Weight Loss Success Stories To Motivate/Inspire Us
We encourage moms that have had success with weight loss to join healthymoms.info and share their stories in hopes of motivating and inspiring us to continue our challenge. We know it's difficult and there are so many factors that get in the way of our success. Thank you in advance for taking the time to share your struggles and your success with us.
posted by Motivated Isabella @ 6:51 PM
4 Comments:
Hi, Losing weight, what a battle! I must have a very SLOOOOOOOW metabolism. I don't eat very much at all and I am exercising. I must just be gaining muscle and we all know that muscle weighs more than fat....Have you ever thought or heard youself saying one of these statements at least one time or another as why you aren't losing weight? Well, I did!!! I will share a few of the things that made losing weight for me a success. The first step to success start by being honest with yourself. Second, realize you cannot do this on your own. Lastly, make changes in your life slowly and don't expect change to happen over-night.
I am 5'2.5" and weighed 165 and was always dieting, but only getting bigger. It has taken me a period of 3 years to lose 40lbs. I tried Nuetra System, counting calories and fat along with 3-5 days of exercise per week. But why was I losing 5 lbs and gaining 7 lbs? Was I really sticking to my diet? Maybe I was just gaining too much muscle too fast (that sounded good to me). Well, NO! This is what was really happening. I would lose 5 lbs and reward myself...by eating wild and free!!Out the door with the diet world, at least for a couple of weeks. Until one day, I was brave enough to step back on the scale (just to remind me of what I had done). What a roller coaster! Besides being in denial about not sticking to my desire to lose weight, I had actually convinced myself that I really didn't eat a whole lot. I came to the realization that just because I was exercising on a regular basis, did not mean I needed to increase my calorie intake. I would tell myself that I must be gaining muscle instead of facing the painful truth that I was eating more. Also, I convinced myself into believing that I simply had a slow metabolism!!! and that was the reason for my re-gaining and not losing weight. Lies, Lies, Lies!!!. I was failing at dieting and losing the battle with weight loss!!!
When I stepped out of my dream world and was honest with myself, I realized I couldn't do it on my own. I was always stressed out and overwhelmed with the whole dieting thing, counting calories, exercising etc...After three years of dieting struggle, I decided to give my gluttony over to the Lord. I actually ased God for help. Go figure! Isn't that way we work? We do it on our own first and then we seek God out of desperation. Well, when I started praying about it, God showed me up front where I needed help. First, He helped to be honest with myself and helped me admit that I had no self-control in regards to issues with food and issues in my life. Also, He helped me realize that I was consumed with dieting and needed to put my focus elsewhere. He also showed me to spend time with Him when I needed food as a my "quick fix". When I say quck fix I mean exactly that? I'm sure some of you can relate to what I am saying here. When things were rough, I would see seek out food as a temporary emotional cure all.
Once I was honest about my consumption, I started making some real changes. I started out with only eating three meals a day with healthy snacks in the middle. Then, I didn't allow myself to have second helpings. Then, I worked on down-sizing my portions of food on my plate. Slowly but surely my life style of eating was changing. I also didn't tell myself I couldn't have any sweets or junk food. I simply limited the amounts and the times I ate these. Sometimes I would pass up a social desert and other times I wouldn't. Once in a while I would have some ice-cream, other times I wouldn't! There were times failed and I would just come clean with myself and God and ask for His strength in me when I knew I needed it most.
This will sum it all up. Here is my Game Plan for getting a fresh start:
1. Give it all to the Lord. All your stresses regarding your weight and your dieting. Try to pray daily about it
2. Come clean with yourself. Be honest with yourself when you fail and move forward not backwards or sideways or no where.
3. Make small changes. a) Start by snacking healthy between meals. b) Then, stop having second helpings at each meal. c) down-size don't super-size portions on your plate. d) try to work in exercise 2 days a week then 3 days. Lenghthen time from 15 min. to 20 min. so on and so on and you will see the difference if you are honest with yourself.
4. Be accountable to a friend.
Once you get to your desired weight, be consitent with your new changed life style. Do a 5 lb check point. Anytime you gain 5 lbs, start cutting out something from your diet and increase your exercising a little more.
4.
WoW! What a great story! This is exactly what a lot of us needed to stay inspired!
Thank you Fleetingshadow! Have you managed to keep the weight off and are you still exercising?
I am almost 40 years old and I am 5'0. I have three children and my youngest boy is 4 1/2. Two years ago I got on my new scale and was shocked to see that I weighed almost as much as when I was pregnant with my first son. I weighed nearly 180 pounds. I had tried dieting before but always seemed to go back up to that number. When I saw how heavy I was I actually broke down into tears. I made an instant decision (this is the first step in being successful with weight loss) that I was going to get all that excess weight off and try to get down to a more healthy level for my height (more like 110-123). The first thing I did was to stop feeling sorry for myself and gave up soda pop. I would drink as much as two-three pops per day. I replaced soft drinks with water. I started eating smaller size meals and eating less cookies and pastries (which I loved). I started losing weight but not fast enough. A friend of mine (thank God for friends that care and take the time to invite you) invited me to try Curves for Women in Washougal. When I joined Curves for Women I was down to 169. Within a year, I went down to 135 and lost approx. 30 inches and almost 35 pounds. I have lost a total of 45 pound since I made the decision to get healthier. Now that I recall, I received an article from SouthWest Medical Center outlining the risk factors for being over-weight. That was the red-flag that went up in my head and I ran to buy my scale. I realized that early death can be upon me any moment if I didn't make drastic changes regarding my eating and exercise habits. I have dropped from a size 16-18 to a size 6-8. My current goal is to lose another 13-16 pounds by this spring. I don't want to restrict my calories (as it is recommended to lose weight), instead I have decided to supplement my Curves work-out with running and or toning/firming Pilates routines. They work fast! I feel that my decision to lose weight not only benefits me, it benefits my family too. They eat healthier now too! I thank God for helping me make it this far and I pray that He can do the same for you. I can not emphasize the importance in bringing this need of reaching a healthy level in your life to God. He will will you the confidence to reach your goals and the willpower that is needed to stay on track. Turn the television off and find friends that share the same interests like walking and exercising instead of going out for coffee and pie. Reserve cake and snack eating only for special occasions and enjoy your dessert but don't let one day of celebration ruin all your well deserved accomplishments. I am looking forward when I reach my 40th B-day. To be able to accomplish losing weight and maintain it during one of the most difficult times of our lives (near forty) I feel is my biggest accomplishement with my weight loss so far. I love to encourage other women to do the same so that can experience the engery and joy in getting up and appreciating life as God intended for us to enjoy. May you obtain success with your new goals. Just be patient with yourself and lose one pound at a time! The sooner you start the sooner you can accomplish your goals. I hope you have started already!
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