Going from 321 to 117 and maintaining!

Thank you for your kind words. I'm putting a simple blog together about my challenges and how I went from 321 to 117 lbs. It is nothing fancy just an ordinary 5ft petite woman that fought hard to get my life back. I used a lot of different things to keep motivated and make it the long haul. When I have my blog address, I will put it in this section. I do need friends as I am still interested in maintaining my weight and encouraging others. Please add me if you like.

My Story

I was a skinny or my ideal weight through my twenties when I started putting on weight of about 40 pounds. I found out I had hypo-thyroid. By then I was depressed and binge eating because I was getting fatter and fatter. Before I knew it I was up to 220 pounds when I went back to college at 28 years old. I remember I could not hardly fit in the school desk where the table comes over your stomach. My table was slanted because of my stomach. I was filled with embarrassment and humiliation. By the time I graduated from college, my weight has increased to about 280. When I was working in my first professional position which was a 15 year stretch. I found myself continuing gaining weight. I finally hit 321 pounds and I was at my ending point. I could barely walk and get to my patient's homes, do rounds at the hospital, and the most embarrassing part is I had to use a hand towel to wipe when I went to the bathroom. I just couldn't go on anymore. Some say it is luck but for me it was my faith in God that he intervened. A good friend from high school happened to be in town and told me about another friend that had Gastric-Bypass Surgery and successfully lost weight and was maintaining it. This is a friend that was always heavy all of her life. I will not get into the Gastric-Bypass now. I will write on that in another section. After I healed from the surgery, I went home and started eating healthier and start the process of exercise. Little did I realize at the time how important exercise was and how much it would affect my life. In order to not get discouraged, I took my weight loss in 25 pound increments. I struggled on the treadmill at 321 and for a long time on a 5ft petite frame.. I did a little every day. My weight loss was a slow process and over the next two years I has shed all of the weight down to 150 pounds. I was exercising using the treadmill and walking outside and going on a trail and really getting addicted to exercise. I was struggling getting that last 50 pounds off so I turned to a Weight Loss organization for motivation and one that was a little strict because I had to eat pretty strict at first post-op. I had my 50 pounds off in 2005 and I weighed 115 to 119. This is the weight I've maintained from 2005 through 2015. I will say I got sick with some stomach problems in 2014 and had to be bedridden and so I put on about 40 pounds. Yes by being inactive. I had purchased a Fitbit Force in January, 2014. I decided I could do this on my own and continue to eat healthy and increase my exercise. I have continued the exercise and hit goals I never imagined I would. I'm at 119 and feel awesome. This weight loss but more so the exercising has affected me in so many positive ways. I have decreased depression, minimal stress, decreased/minimal anxiety, I feel happy and refreshed daily and I appreciate each day as it comes. I believe the serontonin going to the brain is making the difference in my life. I know this that my combination of healthy eating, exercise, and my sprirituality gives me balance whichs makes my life no matter what situation I am in or face bareable and I am just more at peace. If my journey in anyway can inspire you if you are reading this, I promise it is no special diets, pills, equipment, except I do use the Fitbit Charge HR, but it is up to you making the decision to first make the choice of a life style/lifetime change and taking action. I am by nature a person that motivates, inspires, and loves to see people get to be their best potential/the best you you can be. When you get there, you will have more confidence, find peace, and be able to face life's challenges with greater ease with having a clearer mind from three things, eating healthy, faith/higher being, and exercise. Lets reach out and help others. It's the right thing to do and it sure feels good! Let's get healthy and stay there!

This is me at Christmas and me now. I am at the weight I have been for 17 years. I had a medical problem and was in bed for three months and without exercise I put the weight on. This shows how imperative exercise is. I do NOT miss a day or if I do it is rare!