Sharing Blog Posts From My Weight Loss Journey: How To Cope With A Large Weight Loss

I’m sharing old blog post from my weight loss journey when I blogged on another site:

November 18, 2009

How To Cope With A Large Weight Loss

Where do you find the books that explain how you are to cope with a large weight loss? I’ve come to realize that nothing can prepare a person for it. There isn’t anything out there to explain what happens once the weight is gone. There is no guidance on how you start seeing yourself as this new “thin” person. Where do you find the instructions on how you now keep this weight off that you worked so hard to take off? And when do you actually start to see past the excess skin, muffin top, and arm flab?? 

This is what has been on my mind. I’ve realized that in the short time it has taken me to lose this weight that it will take me the rest of my life to perfect these new skills I have developed. I am very lucky that I had a lot of weight to lose. I had time to learn and develop new eating habits. I don’t struggle with the fast food drive-ins or the temptations of eating out when I’ve already brought my lunch to work. I am in control of food. And it feels great. Yet there are still times I struggle. There are times that I still feel “fat.” There are times that I just wish this darn muffin top would go away. The new book I am reading is “Half-Assed: a weight-loss memoir” by Jannette Fulda. Jannette lost 190 pounds and her story is just entertaining and empowering!!! I love books like this. 

At our WW meeting we have been discussing the upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday and all the food that is sure to be served. Tricks and tips on how to get through the day and what the points values are of the foods. My leader, Sheliah, this week asked, “How many of you are thankful for Weight Watchers?” I am thankful everyday for WW because without it I would not be the person that I am today. All I can think about is the years upon years that I made sure to wear my elastic waistband pants to the Thanksgiving dinner in hopes of getting “all I could eat.” Wow, am I even more thankful now for WW that I don’t even view food as that important anymore. 

These last few weeks have been a struggle. I’ve been trying really hard to get back into exercise and my foot is still hurting me. I was 0.2 pounds away from getting my 140 lb star and marking that next milestone. It doesn’t get any easier. These last 10 pounds I’ve got on me could take quite some time to lose. I’m still trying to decide where I want to be and I continue to remind myself of where I came from. I’ve put my body through a lot these past almost-three years. I’ve come a very long way and I plan to continue to keep the weight off. I have to. I don’t want to go back and as I said before, food isn’t just that important to me. 

So….onward. To another Thanksgiving Feast!

Ready For A Girls Weekend

Happy Friday!!

I'm headed to Sun Valley for a fun girls weekend with four friends (well, three friends and one soon-t0-be-friend since I've not met one of the gals coming with us yet).  We've rented a sweet vacation home/cabin in the area and are planning to relax, engage in girl talk, drink some beer and wine, and soak in the hot tub.  The weather will be quite cool by evening time as we are having this very odd late Spring weather.  Mother Nature sure is confused this year.

We have booked some appointments at the spa and plan to also relax while we get pampered.  I'm looking forward to this relaxing weekend.

I'll check in when I get the chance and share pictures of our fun.  I hope you all have a great weekend.

Dedication And Diet

I skipped my weekly WI in lieu of getting more sleep yesterday.  I hate missing out on my Tuesday morning meeting and I don't have many more weeks where I can attend.  I just didn't feel like going.  My vacation weight is still sticking around (two pounds) and I was super sore from my training session with Tyson.  So, I re-set the alarm and slept more.  I am glad I bought in some groceries to help me get back on track.  With a Ladies Weekend coming up, I need to make sure I stay on track in the days before I go out of town.

One of my Facebook friends posted a photo of her and her son on Mother's Day.  She received a flood of compliments on how good she looked and how trim she has gotten.  She replied to one comment asking how she had done it saying "dedication and diet."  There is so much truth to the comment.

Dieting is hard.  And the dedication to continue to stick with it can wean overtime making it harder to keep focused on your weight loss goals.  I was super focused in January, February, and March, but my dedication started to thin out in the month of April.  I am feeling more focused and striving to hit it hard these next few months so I can see some good weight loss and continue to feel better in my clothing.  

Being on our vacation and sitting in the middle seat on the airplane sure does put into perspective how "big" you are when you feel like you are spilling over into your partner's seat.  Unfortunately, Kenyon needs to use part of my seat which means I get pushed over into the seat next to me.  I was apologizing to the gal sitting next to us when we landed to Boise.  She told us it was okay and we learned she was flying into Boise and then driving to Twin Falls to see her father who had been admitted to the hospital.  We wished her the best and we about our way.

I didn't get myself back on track soon enough after vacation, but I feel okay with a two pound gain.  I've been thinking about what Tyson said in that the day(s) you pick to splurge will affect your weight for the few days after.  Had I gotten back on track upon our return to Boise, I might have had a maintain instead of a gain this week.  As long as I manage my food this week, I should see some of that weight drop off.  Of course, a Ladies Weekend will have an impact.  

Needless to say, I need to keep myself dedicated to my diet so I can keep myself dedicated to my weight loss goals.