30 years old, 150 to lose.. Help me say bye to the old me!

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jyneefur
jyneefur Posts: 64 Member
My name is Jen, and I'm a recovering fat person. This is my path towards being a healthier, happier version of me.

I have always been overweight, even as a toddler. My single-parent mother of two did the best she could.. giving me opportunities to be a cheerleader (2 years), baton twirler (7 years), soccer player (2 years), lacrosse player (1 year), tennis player (4 years of high school) and softball player (9 years of community and tournament play & 6 years of school play). I was an active child, yet I still thought I was fat from the moment I understood what "fat" meant. I wore sizes 13-18 in my later school years. Oh, what I wouldn't give to be the 180 I thought was really fat! Despite the active lifestyle, my knowledge of nutrition was severely lacking. My mom, working two jobs, fed us a diet of pre-packaged and fast foods. I would often eat only once or twice a day... usually never breakfast.

After high school, I became sedentary. I no longer played any sports and became obsessed with computers.. learning, chatting & video games! I would wake up and spend the entire day on my *kitten* in front of the computer. TV didn't rot my brain, but computers did contribute to my fat butt. I went from about 180 when I graduated high school to about 260 in a few years. I can't even remember the in-between times as I was gaining it.

At 260, I tried a few diets. I lost 20 pounds on Weight Watchers, but when I stopped counting points (thinking I could just do it on my own), I gained the weight back plus more. I lost about 30 pounds on Nutrisystem, but when I grew bored and tired of the carboard-tasting foods, I gained the weight back plus more. I tried various weight-loss pills, but nothing ever stuck.

At some point 260 turned into 320. Again, I don't really remember being in-between. It's like I just woke up one day and the scale said I weighed 60 pounds more.

When someone asks me what me favorite food is, my immediate response is pasta. A friend of mine started doing the Slow Carb Diet (aka 4-Hour Body) about a year ago. He had over 100 pounds to lose and starting doing really well with it. He suggested it to me and I tried it... for two days. I felt like crap not being able to have the carbohydrates that I realized I was eating once a day or more. I tried to just cut back a little bit on my own, but it didn't really pan out.

Fast forward about a year.. to February 2013. My boyfriend and I were about to celebrate our 2-year anniversary when he got deployed overseas (active duty military). For the 3-4 months he's gone, I have unlimited time and opportunities to get my body back on track. I have no excuse that "I have to cook for both of us" or "I don't want to go to the gym today because he has the day off and I want to spend it with him". So I started Weight Watchers again the moment he left. Being held accountable for my actions is important for me. Sneaking bites here and there is a slippery slope for me, and tracking foods will help me prevent myself from slipping.

Not only did I start counting points on WW, I also started eating healthier. I replaced a lot of my meats with veggie-products. A staple was veggie burgers! I also finally tried carb & calorie-free shirataki noodles (Miracle Noodles amongst other brands) as a replacement for my regular high-carb pastas. I actually enjoy them! I went from 317 to 305 in just 12 days!! And then...

Nothing. I continued to follow WW. I continued to exercise about 3 days per week. A month and a half later and the scale didn't budge in a good way... I actually ended up gaining 5 pounds while coming in under my WW goals, but eating out more (I was on vacation). Talk about frustrating and disappointing! I tracked everything that went into my body for 2 months and the number just went up!

I had a chat with the friend I mentioned earlier who did the Slow Carb Diet. About a year later, he is almost to his goal weight. He lost over 100 pounds, even taking a few months off in the middle, and without doing hardly any exercising throughout the year! He looks great, feels so much better and insists the lifestyle change is super easy.. and even much cheaper than eating poorly! I read Tim Ferriss's "The 4-Hour Body" (again) that explains the Slow Carb Diet and it just makes sense to me. I'm a very logical person and his numbers convince me. I decided to try the SCD again.. thinking that it'll be easier this time since I'm already eating loads less carbs than I was when I tried it a year ago. (Basic idea is you cut out white carbs & eat loads of protein and veggies for 6 days, then you have a cheat day in which you can eat anything.. Rinse and repeat.)

My friend suggested that I actually take a week to eat whatever I want.. It'll get cravings out of the way and it'll shock my metabolism and all the other scientific junk when I start the diet. Yesterday, the last day of the Old Me, my weight was 315.

I'm here not only to hold myself accountable for what I eat and how I exercise, but because I have heard excellent things about the MFP community. Motivation and encouragement mean a lot to me.. and the lack of them in the past definitely led to my many failures. I want to proceed on my journey to lose about 150 pounds surrounded by like-minded individuals, celebrating milestones and spreading encouragement so none of us give up on what we so desperately want and need. Please add me so we can move forward together. :)

Replies

  • BigBrunette
    BigBrunette Posts: 1,543 Member
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    Hi, Jen! Sent you a friend request. :)
  • mrscraig1020
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    I totally hear you on a love of carbs! I'm definitely here if you need support! Feel free to add me! Looks like we both have big goals ahead of us and a desire to feel/look better! We can do this together!
  • jyneefur
    jyneefur Posts: 64 Member
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    Thanks ladies! We can do this!
  • locababa
    locababa Posts: 13 Member
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    welcome to our journey on my fitness pal.com. i have been doing this a few months and have lost 34 pounds. here are my suggestions. have friends online to support you, followup on us and we will follow up on you. you will encourage us and at the same time encourage yourself. next, "all things in moderation" you can eat anything on this program. that being said, you can eat wiser or not. so eat your carbs. but amp them up with lots of veggies. try new veggies. i never ate red peppers because i thought they tasted like green peppers. they don't they are sweet. you can have birthday cake on occasion but a small piece, moderation. more veggies, fruit, wheat, fiber. another suggestion is to adjust your goal. i needed to lose 100 pounds. that was an overwhelming number. i never thought i could do it. so i changed my goal to 10 pounds. i can do that. then when i lose those ten pounds i put another 10 pounds. three more things, drink water lots of it, move more whether just walking or in my case i quit using elevators. start little and then as you get healthier you can increase your exercise types. next encourage friends and co workers to join you. lastly, i will be praying for you and our journey. Lisa
  • eag264
    eag264 Posts: 116
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    good luck Jenn! I also have a huge goal in front of me and wan to lose 100 lbs within a year. From there I will readjust my goal to add another 50 but right now I want to make that 100 lb mark.

    Feel free to add me!!
  • Iwillblossom
    Iwillblossom Posts: 44 Member
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    Friend request sent. :)
  • tepala21
    tepala21 Posts: 17
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    Hi! I have also been down the road of endless diets and schemes that I never truly seem to follow through with. My biggest struggle is the day I decide to 'diet' I seem to get these immense cravings for terrible high calorie foods.... and then I give in to them... and say, there's always tomorrow... But tomorrow never seems to come.... and TODAY is the day. I'm tired of the guilt and constant ticking up on the scale. I'm done with letting myself down. It's time for a change.
    Wishing you all the best. We CAN do this!!

    Also looking for friends/motivators. Please feel free to add me!!
  • bossyfairy
    bossyfairy Posts: 111 Member
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    Hi hun,

    I've just started on this mammoth life change too!

    We can do it!
  • BadKnee150
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    Sent a friend request. Liked your profile where you talked about fitting into "regular" people clothes. I've felt that way since the 7th grade. I AM finally going to do it and have a feeling you will too. Although my profile only says 60 lbs to lose, I lost 75 lbs in 2008 to 2009 (& kept it off) so total, when finished, I will have lost 135 lbs.
  • milknbeans
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    Morning everyone!
    Im new to this too. (Well not new to diets, but new to this attempt!) I want to lose half a stone at a time, and keep steadily going. I have one new born, a wedding and a holiday to aim for and keep me motivated....must not look at Easter eggs, must not look at Easter eggs, must not look at Easter eggs! Good luck everyone!:smile:
  • LynneyMetcalf
    LynneyMetcalf Posts: 63 Member
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    Good luck! Will send you a friend request x