Progress and ....yes, a bit of a brag

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debs6
debs6 Posts: 232 Member
I went shopping today to take advantage of the summer sales and had such a pleasant surprise with sizings. Half of what I bought was an Australian size 16 = American 12, and the others were all 14s which equals an American 10- -- woohoo!!!

I am at 177 pounds at this point but intend continuing to be able to fit into all size 14s- so it will be so good to arrive at that point. I haven't managed to get even close to a 14 since around the time that i finished my first degree back in 1977. At 55 I am so elated about my continuing progress- despite menopause!! The belly is getting smaller- so hopefully that will be the next area my body decides to target. Wish I could be the controller of that decision - but it least it continues to melt away- albeit too slow for me

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  • annarouni
    annarouni Posts: 127 Member
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    Congratulations, Deb!! You give the rest of hope. Thanks so much for that. :love:
  • sweatymary
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    That's absolutely fantastic! Very well done and continued success against all the (menopause) odds :-D xx
  • kimiel51
    kimiel51 Posts: 299 Member
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    Whoo Hoo!! Great!!
  • Di3012
    Di3012 Posts: 2,250 Member
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    WTG!!

    Best feeling when the dress sizes start to decrease!
  • taramaureen
    taramaureen Posts: 569 Member
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    Awesome stuff!!!!
  • dcdickerson2
    dcdickerson2 Posts: 65 Member
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    That is wonderful news! I know the first time I lost enough weight to fit into sizes that surprised me, I felt like I was walking in the clouds! Keep it up. Is there any one thing that you think has contributed the most to your success?
  • glenner
    glenner Posts: 160 Member
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    Any advice on how you did it? I keep giving up.
  • SandyMilton
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    Way to go! There is hope! :) Congrats!!
  • LookoutLisa
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    Congrats! I recently got into a pair of jeans i haven't been able to wear since menopause started, but they are still a little tight... but I could wear them. Keep up the good work everyone!
  • JaneP2011
    JaneP2011 Posts: 65 Member
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    Ah, great news! Like the others say - it gives us all hope that it CAN be done!
  • grumpy2day
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    Way to go!!! Congratultions and you deserve the brag keep up the great work!!!
  • Scherri
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    Congratulations! Hope you continue to enjoy shopping for smaller sizes :)
  • debs6
    debs6 Posts: 232 Member
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    Several people have asked if I can give some tips on how I have managed to lose the weight - so here goes! The biggest problem is that there is nothing much more than most people are doing here - except for perhaps my mindset. I am stubborn - always have been and when I set my mind to something I push and push until I manage that.

    Probably the exercise for me has been the key. Unless I am in bed with an identifiable illness I will at minimum walk an hour each evening and as I have become more fit and lighter I have progressed to running three times a week - which brings about a fabulous burn and despite wanting to die during the run -I feel over the moon afterwards.( I started using the C25K program.) I think it is a combination of the endorphins produced and the sheer satisfaction of now considering my self a runner after never having been involved in any sport other than swimming as a child. I have worked my way through 30 day shred ( it almost killed me and I almost vomited after the first session) and am now just finished week one of Ripped in 30 - and loving the way it challenges me. When the summer hit here and walking and running outside became a problem I bought a treadmill as I don't want to slide backwards. Up till this point I have never set foot in a gym( I don't have a problem with them- but live more than 20 minutes away from the closest one,),so have tried my best to create opportunities for exercise around my own home. I live right on the coast so there are fabulous walks all around me and I have always loved to walk- but I must say my little Westie makes sure that I never miss a walk if the temperature is below 100. Once it is over 100 he is not to keen on walking so we have moved to playing in the ocean and swimming.

    The motivation from losing weight and moving into smaller sizes has been tremendous and when I plateau for a few weeks I just have to remind myself a little more frequently that it is just temporary and at least I am holding weight and not increasing and that sooner or later the scale will move again. I have just come off an almost two week plateau- losing half a kilo today .....and yay - it affirms everything and I start again.

    I don't say never to any food - I try to eat healthy and prepare all of my own food from scratch - but if I am caught on the hop I will buy from take aways on rare occasions - I just try to choose the healthiest of the mine field. I still go out to meals with friends - and am having Indian food at a restaurant with friends on Friday. Amongst those friends is one who was born and raised in India so he is familiar with the food - so he orders for us all. I don't care about the calories - I just make sure not to over eat and guestimate the number of calories that I log - generally thinking around a thousand . On days like that I will try to burn more calories with exercise - but of course trying to cover that amount of calories is almost impossible - so my attitude is just minimise the harm and it seems to work. I will often find after such a dinner I will gain a couple of pounds of water weight that disappears within a few days. I think it is so important to be able to live a normal life and be able to sustain this as a future life style.

    Enough of my ramblings !!
  • sweatymary
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    Thanks for sharing :-D truly inspirational xx