What changed?

Written late in August.

I have now been using Myfitnesspal for 9 months, and believe it or not, I have now lost a total of 95.8 pounds.

First, what does that look like?

Well, here is a picture of me before I determined that I had to do something to lose weight.

This is me in June of 2006.                                   This is me in June of 2014

And the following pictures are of me this year.

               This is me in July.                          This is my sister and me in August.


Second, what has changed in my life as a result of the significant weight loss?

The first chance is the fact that I find it easier to climb the stairs, walk, and do other everyday chores. I also am able to go to the gym and workout more.  In, addition, my blood sugar and my blood pressure have gone down, which means my health is improving.  I also have been seeing a man who adjusts me on a regular basis.  Before I started losing a significant amount of weight, my hip could be out anywhere from half an inch to two and a half inches.  I know this to be true because my daughter has seen how my hip was hiked up further than the other one, and once, this guy took a picture of how bad it was and showed it to me.  During that time, I generally had to see him every two weeks, and I could tell I was out because my back and hips hurt. Now I can wait three weeks between sessions, and I have him work one the muscles in my shoulders and legs that hurt from doing weights to help strengthen those muscles.  The weights also help tone up the muscles.

In 2009 and in 2012, I had knee surgery, so I have two new knees.  Losing weight has also helped with my knees because after the surgeries the muscles in both knees were weak; now I am able to finally build up the muscles in both knees by doing some of the weight machines at the gym.

I am enjoying my new energy and my stamina during workouts h as improved.  I like my new life and am working to lose more weight.  I do have a goal in mind but am working on that goal in small increments.

I need to mention the improvement in self-esteem that has also occurred.  I now feel so much better about myself, and I feel like a winner.  I even feel proud of myself knowing that I have been able to adapt and continue this life style, for that is exactly what this is; it is a life-style change, and I never call it a diet because diets cannot be lived on for the rest of your life.

I know this post is not very long, but it was written some time ago, and I want to publish it so I can start the next post.  My sister gave me a number of ideas to write on, so the next one will be on what food choices have changed, but let me tell you, every change I made was liveable for me.  I did not make any changes I could not live with, and the biggest one for me is chocolate.  I did not cut chocolate out of my diet, for as I have said, I am the one in control of what I eat, and nobody tells me what I can and cannot have except me.  I love being in control - it is what I can live with.

If you are interested in trying to follow the plan I set for myself, I would be willing to help in any way that I can, so if you need an accountability partner, please contact me.  In addition, if you have questions, please contact me.  I know that not everyone is comfortable with posting questions or replies on comments, so, if you choose, you can email me at the following address: 4031.isa@gmail.com

I am willing to help in any way that I can.  I just want to be an encouragement to anyone and everyone who have been like me and wanted to do something to control their weight but felt it was an impossibility.  Let me assure you, that for years, I felt exactly the same way.  You cannot go through life being continually told by family and friends that you are 'fat' and then allow yourself to think that there is nothing you can do because that is just the way you are.  I understand that overweight people can find a way to like themselves and believe that there is nothing they can do to change, because that is exactly how I felt, and by listening to all the negative things people close to me said about me, I believed what they, unfortunately and unknowingly, encouraged me to believe.  This one step in my life has finally changed my life, and for the first time in a long time, I finally feel good about me.

If you want to be the person you truly want to be, the person you can see yourself becoming, then please consider trying the Myfitnesspal app or online site.  My mother does all her recording online, but my daughter and I do it on our iPhones, and sometimes I record on my iPad.  One word of advice, however, start with a calorie goal that does not make you suffer, give up too much at one time, or is too rigorous for you.  I started with 2400 calories but went down from there.  The program is designed to drop 50 to 100 calories every time you lose 10 pounds, but this is easy to ignore once and a while because you can choose to say yes or no to the drop, but don't do it too often because by dropping calories you also drop your pounds.  When I finally was able to not exceed my calorie intake limit, I started slowing leaving calories each day, and when I began walking, I did not add those calories until the end of the day when I knew I would not eat anything else.  This too has helped me to lose weight.

More than anything, I want to be an encouragement to anyone who wants to finally drop the excess pounds.  Health should not be the only reason you want to do this, although it is a very good reason, but you should want to do it first and foremost for yourself.

God bless, encourage, and uplift anyone who decides to give this a fair and honest try.  Please contact me if you need assistance, encouragement, moral support, and information.