My First Thread EVER!!!!!! :)

[JBones]

Hi Everyone. I hope you will all welcome me here.. despite the fact that my situation is probably different than most of yours.

I am not a little overweight and soft and looking to get in shape.. I am fat. Obese. Morbidly obese. I'm kind of embarrassed writing that.. but there you have it.

I did BFL after my oldest child was born. I got in the best shape of my life. I looked great and felt wonderful. Of course at that time I only had some pregnancy weight to lose so the journey wasn't quite that arduous. I got pregnant again and never looked back. I went into some sort of crazy spiral where I would randomly decide to 'health it up' and then I would throw my hands up, say forget it and do worse than I had been doing before. To the point that a typical day for me would include drinking a full fat triple latte for breakfast, having grilled cheese with fries and cream soup for lunch, snacking on 2 candy bars and a bag of chips and then going home and eating a huge serving of pasta with sausage and garlic bread - and then a bowl of ice cream for dessert. That's right.. lots of sugar, tons of carbs, hardly any veggies. Exercise? My habit was to get up in the morning - sit on the computer and then go to work for 10 hours. Come home, cook dinner, play with my kids, watch tv and go to bed. When my kids ask me to play something more physical than video games or reading I would tell them that I would 'watch' instead. Crazy right?

A few weeks ago I noticed that I was a little out of breath after climbing up the stairs to my bedroom. Yeah.. they are steep steps.. but there are only NINE OF THEM! That scared me. I pulled BFL off my shelf.. but I wasn't ready for it. A week later - after a round of going nuts at various and sundry celebrations and parties… I was feeling dizzy and uncomfortable. I went to the doctor and blood tests showed that I was insulin resistant. My father was a diabetic. I am nearing 40. I am fat. I am female. I had gestational diabetes with both kids. The doctor told me that I would be diabetic and the only thing I could do to stop it would be to lose weight, exercise and eat right.

So I went home and picked up BFL again. I did not start last week. I read instead. I read and contemplated and thought about it. Just the idea of keeping my health in check for my kids, my husband and myself.. that seemed to make me curb some of my poorer habits and I found myself reaching for the foods I prepared for the boys and my husband - instead of the fat laden stuff I kept aside for me. Clementines instead of candy - water instead of fruit punch. Did I mention that my husband is a fitness buff? He is. He eats well, exercises daily - weights and cardio - and looks amazing with clearly defined muscles. And my kids? I have always been invested in their health - they eat plenty of whole grains, quality protein and limited sugar and junk. So it's almost like I go OUT OF MY WAY to eat poorly myself!

I finally began my journey on Monday. Fresh week, fresh start. I have already had a few missteps.. but the AMAZING thing to me is that I am not giving up just because I slipped a little. I did not turn a bite of sushi into a 3 day chocolate binge. I did not pack it in because I could only make it 15 minutes on the elliptical. I acknowledged that I didn't do perfect and moved on.

But I am going to need support. I'm needing to have that extra encouragement to keep going.

I hope I can find it here!

[Jared]

Your candor is inspiring; thanks for sharing! I look forward to following along on your journey.

[BlakeD]

Agreed - it sounds like you're ready to tackle this. Just remember that no matter what exercise and nutrition plan you want to follow, this is a lifetime commitment. So don't be discouraged on a daily or weekly basis based on the scale. You have to have a long-term outlook and be mentally committed to seeing it through. You also have to have attainable goals, which is why the 12-week challenge is perfect -- it allows you to go all out for 12 weeks, and then look back at what you've accomplished, without the fear of thinking "How am I going to do this for the rest of my life?" By the end of the challenge, you'll know exactly how you're going to do this for the rest of your life, but there's no need to think about that now -- you need to focus on finishing these 12 weeks. In other words, don't get discouraged in Week 4 just because you realize you're not going to lose all of your weight by the end of 12 weeks. Keep going for the 12 weeks, then give yourself a week off, and then start on a new goal -- whether it's another 12 weeks, or 6 weeks, or something else. But the point is to keep up the exercise and the healthy eating.

As an example, I had about 60 pounds to lose back in August of last year, and I lost about 33 during the 12-week challenge. I then pushed on for almost 8 more weeks, taking only a few days off for Thanksgiving, and lost about 10 or 15 more. Now I'm starting on a new 6-week challenge to get the last 20 pounds off, and if I don't succeed by the 6-week mark, then I'll keep going. I must admit, when I first started I was hoping to lose all 60 by the end of the New Year, but now I realize that it doesn't really matter because even when I do reach my ideal weight, it's not like I can just quit. You have to make exercise and nutrition a permanent habit.

So good luck -- you can do it! Just keep at it, and even if it comes off only a pound a week, keep going. Because at the end you'll be able to look back at what you've accomplished.

[xiola]

Congratulations on starting! I started on Monday as well.

[ckaufman]

You are headed in the right direction and bound to end up at your desired destination. You are blessed with a healthy husband and family who will be no doubt encouraging you all the way along with the BFL community that knows exactly what you are going through. I support all your efforts and declare that you will accomplish every goal that you set your mind to. I believe the key is to make goals in increments as this helps victories become achievable. One day at a time. One day at a time.

[vaughan]

Hi JBones

I am also new to the BFL programme and almost complete with my second week .While I only have about 8 kg to lose, it is the mindset that is the most important part of the programme, Determination and Perseverance are the key to success.

I wish you every success in your journey.