July 18 - What Motivates Me?

• OK, Joke's Over, Time For The "Serious" Update!

  I'm amazed at how many new folk are blogging just since last Thursday! That's when I went to Phoenix. And now I'm back, and online again, and BAM! There are newbies! Thanks for blogging everyone! Newbies read this paragraph, everyone else you already know this....SO. Hello. My name is GoalBySummer. I began the program last year, July 27th. My highest weight last summer was 266.5 lbs, and I am 5 foot 2-ish, 5 foot 3-ish, so I basically felt like Jabba-the-Hut. I wore a size 26 Womens Stretch jean (and it was tight!), and a 2X top. I had been overweight or obese for lots of my childhood, and from about 6 months after my wedding up until last July. (Well, technically I am still overweight by 1 pound right now...) That (my wedding) was 15 1/2 years ago. So I spent from age 22 through 36 feeling fat and ugly and unfeminine. I withdrew within myself, and hid behind my fat. It insulated me from life, from emotions, from everything. Last summer, I fell in a parking lot while holding my precious precious little boy, Julian. He was not quite 2 at the time, and as I fell in slow motion, I was terrified. All my fears were realized when his head smacked the asphalt. We went to the emergency room, and thank God he was ok...but it sent me into a depression. You see, I am convinced that if I had not been morbidly obese, I could have regained my footing. It all happened so slowly, and it was such a slight turn of the foot to begin with. I knew then and there that my excess weight was coming off it if killed me. It was killing me. But now it was endangering my son's life, too, because I was slow and clumsy. A week and a half later, I saw a Medifast ad. I saw that a lady had lost 170 lbs in 11 months. I knew that if she could do that, I could lose at least 100 lbs in a year. So I embarked on my journey, and have never looked back. Now, almost a year later, I glance backwards to reflect and to thank God that He's brought me this far. It's a His part/My part thing. He won't do it all, but He does give me the strength to act on my choices. I just commit it to Him every day. So, almost 12 months and 125 lbs lighter, I feel great. My family is doing great, my son Julian needs a kidney transplant and so he is on the list for that, my husband is back on Medifast to lose a few of the pounds he has regained. Me, I'm just cruising along, in a size 4-6 Misses Levi's jean, and a size 3-5 juniors top (the equivalent of about a 4-6 misses top). My dress size is a size 6, and I could not be happier. Or healthier. My husband and I would like to try for another baby, and we will do that as soon as I have transitioned. My Medifast-set goal was 118, but that is about 24 lbs from now, and I'm not sure I need to be that low, since I've been careful to exercise and preserve lean body mass as I've lost my weight. 118 might be too low for me. We shall see once I get to my wedding weight, which is 14 lbs from where I am now, or 128. My hubby said as soon as I can fit back into my wedding dress, he will rent a tux and we'll go out on the town for fun! A year ago I never in a million years thought that in a little over a year I might possibly fit into that dress again! What a dream come true. Almost. So, I keep going. I keep eating my oatmeal, and my pudding, and my shakes, and my Lean and Greens, and drinking my water and exercising. Because life is too precious to waste it on empty calories. The people that are dear to us don't want us to keep digging our graves with a fork and spoon. You all are here for one reason. To lose weight. You all come from different backgrounds, different circumstances, different lives. But you are here to lose weight. So get to it. Do the program. It is simple. 5 Medifast Meals. One Lean and Green. Drink all your water. If you are trying to fit something into the program that just isn't there, give it up. Why? Because if you don't, you are saying that "Item of Choice" is more important to you than your weight loss. You are giving up all your hopes and dreams for yourself for a piece of "whatever", and you aren't serious about doing this once and for all. This isn't just another failed diet plan. This is Medifast. It works. It works if you work it. If you don't, then it doesn't. If you go off every weekend, you will keep yo-yoing and aren't building good habits at all. You'll keep playing at dieting, but never getting serious. So get serious. You have a powerful tool at your fingertips. A successful tool. But there is also a reason that all of the "official" success stories have an asterisk that says *Results Not Typical. Because it takes courage and strength of character and sheer self-discipline to stay on this program. And the typical person will let a few minor slip-ups cause them to throw in the towel. But don't. Stay at it. Work at it. You will be rewarded with results. I was afraid when I read "results not typical" that it meant not everyone could physically lose weight on Medifast (even if they stuck to it like glue). Then I learned very quickly that EVERYONE can lose weight on this program, if they have any excess weight to lose. When I figured that out, nothing could get me off program. Now, I'd love to say I'd been perfect and had zero "off" meals throughout my entire 12 months. But that would be dishonest. I have. But everytime I deviate, there is the fear that this time will be THE time that I can't get back on. That this time will be THE time that I will lose that special little bit of drive that keeps me on plan and going in the right direction. It is playing with fire to do planned cheats. So I don't. All of mine have snuck up on me. Thankfully, I've had the presence of mind to remember that overeating two days in a row, or two meals in a row, is super dangerous. It will set me back a week or two. What a waste that is. Anyway, all that to say if you are new, do the plan, as written. If you're a veteran, kudos to you for hangin' in so long. Oh, and yes, I did not report on my weekend in Phoenix. I went to a church where there were about 10 people who knew me right after I got married and got fat. Most of them had never seen me thin. Three of them I knew from high school, so they had seen me all over the map weight wise. They were all flabbergasted. Some didn't recognize me at first glance. What a fun fun morning that was! Ok, this is super long so I'll go now. It's good to be back. Take care y'all. Oh, and to any newbies, just so you know, I'm a plain talking truth-talker, and I don't mean to offend anyone with my comments. If you have an issue with anything I've commented on your blog, please Private Message me, and we can talk about it and I can apologise to you. I've gotten into more than my share of debates, I've lived through them, and am pretty unwavering in my position. But to each his own. posted Wednesday, July 18, 2007 11:49 PM by goalbysummer | 13 Comments [Edit Post]

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