A birthday gift to myself
01-15-2016, 04:16 AM
#1
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Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 8
A birthday gift to myself
My story is a familiar one. Overweight all my life. Up and down, but I've never actually been on a diet. I've found when I move more I lose weight and when my life is sitting at a desk I gain - nothing complicated about it.
I turned 48 on December 14th of 2015 and the day after I implemented some changes I had been mentally preparing for. I had been thinking about my family and my teenage son. My family is prone to some very deadly health issues: type II diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, thyroid problems, and heart disease. And although my son will be a grown man soon and out on his own, he is still my only child and I would like to be around to see his children as well. So I decided to give myself The Gift of Health for my 50th birthday. This is one gift I can't go to the store to purchase and it won't be possible to achieve it overnight, so I decided to give myself two years to attain it.
I should mention that when I started this journey I was 260 lbs. the heaviest I have ever been. That is a lot of weight for a 5'4 woman to carry.
Today is January 15th, one month since I started. I am 249.4 lbs. That is a little more than 10 lbs. in one month. I know there will be times when I will hit plateaus. I also know that as I get in better shape the weight loss will slow down. These are to be expected.
I think what is different about this journey is that it is a lifestyle change not a diet. I move more. I go on 1 hour walks every other day. Not everyday, but I try to go every second day. I sometimes use workout machines or the treadmill at the gym, but mostly I prefer to walk outside. You burn more calories and it's a better workout than in the controlled environment of a gym. I also still eat everything. I have eaten chips, I have eaten a chocolate bar. Potatoes are still on the menu, as is red meat and other things most "diets" outlaw. The difference is I eat things in moderation.
I am going to maintain this lifestyle from here on out and for it to work I cannot feel as though I am depriving myself. It has to be simple. It has to work. One and done.
There are so many things I am waiting to do because I cannot realistically do them at this weight. I LOVE caving, but getting into tiny spaces at my size is just not possible. I want to learn how to dog sled but running behind a sled now would kill me. I want to ride horses again, but I'm not willing to ride a draft horse because that's the size of horse I would need at my current size. LOL
One thing I do know about myself is that I need a goal; something to strive for. So I have decided I want to complete a triathlon. I have done 8 km and 5 km runs before. And while many people opt for marathons, I enjoy swimming and biking too so a triathlon is a good fit. I have found one local event that happens every April and one event in Hawaii. They are both goals to participate in for 2018. I don't care whether or not I win them or even place in the top 20, I just want to challenge myself to complete them in a decent time. I am inviting others along if they are interested and will probably need to do a lot of fundraising to get to the Hawaii one.
Life is waiting for me and I am no longer comfortable just watching it pass me by.
Good luck to everyone on their own journey of health!
I turned 48 on December 14th of 2015 and the day after I implemented some changes I had been mentally preparing for. I had been thinking about my family and my teenage son. My family is prone to some very deadly health issues: type II diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, thyroid problems, and heart disease. And although my son will be a grown man soon and out on his own, he is still my only child and I would like to be around to see his children as well. So I decided to give myself The Gift of Health for my 50th birthday. This is one gift I can't go to the store to purchase and it won't be possible to achieve it overnight, so I decided to give myself two years to attain it.
I should mention that when I started this journey I was 260 lbs. the heaviest I have ever been. That is a lot of weight for a 5'4 woman to carry.
Today is January 15th, one month since I started. I am 249.4 lbs. That is a little more than 10 lbs. in one month. I know there will be times when I will hit plateaus. I also know that as I get in better shape the weight loss will slow down. These are to be expected.
I think what is different about this journey is that it is a lifestyle change not a diet. I move more. I go on 1 hour walks every other day. Not everyday, but I try to go every second day. I sometimes use workout machines or the treadmill at the gym, but mostly I prefer to walk outside. You burn more calories and it's a better workout than in the controlled environment of a gym. I also still eat everything. I have eaten chips, I have eaten a chocolate bar. Potatoes are still on the menu, as is red meat and other things most "diets" outlaw. The difference is I eat things in moderation.
I am going to maintain this lifestyle from here on out and for it to work I cannot feel as though I am depriving myself. It has to be simple. It has to work. One and done.
There are so many things I am waiting to do because I cannot realistically do them at this weight. I LOVE caving, but getting into tiny spaces at my size is just not possible. I want to learn how to dog sled but running behind a sled now would kill me. I want to ride horses again, but I'm not willing to ride a draft horse because that's the size of horse I would need at my current size. LOL
One thing I do know about myself is that I need a goal; something to strive for. So I have decided I want to complete a triathlon. I have done 8 km and 5 km runs before. And while many people opt for marathons, I enjoy swimming and biking too so a triathlon is a good fit. I have found one local event that happens every April and one event in Hawaii. They are both goals to participate in for 2018. I don't care whether or not I win them or even place in the top 20, I just want to challenge myself to complete them in a decent time. I am inviting others along if they are interested and will probably need to do a lot of fundraising to get to the Hawaii one.
Life is waiting for me and I am no longer comfortable just watching it pass me by.
Good luck to everyone on their own journey of health!
01-19-2016, 03:45 AM
#3
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Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 8
Thank you dschefer for your support! I weigh myself every Tuesday and this morning I am 247.2 lbs. That's a 12.8 lb. loss since December 15th. So I am keeping on track and not feeling deprived at all. I will continue to update as the weeks and years pass. Take care.
02-02-2016, 03:04 AM
#4
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Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 8
Today as of my Tuesday morning weigh-in I am now 245.8 lbs. I didn't lose a great amount of weight since my last weigh in two weeks ago, however, a loss, however small, is still a loss and a step in the right direction.
I need to re-focus myself this week though. I need to stay mindful of the type of food I put in my mouth and keep my exercise consistent.
Here is a starting picture. It was taken December 3rd, 2015, just before I implemented my lifestyle changes.
I need to re-focus myself this week though. I need to stay mindful of the type of food I put in my mouth and keep my exercise consistent.
Here is a starting picture. It was taken December 3rd, 2015, just before I implemented my lifestyle changes.
Last edited by takwakin; 02-02-2016 at 03:43 AM. Reason: Wish to add picture.
02-16-2016, 01:58 AM
#6
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Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 8
Thank you Kathy. This morning I did my weekly weigh-in and I am now 241.6. So I have lost a total of 18.4 lbs. since December 15th. Slow and steady seems to be the right pace for me. I don't feel deprived and I'm not needing to freak out and buy junk or start drinking pop again. Feels good to lose weight and not feel like it's a huge chore. Good luck to all my fellow weight loss warriors!
03-01-2016, 04:14 AM
#7
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Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 8
Cracked the 230's!
Well I'm happy this morning because I finally cracked the 230's! I thought I was going to stay at 241.6 forever. LOL
This morning I weighed 239.8 lbs. So since December 2015 I have lost 20.2 lbs. It is coming off slowly but surely, which is exactly what I wanted.
I did some stress eating which wasn't good, but I didn't let it break me. I just picked my attitude up from the floor and kept going hahaha. Yes, I ate some crazy things: chocolate bar, pop, chips, and a chocolate brownie (or two), but I didn't let it become an everyday thing.
Sometimes when life drop-kicks you it's too easy to reach for comfort in food. Especially since comforting myself with food has been my thing since childhood. I am still going though, still reminding myself day by day why I started this journey.
Good luck to everyone else on the same journey!
This morning I weighed 239.8 lbs. So since December 2015 I have lost 20.2 lbs. It is coming off slowly but surely, which is exactly what I wanted.
I did some stress eating which wasn't good, but I didn't let it break me. I just picked my attitude up from the floor and kept going hahaha. Yes, I ate some crazy things: chocolate bar, pop, chips, and a chocolate brownie (or two), but I didn't let it become an everyday thing.
Sometimes when life drop-kicks you it's too easy to reach for comfort in food. Especially since comforting myself with food has been my thing since childhood. I am still going though, still reminding myself day by day why I started this journey.
Good luck to everyone else on the same journey!
