And so it begins
honeybunny406
Posts: 12 Member
Before I turned 50, my goal was to lose 100 lbs. I started, dropped 30 then quit. Don't ask why, when I was having success, because I really don't know the answer. So to make matters worse, over the next 3 years I gained that 30 back plus 30 more. I was at my heaviest and miserable and I felt trapped in my body. I tried some quick fixes, but the most that would budge would be 10 lbs and even then I would gain it right back. I was frustrated with the whole ordeal so I quit trying and my body maintained status quo. The mirror and the scale were no longer my friends. I was over them. My clothes became limited because I refused to buy new things when I didn't like how I looked in anything anyways. I know there are those of you out there that know exactly what I mean. I didn't want to give up, but I did.
Blessings come in all shapes and sizes and life sure knows how to throw you some curve balls. My husband had advanced in his job so it was decided that I would be able to quit my job ( nursing for 33+ years) to finally stay at home. With the decision made, I put in my 2 weeks notice, we started making plans to sell the house in the community I worked and we were even planning a long deserved vacation. For some strange reason we opted not to vacation out of state, though the original plan had been to go to the coast. It was a good thing we did. On September 9, 2016 and again on September 15, 2016, my husband suffered 2 heart attacks. He refused to go to the hospital with the first one. I believe he was in denial, even though he had the classic symptoms. I couldn't get him to go to the ER, he totally refused. With the second one, he was not so lucky. I told him he wasn't making good decisions and that this time he had no choice. Long story short he ended up with a double bypass at the age of 52. That, folks, was the blessing in disguise. While in the hospital we were taught the need for a low salt diet. His restriction was 2000 mg of sodium or less each day (do you know how much salt is in everything???). He was encouraged to exercise at least 30-40 minutes 3-5 days per week and to watch his fat intake. And so the changes began. When I brought him home from the hospital we started walking 1 mile each day. By week 2 we increased it to 1.25 miles each day and now, 4 months out we are doing 2 miles a day, in about 20 minutes, and we have added cardio to our workout as well. We exercise every day and I am proud to say we have only missed a couple of days during this whole time. I have had to learn to cook low sodium and experiment with other seasoning instead of salt. Me and Mrs. Dash are very close and I use it on everything. Along with the low sodium diet and exercise, increasing our water intake and cutting down on portions, adding more fresh fruit and vegetables into the mix, I am proud to say my husband is down almost 30 lbs and I am down 31. Honestly, who would have thought it could be that easy. When I finally quit trying so hard and made some necessary lifestyle changes, the pounds started to come off. They are not falling off, but coming off at a rate of 1-2.5 lbs per week. I can actually say I am ok with that. In the beginning I was frustrated because I thought with as heavy as I was that at least 10 lbs should come off quickly, but my weeks have never been like that. Over the holidays we did fairly well. We bounced up and down on 2-3 lbs, but now those are gone. I am finding my body is back to the status quo so I need to spice things up a bit by dropping a few more calories that are going into my mouth. I am also working on being faithful to using this MFP tool to write everything down. For all you out there wanting and willing to make the changes I wish you the best of luck. Start the exercise, start reading labels and decrease your sodium intake, add those fresh fruits and vegetables, watch your portion intake and make the changes that will be sustainable for you. Best of luck to everyone.
Blessings come in all shapes and sizes and life sure knows how to throw you some curve balls. My husband had advanced in his job so it was decided that I would be able to quit my job ( nursing for 33+ years) to finally stay at home. With the decision made, I put in my 2 weeks notice, we started making plans to sell the house in the community I worked and we were even planning a long deserved vacation. For some strange reason we opted not to vacation out of state, though the original plan had been to go to the coast. It was a good thing we did. On September 9, 2016 and again on September 15, 2016, my husband suffered 2 heart attacks. He refused to go to the hospital with the first one. I believe he was in denial, even though he had the classic symptoms. I couldn't get him to go to the ER, he totally refused. With the second one, he was not so lucky. I told him he wasn't making good decisions and that this time he had no choice. Long story short he ended up with a double bypass at the age of 52. That, folks, was the blessing in disguise. While in the hospital we were taught the need for a low salt diet. His restriction was 2000 mg of sodium or less each day (do you know how much salt is in everything???). He was encouraged to exercise at least 30-40 minutes 3-5 days per week and to watch his fat intake. And so the changes began. When I brought him home from the hospital we started walking 1 mile each day. By week 2 we increased it to 1.25 miles each day and now, 4 months out we are doing 2 miles a day, in about 20 minutes, and we have added cardio to our workout as well. We exercise every day and I am proud to say we have only missed a couple of days during this whole time. I have had to learn to cook low sodium and experiment with other seasoning instead of salt. Me and Mrs. Dash are very close and I use it on everything. Along with the low sodium diet and exercise, increasing our water intake and cutting down on portions, adding more fresh fruit and vegetables into the mix, I am proud to say my husband is down almost 30 lbs and I am down 31. Honestly, who would have thought it could be that easy. When I finally quit trying so hard and made some necessary lifestyle changes, the pounds started to come off. They are not falling off, but coming off at a rate of 1-2.5 lbs per week. I can actually say I am ok with that. In the beginning I was frustrated because I thought with as heavy as I was that at least 10 lbs should come off quickly, but my weeks have never been like that. Over the holidays we did fairly well. We bounced up and down on 2-3 lbs, but now those are gone. I am finding my body is back to the status quo so I need to spice things up a bit by dropping a few more calories that are going into my mouth. I am also working on being faithful to using this MFP tool to write everything down. For all you out there wanting and willing to make the changes I wish you the best of luck. Start the exercise, start reading labels and decrease your sodium intake, add those fresh fruits and vegetables, watch your portion intake and make the changes that will be sustainable for you. Best of luck to everyone.
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Replies
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Wow you sure have a great testimony for change in lifestyle!!! Congrats to you and your husband on the wonderful healthy life you are now living!!!0
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