Barb thanks so much for creating this thread. It is a fantastic way for us to check in with ourselves and see if we are still aligned with the objectives for ourselves as well as to reflect on lessons learned.

I started my journey spontaneously on 20 Dec last year. The main thing I wanted to do was to get back my energy because I had become such a couch potato that even my brain was mushy. I've never dieted so I didn't know what I was in for.

My very two discoveries was to find out that I really, really dislike food in general and that I have an eating disorder. I have learned so much about dieting and how the body works since being here, and each day I log in, I learn so much more.

My biggest discovery is that you can eat over your goal calories and still lose weight.

Yes I am losing wieght but what I am learning from everyone is great bonus, which contributes to a true lifestyle change. I've lost a third of my weight since starting.

Thanks everyone for being that so incredibly supportive and inspirational. I trully feel so blessed to know you all.

Huge hugs.
A.

Tomorrow will be my 90th day on MFP. I have spent the last three days reading and re-reading Barb's and Alice's posts. Reflection is rather a foreign concept to me. I live so much in the here and now and the future. What is past is past, I can't change it, what is the next step is what I am always looking at. I have struggled to isolate and summarize what has changed in the last three months, though I know big and small changes have made my life so different in such a short period of time.

For me this journey started in mid October 2014 (weighed 292) when I was notified I had liver problems. By the beginning of November I was learning to eat a whole new way. It was hard, but Mark suggested I focus on the things I liked to eat and could eat instead of what I couldn't eat. With that shift in point of view, it became so much easier.

I have always been some degree of over weight. I had never dieted. I read everything I could find about becoming healthy. I was rather baffled by exercise with my physical limitations. The first of the year, I read an article about fitness apps. I checked out MFP and liked that I would be able to track my food (weighed 268). I found Cindy and L.O.S.T. in the forums. I was so glad to find friends and fellow travelers that were finding their way in a new lifestyle too.

The biggest changes in the last 90 days have been:

I started walking around my kitchen and doing Wii Fit in the beginning of January.
I started working out with dumbbells in the end of January.
I got my food scale and started weighing food the beginning of Feb.
The rest of February was spent increasing my exercise time.
March I increased my exercise time more and tried different exercises. I also worked on eating more protein and less rice cakes (I lost with the rice cakes for now). I also quit smoking two weeks ago.

Looking at the list, I did a lot and made amazing progress (lost 32 pounds) in a short period of time. I think the main thing that made me so successful was the motivation and encouragement from each one of you.

Cindy - Your dedication of watching your calories and working out despite long break neck days at work and with the family. You still check in here and have encouragement and a kind word for each of us.

Barb - Perseverance not perfection. No matter how heart breaking and hard life can be, you modify what you need to do and keep going to meet your goals. Your ability to look into yourself, then to articulate your thoughts and reasons to help others is amazing.

Alice - Every time I see your avatar in that blue dress or I have to pull up my drooping knickers, my heart smiles. I want to go just a little further in my exercise so I can get to where you are (minus the moon boot of course).

Karen - When I am whinny about working out, I remind myself that you have been out walking and have done chair exercises and you are making the effort against much worse physical limitations than I have, so I need to get to it.

Noodle - Almost every morning, I get on MFP and you have already been swimming before a long day at work. One day I will have a calorie burn like yours.

QT, NE, Julia, and Jen - All your kind words, thoughts, and prayers remind me I am not alone on this journey.

Thank you all!

Barb, Alice, and Liz-
Thank you for sharing your insights. Your words are inspiring to me to keep going; so that in 3 months I can look back on the things I've learned. Again thank you for being so open and honest about your struggles and your triumphs.

Jen~
We are sooo glad to have you!!!

Wow another 90 days gone.

The highlights of the last 90 days, I have quit smoking. My last cigarette was March 18. We got moved and settled in the new house. My weight has been between 236 and 229 usually around 233. I feel that I have successfully maintained these last 90 days.

I am annoyed with myself for not making the progress I am wanting to (I am my hardest critic). It is my fault as I have been back sliding and not putting in greater effort. I have been losing and gaining the same six pounds for three months. I have not been fired up to stay on track. I have been working hard physically and telling myself that I can eat a little more here and there and there and there... I have been eating the same things just more of them. I did find out that Biscoff Cookie Butter is the Devil . Its sweet song follows me through the store calling to me . Then if it is in the house it is relentless in trying to lure me to the cabinet (it wins). I keep telling myself not to buy it. My girls enjoy it too. My goal is no more cookie butter for the next 90 days. I am just not strong enough to have it in the house.

These last three months has shown me that I can maintain and not go overboard with re-gaining weight. I think that is my victory. It is good to know that my food choices and eating habits are sustainable. So I am on the right path to changing to a healthy lifestyle that is sustainable. Right now I need to push myself harder, I am not where I need to be yet.

I need to get back on track and kick some ---. I have my annual physical in Oct. My personal dream is to be at 192 (100 pounds less than last year). Then at Christmas when we see all the kids and the new baby I would like to be at 180. And in another year I would like to be maintaining at 150-160 when my son gets married. Joe called me this weekend to tell me he and Andrew are getting married the winter of 2016-17. Golden will be graduating in 2017 too. The goals are there. Now I need to get the motivation back to go after them. That will be my project for the next 90 days, getting the fire relit and taking my unruly self in hand and get back at it

Wow, where has the time gone? I really wanted to be down 50lbs. by now, but I have to say that I'm pretty proud that I've continued to lose weight fairly steadily despite a few bumps in the road. I hope to be down a total of at least 75lbs by Christmas, which is about 30lbs away, so I think that's an attainable goal.

Wow, we're seven months into the year! It's been trying these past few months. I'm no where near where I want to be but I'm still better off than this time last year.

It's been a struggle but I'm not giving up. I'm just going to dust myself off and keep moving forward. I definitely need to manage my stress levels and get enough sleep.

I deserve this!

JMarcella57 wrote: »

July is drawing to a close and the weigh-in number is finally starting to fall again. Amazing what happens when I get sufficient sleep most nights, log my foods, avoid highly processed and stay more active. Go figure.

lol!