Success as a Journey not a Destination

[Marlaine]

I'm writing the first chapter of my success story here today at the request of a new found friend in the forum!

On September 13, 2001 at 9AM I visited my doctor with the purpose of asking for her help with losing weight. I'd been trying low calorie/low fat and just wasn't getting anywhere. I weighed about 230 pounds - an all time high. I was frustrated and depressed by my physical condition and appearance. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I begged her...HELP me.....

Someone is looking after me. My doctor didn't even miss a beat when she said: "Go on the Atkins Diet. Get the book. It's the diet for you."

I trust this wonderful lady so on my walk home I stopped at the local book store and again the Gods smiled on me. The book was there. I read it cover to cover that afternoon and evening...skipped ahead far enough to be able to start Induction right away. Made a trip to the grocery store that afternoon to get supplies. I decided that whether it was going to work for me or not I was going to give it a 100% honest try. 14 days is a very short time in the big scheme of things and I was willing to invest that in myself!

I felt things shifting right away and by the end of the first week I was down 12 pounds. I was jubilant! At this rate I figured I'd be where I wanted to be in no time flat! Visions of a new wardrobe danced in my head.

Then I rebounded. Up two pounds and then up another 6 at the end of two weeks. I was following the LC plan 100%. I couldn't understand why I went up again. I thought my nightmare was starting again. Gaining weight on a diet. I wailed when I saw my Doc again and she asked me to do two things. Stay on the diet for two more weeks and not weigh myself. I reluctantly agreed. When I got home from that visit, I was devastated and knew that I was going to need help. A lot of help. Again I seemed to be 'standing in the light'. I don't even remember now how I searched, but I found this forum right away.

I started a journal that day and thanks to the encouragement from Karen and Nat in those early days, I'm still here.....two months later. When things appeared to be at their worst with me and LC as a WOL I made the committment to myself to give it an honest 100% try until January. Once again, I believed that I am worth that. It took a full month of following the plan for my body to adjust. I'd hate to think how much longer it might have taken if I'd been cheating on myself.

Doing the Atkins Induction did what he promised. I lost all interest in the nastier carbs during induction. It wasn't easy, but it was worth it. And it's paying dividends. I've been eating LC for 2.5 months now. Yesterday I reached a 20 pound milestone and today I'm down another 2.5 pounds for a total of 22.5 pounds.

I allow myself every little success. I congratulate myself for every sip of water, with every trip to the gym, with every length swum. I'm successful every step of the way. I'm not waiting to get to my goal weight to call myself a success. I'm not putting off my happiness one more minute! This is a journey of success for me.

[alto]

I'm so glad you posted that, and I hope everybody who's struggling with stalls or weight gains reads it. Marlaine, I would NOT have had the fortitude to stick to the plan with that history. I really admire that -- and thanks to your doctor. If your doctor hadn't been a low carb person, her advice to you might have been very different.

Maybe your body just had to settle itself after a lot of attempts to lose weighit? Whatever, it's in shrink mode now and I hope that continues.

If I had it to do again, I think I'd start with Atkins and switch to Protein Power after two weeks. I think there's a lot to be said for "going cold turkey," which induction does.

Anyway, it's a very instructive story. I've enjoyed reading your journal, too, but it's nice to see it in this form as well.

[AngelaR]

Originally posted by Marlaine
I allow myself every little success. I congratulate myself for every sip of water, with every trip to the gym, with every length swum. I'm successful every step of the way. I'm not waiting to get to my goal weight to call myself a success. I'm not putting off my happiness one more minute! This is a journey of success for me.


Small battles won, win the war. :thup: Congratulations. :thup: Thanks so much for sharing. I expect we'll be seeing you long after January rolls past

[Marlaine]

Originally posted by AngelaR
I expect we'll be seeing you long after January rolls past

You've got that right. I'm here for the duration.

M

[Homegirl]

I always love reading success stories. I look forward to reading further insights and thoughts as you add more "chapters" to your success story.

And I agree with you--enjoy the success along the way. I too feel so good every time I exercise (I am not an exercise person), every half pound or pound lost, every time I reflect on how good I feel as opposed to tired and lethargic and every time I think about how far I've come.

Hey, we go, girl! (LOL)

[LC Sponge]

Great message in the importance of patience, Marlaine! Glad you posted it, your story will inspire many, many low-carbers who struggle for that goal.

[kyfaithly]

Thank you for sharing, being a newbie, I need to hear the opinions of the pros, the cons and especially the successes! I too was at the end of my rope and when my scale hit 190, I thought OMG I weigh 40 pounds more today than I did the day I delivered my son 28 years ago, and I was 30 pounds overweight then!

I am here because I am tired of battling the yo-yo syndrome, tired of being tired and would like to finally be the best I can be.

May you enjoy the rest of your journey!! :cheer: :cheer: :cheer:

[Cher]

Marlaine,

Down 22.5 pounds - how awesome! Thanks for sharing your success and thanks for sharing the things that have kept you successful. I'm new to the boards but I've been LCing since the middle of August. I agree...it's so important to acknowledge your success along the way. I'm so happy everytime I exercise, drink the water, stay on program and take measurements!

So, I'll be here for a while (actually, hopefully a long while since I hope to make this a way of life). I look forward to meeting you on the boards!
Way To Go
:Party:

[snkhoward]

You have more faith and patience than I ever would have! If Atkins had not worked right away, I think I would have given up. It takes a special person to have that kind of hope and faith! :clap:

[Marlaine]

Originally posted by Cher
Down 22.5 pounds - how awesome!

Thanks for the kind words Cher!! It's taken two whole weeks since I posted that chapter for me to loose more weight, but in the last four days, three more pounds have come off making the total 25.5 pounds now.

Two weeks of no loss flew by this time and I was a lot less frantic than the last time I had to wait because I now KNOW that if I follow the plan the weight will come off!

Marlaine

[Cher]

It's actually a few days later (than your last post). Congratulations on the additional weight loss...and right before Christmas. That must really feel good. I look forward to hearing more about your success. I'll keep looking for you on the boards. By the way, I had 2 months with no weight loss...so, I totally understand the initial frustration...that's why I'm so glad that both of us stuck with it :cheer:

[chrisews]

Marlaine, That was so inspiring, I especially liked that you congratulate yourself on your small victories, We all need to learn to do that. Too often, We don't give ourselves the credit, or praise we deserve, then we also don't accept it from others. Thanks for such an inspirational sharing. Chris :wave:

[bushong6]

Thank you so much for sharing this! It is such a great motivator and source of inspiration! I am so thankful to know to prepare myself for this possibility and to not get discouraged. Congratulations on all your success and on the success that is bound to come. :)

[pinkcaddy]

This is the kind of Christmas story that touches my heart. I know this way of eating isn't for everyone, but for those of us who feel like it has saved our lives, it is a gift from God. I too have been struggling, but time and patience.....Happy Holidays everyone.

[sunshine2]

What a beautiful, well written success story. You are so right, every step toward the right way is a success.

Thank you for sharing such a wonderul story I look forward to reading more of your post and reading about your journey.

[BostonLou]

Great post!! My girlfriend is starting low carbing soon and I thought your story was great so I sent it to her.

Very well said and keep up the good work!!

[Chrissy]

Marlaine, you are so inspiring, I totally relate my feelings to your touching story.
I wish you all the happiness and success ahead!

You go grrl!!! :)

[Marlaine]

Originally posted by Marlaine
When things appeared to be at their worst with me and LC as a WOL I made the committment to myself to give it an honest 100% try until January.


Time for a little update. Here it is almost January and I'm now 27.5 pounds down. There is no question that I'm going on with LC as a WOE. I've been eating this way now for three and a half months and it's become second nature. I'm satisfied with the food that I eat and I don't really miss the things that I've given up. I've encountered some times where it was a little more difficult to stick with and I've found that I have what it takes and I CAN do it! Confidence in myself and LC is growing.

On the way home from my Christmas trip, I was rushing for a ferry and was definately hungry - gnawing stomach and all. I stopped at an A & W drive thru and ordered a cheese burger with mayo only. I figured the mayo would help to prevent the meat from sticking to the bun and it worked perfectly. I was able to peel away the bun and the meat and cheese satisfied my hunger completely. Success!

Christmas itself was the biggest challenge I've faced yet. I was staying with a friend for a week and the house was filled with people and sugary treats. Everytime I walked past a tray of baked goodies or chocolates (and they were there the whole time) I was tempted, but I just kept telling myself: "You don't eat that stuff anymore", and it worked for me. When I was absolutely desperate to nibble and munch along with the other folks, I nibbled pork rinds. Those things put me off food quick!

So....Here is to a Happy and Successful New Year, for me and for all of my new LC friends!!

[Marlaine]

Cher, chrisews, bushong6, pinkcaddy, sunshine2, BoistonLou, Chrissy...

Thank you each and every one!! for the kind comments. It's amazing how much the feedback in this forum helps me out. I appreciate each of you! and encourage you to share your story of success too!

Marlaine

[kezza]

marlaine,thanks for your story and updates so far.
a great read and very inspiring!
kezza :wave:

[groovygirl]

Marlaine,

Thank you for sharing your story with us. What perseverence!

Seeing that my stats/goals are similar to yours, and seeing (reading) all that you've accomplished, I know that I can do it too.

Keep up the good work!!! :cheer:

[Marlaine]

Almost a month since my last update here. In the past month I've lost another 5 1/2 pounds and completed my first two weeks doing Body for Life. I've been doing some kind of exercise 4 - 5 times a week since October and now I've switched over to 6 X a week and I'm loving it. Since I'm weight lifting and building muscle, it's going to be interesting to see what happens with my weight loss over the next several weeks. I'm hoping to lose fat fast enough to out weigh the muscle I gain so that I end up with a net loss, but that will remain to be seen. I'm adding the graph of my weight loss because it reflects the fact that even with constant upward fluctuations, the general trend is obviously down and down and down!

Stats today: 4 months, two weeks on Atkins.
Total weight loss: 33 pounds from 230 to 197
Average weight loss: Approx. 1.5 pounds/week

[AngelaR]

Marlaine,

What a great idea to post your loss chart. It shows that even with fluctuations, the general trend is down. I hope others get some comfort in seeing that. Congrats on your ability to start exercising and sticking with it. And congrats on your remarkable progress to date.

I also wanted to personally thank you for all the support and encouragement you post all over these forums. You give a lot of your time answering people's questions, and posting valuable pieces of info. It's because of you and people like you that many of us tune in every day.

[Cher]

Marlaine,

Wow! Congratulations Marlaine... 5 1/2 pounds is an awesome weight loss for the month. You are doing so well. Thanks for continuing to share your success :-) I loved your chart... I chart my progress at Fitday and the fluctuations are so prevalent...but, you're right... the trend is downward and onward (Yay Marlaine ) :Cheer: :Cheer: :Cheer:

[Cheryl R]

AWESOME
I loved your story...I don't know why I didn't see it before. You are such an inspiration....
What a great way to chart your journey....I've been doing it with just numbers on a piece of paper...but your way really shows what's happening.
Thanks for the updates along the way too.

[Marlaine]

Four years ago, I started walking. My first walk took 20 minutes and I thought I was going to die of a heart attack during the uphill half. I kept walking almost every day for two years until I was walking and running 7-11K a day.

Then I went to college full time for a year and didn't get to walk much. That's when I packed on the pounds all of the way up to 230 from about 190.

When I started on Atkins in September of 2001, I had been walking again, every day, for about 4 months. Walks between 25-50 minutes. I knew that upping exercise would help me lose weight, so I scouted around and decided to join the local community Rec Center.

I love to swim so I started going to the pool. That lead to an aquasize class. I decided I wanted to try out the gym for variety. I've made a point of trying different things to see what I could find that I actually ENJOY doing. I had a program set up for the gym by one of the Fitness Trainers there and I worked it for a couple of months. Then I decided to try a Circuit Training class. I liked that too, but I wanted to get the most out of my workouts and I'd been following Natrushka's progress with BFL.

I read the book and loved the concepts and decided that it is something that I too am capable of doing. Today was the last day of Week 4 of Body for Life, for me and I'm loving it. I'm thrilled with my increased strength. I've gained almost 3 pounds of muscle, lost a net of 9 pounds of fat and reduced a total of 4.75 inches from my upper arms, waist, hips and thighs IN 28 DAYS! Amazing! Thrilling! I can hardly wait to see what I can accomplish in the next four weeks!

[TerrieP]

Wow, congrats, now we are all watching you for our inspiration.

[Marlaine]

Update...the journey continues...

It's been just over three months since I last updated here.

I completed my first BFL 12 week challenge and I'm finishing the fifth week of my second. Monday I'm beginning a local challenge that I'm registered for along with my BFl buddy Ruth.

In the last three months, I've lost another 18 pounds. That's just under 6 pounds a month. The muscle I've gained is not included in those numbers.

I've managed to drop my BF (body fat) to 28% from a starting BF of 49%.

I've lost:
8.25 inches off of my waist.
10.5 inches off of my hips.
4 inches off of my thighs.
1.5 inches off of my upper arms.

The thigh and upper arm measurements are from December 30th, so what I lost before then is unknown.

I've gone from a size 20 pant down to a size 13 pant, and they are getting too big. I just bought a tankini in size 10. My last bathing suit was an 18. Muscles are becoming evident. Though there is still fat to come off, there are muscles under it and I'm becoming firmer all over.

I've fallen in love with strength training. I look forward to each and every workout and have only missed two since January. I'm taking a home study course that is the foundation course to becoming certified as a personal trainer in B.C. I'm looking forward to taking the rest of the courses as time and money permit. Whether I ever work at it or not, I'm enjoying the information and knowledge of how to take better care of myself.

I'm happy and healthy and I'm on my way to a goal that I hope to recognize when I get there. At least another 26 pounds.

Before....and about a month ago:

[Cher]

Marlaine...cool an update. You've have done such an incredible job....as you know...I am your number one fan :roll: You give hope to many by sharing your story here....I can't wait to see what we're like by Christmas...wow! Tankini's will be a way of life for us (I'm so impressed that you bought one).

:cheer: :clap: :cheer: :clap: :cheer: :clap: :cheer: :clap: :cheer: :clap:

[BostonLou]

i can't wait until I have my first tankini :)

hahaha

[fiona]

You look great. I am truly inspired. Thanks for sharing and updating.

Take care.

[chrisews]

Marlaine, you are truly awsome.!!! What exactly is BFL, and how do we find out about it? I have been in a slump and need something to give me a push. chris

[Marlaine]

Hi Chris....

BFL is Body for Life and it's a training system using weight lifting and high intensity interval cardio. You can find lots of the details in the BFL Forum, here:

http://forum.lowcarber.org/forumdisplay.php?forumid=114&s=

I think that there are between 10 and 20 forum members that are doing it and getting good results. Check out the thread called Roll Call to find out who's doing it.

It could well be the answer for you. I started it because it finally sunk in for me that having a greater LBM (lean body mass) would mean that I'd burn calories faster now, and burn more in the long run.

Previously I maintained for 5 years on Weight Watchers Maintenance at 1000 to1200 calories a day and I was always hungry. Now I'm losing at 1700 to 2000 calories a day and I'm never hungry. I like this way much better! :thup:

[itsjoyful]

marlaine ~

you look amazing! what a true inspiration you are. keep it up and thank you for sharing and being such a role model!
regards,
brenda

[Marlaine]

I'm planning an update soon, but in the meantime.....let the pic speak it's 1,000 words:

Before (August 2001) and After (September 2002)

[Danyele]

hi Marlaine,


Just wanted to say you look super. That's truly an inspiration to everyone on this WOL.

Danyele

[smittlem]

You go Marlaine! You look great!

YOu are quite an inspiration! I just started Atkins this month.

I started on September 3 at 170.6.
Today, September 27 (24 days later) I am at 166.0
Net loss: 4.6 pounds.

I usually am at 165.4, but I am about to have my TOM. Either way, I have lost an average of 1.5 pounds over this past month.
I have been at a stall now for the past week and a half....I am hoping that it is my body adjusting, so I just keep going....it has to happen for me....it just has to.

Any words of wisdom?

Keep up the great work! You look fantastic!

Stacy

[chrisews]

Marlaine, the photo is amazing, congratulations. chris :wave:

[TriciaW]

I know you hear this a lot, but you are such an incredible inspiration! Congratulations on such a fabulous affermation on BFL and WOL! Every time I have a down day or feel like I am not seeing enough results I make myself come to this site. I just read your entire thread and am soooo happy to have found it. Thanks for sharing your life and progress. Success like yours keeps me going. Have a great weekend! :agree:

[Kristine]

Marlaine, you look FAB-yoo-luss! The first post in this thread contains some of the best advice there is. Cheering yourself on for doing more 'right' things than 'wrong' things is the key to long term success, and the definition of long term success is simply doing more right things than wrong things, and simply enjoying life every day!

...and congrats on getting a lobster. :D

[Signey]

Hi Marlaine,
I just had to see if you had a story here in Success. I just knew that you must have put something in here to chart the amazing changes that you have made in your life. I am in awe at what you have accomplished and so hope to mimic those changes in my life.
Thank you for sharing this journey with all of us.
Signey :)

[gawdess]

I love the quote! Thanks for the inspiration!

[BelmontLil]

You are awesome! What a great success story. I come here at least twice a week to try and find something new to inspire me.

From now on, I'm going to try and be more positive about everything and count my little successes too!

[Jeanne Sch]

Marlaine:

You have a way with words!

What a great reminder to us all to seek out our daily accomplishments rather than lambasting ourselves for our small failures. No great thing was ever accomplished with negative feedback! :)

THANKS :) :) :)

[Marlaine]

I've intended to add to this thread for a while but it seems like life keeps distracting me!
I reached 154.5 somewhere around December 2002 or January 2003 and have been maintaining since then with not much effort. There are some changes in my shape though as I've kicked up my activity level and taken up cycling. My legs are more muscular as is my backside. I'd still like to get another 15 or 20 pounds off but am not really too worried about it. I still completely satisfied with the foods I eat and have no desire whatsoever to go back to eating the carbage. In general, I have to say...life is good....life is very, very good.

My gallery has a couple of before after pics in it and they really tell the story.

[Marlaine]

Just a quick update:

I'm still a dedicated LC'er and fitness nut. I get to the gym 4-6 times a week, depending on my schedule and I also get out cycling too. Life is good!

Marlaine

[Rachelle]

Congratulations Hun!

It's amazing to hear someone say that the journey in itself is a success.. You gave me some inspiration today, no doubt! :)

Thank you!!
Muahhhh!!!!

[virgi0039]

What an inspiration!! I found this web site not too long ago, I started induction 7/1 and it's going very slow this time. I lost 50 about 3 years ago on atkins, so I'm giving it another go. I was seriously thinking about lap band surgury, but my husband was against it so I'm doing this instead.

[Marlaine]

Though I am currently recovering from a serious MVA, I attribute the fact that I survived at all to the excellent state of my health after years of LCing and working out at the gym and keeping up a daily fitness routine. I'm just beginning to get back to strength training and hope to be out cycling again soon as well. And low carbing? I'm still at it and still managing my weight with it. Still happy to be eating this way and enjoying life!