My Personal Weight Loss Journey

So I was at least 309+lbs when I started in June 2009.

My Cholesterol was at 241

My Blood Pressure was always Elevated and borderline meds my entire adult life at 139/90


How did I know I was Ready?

• Uncomfortable

• Got Winded Easily

• I'm very active but I tired out easily, I would have to sit and rest often, I would have to literally take ten-twenty breaks in my day to just lay down and collect myself

• It was awkward and difficult when I was intimate with my husband

• It was actually getting harder to wipe my own butt

• My stomach started to hit the steering wheel in the car and I couldn't move my seat back any further without having to change my driving and how I reach the pedals.

• I would feel disgusted looking in the mirror

• I started to think about mortality and how I was negatively impacting my own health. Now that I was a parent of 3 children I knew I had to take care of my health.


I felt compelled and ready for a life change. I began My journey in June 2009 by looking into a Gastric Lapband. I met with physicians, surgeons, nutritionist, psychologists. I was told to lose 10% of my body weight prior to surgery. To be done by moving more and calorie counting. So I did that. Over the course of 6 months of waiting for surgery and insurance approval I had lost 35lbs. The Great part was my husband took the same journey with me. He started Running and Calorie counting with me. He was going to do this with me. We were going to be a team!

One week before Surgery and lots of convincing (cause for a while I still thought I needed the surgery to keep me going!) I decided to call the Surgeons office and cancel my Lapband!

I then got really ill and was convinced something was wrong with me. There was- I had to have my gallbladder out. But that was pretty uneventful- it happened and I recovered quickly. From June 2009 - January of 2010 I went from 309+lbs down to 26lbs.

I went through my pantry/fridge and transformed how I ate. I learned what clean was,what additives and foods were un-natural and unhealthy. If I was going to transform my body I had to drastically change How I ate. So each week I took one meal/food item and found an alternative healthier way to prepare and cook it!

I also too that six months to learn when/why I ate the way I did. I confronted the emotional demons and the bad habits that led me to eat late at night, emotionally eat and well anything that triggered me to eat. I then taught myself how to change those habits and change the way I viewed my foods. No longer viewing foods as a way to comfort and reason to eat.

I then began my journey to learn to Run so that I could add exercise/fitness into my life. I have that entry in the About Me Section here on the Blog :)

I kept calorie Cutting. I hit plateaus. I learned how to overcome the plateaus and push forward. I have shared those secrets with you here on the blog too!

I created a great support network to help me (which is why I have this place/facebook group/page) is so that you can have a support network too! It's so vital. I had RunnerBoy first and foremost but not Every CCRG is going to have that. Having accountability really does Help! I think it's Vital for Success! Celebrate share, question, vent, discover and observe and grow!

It took me 1 year and 11 months to hit my goal weight of 158 lbs. Why that number? Well it's 5lbs under the "overweight" bmi for my height. I'm 5'8" tall. I thought if I could get there and flux around a few lbs then I would technically be fit and healthy. I was right- I'm very comfortable!

On average I lost 1.75lbs per week during my journey from June 2009 - May 2011

I would eat between 1200-1600 calories and would have off meals and treats along the way.

Being a Lifestyle Calorie Counting was Vital because it taught me portion control. I was able to stop counting calories as I grew very accustomed to knowing exactly how much of something was considered a normal portion size. I had fixed the way I looked at food. I had found moderation and control over my food.

I stopped viewing food as something I had to have to have peace/comfort/enjoyable moments with my food. It was no longer about socializing and treating myself. It's abut fueling my body- enriching my body so that I can have energy and the strength to be active in all my wonderful endeavors in my life.

Calorie Counting is a Tool. Much like other methods of losing weight. This method though is Free. It's easy. Takes just minutes to track each day. You can hand journal and even better there are apps out there that make it so super easy to track calories.

www.SparkPeople.com
www.MyFitnessPal.com

There are so many factors that can affect a persons weight loss beyond calories and perhaps you can choose to look into that more as you get close or at goal weight. They could include eating for your blood type or controlling your intake using a gylcemic index (especially good maybe for those with pcos or diabetes)

I would just rather keep it simple and easy for you. Calorie count healthy, wholesome natural foods and you will add years to your life!


My Blood Pressure is Now Normal at 116/65
My Cholesterol is at 190 with my HDL at 45
My weight went from 309lbs to 158lbs and up a little since I've added lean muscle mass!

My Husband went from high cholesterol and obesity to 265lbs down to 165lbs and has since added 8lbs of MUSCLE to his body is at 173lbs(!!!!) He maintained just one year into his journey and because of CalorieCounting- he learned portion control and has continued his active lifestyle with Running and Lifting Weights.

I want to add that YOU DON'T NEED TO RUN marathons! Ok- I encourage running because it's a great addiction to try to have! But you can become addicted to whatever fitness you want! but I want to fall in Love with something- because it can sustain you- motivate you and encourage you to keep up with being active! The active lifestyle and they healthy eating they really go hand in hand!

Also if you decide to run that also does Not mean you have to ever run 10k's or Half/full Marathons! You can run and truly love 3 miles! You can be just much a runner or athlete as any other runner!