One more attempt....

Options
meana717
meana717 Posts: 261 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Hello everyone,
The name is Amanda. I'm a 27 y/o Army veteran, army wife, and mother of 2. I have a soon to be 7 y/o son and a 3 y/o girl. I gained 80 lbs with my first pregnancy, lost all but 20 lbs and then found out I was pregnant again. Gained 60 lbs. I weighed 230 when I delievered each of my beautiful children. After my daughter I had got down to 210 when I deployed to Iraq. After 4 months in the desert I weighed 177lbs. I returned though, early, because my husband as well was deploying overseas. We decided that a dual military life wasn't for us, so I stayed home with the kids and he left for Iraq. Well... from the time he left in October till when he came home in June I BALLOONED up from 177 to 221. I have attempted everything from Calorie counting and Weight Watchers to excessive cardio and weight training. I had a personal trainer for a while, I've tried EVERY diet pill created as well as every fad diet and meal plan (with the exception of the expensive ones like Jenny Craig and Nutrisystem- frankly I don't have money for that )! I had the best success when I did weight watchers last October, went from 221 to 206 in just a short month and a half. However, I had to have surgery and fell off the Weight Watcher Wagon! So here I sit at 221 lbs.... and in dire need of a lifestyle change! My husband left on September 11th for another tour of duty in Iraq, and when he returns in February for our Anniversary (his R&R) I would like to be down at least 20-30lbs! So if any of you are in the Fort Lewis, WA area and willing/able to get together let me know. If not... well I'd still like some support and encouragement. Nice to meet you all! Thats my story!

Amanda

Replies

  • Robby
    Robby Posts: 41
    Options
    The fact that you are here and trying says enough! You can do this. It's not easy. Eat healthy, 1200-1400 cals a day and get active. Have fun with the little ones, race them, play with them, throw them in the air...it all adds up! Make sure you log what you eat and understand that it takes time, it's a lifestyle change, and at 1-2 pounds lost a week it will seem like forever. Don't give up!
  • PJilly
    PJilly Posts: 21,750 Member
    Options
    Hey Amanda, I live not too far from Ft. Lewis, in Puyallup.
  • pbakasha
    pbakasha Posts: 8
    Options
    Welcome!!! I have only been on this site for a short amount of time but the support here is overwhelming. You will read so many stories of encouragement and you will see that you are not alone in your struggles. You should be able to find at least one person who can relate to your story (military-wise). I know a co-worker was in your shoes several years ago. Do not stress about 'bad days' as you will be able to see from posts, everyone here has one. This has been a great site for me so far because it kind of holds you accountable for what you eat (as long as you are honest about putting it down). It is not barking at you or screaming at you or guilting you if you don't stay within the recommendations but it will show you "if you do this every day, you will weigh XXX in 5 weeks" so you can modify and adjust things accordingly. Since you are military (and you still are mentally and married), pay attention to how fast you eat. I grew up in a family of 5 kids and if you didn't eat it quick, it was taken off of your plate. Plus, you couldn't get seconds until you had finished all of the first and we all wanted that last scoop of mac and cheese or mashed potatoes. With my job (Police, Fire, 9-1-1 dispatcher), I still eat extremely fast since you never know what call will come in next. I am having to retrain myself as a 36 year old on how to eat slowly and enjoy my food. Most of the time, I would be miserable about 30 minutes after eating because then my body had time to realize exactly how much I had consumed becausue I could consume a 5 course meal in 3 minutes flat. Small changes really add up. Have faith and know that this is a huge step in the right direction. Feel free to add me as a friend and I will provide all of the moral(e) support I can muster :wink:
  • patrice27
    patrice27 Posts: 48
    Options
    Hi Amanda- I found this site in September. There are alot of people traveling the same path as you are, and the support and information on this site is wonderful. The calorie tracker is very helpful to me, as are the calculators. If you look around the different groups there are many people that have dropped 50, and even a few that have dropped more than 100 lbs! It is truly inspiring to read the success stories, and realize that it is just one day at a time and you will have good and bad days-but there are always buddies here to help limit the damage on bad days.
    Hope your husband's deployment goes well.
    Patrice
  • 1Sweets
    1Sweets Posts: 395
    Options
    Good for you coming here to MFP. Welcome! pbakasha has pretty much said it all but do consider that this is FREE & doesn't require you to leave for a meeting or recount by their ruler. You just count what's on the package or what people just like you & me have inputted into the MFP calorie journal. It's that simple. Stick to your calories, exercise & you'll loose weight. Good luck & hope to hear or see you around. :drinker:

Categories