Heartache and Change

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NorthernMaineMom
NorthernMaineMom Posts: 20
in Introduce Yourself
Hi! My name is Jaci (that is pronounced JC not Jackie... LOL) I am a mom of two from a rural Northern Maine farming community. My son is D-Man who will be 10 in just 2 weeks and my daughter is Bean and she will be 6 in just 1 month. I also babysit two toddlers, Baby K who just turned 2 and Baby J who will be 2 at the end of February, so free time is a rare luxury! (I am up at 6am for my coffee ALONE before I get the kids up at 630 to get ready for school!)

On August 20th 2013 I lost my mother to a Sudden Cardiac Aresst, something that occurs with absolutly NO warning signs whatsoever, only 1 in 19 people survive. My mom was gone in less than a minute. There are no symptoms, no direct causes, BUT one thing that is known is that being overweight puts more stress on your heart and thus raises your chances for SCA. My mom had about 40lbs to lose and was working on that with slow diet changes and walking. She was only 56 years old. Her sudden death made me look at ME harsher and realize that waiting to change is NOT an option!! She was a 5yr breast cancer survivor and a huge supporter of the Susan G. Komen Maine. We did the 1k for 4 yrs and last year I did the 5k for her! I managed to complete the 5k (that is 3.3 miles or so) in under an hour (58min). I want to do it again next year and finish in 45 min or less!!

One of the things that holds me back the most for exercise is that I was in a car accident 9 1/2 years ago that broke my pelvis in 5 places, broke ribs, fingers, toes, teeth and my nose as well as damaged muscles throughout my body. I work hard most days to just get through the everyday stuff with out major pain, somedays are good some are bad. I know that losing weight will help the stress on the old fractures, but a lot of exercises put to much stress on the fractures (think jumping jacks and such... OUCH) so I have to pick and choose what I can and cant do. I do love and do yoga though and my goal to start with is to do it once a week and go from there. I also have a treadmill and when all the Christmas stuff is put away I will be able to take that out and use it.

I am 5ft 8in tall but my legs are 36in long (do the math, that leaves just 32 in for the rest of me!)
I weigh 199 lbs and want to lose 50lbs
I wear a size 16 and would love to get down to a 10 some day!

Replies

  • ruthcyn
    ruthcyn Posts: 10 Member
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    Hi Jaci,
    I am so sorry to read about your mom and the pain you are experiencing. I am thankful to hear that you are using your pain to make positive changes in your own life. I am 55 years old, I lost 100 pounds 2 years ago, and maintained the loss for one year. I had a son that was deployed to Afghanistan last year (he returned home in Oct.), I dealt with the stress by overeating. Needless to say I gained weight because of my choices, 50 pounds. I am disappointed in myself for letting this happen, but not enough to wallow in self pity, after all, it was my choice to overeat. Your post is a wake up call to me that my health cannot afford me to use food as a stress relief. Thank you for sharing your story, if you are interested in adding me as a friend, I would be glad to travel this journey of change with you.
  • mccindy72
    mccindy72 Posts: 7,001 Member
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    Hi Jaci,
    I can commiserate with your pain issues. I've had a diskectomy and 2-level fusion, along with another partial diskectomy and laminectomy. Fancy terms for a messed up back that hurts every day. What I've found is that the elliptical machine works well for me The no-impact movement gives me the ability to get my heart rate up and sweat without hurting my back. My doctor told me no running, ever again, and jumping is also a no-no. I can do weights if I lie on the floor to do them, and standing squats and lunges help too.
  • ZealousMissJJ
    ZealousMissJJ Posts: 454 Member
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    Hi Jaci,

    I'm so sorry about your mom.. I know what it's like although I got the chance to say goodbye.

    You're already doing amazing in realising that you might need to change. I can only speak from personal experience, but for me 80% is your diet. Find out what your TDEE is and eat at -20%. Weigh EVERYTHING. You'll easily overestimate. I eat 'clean' (unprocessed, no grains, starch or pasta) for 80-90% of the time. The rest I eat within my macro's if I can.

    I started with cardio, but after 1,5 years found out that that wasn't working for me. I started lifting heavy and now both the weight comes off more easily but more importantly; I look better and feel better.

    Can you go to a gym? Do you have time and money for it? If so, you might want to ask a trainer to give you some advice on what excersizes to do that won't strain your fractures too much. It would be great if you could do some heavy lifting, but you should find out if you physically can without creating injuries.

    Focus on food first. It's 80% of all the work. It's almost like a science, but it's great to learn new things every day. I haven't been sick in two years (knock on wood). I sleep better, my energy is more dispensed throughout the day (I used to have sugar highs and would need to sleep half an hour later). Working out is very beneficial but will never work as good as watching your diet!


    Good luck lady. I have faith in you :flowerforyou:.
  • naticksdonna
    naticksdonna Posts: 192 Member
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    Hey Jaci!

    So sorry about your Mum. I lost my dad the same way in 1985. Never a day goes by that I don't miss him. Take control of your life and make good choices with your food. I've lost a total of 67 lbs since 2012 and kept all but this Christmas's blowout off! I have a hard time exercising as I was in a head on collision that pretty much turned my legs to corn flakes so I have to pick and choose the exercises I do and find what works even for a short time. Pain is just another companion in my day so I just try to deal with it as best I can. Do your research and start slowly and I'm sure you'll find great success! If you need or want more friends, feel free to add me. I will say I'm not one to placate - if you whine and I think you're slacking I will call you on it. It's something I need to do for my own recovery. Occasional lapses are one thing but full scale eating crappy foods is something I can't handle. I live in New Hampshire, by the way, so we're neighbors!! Enjoy the snow!! And good luck, you can do this!!
  • NorthernMaineMom
    NorthernMaineMom Posts: 20
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    Hi Jaci,
    I am so sorry to read about your mom and the pain you are experiencing. I am thankful to hear that you are using your pain to make positive changes in your own life. I am 55 years old, I lost 100 pounds 2 years ago, and maintained the loss for one year. I had a son that was deployed to Afghanistan last year (he returned home in Oct.), I dealt with the stress by overeating. Needless to say I gained weight because of my choices, 50 pounds. I am disappointed in myself for letting this happen, but not enough to wallow in self pity, after all, it was my choice to overeat. Your post is a wake up call to me that my health cannot afford me to use food as a stress relief. Thank you for sharing your story, if you are interested in adding me as a friend, I would be glad to travel this journey of change with you.

    Thank you! I have added you as a friend
  • NorthernMaineMom
    NorthernMaineMom Posts: 20
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    Hi Jaci,

    I'm so sorry about your mom.. I know what it's like although I got the chance to say goodbye.

    You're already doing amazing in realising that you might need to change. I can only speak from personal experience, but for me 80% is your diet. Find out what your TDEE is and eat at -20%. Weigh EVERYTHING. You'll easily overestimate. I eat 'clean' (unprocessed, no grains, starch or pasta) for 80-90% of the time. The rest I eat within my macro's if I can.

    I started with cardio, but after 1,5 years found out that that wasn't working for me. I started lifting heavy and now both the weight comes off more easily but more importantly; I look better and feel better.

    Can you go to a gym? Do you have time and money for it? If so, you might want to ask a trainer to give you some advice on what excersizes to do that won't strain your fractures too much. It would be great if you could do some heavy lifting, but you should find out if you physically can without creating injuries.

    Focus on food first. It's 80% of all the work. It's almost like a science, but it's great to learn new things every day. I haven't been sick in two years (knock on wood). I sleep better, my energy is more dispensed throughout the day (I used to have sugar highs and would need to sleep half an hour later). Working out is very beneficial but will never work as good as watching your diet!


    Good luck lady. I have faith in you :flowerforyou:.

    Thanks for the faith! I need it LOL! I am keeping track of foods for the 1st mth, will work on changes in the 2nd mth. No point trying to change right away when I am not sure what needs changing first! I live in a very rural area so finding a variety of food is VERY hard. We have a small store here in town that carries the basics (meat, veggies, pasta, dairy, etc) BUT to get to a grocery store that has anything other than the cheapest most processed options it is a 75mile round trip. I make that trip once a mth to get what we can.

    No gym for me, that would be a 400mile round trip, yup when I said rural I meant rural LOL! I live in an amazing and beatiful area but it makes reaching any modern conviences difficult. The nearest Walmart is 40 miles away, the nearest natural food store is 200 miles away. It is also DARN COLD here (it was 47 BELOW 0 yesterday) so going outside is off limits till March except to run at full speed to the car or from the car to the house LOL!

    I figure I will track my food for a mth, and see what small change I can make (say cut back on one thing) track for another month, make another small change....etc... by the end of the year I will have slowly made a diet overhaul
  • NorthernMaineMom
    NorthernMaineMom Posts: 20
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    Hey Jaci!

    So sorry about your Mum. I lost my dad the same way in 1985. Never a day goes by that I don't miss him. Take control of your life and make good choices with your food. I've lost a total of 67 lbs since 2012 and kept all but this Christmas's blowout off! I have a hard time exercising as I was in a head on collision that pretty much turned my legs to corn flakes so I have to pick and choose the exercises I do and find what works even for a short time. Pain is just another companion in my day so I just try to deal with it as best I can. Do your research and start slowly and I'm sure you'll find great success! If you need or want more friends, feel free to add me. I will say I'm not one to placate - if you whine and I think you're slacking I will call you on it. It's something I need to do for my own recovery. Occasional lapses are one thing but full scale eating crappy foods is something I can't handle. I live in New Hampshire, by the way, so we're neighbors!! Enjoy the snow!! And good luck, you can do this!!

    Thanks, I added you!

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