One Less Thing!

Early on, I vowed I wouldn't put myself on the WWW for any reason. I mean, I refused to look at pics of myself for years...even though my husband proudly took pictures of me and was never embarrassed to show them to people (oh how I love that man!). I couldn't look at the truth in pictures even when I made my MFP commitment! Today is the first day I truly LOOKED at them. I'm mortified, to be honest. I'm even SWEATY in one of the pics (and not from exercise!) sheesh.

But I have been inspired by those who came before me...pouring over the before&after pictures and reading the stories. And YES, I bawled more than once, reading the stories of passion and watching these folks transform their lives here on the WWW. So inspiring!

I impulsively decided to share my own story today. I felt guilty to suck up all the good stuff from everyone and not put anything out there in return. And YES, I bawled more than once when I went searching my old computer (and my husband's old phone) for *before pics* Good grief, how could I have ignored the fatness for so long?!! I'll make my story as brief as I can; it's not that spectacular really. What IS spectacular is how MFP changed my life!

I'm 54. In April 2015 I got laid off from a job I had for 8 years (inside a 30-year career). I knew the job hunt would be brutal and I decided I needed to do WHATEVER I had to - to level the playing field. I wanted to know all the rejections I was going to face weren't because I personally looked like I didn't give a fat-rat's-*kitten* about myself or had given up and wanted to coast into retirement. I wanted to stay relevant... age-ism is alive and well [I was soon to find out]. I already felt like a loser and I needed to know the rejection WASN'T PERSONAL. I needed one less thing to stress about.

I counted calories and lost weight about 10 years ago, when there were no apps to make it easier. I followed WW guidelines but never counted points -->I counted calories instead and wrote them down. MFP was EXACTLY the tool I needed; it took me a nano-second to embrace it and follow it to the T. The biggest truth I've learned here is: separate the diet and the exercise. 90% kitchen/10% gym. This fact alone has helped me relax about weight loss: I may not always have the time or energy to exercise but I ALWAYS MAKE TIME to plan, prep, prelog and weigh my food. Without fail. It took me 8 months to lose almost 50 lbs. I'm in my maintenance range now. I do kettlebells (30 lb) 4-5x per week. I love the strength and get the cardio at the same time.

And yeh, the job hunt WAS BRUTAL. Rejection -- or rather, being totally ignored, has happened for months. But at least I know it wasn't personal. I have started a new, lucrative and rewarding career that is stressful but I get to help other people and I'm really happy about that!

My hope for this post: I want other women around my age to know that losing weight is absolutely possible. I sucked it up, no excuses. I took fantasy [about how much I ate] out of the equation, got serious about CALORIES IN, became best friends with my food scale--> and the weight fell off...right on schedule. As for working out: I got muscles in 30 minute workouts 3-5x per week (I work out at home with DVDs). That is all. We cook great tasting, simple healthy meals that are easy to measure & count and never leave me wanting restaurant or fast food substitutes. Oh, and we eat ice cream every single day!

This turned out to be not-so-brief. Maybe I faced rejection because I CAN'T STOP TALKING. heh. I have more pics in my profile.