Slow & Steady Wins the Race - My Journey to Lose 101 Pounds (Comments Welcome!)

[Nanabug02]

"Never, never, never give up." ~Winston Churchill~

Starting Weight: 300
Current Weight: 280
Beginning Goal Weight: 199

Hi and welcome to my WISH journal! My name is Nan and I am in the midst of a long journey to lose over 100 pounds. I am currently working towards a loss of 101 pounds, which would get me into Onderland. Eventually, I would like to get to the 150's, but that is too much for me to think about right now.

I started at 300 pounds in September 2012. I have since lost 20 pounds by incorporating exercise and limiting my fast food and soda habit. However, the weight loss has stalled out the last couple of months, mainly because I am struggling a lot with the emotional aspects of eating and my lifelong weight problem. Here is bit of my backstory.

I am 33 years old, happily married, with no children. I have struggled with my weight since puberty. A little over 2 years ago, I was finally diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) & Hypothyroidism, which explained numerous health issues I was having, including infertility and difficulty losing weight. I have been told by numerous doctors that I won't be able to lose weight without following Atkins, or having weight loss surgery. I do not personally agree with either of those options, so I've been struggling & steadily gaining weight over the last several years.

In August of last year, during some routine blood work, my doctor discovered I have a condition called Factor V Leiden, which is a genetic mutation blood clotting disorder. It is now ABSOLUTELY VITAL that I get my weight under control and live a healthier lifestyle. Since then, I have made some positive changes and was seeing progress. But in order to get further with the weight loss, I have to get my emotional eating under control.

So, I'm planning on using this WISH journal as a way to keep track of my progress, and vent out emotional/stressful feelings instead of using food. I have a very stressful job, and I need to learn how to take care of myself and be healthy even when things are beating me down.

Any-who, I appreciate any and all support from my DISfriends! Changing my life is going to take time, but I want this more than anything. I want to have a strong & healthy body to enjoy my life to the fullest!

 

[NightAngelX]

I am subscribing and here to cheer you on!!!

We have a lot in common right down to one dog and two cats!

I am so sorry to hear about all your health issues. Before I lost weight my bloodwork showed I might have been PCOS but then follow up tests showed I did not and when they retested my bloodwork (after losing some weight) it all showed normal. I don't think losing weight cured it since they never found cysts on my ovaries but just saying if all they have done is bloodwork that bloodwork could just be a result of being overweight. There is a great site/forum out there called Soul Cysters if you haven't found it already.

I think with the help of the DISboards and journaling you can do anything! I am a big believer in social support for weight loss but I'm quiet in real life so its easier for me to find support online. Are you tracking food anywhere? I really like fatsecret for an online food tracker. It's app even has a scanner. I love that. I am also a member of sparkpeople but I am not very active over there anymore, but I do track my weight there and check in on 'friends' there.

Also I am not sure if this would affect your health conditions or not but DH is on phentermine to control his appetite. His doctors told him to just 'do weight loss surgery' too but he wouldn't do it. First time around he did Atkins (actually AGAINST doctor's orders) but it wasn't a lifestyle change for him and he went back to eating 'normal' and gained almost half the weight back (over the course of a year so I don't think that's too bad). Anyway his biggest issue now is just his appetite. ONE serving of anything didn't fill him up. Now on phentermine 1 or 2 servings is plenty. For dinner he usually still has 2 servings but that's still better than before when he'd have 4. So he is losing weight simply by eating less. We eat out once a week tops and usually more like every other week if that. So that helps both of us.

Okay I best get to work. I hope you have a wonderful day!

Good luck on your journey to Onderland! I am rooting for you!

 

[wiigirl]

Just wanted to wish you luck and cheer you on.

 

[Nanabug02]

"The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing." ~Walt Disney~

Starting Weight: 300
Current Weight: 278.8
Beginning Goal Weight: 199

Hi!

Just did my weekly Saturday morning weigh-in and I'm down 1.2 pounds! I'm excited to keep chugging along!

In other good news, my kitchen has been under remodeling construction for the last 5 weeks, and the contractors are here right now to finally finish the job. I am going to be sooooo happy to have my kitchen all fixed up and back in order. All that is left is to do the tile backsplash, but that won't be a big deal. We have been eating really simple meals and eating out way more than we should because most of my kitchen stuff has been in boxes. Can't wait to go back to cooking regular meals again! Once the backsplash is done, I'll post before & after pics.

On the topic of eating out too much, I have decided that as of today, April 20th, I am going to commit to myself to eliminate ALL drive-thru fast food AND all real soda from my life.

My "rules" are going to be that I can only eat at a fast food restaurant if I actually go into the restaurant and sit down. (in instances where I can't get around eating there, which I don't expect to happen too often). I have a real problem with fast food, mainly because zipping through the drive-thru is easy, cheap & most of all anonymous. I just need to get rid of the drive-thru fast food habit all together. There is no reason I should be eating fast food.

My "rules" for no real soda are that I can only have it when I am on vacation. A REAL vacation (which is usually once or twice a year), not just "hey, I'm off work and sitting around the house" vacation. Instead, I am just going to drink water, lemon water, unsweet tea, crystal light, and the occasional diet soda.

This may seem silly to some people, but I know this is what I need to do for myself. And the "rules" help me because (1) I am a good rule follower, I like structure and, (2) It helps me to think that I CAN have these things, but not very often & in a controlled manner.

My goals for this week are to get back to cooking, and begin my new lifestyle commitment of "no drive-thrus and no real soda". I also want to work out at least 4 times this week.

Well, that is all I have for now. Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!

 

[Nanabug02]

I am subscribing and here to cheer you on!!!

We have a lot in common right down to one dog and two cats!

I am so sorry to hear about all your health issues. Before I lost weight my bloodwork showed I might have been PCOS but then follow up tests showed I did not and when they retested my bloodwork (after losing some weight) it all showed normal. I don't think losing weight cured it since they never found cysts on my ovaries but just saying if all they have done is bloodwork that bloodwork could just be a result of being overweight. There is a great site/forum out there called Soul Cysters if you haven't found it already.

I think with the help of the DISboards and journaling you can do anything! I am a big believer in social support for weight loss but I'm quiet in real life so its easier for me to find support online. Are you tracking food anywhere? I really like fatsecret for an online food tracker. It's app even has a scanner. I love that. I am also a member of sparkpeople but I am not very active over there anymore, but I do track my weight there and check in on 'friends' there.

Also I am not sure if this would affect your health conditions or not but DH is on phentermine to control his appetite. His doctors told him to just 'do weight loss surgery' too but he wouldn't do it. First time around he did Atkins (actually AGAINST doctor's orders) but it wasn't a lifestyle change for him and he went back to eating 'normal' and gained almost half the weight back (over the course of a year so I don't think that's too bad). Anyway his biggest issue now is just his appetite. ONE serving of anything didn't fill him up. Now on phentermine 1 or 2 servings is plenty. For dinner he usually still has 2 servings but that's still better than before when he'd have 4. So he is losing weight simply by eating less. We eat out once a week tops and usually more like every other week if that. So that helps both of us.

Okay I best get to work. I hope you have a wonderful day!

Good luck on your journey to Onderland! I am rooting for you!

Hi!! Thanks for subscribing! I need all the support I can get!

Well, I definitely have PCOS..... I saw an Endocrinologist for a few years and now have my bloodwork monitored by my regular doctor. Any-who, I know that I can lose this weight and get healthier regardless of my health issues. It just takes dedication, consistency & faith. And TIME!

I'm a SparkPeople member and try to log my calories/food/weight there. I just wanted to use this WISH journal as my weekly blog. I feel so at home on the DISboards! Y'all are my people!!!

 

[Nanabug02]

Just wanted to wish you luck and cheer you on.

Thank you! Stop by any time!

 

[momof2minnies]

Hi Nan,
I am here to cheer you on too. Have you ever heard of Tosca Reno? I had not and my friend gave me her books-I cannot put them down and they have motivated me when I was doing nothing about the weight I gained.

I would say if you read these books you would have a totally different view on things.It is about clean eating and it all just MAKES SENSE!


Please take a look at these they will help you.

Linda

 

[NightAngelX]

Woohoo! Congrats on your 1.2 lb loss! Slow and steady definitely wins the race. My goal is 1 lb per week.

Yay about your kitchen! Sounds like it will be great. I can't wait to see pics. I watch way too much HGTV and dream of someday being able to redo our kitchen too.

Yeah I used to sometimes blog on Spark people but that was years ago. I prefer the DISboards too. I also like that I can ramble on about Disney stuff too and its still 'related'.

Good luck with your goals! It might be hard at first but once you go awhile without fast food you won't miss it. I like rules too. I'm sure you'll do great. Just remember if you slip up just to get right back on track.

Keep up the awesome work!!!

OT: I see you are going to Aluni in a year or so. Any WDW trips on the horizon?

 

[Terapin]

Hi! Congratulations on starting your new journey! I wish you the best!

May I suggest one thing: dump even the diet soda. You can find sodas in health food stores without HFCS for the occasional treat, because diet sodas do not have a zero effect on your bloodsugar - they are as bad as regular soda plus a bunch of harmful chemicals.

I like soda water and some juice for the occasional soda-like drink.

Your new kitchen sounds great - do post photos.

 

[appleorchard]

Hi Nan- I followed your link from the DVC board where you posted a question. I've been struggling forever with weight and have lost 32 pounds since August. This year I've tried several things I never would have considered before, because I was getting desperate, so I'll give you my take on them: I'm an RN and I also co-authored PCOS for Dummies so I know a bit about what you're going through!

Started with hypnosis in August. I weighed 183 and I'm 5-1. I did the virtual gastric bypass thing, where you supposedly think(at a deep level) that you've had the surgery after hypnosis. Did nothing for me; I don't think I'm very suggestible. I did pick up some things from the sessions that helped me eat smaller portions, though.

Tried the B-12 injections. I noticed little if any effect from them. Did Phentermine--something I said I would never do!- for 6 weeks and it did help decrease my appetite. I took only half what the doctor prescribed, any more made me too hyper.

Between one thing and another I'm down to 151. My goal is 140 but I'd love to get to 130--that would get me out of the overweight category. But I'm finally out of obesity! That was a big milestone for me.

What I'm doing now is only eating when my stomach growls and eating just enough to make it stop. This is working really well for me. Never realized how much I ate when I really wasn't hungry!

I do follow a modified Atkins plan. Believe me, it's the best for MANY things-- carbs are a trigger for me and I get hypoglycemic. I'm also VERY sensitive to water weight gain and carbs are the absolute WORST for that. Don't know what your thoughts are against it, but it really does help PCOS and insulin resistance in a big way.

I wish you lots of success in this journey-- it really is a journey, one step at a time and lots of steps backwards. But it's an exciting one-- I'll be following along to see how it's going for you!

 

[lilpooh108]

I also wanted to chime in on protein v carbs. I had gestational diabetes and the only way for me to control my sugars was to cut carbs. Found a delicious way to make meals with pressure cookers by making chicken or rib soup with 2 hours of pressure cooker - cooking. Loaded the cooker veggies and meat and chill overnight. Skim the fat off the soup and I usually added in frozen udon (half serving) or a small portion of brown rice. It was delicious and I did this 4 times a week for dinner. This also helped me lose and keep off the baby weight. I don't eat red meat, so these options made the protein diet possible for me. For ribs I had the butcher cut baby bwck ribs into sections. The meat comes out the cooker falling off thr bone. With carrots it was amazing. Good luck!

BTW I recently started eating steamed kale with tiny bits of bacon. Delicious and the kale is super filling and nutricious.

I had a very stressful job and DVC was my outlet. I would plan vacations to destress. Good luck on your decisions!

 

[Nanabug02]

“Nobody trips over mountains. It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble. Pass all the pebbles in your path and you will find that you have crossed the mountain.” ~Unknown~

Starting Weight: 300
Current Weight: 278
Beginning Goal Weight: 199

Hi! Doing my weekly progress check-in! I'm down 0.8 pounds. Its a loss and step in the right direction, so I'll take it! I did pretty decent this week. I had a few stumbles, but I got back up and kept going. AF showed up this week, which always throws me off a bit. Nothing like cramps and irrational emotions to make you lose focus!

I really like the quote I posted for today. It can be overwhelming for me to think about how much weight I need to lose and how far I still have to go. But I need to remember that this journey really is 1 day at a time, 1 week at a time, 1 pound at a time.

We are just relaxing and staying at home this weekend. Saving some money! I did get a good workout in first thing this morning. Other than that, I have a good book calling my name and a whole Saturday ahead of me!

Nan

 

[Nanabug02]

Hi Nan,
I am here to cheer you on too. Have you ever heard of Tosca Reno? I had not and my friend gave me her books-I cannot put them down and they have motivated me when I was doing nothing about the weight I gained.

I would say if you read these books you would have a totally different view on things.It is about clean eating and it all just MAKES SENSE!


Please take a look at these they will help you.

Linda

Hi Linda! Thanks for stopping by and lending support! I haven't heard of her before, but I'll have to take a look for her books. The more information the better!

 

[Nanabug02]

OT: I see you are going to Aluni in a year or so. Any WDW trips on the horizon?

Unfortunately, no WDW trips coming up for us. We decided to take this year off to do some work on our house. The kitchen remodel we just finished was around 15K. We plan on replacing our fence later on this year & also doing some work in our computer/hobby room. Soooo..... no vacations this year, but next year we get to go back to paradise in Hawaii! We LOVED Aulani and can't wait to get back there next year. My guess is we won't get back to WDW until either Fall 2014 or Summer 2015. We'll see how long I can hold out!

 

[NightAngelX]

Unfortunately, no WDW trips coming up for us. We decided to take this year off to do some work on our house. The kitchen remodel we just finished was around 15K. We plan on replacing our fence later on this year & also doing some work in our computer/hobby room. Soooo..... no vacations this year, but next year we get to go back to paradise in Hawaii! We LOVED Aulani and can't wait to get back there next year. My guess is we won't get back to WDW until either Fall 2014 or Summer 2015. We'll see how long I can hold out!

Sad no WDW trip but yay for new kitchen and Aulani vacation! That sounds awesome!!

I hope to someday go to Hawaii. I watched the DVC video about Aulani before it opened and thought it looked cool but would only want to go there with kids. DH and I aren't big beach people because of our skin but I always imagined if we did go we'd go to one of those adult only ones. What are some advantages to Aulani compared to other resorts down there? Just curious not that we'll be going anytime soon.

How are you doing on your plan? Any news?

 

[DisneyMagicMomma]

Congrats on your weight loss so far! Wanted to pop in and offer some support (and wait for before and after photos of the kitchen!)

 

[Nanabug02]

“The very things that held you down, are gonna carry you up and up and up!” ~Timothy Q. Mouse (Dumbo)

Starting Weight: 300
Current Weight: 273
Beginning Goal Weight: 199

Hi,

Woo-hoooo! Great week! I'm down 5 pounds this week! Total loss is 27 pounds!

I really did great with my workouts this week. I worked out before work several times, which made a big difference for me. Don't get me wrong - it was pure torture getting up at 5:00 a.m. to do a workout, but it was worth it. I took care of what was most important (ME!) first thing of the day, and then it didn't matter what happened at work or how late I had to stay. My workout was already done!

I went walking this morning at the local park. It was beautiful outside and I did 1.25 miles. (one lap around the lake loop) Recently, I heard about this app for your phone called Charity Miles, so I tried that out today. It was pretty cool. The app uses the GPS on your phone to track your miles and then money is donated for how far you walk or run towards a charity. I picked the ASPCA to donate to for my walk today. My 1.25 miles donated enough funds to the ASPCA to vaccinate 3 animals. I thought it was pretty neat to help a charity for walking, which I need to do anyways!

Planning for another consistent & solid week! With such a BIG loss this week, I will be happy with any loss. Definitely making steps in the right direction!

Nan

 

[Nanabug02]

Congrats on your weight loss so far! Wanted to pop in and offer some support (and wait for before and after photos of the kitchen!)

Thank you! Please stop by any time!

The kitchen is almost finished. The backsplash was started this weekend, and will be finished and grouted next weekend. I should have the before and after pictures within the next couple of weeks!

 

[Terapin]

Great work! Congratulations on the weight loss!

 

[115belladonna]

I just saw this thread. I need to lose weight, too, and thought by joining a group I would be more accountable.

I'm about 100 pounds overweight, maybe more. I'm trying to lose jean sizes before my October 2014 cruise with my mom.

I just got off the Magic last month and bought only 1 picture with my husband. I am so disgusted with myself how I allowed myself to get this big. My brother and I have the same waist size now. That is sad. Right now, I wear 20W plus size jeans. My goal is to wear size 4 petite jeans. I know I may not reach that size this October 2014 but I want to at least get into single digit size jeans.

My plan is to decrease my intake of processed foods (chips, candy, cookies, sodas, etc.) eat more fresh fruit and vegetables, eat more seafood, less pork and beef, less fast foods, etc.

Today is my first day of starting this plan. I just did the Jillian Michaels 30 day challenge during my lunch time. It's 20 minutes/day for 30 days. I could barely do it, but I did what I could. I feel better already.