What prompted you to make a change?

My doctor wanted to put me on some medical packaged high-protein no exercise program, with coaching, etc. He also was somewhat discouraging about my ability to lose weight on my own. That kind of ticked me off, and so far this year, I've lost 50 pounds--want to lose 26 more--so that when I go back for my one-year check I can say--"Ha!"

And all I've done is (a) regular exercise (cardio, strength, stretching) and have held my calorie intake to a "sedentary" level (about 20% above BMR, which I calculate on a daily basis to correspond to weight change). I've averaged about a 800 calorie per day deficit so far.

And, of course, weighing and logging EVERYTHING before it gets it my mouth...

The only reason I gained weight is because of a doctor's incompetence. Instead of thoroughly checking my thyroid as I requested he insisted my fatigue, weight gain despite a low calorie intake and quite a few other glaring symptoms were due to (1) my age/menopause, (2) anxiety and/or (3) that I obviously didn't know enough about dieting and nutrition to have any idea what I was talking about regarding eating low calorie.

When I was finally diagnosed with and properly medicated for hypothyroidism the weight came off relatively easily--I was able to eat just as many calories and lose as I had been eating and gaining on prior to diagnosis.

Moral of that story -- It's not always the patient who is lazy, incompetent or doing less than a stellar job. Sometimes it's the doctor.

I went to see an allergist once who complained that I needed to have Bariatric surgery done to lose weight and that it would help my allergies for me to lose weight. I was really ticked because, while I realize he's a healthcare professional, he's an allergist....not my primary internist or family doctor, or whatever. He said that if I could have lost the weight on my own I would have already. At that time, I wasn't ready to hear all of that - so it really ticked me off.

I ended up seeing a Bariatric doctor in 2011. He said before he'd do the surgery he wanted me to lose 90 pounds. I ended up losing the 90 pounds on my own - actually up to about 140 pounds - then gained back 100.

Anyway - during the weight loss process - people would ask me how I did it. When I would tell them, their eyes would glaze over and they'd look at me like I was speaking Greek. It was because the things I was doing that were helpful to me were things they weren't willing to do or wanted to do. That really frustrated me a lot. Don't ask me what I'm doing then act like I'm an alien for doing what works for me.

I think that's a big issue - most people don't want to do what it takes to lose weight. Don't get me wrong - I know a lot of people will complain they have medical things that complicate it - and trust me...I have medical things that complicate my weight loss efforts too. But with help from a nutritionist and a therapist, I've found things that help me lose weight that work for me because I was willing to make changes in that direction.

You gotta want it bad enough to put forth the effort.

I came home from being out of town for Christmas with my family and realized I had a sore in the fat roll on my thigh. I swore I would never, ever be so fat that I'd get a sore in a fold. But there I was. It broke me down. I went to the doctor in January and weighed 397 pounds. February 1st, I changed and I've lost 100 pounds. That roll on my thigh that started it all doesn't even exist anymore.

I had to do the walk of shame off a roller coaster that my son wanted to ride. Multiple convos with the doctor and t2 diabetes dx did nothing for my mindset. It was that roller coaster. I'm 112lbs down, off my blood pressure meds, and down to 1 diabetes med.