Mamacin's story
GoRun2
Posts: 466 Member
I saw Cindy's story in a Success Story post. Thanks for sharing.
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Hmmm...where is it? If it has the name "mamacin" that tells me that SOMEWHERE on this site my "old" username does exist! I would love to get that name back.
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I believe you posted it on Feb 3, 2018. It was part of another thread, women losing weight after menopause. You talked about your initial loss. I think you said you once got to 128. You said you gained weight, partly due to meds. You said you went back to WW and tried Freestyle but it didn't work with your lifestyle so you came to MFP. You said to weigh and measure everything.
Does that ring a bell?
I found it and pasted it below. It wasn't under Mamacin. I just can't remember your new name.0 -
rejoined Weight Watchers in November 2002 (at the age of 54 and totally menopausal) weighing in at 202 pounds (and 5'3" tall). People thought I was a little nuts to "start a diet" a week before Thanksgiving. My specific reason for doing this was to try to keep from gaining any weight between Thanksgiving and January. I didn't look at the scale and told the receptionist that I didn't want to know whether I had gained or lost until after the first weigh-in of the New Year. I didn't even keep my weigh-in book because I *knew* I would be tempted to look. And I gave my bathroom scale to a friend to keep for me until after the first of the year.
Imagine my surprise to see, at that first weigh-in, that I had lost 10 pounds! I set my initial weight loss goal at 5 pounds. Why? Because I had lost 5 pounds HUNDREDS of times. The only problem was that I had also always gained it back. But I *knew* that I could lose 5 pounds. Each time I lost that 5 pounds, I set my goal for another 5 pounds. I didn't care how long it took me to lose it. I just didn't ever want to gain it back.
It was a long, slow journey (I hate that term, but...), but in September 2004 (age 56) I reached goal and lifetime weighing 138 pounds. I kept it all off (even getting as low as 128 at one point) until 2015 when I was about 3 pounds above my official goal weight of 140. I attribute part of the gain to some new meds I was put on for high blood pressure (a healthy weight does NOT mean you won't develop hypertension).
On December 31st of 2017, I was EIGHT pounds above my official goal weight in addition to being 3" shorter (yes, I'm now only 5' tall). After checking into the new WW program (Freestyle) and finding that it wouldn't suit my lifestyle, I started religiously tracking on MFP. So far I've had a loss every week since January 1st and, as of this morning, I've lost 6+ pounds. Right now I'm not sure what my ultimate goal weight is. I'll decide that at a later time. Since I'm so short, I already know that it's going to be LESS than my official WW goal weight of 140. Probably more in the range of 130, but I won't know for sure until I get there. Right now, again, I'm focusing on 5 pounds at a time.
I can't stress enough how important I think it is to weigh and measure EVERYTHING rather than "guesstimate" what a serving size looks like. That *did* come from years of following the WW program!
I know that it's not always possible to do that when eating at restaurants, but if you do it at home you will eventually learn to recognize what a REAL serving size is. I will tell you right now that the amount of pasta you get in an Italian restaurant is probably 4-6 servings. Be honest about it.
And do NOT give up anything to lose weight that you aren't willing to give up to keep the weight off. If you can live without carbs for the rest of your life, good for you. I know that's not something that I could do. If you can go without ever having a cookie, a slice of cake or pie, or a piece of chocolate candy good for you. I can't and I don't want to do that.
Do the best you can do every day. You're going to have good days and you're going to have bad days. Don't throw in the towel because you have a bad day. A lot of people say that they take things one day at a time. I had to take them one MEAL at a time. But if you string enough good meals/days/whatever together, you WILL lose weight and you will learn enough in the process to keep it off. Keeping it off is much more important than losing it quickly and regaining it.1 -
Ah yes...I do remember that!0
