It. Is. Time.

[Heather.Mohler]

I am beginning my journey in a completely different manner than before. I am living in my own place, alone for the first time. Normally that would mean loneliness and emotional eating. But I have decided to see this as an opportunity I have never had before. I control what food comes in to this apartment. I control what I do every moment of the day. I have a fenced in apartment complex with sidewalks that can be seen as a walking path. I have exercise dvds and an empty apartment with no one to watch me make a fool of my self. I have no excuses.

So for the first time ever I am doing this for myself, by myself. I have true accountability.

I recently went to WDW with my Mom and sister, and felt wiped and uncomfortable almost the entire time. I left the parks early most days and often chose to skip certain rides because I didn't want to hike to the other side of the park. I never thought that would be true, but it was. So I have promised myself that I will be lighter and more energetic by our next trip in October 2014. I owe it to myself and my family. If I lose 1 - 2 pounds per week on average, by the trip I could lose 49 - 98 pounds!!! That is an amazing motivation!

I can and will do this. But I will need your prayers and pixie dust.

Here goes!

God bless,
Heather

 

[Belle61513]

Good for you! I was able to loose 30 lbs this year with WW Online (I do online and the iphone app, no meetings) and hope to continue my weight-loss journey to loose another 25-30 in 2014. One of the biggest things I learned in the process is that it's not like a switch and it's damn near impossible to do it without some kind of system (why WW Online tracking was so successful for me). Slow and steady wins the race...don't diet or exercise...change your relationship with food and your health and the results will be long lasting. Good luck--you can do it!!

 

[PrincessJo]

Good luck to you!!!

 

[Heather.Mohler]

Thanks for the support! It means a lot.

God bless,
Heather

 

[Heather.Mohler]

So Thanksgiving didn't go so well. I ate till I was in pain, then ate some more. Seriously. I guess having moved 3 hours away from home made me a bit homesick for my dad's cooking. The day after Thanksgiving I ate 3/4 of his Broccoli casserole by myself. Lots of cheese and mushroom soup and mayonnaise. Not exactly healthy. But at least I got my veggies...

So, back on Weight Watchers today. The good news is I have NO wish to over eat anymore. I have ordered a scale since I can't drive to meetings to weigh in until I get a new engine in my car. It will be here Monday, so I'll know then where I stand. I'm actually looking forward to it.

 

[Rose&Mike]

Hi Heather. Sending you a big hug and good thoughts. I am proud of you for trying to do things differently this time. I too have been there so many times and find myself with 20+ extra pounds yet again that need to come off.

So fwiw, here are my thoughts and what I have found I must do in order to make this work. One-plan. Plan, plan, plan. If I plan my meals I eat better and I don't over eat as much. Plan breakfast, lunch and dinner. Plan snacks. The only way to break bad habits is to plan. Two--figure out something to do to replace the binge eating. I know, easier said than done right. But eating out of boredom, eating to squash emotions, etc is my road to disaster--and a road I keep going down over and over and over. And three--exercise. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. Mike and I have been talking about this a lot over the last week. When we felt the healthiest. What we were doing and what we weren't doing. And the reality is that when I was doing well I was working out every day.

I hope you don't mind me giving out this unsolicited advice. I really, really, really want you to succeed. You seem like a great person and I wish you success. I don't want to see you fight this for decades, like I have.

I KNOW you can do this. You just have to believe in yourself.

 

[Heather.Mohler]

Rose, thank you SO MUCH!!! Don't every worry about offering advice - it always appreciated! I have gotten into planning, and I am trying to exercise at least 5 days a week in some form. The big problem for me so far has been eating out of boredom or not talking myself out of that quick stop through the drive thru when I'm home during this Christmas break. It's much easier to stay on track when I'm at grad school because I don't have a (working) car so I can't go out to eat. But I'm trying!

Thanks again for the support - it means a lot!
Heather

 

[goofeygirl]

It is hard to change...anytime of the year not just this time. My cousin was nearly 300 lbs for the better of 20 years. She was content on eating a whole pie to herself and sitting down most of the time. She scuffed at the idea of exercise.

Something clicked in her almost two years ago. For the first time in her life she saw herself for what she was...out of shape, tired, sick and unable to do things with her growing children. Her young kids were now older teenagers, living their lives and she realized what she was doing to her life...aside of work...nothing much.

She went on this exercise and eating program from her doctor. In nearly two years she has been very loyal to it...partaking in road races for the first time in her whole life and enjoying life. She is able to do things she thought she couldn't do..she isn't sick all the time and now realizing her biggest problem in her past was herself. She realized what this extra weight took away from her...Now she feels free and she is commited to her lifechange.

She is an inspiration for people who want to change...and so before you think of putting that cake or bad food in your mouth put that image in your head of what you want for yourself. You want to be able to enjoy Disney world next fall and enjoy life in general.

Falling back is something everyone does but don't let it discourage you. Don't use the holidays as an excuse to eat more of the same...Don't buy junk food that you know you will eat if you see it. I don't buy cookies because I will eat them all.

I put wheat germ on a lot of food...salad...yogurt...its filling and healthy and doesn't add anything taste to it to make it taste bad or better.

One day at a time and believe in yourself. Your health is your wealth. No amount of money in the world can buy a healthy body and without a healthy body...everything else doesn't matter.

 

[Heather.Mohler]

Thank you Goofeygirl! I do have a problem with buying food that I shouldn't have. I'll have a little bit, realize I shouldn't have it and want to throw it away, but I can't make myself waste the money even though I know it is better to throw away money than my health. But I have started making lists for when I shop and stick to it, and not having a car when I'm at school keeps me from going to get the things I didn't get when I stuck to the list.

I go home tomorrow till January, which is only 2 weeks. I think I can manage to eat decently while there because I really enjoy things like salads and hummus and the like. The problem is that my family keeps chips and cookies and cake in the house. I don't even like sweets all that much, but I eat them when I get bored because they are there. The idea of keeping an image of what I am working towards in my head when I go to eat is a tool I plan to use while home. My health absolutely terrifies me (not so much anything going on now, but the threat of what is to come if I don't change) and I have to let that push me to do the right things.

If I don't post again before then, everyone have a Merry Christmas, or whatever other event you celebrate, and a wonderful start to 2014!

 

[Heather.Mohler]

I have stumbled on a new eating plan. Well, it's new to me. I was watching Dr. Phil (don't laugh!) and saw him talking to Dr. Travis Stork about his new book, The Doctor's Diet. It sounded like something to at least check into, so I bought the eBook. The first chapter is talking about dealing with one of my biggest fears in life - the emergency room. He is an ER doctor and deals with food-related emergencies constantly. It was exactly what I needed to hear - this is a plan that will keep me out of that emergency room. It hit me where I live, you know?

It is all about eating the right portions of foods that you need. The first two weeks are called the STAT Plan: choose from a list of proteins for breakfast, another list for lunch and dinner, and one for snacks. Choose from the small list of fruits available for breakfast and the snack. Eat one healthy oil, one whole grain, and one high density vegetable per day. And eat all of the vegetables (including a recipe for vegetable soup found in the book) you want. The next two weeks goes to the Restore Plan, where you add more options for fruits and grains, more servings of grains and fats. And you go back and forth between the STAT and Restore Plans every two weeks until you reach your goal, when you switch to the Maintain Plan.

This sounds like a commercial, but I'm pretty obsessed with it right now. Mostly because it has worked for me. I have been on it for one week today (with two cheats, but I'm still learning...) and I have lost 9 POUNDS! I'm so excited! I know that will slow down very quickly, but I know that I am eating the right foods for the first time in my life. I'm cooking every day and I do not go more than a few hours without having a vegetable. I feel better and have found a passion for cooking.

The biggest adjustment I have had to make is to not order pizza. As I have mentioned before, I live in student housing and don't have a car, so if I run out of groceries or just don't feel like cooking that night I would order a pizza and eat two or three meals off of that. Now, I don't have that option. And I do REALLY miss the cheesy goodness. But there is a recipe in the book for Meatza Pizza that uses ground turkey or beef for the crust instead of carbs, topped with tomato sauce, veggies and mozzarella. And it tastes GREAT but it's not Dominos. So I'm not entirely satisfied, but I am happy and seeing results. The other adjustment is not to add a bunch of salt to everything, but I'm getting into using seasonings that I had never used before.

I have one more week of the STAT Plan before I get to add in more fruit choices, which I really look forward to, but before my two weeks are up I have a pretty big obstacle. I leave this Friday for Orlando. Our flute choir won a performance spot in the Florida Flute Convention. We'll be stopping on the way down to get supper. Eating at fast food places, it's not easy to get the right foods without oils and salt, etc. Saturday night we are going to Raglan Road and I found a few salads that sound fantastic, so I'm not too worried about that, but the rest of the meals are a bit worrisome. But even if I screw up royally while I'm gone I know that I am capable of doing this and have a way to lose this weight. I can hop right back on the wagon and continue on my way to success!

Here is to staying out of the emergency room!