Hi everyone. I am going to start this journal in hopes it will keep me motivated and maybe help someone or have someone be able to relate.
My personal stats: 35 years old..happily married...2 kids...hairstylist...love to walk and bike ride, and golf if I can find the time to get out there this year! I'm a former high school jock...way back when I was in high school. So, me being fat would freak so many people out as I was abnormally athletic for a girl. I can't participate in so many sports that I love because my feet are finicky from the weight, standing doing hair all these years and old injuries. But..I love to play sand volleyball if I can because it's gentler. Basketball and softball are in the past for me, unfortunately due to the feet. Maybe they'll be ok when I get all the weight off, we'll see.
It all started in January when I just woke up one morning and said to myself..."I'm going on a "diet". But then I changed my mind...I didn't like the idea of "dieting"..it sounded smothering...painful...neglectful, frusterating and like an anti-success word, you know?. I decided I was going to change the way I lived. I wanted to feel better. About myself, about my body, about decisions I was making. I needed to take control, long term..forever. Even if weight came off slowly, I would feel better, and that's what matters. Well, the weight came off fairly fast-ish at first. And has slowed now, but I can see changes in my body. I have calf muscles again! Yay! And I know I will have to make changes to my workout routine soon..aka..adding weights training.
Between January and now, I've gone down 36.5 lbs. I was nearly in a size 30/32 but wearing a 26/28 majorally. I now wear a 20/22 pant, 22/24 shirt. I'm proud of that but I'm also proud of myself becuase I also quit smoking!!! Dieting and quitting smoking is like mixing oil and water and hoping for a great mixture..but I beat the odds and managed to do both.
I've plateaued this month, but my body is changing, just not the scale. So, it's all good...and besides..it's what my body says and looks like that matters.
My body isn't nearly what I want it to look like, but I feel amazing. I feel more powerful mentally for accomplishing this..and my lungs are definitely thanking me for quitting smoking. LOL I can breathe and smell and taste perfectly again! Yay! The energy is off the scale. I walked six miles yesterday and still managed to clean the house and do 5 loads of laundry, cook supper, tons of stuff. Had I walked six miles before my lifestyle change, I would have not only collapsed half way, but would have had no energy to do anything else. I can walk miles after putting a 9 hour day on my feet doing hair all day, and can bike ride 16 miles now! It's all pretty amazing.
Oh...two words... AB LOUNGE. What an amazing invention. I can't do crunches laying on the floor without being put into traction, so this device is the perfect thing to be able to get an ab workout. I highly recommend it. Just a little plug for my favorite workout device.
My only concern is I'm having a hysterectomy beginning of July and am very concerned about that. I won't be able to exercise and won't be able to do much of anything to burn calories, all I'll be doing is sitting around and eating. I have to be very careful that whole month. Lots of veggies, very few carbs for sure!
Well, anyway...that's the low down on my new lifestyle in a nutshell. I like to gab...what hairstylist doesn't?! So, feel free to drop me a line any time!!! :)

Hi Deidra! Welcome to diettalk! Sounds like you are off to a really good start with the weight you've lost and your attitude about losing and getting healthy. There are so many people here that will support and encourage you!

Monica said she's seen you in the chat room earlier, but she got booted off.... we were hoping you'd come back. There is a Monday 12 noon est chat if you can make it. It's great to make some goals and then report how we did... Monica always has recipes, too. (she's the leader of the Monday chat)

Take care and have a great week! Hope to see you around the boards a lot!

Welcome to your new journal, to diettalk. This is a great place for support. Also, great job on losing all that weight so far.

Where in wisconsin are you. I love to walk and ride my bike also. I am in oak creek.

I'm in Fond du Lac. Nice to hear from a fellow Wisconsinite! Thanks to all for your encouragement. I'm really glad I found this site!

Your welcome. You are pretty close. Not super close but close. This is a great site and as you can see I have been here for years.

I had a great morning. I haven't seen my parents for a week or so and they were just amazed at how I look. They couldn't believe the change that has taken place already. I'm not bragging...it just feels good to have someone notice! My husband doesn't say much. He doesn't care either way. In fact, I think he kinda likes me fat so other guys don't look at me! LOL Men. I walked five miles last night. Good walk. Feels so good to be able to move!! I went to a breakfast thing for my daughter in celebration of their final day at elementary school (she'll be going to junior high next year)...and they said they would be having eggs, sausage, donuts, etc. I was like, oh dear Lord..help me be strong. But it ended up being like Brown and Serve sausage, which I hate. The eggs were ok, but just took a small helping. And the donuts were those little round powdered sugar type...not the good from bakery types! And they had apples and oranges. I was so relieved! My big challenge will be Saturday when we go out to dinner with friends at our favorite supper club. I almost hate to go out as the temptation to have lots of beer, a big fat steak, baked potato with extra sour cream is so tempting. But..I hope to be strong and have bacardi and diet coke, the poor man's with steamed veggies and no dessert! I know life is too short to not indulge once and a while, but dangit...I work hard all week and I don't want to blow it all in one night! Honestly how well I behave depends on how much bacardi and diet coke I have...the more I drink the less strong I am! Ugh! Well, wish me luck but I'm sure I'll be back for an entry before then.

I usually dont worry about school functions, they usually dont have the good stuff. lol. Congrats on your parents noticing, that is awesome. My hubby doesnt say much either. But as long as I notice thats all I care about.

Deidra you are doing great just watch those drinks and have a great time. Just remember you are doing this for you it is nice to have ppl notice but what matters is you noticing. Keep up the great work.

Hi Deirdra!! :welcome:

You deserve MAJOR kudos for losing 36.5 pounds AND quitting smoking!!!! :cheer: That's awesome, and what a lovely gift to yourself as well as your family (even though your hubby loves you at any size - he sounds like a real sweetie).

I've looked at those ab loungers and wondered if they were any good. Unfortunately, I've never found a demo I could try. My back does get tender sometimes while doing floor work so perhaps I'll invest in one... I hope that your feet begin to feel a lot better as you progress through your new health journey. Sand volleyball sounds fun! Good luck with your Saturday dinner, but even if you end up having more than the veggies and no dessert, it's what you're doing over the long term that matters, not one meal, so you're already a champ in my eyes. Hang in there!

Thanks so much for the encouragement! And thanks for reminding me it's not just one meal, it's over the long term. Thanks, Audrey for reminding me that I'm doing it for me and not for other people noticing. You're absolutely right and I lost focus of that. Thanks for getting me back on track there! Off to work! TTFN

Hi Deidra and Welcome to DT!! As you can see you'll get lots of support here. Congratulations on the weight you have lost already! Thats a major accomplishment. I've been wanting an ab lounger. Just haven't gotten one yet. I wanted to hear testimonials lol. So you just gave me one. Good luck to you on your journey and all the goals you set for yourself.

LMJ

Deidra, you are doing SO well!! Walking 5 miles is just awesome!! And I'm really happy for you that someone noticed you were losing weight.... that is such a boost. No one has noticed for me, so I'll be so happy when they do!

Someone made a suggestion to me a long time ago about eating out. While you are ordering your food, tell your waitress that you need a to go box right away. So when you get your meal, you automatically put at least 1/2 in the togo box and let it sit. (sometimes 2/3's since the meals at restaurants are so big sometimes). Then you can eat EVERYTHING on your plate and not worry. Plus you'll be getting more for your money because you'll get 2 or 3 meals out of it. It really works for me. Funny how we can trick our minds into feeling full with just 1/2 of what is usually on our plates.

Take care and have a great weekend! You're doing a fantastic job!!

Hi, Deidra, nice to meet you.

You have done wonderfully in the past with your changes to your lifestyle. Congratulations. The weightloss will be a little slower in the future, the closer you get to your goal weight, the slower the lbs. come off. Just don't let that discourage you.

As for your surgery, you will be very thankful that you have lost so much weight. It certainly will cut down on the recovery time. I had abdominal surgery shortly after I had lost a bunch of weight, and I was very glad that I was much thinner.

So just keep on keeping on, post often, and you will find that lots of us here at DT will be cheering you on.

LOL you guys are so great. The idea with the to go box at restaurants is genius! I would have never thought of that in a million years. I'm definitely going to do that..especially if I order something a little more indulgent!
My mom keeps encouraging me to lose as much as possible before the surgery, too. She knows the importance of it also, and so having someone else say the same thing really makes it sink in more. You guys are a great support system. Any tips and tricks, advice (like the to go box)..is greatly appreciated.

I found this via an email someone sent me. Check out this cool inspirational message! Click below:

http://i.euniverse.com/funpages/cms_content/2529/4candles.swf

Well, I managed to do fine eating out last night. Bacardi and diet coke for drinks and then baked poor mans with rice almondine for supper, very little else. So, that's good. Ate out for breakfast too but I kept it simple. We did a ton of activities so I'm exhausted and frankly don't have the energy to type. We had a local festival and did a lot there. My daughter took the championship with her soccer team in a tournament at the festival, so that's good!!! TTFN

That is great. Work at it slowly. It does help.

I was thrilled this morning that the scale said 260!! I wasn't expecting that at all! I just hope it says it a couple more times this week so I can believe it!
Here's an interesting thing that happened to us tonight..... The kids and I went for a bike ride tonight on a local trail and toward the end of one trail that meets with another, this kid, I wold guess around 16 or 17 years old is walking. Now, I could tell from a distance already that he had on jeans, clunky shoes, a t-shirt and walking at a very leisurely pace....nothing that would indicate he was out for a nice workout, or any true form of exercise. As we got closer, I noticed he was smoking. A little closer, I noticed he was holding the "cigarette" funny. Closer still, I could smell the smoke. Closer...smelled like a cigar, not a cigarette. Past him....it clicked...oh.....that's not a legal form of smoking material. LOL. Ugh. You just never know what you're going to come across on these trails! Good reason for carrying your cell phone, and a good reminder to pick up some pepper spray! You never know what or who you're going to come across.

I've tried to up my calories some, but so far no luck. I have my surgery July 5th, so I'm hoping to lose at least a couple more pounds before then! It's been challenging trying to make sure to get enough calories, but not too many. I'm getting a tad frusterated...but...I will stay .

Hello! You do alot of exercise which is wonderful. Great job on the weight lost and the quitting smoking. You can get lots of wonderful tips on here. I always find tips and advice on things i never would have thought of.
Yea where i live we come across alot of strange people. Cell phones are good to have and to pay attention to your surroundings to whose lurking around.
Nice meeting you.

Well, I haven't entered anything for a few weeks because of the surgery. Which went very, very well..and I"m pretty recovered..just get tired easy and my stomach muscles are weak, which is to be expected and will be for a while yet.
I wasn't terribly careful what I was eating while recuperating..which I figured would happen. I started out really good in the hospital...full menu of healthy things..it was great! But...after I got home..it got difficult. Way too much time on my hands and nothing else to enjoy, so I turned to food. It was...convenient..not eating healthy. I didn't have to worry about what food was on the menu at the restaurant and I didn't have to cook a separate meal just for me at supper. But I did feel yucky doing it..not from guilt so much..but a little of that too, but more physically from just eating such unhealthy food. I could honestly definitely feel the difference. So, I got back on the wagon yesterday thank God. I just feel so much better about eating right and exercising. One good thing about not watching what I was eating and now getting back to a healthy lifestyle...it did re-confirm the fact that food doesn't make life better, easier, sweeter or anything. I guess my point is...food doesn't do anything for my mental state, really. I do enjoy eating..but not like I used to. Guess I've evolved a little personally that I don't need the food to deal with life in general. I don't think I realized how much of a cruch food was to me before making the lifestyle improvements. What I found out, in fact, is that I actually like the control of eating healthy...the taking control end of it.....almost the structure of it, if you will. I've been kind of enjoying saying no to me. I guess I had/have gotten to the point of..."enogh's enough". So,..it's all good.
I'm not supposed to be doing much except walking, what with the surgery only being 4 weeks ago. I'm supposed to be off work for 6 weeks and am only supposed to lift nothing more than gallon of milk, but oh well.....I have laundry to do and money to make, bills to pay...so..back to work I went yesterday. Just 4 hour a day these few days and then next week move up to 5 or 6. Ease into it..then back to regular hours the week after.
Well, off to the water park with the girls. I do like working just 9 to 1...can have fun yet in the afternoon..... But it's only for a short time the next week and a half, then back to longer hours. Bummer!! :) Cheers!

I can't believe how much time has gone by since my last post, but the time sure does fly! I've come a long way the last couple months..down to about 243! 60 pounds off total! I'm fitting into 18/20 tops, 18 pants for the most part. Which is a HUGE big deal for me. I'm very happy with how far I've come, but definitely have a ways to go to get where I want to be in order to say I've reached my goal. I definitely want to hit 203..just to say I lost 100 lbs...if I go beyond that, wonderful, which I wouldn't be surprised if I did, since this is definitely a lifestyle change for me. For life, God willing. I've done enough research and read enough information from various platforms to know now the degree to which what I used to eat is appallingly bad for your body, and can't imagine going back to that lifestyle knowing what I now know. The burgers, the fries, the pizza, the ice cream, cheese curds, endless peanut butter, buttered popcorn....the list goes on. Not to mention the cigarettes! Ugh! What was I thinking or doing to myself!! A reasonably intelligent human being doing the most stupid things!
My husband and two girls eat too much ice cream..I tend to give into them wayyyyyy too easily and make ice cream trips and get them ice cream and me water. How I have the strength, I don't know..my husband is perplexed at my "No, thank you" ability these days. Anyway, my 6 year old last night, who is fairly chubby was begging for ice cream...just flipping out about it. I was firm. I made it clear...no ice cream. So, the compromise was this...strawberris with yogurt over the top, sprinkled with a small amount of her "magic stars" cereal..(which are like lucky charms). A sort of fruit and yogourt parfait. She gobbled that right up and it was so wonderful, absolutely tear-forming wonderful to see her actually enjoying something healthy, really really enjoying it. When I brought out that little 1/3 cup of magic stars cereal, you'd think I was drizzling chocolate sauce over the top of frozen custard for her. It's just time to take control and time to show the love in a way that's good for their body instead of good for their eating impulses. What kind of a food role model have I been?! They see me eating healthy, but it's time they do the same.
I also discovered how exercise is catching. I did my interval treadmill thing and so the girls decided to do some exercise and moved the furniture aside and did a bunch of fun stuff..leap frog stuff...duck walks, dancing moves. Just fun stuff. They were moving! This is not the first night they've done that stuff..but it does need to happen more often.
Anyway...that's what's up.

Well, another milestone. I jogged a mile on the treadmill last night. Huge big deal for me. I found my new favorite lunch. Pita with turkey breast and bruschetta. To die for!! Festival foods that just opened up in town makes the best bruschetta. Anyway...doing well. One day at a time!!! The scale isn't moving but my body continues to change. I recently started another new jump rope thing called "Jump Snap". Intense. Also, using the bands with my ab lounge. I hadn't been using the ab lounge, so started that lately as when I play volleyball, my back kills during and after and I know it's from my weak abs. Time to get going on those. My volleyball team I put together is undefeated so far...and we play with only 4 women..against 6! Nice to be back in the sand. I was raised hard court, but hey....my body can't take hard court dives and stress like it used to! It takes me 3 to 4 days to recover from one night of volleyball!! LOL But..it's well worth it. Enough for now.

Good Morning Deidra,

:welcome: to Diettalk and to ACHIEVING YOUR WEIGHT LOSS GOALS ...

If I can ever be of any assistance, PLEASE LET ME KNOW ... remember this isn't about DIETING it's about achieving a HEALTHIER LIFESTYLE ... again WELCOME TO DIETTALK. Always, Monica

Ugh. I'm trying to get back on track here. For some reason, I've gone back to some bad habits and started eating too much again. I'm blaming it on the time of year..it's dark out early, hard to get motivated and easy to eat comfort foods. But...it was so easy for so long to push myself away from the table, ignore dessert, eat only what I should and go do my workouts. But..it's been really hard. I've got to get back on the bandwagon and stop this nonsense or I'll regain it all. I've gained 6 lbs. since Thanksgiving. Not cool....really disappointed in me but can't seem to stop eating once I start....at night..not during the day. I'm fine during the day. Ugh!!!!

Hi deidra! Sorry to hear you've gained... we should start a club. Uh, oh wait a minute... we're IN a club! LOL I've gained, too, but am planning a strategy to help me get on the straight and narrow after the first of the year. Although, I'm going to try not to let the holidays be an excuse to gorge myself either. That's what I've been doing lately for sure! TOO much over everything and a bunch of junk I should not have no matter WHAT the season! lol

Take care and just keep trying.... you'll get there! We all will!

Thanks for the support DJ! I did good yesterday and so far so good today, but it's only 10:00 a.m.!! LOL One minute at a time! But...I do feel more empowered again, it's all mindset..just gotta stay focused. I sure do feel better when I don't eat as much/eat healthier. That keeps me going, too. My husband went and got everyone ice cream last night. For me, too..but I didn't eat it. That wasn't easy! Big honking "fudge boat" as it's called sitting in the freezer today. Ugh. I wish he wouldn't do that. I think he wants me to stay fat or something!! I really do. That actually encourages me to keep it up for some reason. If he feels threatened somehow when I'm thinner, that's a good thing..makes him appreciate me more!! :) Then again, maybe he takes some kind of pleasure in tempting me and making me miserable...which is kinda scarey then if that's what it is!! He's a freak maybe! LOL

Well, again back on track. Ugh. Lazy this time of year! I need summer back! I miss my long walks outside! I have no motivation in this cold weather and the treadmill is not very appealing. I feel like the stay-puffed marshmallow man after eating so much over the holidays. The holidays are over and I still ate too much at supper last night (but I did make the most wonderful meatloaf! LOL) Well, I have got to get focused. I felt so much better when I was doing good. People I haven't seen for a long time that I saw over the holidays complimented me, so I haven't done any damage..yet. But, I have got to get this under control and back on track or I will gain too much back. Ugh!!

I feel like I'm entering the same thing over and over again..it's been a while...but..back on track again. As of today. I've been on and off again with healthy eating. I go a couple days doing great and then bomb..good a couple days and then bomb. Well, enough of that. It's time to get serious. I have to go back to the discipline I had last year. I have some motivation again...a couple trips, etc. So, that will help. Not to mention, I miss how super great I felt last year. So...here we go again! I have to learn to eat less at meal times, and snack healthy. I have been waiting to eat until meal time and then I'm ravenous, so eat a ton at one time. Last year, I just ate 3 small meals and snacked healthy between and it worked..so back to it. God give me strength!

Today I am going to tour a Snap Fitness and see if it's the place for me to work out over the fall/winter months. I just hope I can find a time that it's not too busy that works with my schedule..I hate working out in a packed gym.
I'm just stuck at the same weight, around the 240 mark, give or take a lb or two any given day. I've been doing the same exercises, even more intensely and eating right, so I think I need to kick it up a notch and lift some weights, gain some muscle and rev up the metabolism to see some more results.
Had a wonderful food day yesterday...I put on a party and so had a bunch of cake, which was a nice treat. LOL Have to splurge once and a while. I made 4 cakes, I'll be darned if I wasn't going to sample each one! Ha! I made potato salad too, and it's calling my name right now. I will resist and let the rest of the fam gobble it up. Ugh!

Hi Deidra,
Just popping by your journal to say hi. I can sympathize with the packed-gym aversion. Personally I try to figure out when the lowest traffic is and then rearrange my own schedule so I can fit the gym in then. I can tell you that at most gyms, 10am - 3pm is the quiet time of day.

I hope you do get into weights, you might end up like me and completely fall in love with weightlifting! I can't live without it now, it's the best part of my day!! :) A gym membership is a wonderful gift to give yourself. I hope it works out for you!

have a great day!
Nausicaa