6 Months of Growth on MFP

Hanfordrose

It was the end of December, when I decided to count calories and found the free counter program on MFP. That's all I wanted...something to track my food.

I had already began to lose weight, using just meal replacement bars and shakes during the time from Thanksgiving through Christmas; but my doctor said that I should be eating "at least some regular food". So, to please him and for my own knowledge, I decided to shift over to calorie counting and add some other food to my daily 'diet'.

'Diet'...Oh, how I hate that word. I had spent a lifetime despising that 4 letter word that had reflected every kind of torture. Yes, I did Weight Watchers, OA, Adkins, Mayo Clinic and a few of my own horrible creations in my youth. Imagine living on radishes, watermelon and diet cola for a year and a half. How about Slender, one orange and diet cola each day with only one meal of barbecue beef and lima beans for lunch on Thursdays? Those were my crazy days of dieting in my youth.

Did those 'diets' work? Sure, at least for a little while. I lost anywhere from 52 to 99 pounds on each of those insane trips to Diet Land.

What was I doing now? Trying to lose 70 pounds to convince a surgeon to give me knee replacements, so I could get my life back and get out of wheelchair. That was my goal and the faster...the better. That was all. I had no delusions of really going any further, and I wasn't even thinking about what would happen later...after I got my new knees. I would worry about that, when I got there.

Then, my doctor's request for me to eat regular food got in my way. Without realizing it at the time, I was about to become a part of something that would change my life like no diet had ever done. I was entering into a place called My Fitness Pal.

The free calorie counter got me here, but it was the people I met...the friends I made...that kept me here and changed my attitude about what I was doing. I learned a lot about myself, my attitude toward food plans (a much better word than diet) and the need to make a commitment EVERY DAY. That began as a daily commitment to my food plan, but it became so much more.

My daily commitment is now to my MFP friends; but more importantly, it is a daily commitment to myself to become stronger, healthier and more accepting of me. I arrived at MFP weighing 255+ pounds, down from 270.9 in November. Then, I began the slow but steady weight loss that has marked the past 6 months. Today, I am 214.8 pounds and getting ever so close to my surgeon's goal.

However, many things beside my weight have changed in those 6 months. My goal is no longer my surgeon's goal, though my ticker shows 199 pounds as the final destination. It is only the surgeon's goal. No, I am thinking well beyond that number and that initial desire for new knees. MFP has helped me to want more for my life.

My goals have changed...grown to include:

1. A healthy weight, perhaps somewhere near 170 or even less.

2. More daily physical activity, like walking, biking and swimming.

3. Maintenance of that healthy life style, not just getting to a goal, only to go back to my old thoughtless eating and laziness.

4. Liking myself better. I have spent too many of my 68 years not liking me...feeling ashamed of my body.

I want to thank all of you, my friends on MFP, for helping me to grow into someone who I like a lot more than I did 6 months ago. You have taught me and are still teaching me to be a healthier, happier person.
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Lithium119

And thank YOU for being an inspiration to people of all ages and sizes, you truly are a remarkable person :flowerforyou:

perrinjoshua

Beautiful post and thank you for sharing. Congratulations on your incredible weight loss and determination. Enjoy and love the new you and good luck with your surgery.

Joannesmith2818

I enjoyed reading your story! You deserve your success, and I am sure you will achieve all your goals, because you are committed.

pkoll

Thank you OP. When I started (age 55) last September, I wondered if I was too old to even do this. My weight loss is very slow, so it is easier to sustain. It has been recommended for many years to document your foods for weight control. I guess I never really believed that until now. This site takes it a step further. It counts much more than calories and supports you all at the same time! I only regret that I didn't know about it sooner!

63hanson

This site is pretty amazing, but I think most of the credit goes to you Rose. You are such an amazing, positive person. Like others on this site have helped you, you have helped many people on here. You have a great way of writing that makes the reader feel like we are really getting to know you. Every time I read one of your blogs, I come away with a good feeling, you make me feel like everything I'm going through is okay and that it will be all worth it.

madworld1

Such a beautiful and touching post. Thank you for sharing. Your profile pic is absolutely radiant! :flowerforyou:

raegee2012

Congrats! I am trying to develop great routines and habits, like you! Its hard, huh? But together we can do it like you did, keep it up, you are an inspiration! I really appreciate your honesty and openness!

The best advice what my Dr. gave me, is to eat veggies, and I did, and lost weight before, no carbs! Not easy! But takes time for the body to acclimate. My co-worker lost in the last few weeks and its showing, she looks awesome, just from adjusting her intake.

I started this past week and am taking baby steps. My enemy is soda and sweetners. And my successes are eating more veggies and way less carbs. I did it before, and will do it now! I am beginning to like myself with my old age and now realize that this is my personal battle against myself, I do like me and accept me - the good and the bad (of course like all we fall back into the I hate myself trap!) I turn 50 in 8 days, a great reason to change and morph, from the caterpillar to the butterfly! Keep flying, dear friend!

Thank you for opening your heart to us!

MrsGriffin67

You have become one of my favorite "friends" on here. I love everything about you. You are honest, God-fearing, funny, smart and an amazing writer. I look forward to watching you grow and obtain the goals that you have set for yourself. You are an incredible motivator. Keep the great work and may God bless you many times over for being an inspiration to so many :flowerforyou:

janetracine96

I don't know how you did it Rose, but you expressed my feelings, my desire to lose weight and my need for one new knee..You wrote the post I would like to have written-only you wrote it more beautifully than I could have done.

I started out a year ago in June on a quest to lose about 30 pounds. I lost 13 pounds, and as a part of my exercise program, I walked vigorously at seven a.m. 5 mornings a week. Unfortunately, I tripped on a piece of broken sidewalk and fractured my shoulder & injured my right knee. The shoulder eventually healed. The knee had osteoarthritis, and was most unhappy that I had complicated it's existence. During my slow recuperation, I regained the 13 pounds plus 7 additional pounds.

This spring I realized my knee was getting stiffer & more painful - I paid a visit to a popular orthopedic surgeon in our area. He suggested I try 4 injections of Synvisc, a substance that might delay surgery for anywhere from a few months to a year. It did not improve my knee pain or stiffness at all.

I am back again working to lose 30 pounds - I am not in a wheelchair as you are, but I imagine we share the same frustration, in trying to do enough exercise to help me lose weight. Rose, you have inspired me with your determination to lose. May all the good forces be with you.

Hanfordrose

Such a beautiful and touching post. Thank you for sharing. Your profile pic is absolutely radiant! :flowerforyou:

My hubbie took that profile photo of me, just before we left for church...about 3 weeks ago. Pastor Ed was proud of his lady in her new coral top.

Hanfordrose

My enemy is soda and sweetners. And my successes are eating more veggies and way less carbs.

In November, I knew that I had make a hard choice. The first thing that I gave up was Diet Coke. I drank it from morning to bedtime. Zero calories or not, I just knew that it would trip me up. At first, I replaced it with hot tea and diet hot chocolate, because it winter time...even in California. I was drinking about one gallon of hot tea per day, trying to make 'my quota' for fluid intake each day. Now, my favorite beverage is Diet Cranberry Juice mix in water...1 part juice to 3 parts water. Straight cranberry was too sweet for me. I suck down about 100 oz of that mix every day and love it. I don't miss the sodas AT ALL.

...this is my personal battle against myself, I do like me and accept me - the good and the bad (of course like all we fall back into the I hate myself trap!) I turn 50 in 8 days, a great reason to change and morph, from the caterpillar to the butterfly! Keep flying, dear friend!

You are right, Sis. Too many of us are fighting the battle to accept ourselves...JUST AS WE ARE. Those first, raw photos of the real me helped to release my fear of what I looked like. It gave me a STARTING POINT...a reality check. Truthfully, I was surprised that I didn't look worse. With a tan, I am actually starting to like what I see in the mirror.

As my hubbie said yesterday, "No more mayonaise legs." At first, that took me by surprise. I had never heard that expression. Then, I realized...Ed likes his lady with 'a little more color'. :laugh:

GrandMaKandy

This is an amazing post, thank you for sharing you. God Bless you

cblkel

Thank you for being such an inspiration to so many of us! We can all do this if we just stick together and keep encouraging one another. We all have good and bad days. The thing is not to give up on those bad days. If you slip up, just get up again and start over. I have had both my knees replaced. I feel for you with that pain. Will keep you in my prayers.