Thinking of "starting today"? You might want to check this out - pics inside!

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Replies

  • O2Bslimagain
    O2Bslimagain Posts: 120 Member
    What a wonderful gift to give to your kids and wife. I too am a start tomorrow person. I am a binge exerciser. I exercise to prepare for a race and then I stop and when I stop- I blow up like a balloon- my husband used to say- it is like someone has pulled the ripcord and you just expand. So, what did you do for your baby steps? Like what did you do on that first day? Did you go for a walk- did you change just one eating habit? I am carrying a lot of extra weight and I am starting to feel the downside of that. My knee's hurt, my feet hurt- I feel sluggish and tired all the time. I go to the gym and work out and feel great, but then I look in the mirror and I can't believe what I look like. It gets discouraging. I often lose hope, because I feel like I can't change- it is like I have so much fat around my midsection that I can't see it going away. Then I come home and pig out, because I know I can start again tomorrow. One of these days there won't be a tomorrow or my tomorrow's turn into years and then decades. Other times I start to picture myself healthy and not skinny, but muscular and fit- I actually put on muscle pretty fast. My downfall is what I eat- cakes, cookies, chips, pop occasionally, chocolate and candy. I know they make me feel like crap, but I think I can get by with just eating one or two and the next thing I am devouring everything in sight.

    Thanks again for sharing.
  • ewhip17
    ewhip17 Posts: 515 Member
    brklyn8102 wrote: »
    This is great. I bet nothing compares to keeping up with your kid (s)! Congrats!

    I may never be able to do that.. haha.
  • ewhip17
    ewhip17 Posts: 515 Member
    savila311 wrote: »
    I just started today im 22 and i weigh 222.4, I joined 24hr fitness and am going to go everyday for a week 1hr maybe more. I am also counting calories and trying to watch what I eat, I hope to have your progress! My son wanted me to be skinny for Christmas. I ccouldn't do it 2014 year but iI'm going to do it 2015! CONGRATS on yr weight loss!

    Awesome. One day at a time. :-)

  • ewhip17
    ewhip17 Posts: 515 Member
    Wow you are such an inspiration! and you look wonderful now!

    Thanks - it's hard to wrap my brain around. I don't recognize myself in the mirror.
  • doh2
    doh2 Posts: 8
    very inspirational..you look absolutely superb! Well done
  • lcantrell65
    lcantrell65 Posts: 228 Member
    "I spent 10 years starting tomorrow. Start today."

    I loved this!!! Congratulations on your first 5K, and you look great.
  • Awesome job!
  • krysmuree
    krysmuree Posts: 326 Member
    You look incredible! Congratulations on all of your hard work and success. :)
  • Wow! You look great!
  • ewhip17
    ewhip17 Posts: 515 Member
    What a wonderful gift to give to your kids and wife. I too am a start tomorrow person. I am a binge exerciser. I exercise to prepare for a race and then I stop and when I stop- I blow up like a balloon- my husband used to say- it is like someone has pulled the ripcord and you just expand. So, what did you do for your baby steps? Like what did you do on that first day? Did you go for a walk- did you change just one eating habit? I am carrying a lot of extra weight and I am starting to feel the downside of that. My knee's hurt, my feet hurt- I feel sluggish and tired all the time. I go to the gym and work out and feel great, but then I look in the mirror and I can't believe what I look like. It gets discouraging. I often lose hope, because I feel like I can't change- it is like I have so much fat around my midsection that I can't see it going away. Then I come home and pig out, because I know I can start again tomorrow. One of these days there won't be a tomorrow or my tomorrow's turn into years and then decades. Other times I start to picture myself healthy and not skinny, but muscular and fit- I actually put on muscle pretty fast. My downfall is what I eat- cakes, cookies, chips, pop occasionally, chocolate and candy. I know they make me feel like crap, but I think I can get by with just eating one or two and the next thing I am devouring everything in sight.

    Thanks again for sharing.

    So I've totally been there. The mental battle is greater than the physical one sometimes. And yes it was baby steps but mainly because this time I gave myself permission to not be perfect. I literally started by focusing on each meal and just trying to do a better job for THAT meal. If I did then, great, move on to the next. If I didn't then, ok, do a better job with the next one. Small changes add up to big results.

    And I also tried to pay really close attention to what my body..... And mind... Needed to succeed. For example, I must eat something around 3-4pm. If I don't, I'll soon be found in a fetal position on the floor of the pantry covered in chip crumbs, granola bar residue and cracker dust. So learning just that one thing made a dramatic improvement for me.

    Regarding exercise, I literally just tried to move more. Parked my car farther away. Took the stairs. And yes, just went for a walk. I've lost 122lbs by just going for a walk. I now enjoy it but at first it was hard.

    But more than anything else it just came down to realistic expectations, the ability to move on from a setback rather than letting it give you an excuse to quit, and never quitting. Bad day? So what, it happens. Make today a better day. Get some momentum. You'll never make any progress forward without momentum. And you CAN do it.

  • astrose00
    astrose00 Posts: 754 Member
    Great post. Congrats!!! I'm almost halfway to my dream goal weight but I agree that it's best to just start today. My "today" was on September 22 and I haven't looked back. I'm so glad I decided to do it.

    Thanks for sharing your story. How are you feeling these days? Is this something you feel you can keep up forever? How has your mindset changed? I dream and fret about maintenance. I am so anxious to get there but don't want to mess it up once I do.
  • ewhip17
    ewhip17 Posts: 515 Member
    edited January 2015
    astrose00 wrote: »
    Great post. Congrats!!! I'm almost halfway to my dream goal weight but I agree that it's best to just start today. My "today" was on September 22 and I haven't looked back. I'm so glad I decided to do it.

    Thanks for sharing your story. How are you feeling these days? Is this something you feel you can keep up forever? How has your mindset changed? I dream and fret about maintenance. I am so anxious to get there but don't want to mess it up once I do.

    Congratulations - nice work!

    I feel great honestly. But I completely hear you about maintenance. I have the same anxiety.

    Realistically, I've had to recognize that I may have to be regularly active and track my calories for the foreseeable future. That's why I chose this method and why it worked for me. It's simple, sustainable and it gives me the information I need to make sure I'm being honest with myself about my decisions. And that's the biggest mindset change I think - realizing that, left to my own devices I don't truly "eat like a normal person" which is something I used to try to convince myself that I was doing.

  • astrose00
    astrose00 Posts: 754 Member
    ewhip17 wrote: »
    astrose00 wrote: »
    Great post. Congrats!!! I'm almost halfway to my dream goal weight but I agree that it's best to just start today. My "today" was on September 22 and I haven't looked back. I'm so glad I decided to do it.

    Thanks for sharing your story. How are you feeling these days? Is this something you feel you can keep up forever? How has your mindset changed? I dream and fret about maintenance. I am so anxious to get there but don't want to mess it up once I do.

    Congratulations - nice work!

    I feel great honestly. But I completely hear you about maintenance. I have the same anxiety.

    Realistically, I've had to recognize that I may have to be regularly active and track my calories for the foreseeable future. That's why I chose this method and why it worked for me. It's simple, sustainable and it gives me the information I need to make sure I'm being honest with myself about my decisions. And that's the biggest mindset change I think - realizing that, left to my own devices I don't truly "eat like a normal person" which is something I used to try to convince myself that I was doing.
    I scour the pages on this site and the thing that most maintainers say is that they weigh themselves all the time and continue to log. I'm not sure I will log the way I have been during weightloss but I plan to weigh myself daily and have a 3-5lb window that I can never exceed. If I do, I will go back to caloric deficit. My sister is also on a weight loss journey and we talk all the time about changing our view of food. In my family, it was always THE focus at our gatherings. It'll be quite a challenge to change this but we've taken the focus off of food during the holidays and it's been great. I've yo-yo'd in the past but really want this to be the last time I have to lose weight. I envy the few friends I have who eat to live instead of living to eat. Not overeating or not eating poorly on a consistent basis shouldn't be that much of a challenge. I am working everyday to drill that into my head.


    Congrats again on your great accomplishment. I can't wait until I'm drafting my success stories post!!!
  • wildcowbell
    wildcowbell Posts: 15 Member
    Such a difference, great work! I'm sure it was tough, but so worth it!
  • gitanab76
    gitanab76 Posts: 4 Member
    Can't wait to have a story like yours! !! Good job!!!
  • bookworm_847
    bookworm_847 Posts: 1,903 Member
    ewhip17 wrote: »
    I spent 10 years starting tomorrow. Start today.

    I love this. Congratulations to you on all of your hard work!
  • misalillstead
    misalillstead Posts: 407 Member
    Such and inspiration! Thanks so much for posting and congrats on your success!!!
  • O2Bslimagain
    O2Bslimagain Posts: 120 Member
    Thank you for your words of encouragement. It has been 10 years for me to of saying I will start tomorrow. I have started and lost weight built muscle and then quit. I joined mfp in 2011 and really haven't changed much. I lose weight. I exercise. I run a race. I quit. I exercise, lose weight and quit. I can't seem to get past once I lose weight to keep on exercising. I used to be where I only needed to lose 10 lbs then 20 then 30 then 40. Now I am up to needing to lose 50 lbs. That might not seem like a lot compared to some that are over that 50 lbs., but it is a lot to me and I seem to gain fat so fast that if I don't take care of it now - I will just continue to grow. I am glad to hear that you had hard days and days where it took all you could to stay on track. Thanks again and today is going to be my "Today". I will keep you posted. If you want to add me as a friend- I would really like that.
  • So inspiring. What part of your journey seemed to "make all the difference?"
    Way to go!
  • ewhip17
    ewhip17 Posts: 515 Member
    edited January 2015
    strive58 wrote: »
    So inspiring. What part of your journey seemed to "make all the difference?"
    Way to go!

    You mean like taking the road less travelled by? :smiley:

    Grrrr.... MFP just vaporized the post I typed out. Let me try that again.

    Couple of things:
    - setting my weight loss expectation at 1-2lbs per week and always keepng that in mind. Kept me sane.
    - Being able to shrug off a bad day. A 1500 calorie Hershey bar and peanut butter incident comes to mind... Tomorrow is always another opportunity to succeed as long as I don't quit today.
    - Pizza. Fitting it in to my day as often as possible.
    - Not making my quest for better health a huge deal. Just going about it just like I would any other activity like going to work or brushing my teeth or mowing the lawn. Not singling it out as anything more extraordinary than any other daily activity.
  • You are a huge inspiration! Congrats, you look great!
  • nlmillervt
    nlmillervt Posts: 242 Member
    So I've totally been there. The mental battle is greater than the physical one sometimes. And yes it was baby steps but mainly because this time I gave myself permission to not be perfect. I literally started by focusing on each meal and just trying to do a better job for THAT meal. If I did then, great, move on to the next. If I didn't then, ok, do a better job with the next one. Small changes add up to big results.

    And I also tried to pay really close attention to what my body..... And mind... Needed to succeed. For example, I must eat something around 3-4pm. If I don't, I'll soon be found in a fetal position on the floor of the pantry covered in chip crumbs, granola bar residue and cracker dust. So learning just that one thing made a dramatic improvement for me.

    Regarding exercise, I literally just tried to move more. Parked my car farther away. Took the stairs. And yes, just went for a walk. I've lost 122lbs by just going for a walk. I now enjoy it but at first it was hard.

    But more than anything else it just came down to realistic expectations, the ability to move on from a setback rather than letting it give you an excuse to quit, and never quitting. Bad day? So what, it happens. Make today a better day. Get some momentum. You'll never make any progress forward without momentum. And you CAN do it.

    Thank your for your inspirational story and your wise words!
  • ksmithnh
    ksmithnh Posts: 68 Member
    Thank you so much for sharing your story! I had such a good start to my journey but I hit a plateau and have completely gotten off track the last couple of months. I feel terrible but can't seem to get my inspiration and motivation back. I think I lost sight of the big picture and what is possible because I still have so far to go. Your commitment and results are so encouraging! Congrats :)
  • ewhip17
    ewhip17 Posts: 515 Member
    Thanks everyone!
  • ewhip17
    ewhip17 Posts: 515 Member
    ksmithnh wrote: »
    Thank you so much for sharing your story! I had such a good start to my journey but I hit a plateau and have completely gotten off track the last couple of months. I feel terrible but can't seem to get my inspiration and motivation back. I think I lost sight of the big picture and what is possible because I still have so far to go. Your commitment and results are so encouraging! Congrats :)

    Yeah, been there for sure. In the past I think I got too caught up in chasing motivation when I should have just taken one simple action in the right direction. I think that a lot of times just taking that action, making that gesture, actually turns into motivation. I find myself even doing this with work now as well - when I've been putting something off that I don't particularly want to do I try to stop looking for motivation to do it and instead just do one little thing to get started and before I know it I'm on a roll. Ummmm..... Roll...... ;-)
  • Serendipity5215
    Serendipity5215 Posts: 190 Member
    What a tremendous accomplishment!! Congrats!! :)
  • MargueriteMuguet
    MargueriteMuguet Posts: 230 Member
    Bravo!
  • groversa
    groversa Posts: 450 Member
    You are such an inspiration! This is wonderful, great job!!
  • ewhip17
    ewhip17 Posts: 515 Member
    Thanks - I have to make one confession about an unfair advantage I may have: my wife. She's a total rock star and has made a number of sacrifices over the past year so that I could pursue this.
  • iSpeakLife
    iSpeakLife Posts: 104 Member
    You look great, I love the: I spent 10 years starting tomorrow. Start today - so true!

    Awesome!
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