100 days, 34 lbs, no exercise. You can do it...
quik22
Posts: 1 Member
Hello to everyone! I enjoy casually reading these forums and the tips and stories everyone offers. I never thought I'd actually post anything, but the overwhelming positivity and sense of community I've seen has led me to think maybe I could give back and help a little bit now that I'm nearing the end of the most successful period of weight-loss I've gone through in my life. I'm not here to pat myself on the back or even to suggest that anyone follow my method. I'm just in awe of the relative ease with which I was able to meet my goals and I wanted to share in hopes that maybe it could help to encourage others to meet theirs.
First, the facts:
- I weighed 204.2 lbs on January 2, 2012
- I set a goal to get to 170 by May 1, 2012
- I've done no physical exercise more strenuous than walking in the park or doing household chores
- I've cut no foods that I love out of my life completely
- I've added no foods that I don't like to my diet
- Today I weigh 170.6
I don't need to bore you with all the details of my life, but I'm in my late 20s and for several years I was pretty active and stayed in pretty good shape (I'm 5'10" and my weight has been anywhere from 165 to 180 with a pretty good build). As the years go by, life happens. I work a desk job, I don't work out or play sports anymore and I'm pretty sedentary. I overeat every fall/winter and then spend spring/summer trying to get it back. This past winter I realized I had let myself go pretty far and that where I was had actually become the norm. While the outward changes were the most noticeable (my appearance, lack of energy, etc.), it was really the internal realization that I had become a lazy, careless person that bothered me. And it hit me that I would not be able to undo this without a significant effort.
So, I set a cliche, New Years goal to lose weight. My wife and I are attending three weddings in May, so I figured May 1 was a pretty good goal date to set as it gave me something to shoot for which wasn't too close or too far away. As January approached, I was actually pretty excited and feeling more motivated than I had been in awhile. But there was one problem:
I was not mentally ready to exercise.
That might sound silly or obvious to everyone, but it is significant. I knew I wouldn't work out. I don't mean that I was dreading it or that I cautiously hoped I could stick with it once I started.. I mean, I KNEW I wouldn't work out. There have been times in my life when I couldn't wait to hit the gym and there have been times when I couldn't get off the couch. I know myself and I knew that it just wasn't a reality. So as much as that might sound weak or defeatist, I knew that if I made plan that involved or relied upon getting to a gym or even doing crunches in my living room, it would fail and I would quit.
So I gave myself permission to let it go. I set my goal with the knowledge that I would have to do this without exercise. If a few months down the line my attitude changed, great! But for the time being, I would focus on things I believed I could and would do.
So, what *did* I do? You've slogged through enough of my back story so let's get to it:
1. I plugged in my numbers and and started using the myfitnesspal app on my phone.
2. I recorded everything I ate. (The bar code scanner was savior).
3. I stayed extremely disciplined during the week and tried to stay under my calorie goal so I could build in a cushion for the weekend.
4. I ate what I wanted (within reason) on the weekend.
5. I got a reliable scale and recorded my weight at the same time each morning.
That's it.
I've gone from 204 to 170 in a little over 3 months. My gym membership has expired. My elliptical machine is still dusty in the basement. I've eaten pizza, burritos, ribs, pasta, chocolate, beer, nachos, cookies, cake, and god knows what else. I survived the Super Bowl, St. Patrick's Day and Easter. And while it wasn't easy, it wasn't that hard.
I'm really, really not here to brag or look for praise and validation. I promise. My purpose is to share a story of success that didn't involve Herculean steps. I believe that the secret for everyone in their journey is grounded in three things:
1. Honesty
2. Optimism
3. Discipline
Meaning, be honest with yourself about what is realistic for you, be optimistic that you will be successful, and have the discipline to follow through. And while #3 is obviously the hardest and most important piece, failure there can almost always be traced back to a failure in #1. I don't want people to set low goals and I also know that everyone is wired differently. Some people respond wonderfully to lofty expectations because it pushes them farther than they thought possible. But almost all the failures I've seen (and experienced personally) with dieting and exercise have been the result of creating an unrealistic regime.
I knew that I wouldn't work out. And I knew that I would be unable to eliminate foods I loved entirely or avoid splurging on certain occasions (holidays, parties, etc.). I KNEW these things. And I also knew that if I began my journey ignoring those realities, that I would eventually fail because I would get discouraged. It was inevitable.
With this in mind, I had to create a regime that was still effective (otherwise I wasn't really going to lose any weight was I??). So I found the areas where I knew I could do well. For example, I decided there was no reason why I couldn't eat extremely lightly at work. I have complete control over two meals per day, 5 days per week. I found a brand of oatmeal (Better Oats) that has like a dozen varieties and I bought several boxes for my office. Boom. Breakfast. I started buying frozen meals for lunch and as a twist to keep me from getting bored with that, I made a little spreadsheet where I started rating the meals for fun. Actually, it began as a way to remember which meals I liked and which sucked since there are 100s of choices and some are so similar. But it became fun. My co-workers would ask which meal I was rating and it became something I looked forward to doing for 5 minutes each day. And the benefit was, after a month or so, I had a solid list of 10-15 meals that I knew I loved.
Now let me say that I recognize that the prospect of oatmeal and lean cuisine 5x per week might not sound appealing to many of you. I hope you understand that while I actually grew to like it, it's not like this is my ideal eating plan either. But it is part of being honest and making choices. I knew I'd rather suck it up and exercise strong discipline there than have to make sacrifices elsewhere (like not being able to have a hot dog and a few beers at a basketball game).
So I had weekday breakfast and lunch covered. This left weekday dinners and weekends. So again, I looked at the options and made a choice based on my preferences and on reality. I knew that with how my life is, I'd have more control over weekday nights. Weekends involve family, friends, restaurants, drinking, etc. I knew that choosing to stay very disciplined on the weekends was probably a recipe for failure. I decided it was more realistic to stay on my game for weekday dinners. That's not to say it was easy (picking up the phone and ordering pizza, chinese, etc. is second nature for me) but it was the easier of my choices. So I focused my efforts on eating lightly on weekday nights. This again involved some frozen meals (larger ones) or some very difficult portion control. And I also didn't forever swear off the occasional bad weekday night meal (like I said above, I had basketball tickets on weekday nights and staying on diet in a pro sports team stadium takes strength that is waaaaay over my head). I didn't stop my life. I just tried my best to stay focused (one beer instead of three or skip the giant nachos). And I realized that having a "bad" day during the week just meant I would have less wiggle room on the weekend. And that knowledge simultaneously reassured me that it was okay AND motivated me to keep my splurges to a minimum.
This post has gotten longer than I had anticipated so I don't want to ramble on forever. In a nutshell, I exercised strong discipline in areas that I knew I had a high chance of success. I focused my efforts on sticking to my guns from Monday morning through Friday afternoon. I indulged myself on the weekends WITHIN REASON with the knowledge that such indulgences were (a) necessary to keep me sane and (b) not excuses to gorge myself. The more disciplined I was during the week, the bigger cushion I had for the weekend, which was motivating in itself. I did not make promises that I knew I couldn't keep because my failures there would have rotted away at the bigger picture and caused me to quit even though I WAS doing well.
I'm not telling you to eat oatmeal and healthy choice meals. I'm not telling you to eat 1100 calories 5x per week so that you can eat 2000 2x per week. And I'm certainly not telling you to avoid exercising if you believe you can do it. What I'm saying is to find that balance between reality and results. Be honest about what you CAN do and stick to it. As excited as I am at my results over these 100 days, I'm really more awestruck over how relatively simple everything was.
If you are one of those people who thinks that the only way you will get in shape or get back in shape is to put yourself through a diet or workout regimen that deep down you know is unrealistic, don't get discouraged. I am proof that you can get results. I have no doubt that I could have done WAY more over the past 100 days and gotten WAY more results. I could have been lifting, running, eating more good foods and eliminating a ton of bad foods. But that was never going to happen for me. Instead of writing this post, I have no doubt that I would be 200 lbs and wondering why I quit my program on January 17th after two strong weeks. And I'd say "Next time I'll be more disciplined. Next time I won't fail."
So that's my story. I hope it was helpful and I hope it didn't put anyone to sleep. I don't claim to know the best way to lose weight and get in shape and I don't claim to know more than anyone else here. But I know myself, just as all of you know yourselves. If you fail because you quit, don't give up. Reassess. Find out where you can push and where you can't. Let go of the guilt over what you aren't doing and DOMINATE where you know you are capable. Success will come more easily than you thought possible.
Best of luck!
First, the facts:
- I weighed 204.2 lbs on January 2, 2012
- I set a goal to get to 170 by May 1, 2012
- I've done no physical exercise more strenuous than walking in the park or doing household chores
- I've cut no foods that I love out of my life completely
- I've added no foods that I don't like to my diet
- Today I weigh 170.6
I don't need to bore you with all the details of my life, but I'm in my late 20s and for several years I was pretty active and stayed in pretty good shape (I'm 5'10" and my weight has been anywhere from 165 to 180 with a pretty good build). As the years go by, life happens. I work a desk job, I don't work out or play sports anymore and I'm pretty sedentary. I overeat every fall/winter and then spend spring/summer trying to get it back. This past winter I realized I had let myself go pretty far and that where I was had actually become the norm. While the outward changes were the most noticeable (my appearance, lack of energy, etc.), it was really the internal realization that I had become a lazy, careless person that bothered me. And it hit me that I would not be able to undo this without a significant effort.
So, I set a cliche, New Years goal to lose weight. My wife and I are attending three weddings in May, so I figured May 1 was a pretty good goal date to set as it gave me something to shoot for which wasn't too close or too far away. As January approached, I was actually pretty excited and feeling more motivated than I had been in awhile. But there was one problem:
I was not mentally ready to exercise.
That might sound silly or obvious to everyone, but it is significant. I knew I wouldn't work out. I don't mean that I was dreading it or that I cautiously hoped I could stick with it once I started.. I mean, I KNEW I wouldn't work out. There have been times in my life when I couldn't wait to hit the gym and there have been times when I couldn't get off the couch. I know myself and I knew that it just wasn't a reality. So as much as that might sound weak or defeatist, I knew that if I made plan that involved or relied upon getting to a gym or even doing crunches in my living room, it would fail and I would quit.
So I gave myself permission to let it go. I set my goal with the knowledge that I would have to do this without exercise. If a few months down the line my attitude changed, great! But for the time being, I would focus on things I believed I could and would do.
So, what *did* I do? You've slogged through enough of my back story so let's get to it:
1. I plugged in my numbers and and started using the myfitnesspal app on my phone.
2. I recorded everything I ate. (The bar code scanner was savior).
3. I stayed extremely disciplined during the week and tried to stay under my calorie goal so I could build in a cushion for the weekend.
4. I ate what I wanted (within reason) on the weekend.
5. I got a reliable scale and recorded my weight at the same time each morning.
That's it.
I've gone from 204 to 170 in a little over 3 months. My gym membership has expired. My elliptical machine is still dusty in the basement. I've eaten pizza, burritos, ribs, pasta, chocolate, beer, nachos, cookies, cake, and god knows what else. I survived the Super Bowl, St. Patrick's Day and Easter. And while it wasn't easy, it wasn't that hard.
I'm really, really not here to brag or look for praise and validation. I promise. My purpose is to share a story of success that didn't involve Herculean steps. I believe that the secret for everyone in their journey is grounded in three things:
1. Honesty
2. Optimism
3. Discipline
Meaning, be honest with yourself about what is realistic for you, be optimistic that you will be successful, and have the discipline to follow through. And while #3 is obviously the hardest and most important piece, failure there can almost always be traced back to a failure in #1. I don't want people to set low goals and I also know that everyone is wired differently. Some people respond wonderfully to lofty expectations because it pushes them farther than they thought possible. But almost all the failures I've seen (and experienced personally) with dieting and exercise have been the result of creating an unrealistic regime.
I knew that I wouldn't work out. And I knew that I would be unable to eliminate foods I loved entirely or avoid splurging on certain occasions (holidays, parties, etc.). I KNEW these things. And I also knew that if I began my journey ignoring those realities, that I would eventually fail because I would get discouraged. It was inevitable.
With this in mind, I had to create a regime that was still effective (otherwise I wasn't really going to lose any weight was I??). So I found the areas where I knew I could do well. For example, I decided there was no reason why I couldn't eat extremely lightly at work. I have complete control over two meals per day, 5 days per week. I found a brand of oatmeal (Better Oats) that has like a dozen varieties and I bought several boxes for my office. Boom. Breakfast. I started buying frozen meals for lunch and as a twist to keep me from getting bored with that, I made a little spreadsheet where I started rating the meals for fun. Actually, it began as a way to remember which meals I liked and which sucked since there are 100s of choices and some are so similar. But it became fun. My co-workers would ask which meal I was rating and it became something I looked forward to doing for 5 minutes each day. And the benefit was, after a month or so, I had a solid list of 10-15 meals that I knew I loved.
Now let me say that I recognize that the prospect of oatmeal and lean cuisine 5x per week might not sound appealing to many of you. I hope you understand that while I actually grew to like it, it's not like this is my ideal eating plan either. But it is part of being honest and making choices. I knew I'd rather suck it up and exercise strong discipline there than have to make sacrifices elsewhere (like not being able to have a hot dog and a few beers at a basketball game).
So I had weekday breakfast and lunch covered. This left weekday dinners and weekends. So again, I looked at the options and made a choice based on my preferences and on reality. I knew that with how my life is, I'd have more control over weekday nights. Weekends involve family, friends, restaurants, drinking, etc. I knew that choosing to stay very disciplined on the weekends was probably a recipe for failure. I decided it was more realistic to stay on my game for weekday dinners. That's not to say it was easy (picking up the phone and ordering pizza, chinese, etc. is second nature for me) but it was the easier of my choices. So I focused my efforts on eating lightly on weekday nights. This again involved some frozen meals (larger ones) or some very difficult portion control. And I also didn't forever swear off the occasional bad weekday night meal (like I said above, I had basketball tickets on weekday nights and staying on diet in a pro sports team stadium takes strength that is waaaaay over my head). I didn't stop my life. I just tried my best to stay focused (one beer instead of three or skip the giant nachos). And I realized that having a "bad" day during the week just meant I would have less wiggle room on the weekend. And that knowledge simultaneously reassured me that it was okay AND motivated me to keep my splurges to a minimum.
This post has gotten longer than I had anticipated so I don't want to ramble on forever. In a nutshell, I exercised strong discipline in areas that I knew I had a high chance of success. I focused my efforts on sticking to my guns from Monday morning through Friday afternoon. I indulged myself on the weekends WITHIN REASON with the knowledge that such indulgences were (a) necessary to keep me sane and (b) not excuses to gorge myself. The more disciplined I was during the week, the bigger cushion I had for the weekend, which was motivating in itself. I did not make promises that I knew I couldn't keep because my failures there would have rotted away at the bigger picture and caused me to quit even though I WAS doing well.
I'm not telling you to eat oatmeal and healthy choice meals. I'm not telling you to eat 1100 calories 5x per week so that you can eat 2000 2x per week. And I'm certainly not telling you to avoid exercising if you believe you can do it. What I'm saying is to find that balance between reality and results. Be honest about what you CAN do and stick to it. As excited as I am at my results over these 100 days, I'm really more awestruck over how relatively simple everything was.
If you are one of those people who thinks that the only way you will get in shape or get back in shape is to put yourself through a diet or workout regimen that deep down you know is unrealistic, don't get discouraged. I am proof that you can get results. I have no doubt that I could have done WAY more over the past 100 days and gotten WAY more results. I could have been lifting, running, eating more good foods and eliminating a ton of bad foods. But that was never going to happen for me. Instead of writing this post, I have no doubt that I would be 200 lbs and wondering why I quit my program on January 17th after two strong weeks. And I'd say "Next time I'll be more disciplined. Next time I won't fail."
So that's my story. I hope it was helpful and I hope it didn't put anyone to sleep. I don't claim to know the best way to lose weight and get in shape and I don't claim to know more than anyone else here. But I know myself, just as all of you know yourselves. If you fail because you quit, don't give up. Reassess. Find out where you can push and where you can't. Let go of the guilt over what you aren't doing and DOMINATE where you know you are capable. Success will come more easily than you thought possible.
Best of luck!
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Replies
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great story and thanks0
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Your results are awesome! Thanks for sharing.0
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I agree that what we eat is probably 90 % of our weight loss. That being said, most people have a hard time saying no to all the foods that they want, and exercise is a buffer for that, with the ability to work off those extra calories. I know for myself I have a hard time sticking to my 1200 calories a day, and when I go over, I add a little exercise to work those off. I think this is great for you, that you have that ability to do it with your food intake alone. I sure wish I could...0
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awesome post. thanks for sharing. i definitely agree! doing the same here. i like to hit it hard in the gym, but with a sore ankle and a MRI tomorrow. hitting it hard may not be in my future for a while. so i'll have to find something "new" that will work for me.0
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Thank you for sharing!!!0
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Thank you for this post. In the past I've tried to follow something like you've described, but was never successful. You've explained, very clearly, why I failed. It's realizing my short falls up front and acknowledging them. Plus organizing easy meals with few choices. And it has to be said...you have an excellent writing style.0
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That's so great! I am 5'10 too and I exercise A LOT but I follow similar eating habits to you. That is a phenomenal weight loss in only 3 months. Congrats!0
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I think your story is great and it should be said that so many people take an all or nothing approach to getting healthy and losing weight. The fact is small changes can yield big results. I have found that my fitness mantra is slow and steady wins the race. When you are ready to exercise, you will be ready, this is a great accomplishment. Congrats!0
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Thanks for sharing. I love the 3 keys!!! Honesty is so important.
Love it!! Thanks.:drinker:0 -
Bump0
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Thanks for sharing your story.0
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OMG….. I CAN’T BELIEVE I JUST READ ALL THAT.
It was amazing!! Thanks for this great post!! i feel so inspired and really wish you had a pic
Im copying this and saving it on my desktop for future reference. :happy:
THANK YOU, thank you, thank you !0 -
Wow! Congrats to you. I always say everyone needs to do what works for them!0
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To the OP:
I just wanted to let you know ... that I really appreciate you posting this.
I am over 300 pounds and trying to get to 150 healthy weight for my height. It is a long and arduous battle that I have fought repeatedly and lost repeatedly, returning me only to higher and higher weights. I'm determined this time to succeed, but I've tried to avoid the reasons that I failed in the past.
I have read a lot of success stories about weight loss. I often find myself reading information on these forums and blogs and such trying to inspire myself and learn more strategies to lose weight.
But honestly, most of the success stories from people with big weight loss like what I'm aiming for mostly depress me.
The typical: I see a story that looks similar to mine. 20-something or 30-something, 300ish pounds, been heavy most of their life but used to be less heavy and wants it back... They succeeded and show these amazing pictures of how they look after having shed some 150 pounds of weight. It took them a year or two years and they are now a smaller, healthy person.
The pictures alone are encouraging... because they are something I could hope to achieve.
But then I read on to how they did it... and... it is the most depressing thing I've ever seen.
I read these incredible stories of working out diligently or eating Asparagus Parsley for dinner every night or combining some insane level of discipline with an insane level of depriving.
I tell myself "I could do this" but I know... I couldn't.
And that's where depression hits me.
Because all the people I see succeeding are doing something I know, truly know, I won't do.
That's where your post comes in.
Your post is not like those posts. It's not even a similar amount of loss to what I need. But it is the single most encouraging post I have ever read for believing that I can and will lose the weight I want to. Because this post doesn't tell me that the only way to win is to stick to some spectacularly high goal that I will not reasonably ever hang on to. It doesn't tell me the only way I can be thin is to eat Lettuce sandwiches for the rest of my life. It doesn't even tell me I have to find a way to force myself to perform hours of activities I don't enjoy at all every single week.
It tells me that I can succeed despite the fact that I've never been a gym nut, or a sports nut, or even very fond of going outside.
It tells me that I can succeed despite liking real cheese more than fat-free cheese, and that I can still enjoy the things I love.
It tells me that I can really do this. And I can really be the real me I know's in here somewhere.
Because I know myself too. And I believe that knowing oneself is the key to happiness.
And why I've never put this together for myself before is beyond me...
But your post helped me to realize I can do exactly what I want to do without hating my life for the next year or two.
Thank you for writing your story. It has made a huge difference for me today. It has inspired me.
And I have no doubt now that a year or two from now, I'll be writing a success story of my own. And by then, I will not have forgotten this one. Not at all.
Thank you.0 -
Thank you for posting this! Your story has been very inspiring. Your approach has been exactly what i've been doing and so far I've lost 16 pounds in 103 days and I've never felt better.0
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Thank you for sharing this!!! There is no one RIGHT way to lose weight. We should all remember that.0
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GREAT STORY!0
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Thanks for sharing! What an inspiring post! You really motivated me to keep going......but with my own rules!0
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Your story is good food for thought! Thanks for sharing it.0
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Awesome post! Thank you for sharing. Even though I'm on MFP, I get a little obsessive compulsive and am constantly looking for a quicker, better way (which means I've gone up and down since January 2012 and overall only lost 5lbs). My most recent endeavor was following the Eat To Live philosophy by Dr. Fuhrman. While I'm sure it's a wonderful program for many people, I am completely kidding myself if I think I am going to eat very close to a vegetarian lifestyle. I LOVE meat, love bread, love wine, love cheese...I need to be honest with and eat the food I love while staying within my calorie range. Your post reminded me of that. Thank you again!0
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Bump0
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That is amazing I bet you feel great! Honesty is a big one for me actually holding myself accountable you know? I think what you have done is awesome, very commendable0
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Bump0
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You are an inspiration and I'm thankful there are people out there with good heads on their shoulders about the "reality" of actually losing a lot of weight! I tend to get focused on the beginning--gung ho, full steam ahead: workout 6x a week for an hour? sure, no problem! But then 2 weeks in, I realize that wasn't reality and I need to slow down and figure out how I can really do it. Refreshing to read your story, thanks for sharing!0
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You're the first post on here that I've found REALLY inspiring. I mean, truly, I am inspired. Thank you! I'm chronically ill, and some days I have it in me to do extra physical work, but most of the time I don't, and a lot of the time I'll do more than one day of working out and then I'm wrecked for days at a time and I have to stay on the couch. Today was the first of those days since I started on MFP and I was reading everyone's workout updates and feeling really terrible. I felt like I was never going to get where I wanted to be, and what's the point, etc etc. But this post really made me realize that there's a reason MFP asks for your activity level initially, and it really IS possible to lose without having to work out like a maniac, or even at all. Thanks for making me feel included. Just because my lungs aren't up to snuff doesn't mean the rest of my body can't be. I really appreciate your post.0
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Thanks for writing you are very articulate and your writing style was like a friend talking to a friend. I appreciate how you went into so much detail that it gives the reader a clear understanding of everything you are saying. Congratulations on your weight loss and thank you for helping others as well.
:bigsmile:0 -
Thanks for sharing your story....so many people start off being really overweight and the though of having to excerise till you're 1/2 dead before you loose any weight can be off putting.
There are lots o ways to loose weight and hopefully we can all find a healthy way that suits us. Thanks0 -
Great inspirational story!! Well written and I totally appreciate that you knew your own limitations and were completely realistic with yourself. Maybe that's a bigger key than Ive realized...
Nice work 0 -
Thanks for sharing your story. Really helps realize there are as many ways to go about losing weight as there are people. Good to know I can still lose weight even on the days I cannot squeeze in some kind of workout.0
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This has been THE BEST post I think I've seen on here, and so dead on!!! I'm not anywhere near my ultimate goals, however, I've made significant progress doing what I CAN do, and succeed at, like you were talking about. Thanks for the encouragement!!
Great advice here folks!!! 0
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