Met Original Goal Today!

When I started on this journey back in February 2008, the goal I originally set was 120 lbs. I put that weight down because I remember reading an article about a woman who was my height, weighed 300 lbs, and got down to that weight. I remember thinking at the time "I'll never get that low, but if I get down to like 150 lbs, I'll be happy."

As I continued on this journey, I passed 150 lbs and started getting from friends and family that I looked great and should stop. I thought "For once I'm going to set a goal and finish it. Maybe I can get down that low" and just kept on going and staying on plan.

I had an appointment with my doctor a couple months ago, and he walked in and said "Well, you don't have high blood pressure and you're not overweight"...which was the first time in 25 years that a health care professional said that to me. He was thrilled with my weight loss and said that I should not get below 115 lbs. Because of that, I changed my goal to lose another 5 lbs.

I got on the scale this morning, and it said exactly 120 lbs. I was in shock. I can't believe I met my original goal. I still want to lose the other 5 lbs, but I'm very excited.

With the 9 bears I earned on Nutrisystem

Latest Doctor Visit

My apologies for posting two blogs today....but I just had to share this.

I went to the doctor today for my annual physical. Last time I saw him, I weighed 162 lbs, and he was thrilled I was down from 209 lbs (not my heaviest) he recorded previously.

Well, today his scale said 125 lbs (mine said 124.2 lbs this morning). He walked in and said "Well, you don't have high blood pressure and you aren't overweight"....and I laughed and said "Not anymore!" I haven't been called 'not' overweight by a healthcare professional in over 25 years.

He said I was a posterchild for all his overweight patients. I proceeded to tell him and his PA that I did it following the guidelines of Nutrisystem and exercise.

My labs came back good and he told me he didn't want my BMI to go below 22.5, which would be for me about 115 lbs.

Yay me!!

Losing Weight….My Journey

I freely admit it. I was fat. I know a lot of people don’t like that word, but it is true. Using any other word sugar coats the truth.

I was not overweight.

I was not “big boned.”

I was fat.

August 2006 - 212 lbs

According to my BMI, I was technically obese. Being 5’¼” (and yes, I claim that ¼ inch!) and weighing 212 lbs, I had a BMI (body mass index) of 41.4%. For some reason, I didn’t quite see myself as “obese” or even as fat as I truly was.

How did I get that way? And how in the world did I not see how heavy I truly was? I knew I wasn’t athletic and didn’t exercise, but I certainly didn’t think I ate THAT much or THAT badly…did I?

During the week, breakfast was usually 2 Krispy Kreme Donuts or McDonald’s Sausage McMuffin and hash browns and a pint whole milk picked up on the way to work. On the weekends, breakfast was usually eaten out.

Lunch was usually eaten at the local fast food restaurant. A typical order would be a McDonald’s cheeseburger, a 6-piece McNugget (with sweet & sour sauce), a small fry, and a giant Diet Pepsi. I rationalized this by thinking that if I ordered a small fry and diet soda, that the meal wasn’t that bad.

Dinner was usually eaten out. At any restaurant, take your pick. Suffice it to say it was usually high in carbs (lots of potatoes, pasta or bread), high in fat and calories, and low on veggies.

Let’s not forget the snacks I would have on a nightly basis. This usually included potato chips or Cheetos (usually the whole bag) or chocolate (usually the whole bar), and tons of soda throughout the day. Well, at least the soda was diet.

All totaled, this counted to about 3,000 calories per day. That is about twice as much as someone my age and height should be consuming in a day.

Sure, I knew I was carrying more junk in the trunk then I would have liked. I knew I weighed more then I should. I knew that I was wearing a size 2X and a size 18 - 20 pants. I diluted myself into thinking that with a little portion control I could get my weight down.

I didn’t need to exercise.

I didn’t need to eat healthy food.

I thought that if I just watched my portions, I would lose the weight. The only problem is that I never did that. I continued to eat the same portions and things I always did, and just whined about the fact that the weight didn't come off. This went on for years.

One day, I saw a picture of myself sitting on our couch and I could not believe I was so big. I honestly thought I was looking at someone else. Even this did not coax me into losing weight.

I noticed that it was getting harder and harder for me to basically get around. I hated doing anything that required physical activity because it was just too much effort. Simply getting up to move was a chore. I hated parking any further away from the first row in the parking lot. The worse part is that it wasn’t because I couldn't physically do activities; it was because my weight made me not want to do them anymore. When the electronic carts that they have to help disabled people in the stores started looking really good every time I passed them, I knew something had to change.

I realized that I couldn’t keep doing the same thing I was doing and expect different results. I knew I had to drastically change what I was doing to drastically change my body. I had seen commercials for weight loss products on television (which I’m ashamed to say became my favorite pastime) and had been thinking about Nutrisystem. After much thought, I decided it was the best option for me. Microwave and eat sounded really good to me. I started the program on February 16, 2008.

When I signed up, I didn’t expect to be on the program forever. I also didn’t start with the idea that once I reached my goal weight I would go back to living like I did before - eating what I did before and little or no exercise. To lose the weight and keep it off, I had to learn a new way of life.

The other day I tried on a size 2 – that’s right, that’s not a typo – a size 2 – pair of pants and they fit me! I never dared to dream I’d ever wear this size. I now weigh 124.4 lbs and my BMI is a healthy 24.35. On future posts I will share my milestones and what I did. It will be kind of reverse blogging because, well, I wasn't keeping a blog at the time. Darn it!