for your family!

5) "It's my thyroid..." - Really, did your doctor say this? If so what are you and your doctor doing to correct this? Are you still doing the things that I suggested for #2 & #3?

6) "I'm alone in this, I hate cooking big meals and I don't have anyone to exercise with." - blah, blah, blah. You are responsible for keeping yourself in shape so why avoid exercising b/c you don't have a partner? Do it FOR YOURSELF, even if it is BY YOURSELF! Cook a big healthy meal and package it up for future use. This will also save you time, more time to go for a walk.

7) "I have big bones." - Since when did big bones help add a double chin, or arms that keep waving after you've stopped?

The list of excuses can go on and on. If what I'm saying offends you, then you may be hanging on to your excuse. It's time to wake up people and realize that we are the problem, quit blaming others and making excuses.

Once you get to where you want to be, you'll be glad you did!

Like I said, I was fat. But it didn't take me that long to get where I am today. I feel great and my overall health is much better!

............................EXCUSES \/.................................................. .................................................. .........................................NO EXCUSES \/.............
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...s%20pics/7.jpg

My scale is not moving nearly as fast as yours did (jealous!) but it is moving just the same. Maybe it's cause I'm female and you're male, but whatev. The point is, I've made changes and they're making a difference. Not just on the scale either, I have more energy and I actually WANT to go out and chase the kids. And you're right, dump the excuses. It is a lifestyle change, NOT a diet. Your post may be blunt and to the point, and to some maybe even rude...but....it will get attention. Hope it helps somebody.:)

thanks. The one thing that I've learned is that you really can't compare yourself to anyone else. Especially from male to female. It's my understanding that males do lose weight faster, but you are on the right track and THAT is what counts. I guess I shouldn't have made the reference to it taking 42 days to lose 20 pounds. I was just trying to emphasize that I will come off quicker than it went on, and I'm sure you can attest to that. Great job, and keep it up girl!

Brutally honest, but what you say is so true. I could not agree more. I have been very guilty of making excuses myself for what seems like forever. A person has to decide to stop making excuses and start making those necessary changes to turn things around in their life. Eating right, moving more. Both of which are possible for anyone no matter what their situation. Have to just make it a priority. There are no excuses! (I still have to keep reminding myself of that all the time..!) :)

Lizzy, I hear you, once you start feeling better you actually feel like getting out and moving more because you have more energy, and the momentum builds.

Congrats Mike on your success, very inspiring! :)

thanks Shell250! I'm glad my advice thus far was well received. I think the ones (like you and Lizzy) that are making the changes and dumping the excuse will take it as good advice. I have a feeling that the ones that don't like what I'm saying b/c they are taking it "personal"... should be taking it personal.

Thanks again.
Mike

I agree with what you said...Im going to add one more thing. Someone told me awhile ago...*your only cheating yourself*. You can make that work for eating or exercising.

No offense taken, straight and to the point...I like it

Good pictures by the way

I have used 1 and 2 and part of 3 several times over the past several years and watched my weight creep up and up.

And with help from my wife to keep me focused, not letting crap food and soda/beer into the house, and making sure I get out and walk daily I have dropped the first 17 of my goal 50 pounds in the last 2 months.

I like his bluntness. I've seen some of your posts before and I quite prefer the brutal honesty of your posts, and not something of a sugar coated truth...not as much of an impact. Great post.
Great pictures also, a much bigger difference. I have been going at this longer than 42 days...and not lost even 15 pounds yet (more like 10) but whatever. Lucky you, eh ;)

IMO every now and then it's good to cheat. But we have to stay focus on our own goals. I say that all the time. We are all worth not being cheated by ourselves!

I've used many of those excuses myself, that's why I was the way I was. Having the support of your wife will truly help with your success. 17 pounds in 2 months is nothing to sneeze at, great job man!

Thanks DA, I believe in shooting from the hip, sometimes I'm more tactful than others. Either way I try to get my point across but sooner or later someone will be offended with something I say, it's just human nature LOL. 15 pounds is great! You should be proud!! What's your goal? BTW the time span between the pic on the left and right in my 1st post was about 6 months and about 35 pounds. So as you can see the first 20 came off much faster than the next 15. That's just how it goes. When I first decided to get in shape (last August) I took my fat pic. That was tough to do and I didn't realize how fat I really was until I saw that. I don't know about you or anyone else but I think I walked around slightly sucking in my gut all the time. So standing in front of the camera with no shirt... relaxed was a rude awakening. The crazy thing was I found an older picture and looking at my face I was probably a good (or bad) 10 pounds heavier then.
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...letechange.jpg

For anyone reading this and serious about losing weight. I CAN NOT STRESS HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO TAKE PICTURES OF YOUR PROGRESS, NO MATTER HOW PAINFUL IT MAY BE!

What an awesome post! I'm guilty of all of the above excuses plus some extras. I used #3 in many variations for years. Weight gain was how I found out that I had thyroid cancer...fair enough of an excuse/reason, right? I had sort of figured that once the cancer was under control the weight would fall back off as fast as it had piled on (nearly a 100 pound gain in less than a year!) Well, no such luck. It doesn't work that way. What a slap in the face it was when I finally asked my doctor, "What's the deal? Why isn't the weight coming off? Do we need to switch my meds around? Imagine my shock and dismay when my doctor lovingly placed his hands on my shoulders...looked me in the eyes...and said, "Naomi, you're still fat because you eat too much and don't get enough exercise."

Bummer...no magic pill for me. Talk about telling it like it is!

No more excuses...It's a struggle, but I'm winning the battle...one step at a time!

Wow, I thought I could be harsh. I take it that you and your doctor have a good relationship for him to come out like that. It sounds like your weight gain was out of your control, but your weight loss will be of your control.

Tough Love
 

This is what it's all about. We don't put up with excuses for why homework didn't get done, or why someone did a poor job at work, or why we forgot to pay this bill or that, so why would we put up with them for not losing weight?

There is a phenomenon in therapy called "Yes, but..." Sometimes I get clients who complain, complain, complain, and every suggestion, insight, or intervention is met with a phrase that begins, "Yes, but..." Nobody gets better that way. Nobody loses weight that way. Honesty with yourself and being accountable are incompatible with excuses.

Relatedly, rationalizing is also a killer. "I can eat this ice cream sundae because I just spent two hours playing basketball." Yeah, but how much further ahead would you be if you didn't eat it?

As is seen in my other posts, I am all about finding what works for you and doing it, and if that includes relaxing or "cheating" once in a while, that's great. But be honest with yourself about the fact that you are doing it, plan for it, compensate for it, don't apologize for it, and don't make excuses for it.

ding ding ding, we have a winner. You hit the nail on the head with this one!

EXACTLY!! I was talking to a trainer the other day and he gave me this little tidbit:

Think about 2 people racing to a 450 calorie count. One eats a donut. One is on a treadmill. Who is going to "consume" 450 calories first?

It's certainly something to think about the next time you're getting ready to pick up a donut!

Harsh...yes...but it was what I needed to hear. I'd been letting myself off the hook for too long and it was doing me more harm than good.

I find out tomorrow if I'm going to need knee surgery. I tore my meniscus and gave myself a stress fracture while I was at "fat camp" a couple weeks ago. Maybe fat people shouldn't do jumping jacks? I can't really walk right now, but I'm still doing abs...still doing upper body workouts...being extra careful about my calorie intake. I'm jumping out of my skin wanting to get in more cardio.

There was something about getting that cold hard slap in the face of reality that made me want to prove him wrong. I don't think that sort of thing works for everyone....but it worked for me!

Nice post... you speak the truth. The hardest part of losing weight is getting to the point where you are wholeheartedly trying to do it. No "magic pills," "miracle diets," or other bullshit. Eat better and exercise. That's the only way to do it.

To those who say they aren't losing weight as fast as Mike did - as long as you are losing you're on the right path. Some of us take it a bit further... Mike does P90X, which from what I've heard about it totally kicks your ass. It took him a LOT of hard work to get where he is, not just cutting calories.

Best of luck to all those who are ready to get serious about losing weight!

thanks man. You really did it big with your weight loss! 110 pounds is amazing, we all know you got there from doing the right things and no excuses! I completed one full round (90 days) of P90X, and almost finished a 2nd round. I ended up quitting b/c I got bored with it. Now I lift weights and walk and thanks to the 52DC I'm still making progress.

actually you'll be proving him right, which is well enough. :D It is nice showing the doubters that you can really do it though. Good luck with your knee. Can you swim??

Can I swim? Now, unfortunately, no. In general, yes. It's one of my favorite activities. I'm a retired scuba instructor and WSI. I'm not supposed to be doing anything more than walking to and from the loo and I'm already in trouble for doing more than that (someone's got to get the groceries and do the laundry and stuff, right?)....I go to the surgeon tomorrow to get the lowdown. I'll find out if I'll definitely need surgery (fingers crossed for the 5% odds of no) and get a protocol for what I can and can't do for PT and recovery and whatnot. In the meantime, I'm doing lots and lots and lots of ab workouts. Eventually, I hope to have a six pack again...instead of a case! :o

No excuses, indeed
 

I'm a straighforward person, so I tackle issues head on. The matter of excuses applies to everything in life, including weight loss. But the truth is that in order to do anything about anything, one needs energy. Many of us want whatever we want but we don't have energy to make the first step. Or the second. And no, it's not an excuse, it's an explanation.
Another truth is that one has priorities. If your priority is to keep your body healthy and strong, you will start making better choices. I don't know how hard it is to not pick up a hamburger or fries from McDonald's on your way somewhere. I also don't know how hard it is to turn the TV off for 30-40 minutes and just go for a walk outside. Many small things add up but none of that is considered.
Anyway, the line of excuses ended for me once I was introduced to a fabulous me and fabulous life that I, with my own bare hands, took away from myself later. Due to heavy stress for over a year, I unnoticeably shed pounds until I weighed 126 or even less. I'm 5'5", heavy boned, so it was too much for me. Nevertheless, I felt better than ever! I looked in the mirror and saw fabulosity! :-) I enjoyed attention on daily basis and everything was in my control.
Then things started to change gradually and I noticed myself eating unhealthy things on unhealthy hours. Do you think I could see myself getting fatter? Not really. I did see something, just a bit, but it was okay. And okay. And okay. Until it wasn't anymore. Guess what? I hit 173 lbs mark several months later! I never knew myself in such weight and it made me even more depressed when I remembered that lost fabulosity.
No, I said, I don't want to keep looking in the mirror and gross myself out. After all, what's more important to me - ice-cream at night that tastes sooooo goooood! or living life, I mean Living Life! ? The answer was obvious.
I moved out of state due to other reasons and joined the gym. Then I figured out an eating routine for every day. It wasn't easy but no excuses worked for me anymore. Why? Priorities! My knee wasn't happy about the weight, so it hurt. Carrying extra 40 lbs on my body isn't fabulous. I had no right to abuse my body so much - the body that worked for me every day.
And of course, pounds started to come off. Two something months later I dropped 17 lbs. Yes, I have 17 more to go and I have two months for it. But, I learned to love exercise after I hated it for 28 years. It makes me feel good! And, when my body isn't full of shit, it feels more energetic.
I have a picture of me 173 lbs and it's scary. I won't post it here because I'm in my underwear. Maybe I'll do it once I'm done with my success story in two months.
You're right - excuses take us where we are now. Excuses basically mean "choices." I choose to eat crap or I choose to eat well. I choose to move or I choose to sit on my ass. I choose to feel good or I choose to feel miserable. If so, then all I can say is "Please, if you choose all this and if the outcome isn't so great, then stop whining and complaining. Start choosing something different. If you care."

YOUR SACRED TEMPLE

I keep coming back to this post and thread. Maybe I just like the virtual slap it gives me.

Was reading another thread over on the Women's Corner and the OP was talking about hard work versus taking the easy way out, and it started me thinking about the fact that our default, by and large, as a society, is to look for the easy ways out. Parking close, having machines do our work, taking elevators, grabbing prepackaged foods. I can't stand that mentality in work and other areas, so there's no reason to put up with it with respect to doing what I need to do to be healthy. Making the effort makes the difference. Pushing through the strain of an exercise routine makes a difference. Saying no when you want to say yes to a snack makes a difference. But those all require a lot more work than giving in.

Right now I am at the realization that the work doesn't end, either. I hit my goal weight 2 weeks ago. I am still working just as hard to maintain, and there's still no room for excuses. I had to set new goals...not weight, but exercise performance, body fat reduction...it's still work. It sucks that I can't say, well, I did it, I can go back to the way I used to be, but that's why I'm still here, still logging everything, still being accountable. What is it the 12-steppers say? It only works if you work it? The word work probably isn't an accident.

you are correct, the word work is there for a reason. People tell me that it's too hard to workout (for whatever reason). I tell them that if it weren't work it wouldn't be called a WORKout.

I'm a newbie so should probably shut up but I need to express a minority view. Had you just told us about the excuses and the like I might have accepted your post at face value. But your post as a whole feels to me like you're telling me how much better you are than I am. I'm not competitive and find your post more of a put down than encouragement.

Sashikra...It wasn't my post, but I'm sorry that you feel that way. Maybe, just maybe, it's time to do a little soul searching though. Why do you feel put down instead of encouraged or challenged? We all have our own battles to fight and it's certainly important to be kind and supportive to each other....but...sometimes, we all need a cold hard slap in the face of reality. I know I do...constantly! It's a sad, sad, sad state of society these days that everyone is constantly looking outside themselves and putting the blame on others instead of taking personal responsibility for their lot in life. America is the land of "opportunity" not the land of sit on your bootie and everything will be handed to you on a silver platter.

Here's just a tiny list of some of the excuses that have run through MY head in the past:

"I'm only fat because my husband brings home pizza. I'm only fat because McDonalds won't stop bombarding me with ads for french fries. I'm only fat because Starbucks puts whipped cream on my quad mocha frappachino. I'm only fat because my knees hurt. I'm only fat because I had thyroid cancer. I'm only fat because I gained a lot of weight when my kids were born (16 years ago). I'm only fat because I'm too tired to work out in the morning. I'm only fat because I'm too tired to work out after work at night. I'm only fat because I can't miss the Biggest Loser and I can't hear the tv over the sound of the treadmill."

I could go on and on and on.

Take your pick. We can choose to use the excuses to keep being fat and unhealthy....OR we can start using reasons to change our mindsets and therefore our behaviors and then change our LIVES!!

Don't take it as an insult. Don't take it as a "put down." Take it as a challenge to make your life better.

Best wishes and happy travels, Naomi

My excuse for the past 2 years: "I just had a baby"... 2 YEARS ago. Before that it was "Why bother losing the baby weight? I'll just gain it all back with the next one". I come here and post often because pretty much the only social network I have is the girls at work, 2 of them are obese, 1 is desperate to fit into a bridesmaid dress that was not designed with a 30 year old "big girl" in mind, the other one looks like she'll burst her scrubs if she bends over too fast. Both of them eat fast food, diet drinks by the gallon, one brings cookies to work all the time and one finds excuses why she doesn't have time for anything other than calzones or the junk from the ice cream place next door. Quite frankly, I think I annoy them both when I talk about how much weight I've lost. I used to be an enabler to the first one, splitting the junk from the ice cream place neither of us really needed last summer. Not this year, I've worked too hard. I may allow myself an occasional frozen yogurt, but so far I don't want it. The chili cheese tater tots just aren't worth going back to not fitting into drawstring waist scrubs. I also realize the difference between weight loss and maintenance will probably come down to having milk with dinner and peanut butter on my apples and celery. If I go back to the way I ate before, I'm gonna weigh what I did before. There's no way around it, if you want the results you're gonna have to do the work. It may take me 2 years but I WILL get back to a healthy weight and I WILL stay there.

I'll add this too: If you can't do it on your own, if something physical or mental is blocking you from getting started: SEEK HELP. Accepting you need help is a sign of strength, not weakness. I have bad arthritis. Many doctors and medications later, I'm on Celebrex twice a day. I'm 35. It's hard to accept that yes I really do need the drugs. I still have bad days, like yesterday, where I eat crap and self-medicate with alcohol because I'm in pain and I don't have a better way to cope. But I have more good days than bad now, and I will not allow my medical condition to define me, stop me or hold me back.

You Nailed It
 

[QUOTE=01gt4.6;6995]

6) "I'm alone in this, I hate cooking big meals and I don't have anyone to exercise with." - blah, blah, blah. You are responsible for keeping yourself in shape so why avoid exercising b/c you don't have a partner? Do it FOR YOURSELF, even if it is BY YOURSELF! Cook a big healthy meal and package it up for future use. This will also save you time, more time to go for a walk.

7) "I have big bones." - Since when did big bones help add a double chin, or arms that keep waving after you've stopped?

Yes sir, "Dr. Phil," I love it!

you are certainly entitled to your opinion and I appreciate it. It takes a lot guts to go against the grain, which you did. With that being said... my intent was to get attention and maybe ruffle some feathers, which I have now done.
I'll shoot from the hip here (as I usually do), and I'd like to you to be honest with yourself and reply to these questions. Why did you take it that I was saying that I am better than you? Was it b/c I shared my success story and my pictures? If so, would you rather someone try to give you advice that hasn't "been there, done that"? I would have been a hypocrate if I were to say that you (or anyone for that matter) needs to quit making excuse and accept the blame (when it applies) if I hadn't did just that myself. I clearly stated that I was FAT, and I was FAT because I WAS THE PROBLEM. The point at which I knew that I was the problem was the point at which I was honest with myself and got out of denial. It wasn't until then that I could make the change.
Like I said you can't please everone, that's just the nature of the beast I guess. Thanks for your reply, I look forward to your responses.

For the longest time I kept telling myself I wasn't fat, even though the sizes on the clothing tags kept going up. Sure I knew I was packing on a few pounds but I quit smoking and Hey, I felt entitled (stupid I know). It didn't really hit me just HOW fat I was until I picked up some photos that I got developed at Walgreens. I was quickly sifting through them and found one I didn't recognize (being that I am the camera person). At first glance I was like who is this fat woman sitting at my table...after looking closer at the picture, to my horror, it was me!!! What a reality check.

I quit smoking nearly 7 years ago - when I weighed 139 pounds. I now weight around 180 (don't weigh in until friday) and while slipping back into my lazy rut for awhile, I have been back at the exercising for a week now (why is the longest I've done it consecutively in YEARS). So over the course of the past 6.5 years I've packed on over 40 pounds...disgusting! I never had excuses because I lived in denial that I was fat.

Great thread!

FF73, I've never smoked but from what I hear, that's a common issue when someone quits. I think it's the thing of needing something in your mouth so often. I have a friend that quit and he was like that so he started sucking on hard candies, needless to say the candy hasn't help him any for sure.

01gt4.6 your original post is spot on.

Human nature is selfish. We like things our way, with minimal effort, and no mental anguish. Each day -- in all areas of life -- we battle to overcome these selfish desires. We would rather hear that things are not our fault; be coddled, and magically believe things will be alright if we ignore the issue.

Sometimes the pit we dig ourselves into is too large and formitable. The secret is one step at a time. Excuses stop the step forward in whatever area we are trying to improve.

From a pragmatic point of view: if a problem is caused by us or not -- we are responsible for getting out of the pit.

...and if we're not willing to do what it takes, we stay in the pit.

Eventually we just get tired of being there. I like what you said about wanting things with minimal effort, skypilot77. I think that's what I was trying to say yesterday and couldn't figure out how to put it.

It is so empowering to know that we have the choices, control, and power to make things different. Excuses are all about what is being done to us; we are all at risk of slipping into that, as opposed to what we can do to change things. Even one small change is a step forward.

I think there should be a thread with our most ridiculous excuses for not doing what we know we should do. Putting it down in black and white would certainly show how bogus we sound when we kid ourselves. I know I have had some real winners :o. Like the sweat rash one...who wants to exercise with a rash?! But...I know I gotta put on the big girl panties (literally and figuratively) and get on the treadmill.

I am sorry if this comes across as preachy or "superior." It really motivates me to practice what I preach if I put it down in a public forum and become accountable for it. No offense to anyone. We are all at different places on this journey and I respect everyone for trying.

Wow, what an inspiration, thanks for telling your story and giving advice :) You look amazing

You are right and people really do need to hear it, cold and truthfully. As someone else pointed out, this society anymore is all about everything easy and they do not like to hear that they need to take personal responsibility for their OWN actions. You cannot blame the fast food industry for you being fat. They didn't make you go there, YOU chose to go there.

My excuses were:

Laziness: "I don't want to cook and have to do the dishes...waah."
Denial: Didn't have a scale in the house for a long time until I got the WiiFit. I stepped on that thing and nearly dropped over from a heart attack at the number on the screen. "WHA?!?! When?!!" My clothing size did go up one size so I thought I was fine.

Once that all came to my awareness, then I had rebellion as my excuse. "Oh who cares! Like all of these other people are perfect?! So I gained some weight, whatever!"

Truth is, I hated it. I've never been a fat person but here I was, a fat ass. I struggled with that for awhile; dealing with the fact that I am now a fat person. Then I had to do some serious thinking about my family's medical history. Stroke, heart disease....er...yah, maybe I should care enough about myself to change that. I still don't have to care what anyone thinks but I do have to care what I THINK. Once I realized that, I decided it was time to do something about it.

Only been a week, lost 4 pounds but it's 4 pounds in the right direction.

You're right: We are the ones who put that food in our mouths, we are the ones who have to work that off and stop trying to fool ourselves that it's not our fault. Of course it's our fault. Who elses fault would it be?

skypilot, it looks like we see it the same way.

Cassie, for the rash, get some body glide. It's dry like deordorant but prevent the chaffing/ rash. See now that excuse is no good. ;)


DLGKate, thanks so much. I'm glad I could help.


SerenityCat, I've never used a wii fit but heard great things about it. 4 pounds in 1 week!!! Great job!

Exactly. You are so right about that. If we actually write down what we say to ourselves, we start to see what we are really saying. And yes, absolute respect for anyone who is trying and also in agreement with, "even a small change is a change". Maybe you won't do everything, absolutely from the start but a small change is a step in the right direction. After that step, you take another and then another and then another. The only way to get there is to start the walk.

Thanks for the tip. ;) I toughed it out this time but sure would like to be more comfortable from here on out!

4 pounds in one week IS awesome...great start. That's what comes from being honest with yourself.

I gotta say, this thread came at the right time. I am sort of in a plateau right now..at my goal but wanting to get in better physical shape...and stopping and making excuses would be easy. Instead I'm looking at how to change things up. It's frustrating to be stuck but where I am is completely my responsibility.

Cassie, I use to get it really bad. I was 5.5 miles into a walk when it hit me one day and had to walk back 5.5 miles with the rash. I swore never again!

I don't know that my issues with obesity are so much about "excuses" as they are about deep denial and ignorance. Truthfully I feed my family and myself a fairly healthy diet, I cook everyday and grow an insane 2 acre veggie garden every summer. So every meal (and I do mean EVERY) around here contains either fresh or fresh frozen veggies or fruit. We make our own jam, from an extremely low sugar recipe. And we pretty much only eat very lean farm fresh meat that is hormone free. We keep a fruit bowl in the middle of the kitchen, and have had nothing but whole grain bread in this house for years. We also have a gym membership, and for the past 6-7 years I've faithfully gotten to the gym at least once a week and more often then not twice, and when I go I'm not messing around I'm dripping sweat and pushing it to the limit. I'm also not big boned, as much as I would like to have that as an excuse, I'm tiny boned and have always known it. I'm also not a couch potato, I play with my kids and run them around to all the stuff kids get into these days. Most of my days are spent on my feet and on the go, so it's not a laziness issue either.

My obesity I truly believe stems from flat out not really ever keeping track of what I've eaten, and consequently overeating most of the time. Not necessarily overeating by a lot, but enough to regularly gain a pound or two here and there. I've also realized since joining this website that the diet I naturally gravitate towards is protein deficient. I've probably rarely if ever gotten a sufficient amount of protein on any given day, and conversely kept my system flooded with waayyy too many carbs, which my body has been converting into insulation and cushioning devices. Which basically spells out the ignorance portion of my obesity.

Yes I've known for some time that I'm a fat girl. But I'm really an upbeat sort of person, so you know what? I just decided at some point that no matter what size I am - I like me. I'm fat, so that means there is just more of me to love. Viola' the "denial" portion of my obesity.

But recently I started to feel exhausted all the time, I would get up out of bed tired. And that's when I knew it was well past time to do something about it, because "tired" flat out is NOT ME! So now I log my intake and my burn and make sure the burn is higher. I workout EVERYDAY, sometimes at home, sometimes at the gym, because clearly 30 minutes, 3X a week was not enough for me. And now I'm getting my groove back. I've lost 57 pounds, and have every intention of losing another 67.

So although I know for a fact that you have pegged many many people with your list, I personally could not really relate to it.

almeeker, one thing that I've learned, and still struggle with from time to time is to eat until you are not hungry. Sometimes I eat until I'm full, which is not the same.

It sounds like you figured out what you need to do and are doing it! Great job on the nice loss thus far!!!

It's a great post
 

And like many others, I prefer the bluntness. I know I have only myself to blame for this. I agree with you about tracking your progress with photos. I took my "before" photo this weekend and can I say I really hate looking at it. I do look like that in my mind...however, the reality is I DO look like that. I'm new to this site but I will be looking for your posts in the future. Congrats on your progress!!!