Small yet huge Success!
 

Hi all,
I've been a member here since March 17th and this is my first post because really- I never wanted to look at the discussion boards. I had this singular idea about my journey to health. I couldn't be helped and I didn't want to help myself for so long, I didn't realize the power of a support until yesterday.

My Story:
Fat all my life. I never wanted to do anything about it because sincerely, I believed I was happy. I had friends and boyfriends and I got married (and divorced!). I have a very successful career in the music industry and everyone around me is beautiful. I have an amazing 9 year old son. I also believed I was healthy. I work in the city and I walked everywhere, I love,love,love vegetables, and I really can move-I'm agile and strong (and what comes after that in my head is "for someone my size"). I hike with the cub scouts (alright, so I can't breathe at the top of that mountain, but who can?). I garden and mow my own lawn.

3 years ago I was diagnosed with thyroid hemiagenesis. I am missing more than half of my thyroid. I was born without it. Well, I assumed this is what has been keeping me fat. No, I was keeping me fat, that was just an excuse.

I have never told anyone this so here it is. I am 35 years old, 5'10", and when I began this journey on March 17th, I was 377 pounds. It is my highest weight. I don't know what my lowest weight was because I never dieted seriously.

So here I was. Enormous. Not fat- Enormous. I couldn't move! It was the first time in my life that I hated to walk anywhere and instead of the beautiful, stylish shoes in my giant collection, I was wearing sneakers to the city everyday because my feet,legs,back,everything hurt. And until March 3rd, I never owned a scale. March 16th I got an elliptical machine and March 17th, I found this impressive website. I've tracked my foods, stayed in the guidelines and watched my 'calories burned' add up!

I want to tell you that today I weighed in at 344 pounds. I lost 30 pounds. Thirty! I'm more than happy. I am DRIVEN. I usually relax my diet on Saturdays and I don't do my usual 30 minutes on the elliptical. Nope- 30 pounds is close to 40 pounds and 40 pounds is close to 50 pounds!
I have a mini-goal of 100 pounds by New Year's Eve. And then I want to give myself a 1 year goal to take off another 100 pounds. At first, I thought that was an impossible task. But after reading here- Michael's story and so many others- I want to be part of your club. I want to subscribe to your way of life. I have gone to bed happier more nights than not since March. I'm amazed at my own progress and I am in awe of all of yours. I will keep you updated, and I will be sure to participate here- I think it will add to my success.
Thank you all. This is a warm place to be.
Everbest,
Carly

Carly, welcome.

It sounds like you've got your "switch" flipped on, and that is 99% of this battle. Making the commitment and sticking with it no matter what makes all the difference. It's not easy to make this commitment and truly internalize it, I know. And congrats for facing your fears and posting this on the forum--I'm a pretty private person in general but sharing on here has made a big difference for me and I think it will be for you as well.

Now, have you got an eating/exercise plan together? It sounds like your very active and that's great. If you keep a good calorie deficit the weight will peel off faster than you can imagine.

Please consider joining us in the 100 + to lose thread, if you like. It's nice to talk with others who are/were where you're at.

And if there's anything I can do to help, don't hesitate to ask. Until the PM feature is implemented here, you can always email me at [email protected].

Regards,
Michael

Welcome and thank you for your very positive post. Mary

Way to go Carly! I am going to be posting in the 100+ thread later today. I have finally made the connection also. You can do this! I, too, am inspired by the people on this site. They are incredible!

Congratulations on your first 30!!!! Whoo hooo hooooo. Welcome to the forum, you're going to be a regular here I can tell already. It's been a huge help to me just to have a few folks to check in with, helps me to to stay away from second helpings and other things I shouldn't eat. Good days, bad days, days in between, we all need a coach in our corner and some fans to cheer us on.

Thanks, Michael and everyone, what a welcome!

Yes, I have a diet/exercise plan. Weekdays I do 30 minutes elliptical in the morning. I can log 3 miles in 30 minutes in the morning. I think when I plateau, I'll add an evening to that. I also wear my sneakers into the city and walk to and from my office and studio from the bus terminal (I change into my fancy shoes when I get there :) ) and that adds another 1-2 miles to my pedometer.
Food? I'm a big fan of the greek yogurt-it's very filling and super delicious. I am all about the water, water, water. I mostly stick to the same few things for breakfast and lunch and I try to make dinner interesting. I love cake and chips and all things bad for me, so I try to find the healthiest alternative on the market and stick to the serving size. I do restaurants. I don't mind asking the wait staff for substitutions. It's a way of life.

I am staying way under the calorie allowance for my program. I'm not sure if I should adjust it lower for faster weight loss, or leave the margin there and surprise myself daily. Do you have your 'calorie restriction' threshold set really low?

Weekends I am always working on something. I am a new homeowner so the work is abundant. Today, I planted the vegetable garden, cleaned the gutters, and mowed. I went to my moms and put all of her mulch down. So I am pretty beat right now. I'm still learning how to log all of that.

I'm not sure if all of that is a plan. I'm trying to build all of this into my life without making me feel like its boot camp or something.
So so far here it is. I plan on having good time and bad with this. I will slip and fall. I will have awesome weeks and rotten weeks. I'm ok with that.

I am carlyonawire with a yahoo at the end of that and I'm happy to be here.

And I'm still looking for the 100+ thread... I know I saw it yesterday...

Everbest,
Carly

Carly,

here it is http://www.fitday.com/fitness/forums...se-thread.html

Welcome to the FitDay and to the discussion board. 30 pounds in such a short period of time is great. Stay focused and keep pushing forward and like Michael said, the weight will start to fall off.

It sounds like you've made up your mind and are committed to succeeding! Like almeeker said, I also feel like you'll be hear for a while. IMO that's a big thing, so many people come and leave before they are ready. Some make it back to try to fix the damage and others don't. Stay positive and good luck!

Thanks for the link Mike- That is an incredible thread.

So guess what happened? Yesterday, my car didn't start. Panic, right?
Wrong. I walked my son to school (literally down the street) and then I walked to the bus stop instead of driving. THEN- I walked back. And today, I walked there again.
For me right now, the triumph is not the actual walk. I've always been able to walk. It's the desire to WANT to walk. I was excited to get into my office and punch in the numbers from the pedometer.

You're an inspiration. It does sound like you are at the beginning of a great journey that will take you to your slim self.

Way to go!! These forums should be used more often because you find a lot of motivation, recipes and tips that can help improve your diet regiment. You can do anything you put your mind to!

wanting to walk is HUGE. check out mapmyrun.com