MeBLady's Success Story
Well, I am only five pounds away from goal and pretty darn happy with the way I look now, so I guess it is time to write my success story.
I was a skinny, scrawny, sickly child that grew up in a family struggling with obesity. My family made it well known to me that they resented me for eating fattening junk and not gain an ounce, and I definitely flaunted and taunted them in return for being able to do so.
As I entered young adulthood and "bloomed", my "hollow leg" began to fill in --I got a job at a Jack in the Box which allowed me to fully indulge myself, away from my Mother's creative cooking who managed to get in some healthy foods into my picky eating habits. I began to gain a few pounds. No sweat! I would starve for a few days, and the pounds would come off.
At age 20, I became pregnant with my son, and used that as an excuse to really pig out. I gained 50 pounds by the time I gave birth, lost 30 within the birthing, took off the other 20 by limiting myself to one large meal (fast food) a day.
At 22, I got pregnant with my dd. Same story. Lost 45 pounds in three months after her birth through Slim Fast and heavy areobics, putting me at a very slim 122 pounds, a weight I hadn't seen since the age of 16.
I continued controlling my weight using my unhealthy tactics -- I ate what I wanted, and on a 5 lb. increase, starve it right back off.
At age 30, things changed. Suddenly, my old tactics didn't work anymore. I would gain 5 pounds and would manage to take it off, but as soon as I went back to eating, I would gain 10 pounds back. My family laughed at me, saying my eating finally caught up with me and I was going to get as fat as they were. I panicked and tried everything. Not having to "diet" for very long at any stage of my life tho, I became easily frustrated and eventually just gave up. I stopped weighing myself, begrudgingly purchased bigger clothes as my weight climbed and tried to accept that I was now a "hippo".
I avoided being in front of a camera, as I hated the way I looked. My Mother never failed to snap as many pictures of me as she could sneak on holidays, and display them everywhere, sending them to relatives with a comment of, "Look how fat Lori has gotten!".
My first enlightenment was Thankgiving Day, 2003. My Mother snapped a picture of me from behind. I was wearing a pair of knee high leggings, with a large amount of cellulite clearly visable around my knees. I knew I had a big tummy and butt, but my knees too??? I was flat out appalled! I stepped on the scale to see just how big I really was....and I weighed a whopping 216 pounds.
I started watching out for the latest diet trends, but by this time, I wasn't feeling very good physically, and scared an unhealthy diet would put me in worse physical shape or even end my life. I had heard about Atkins thinking it was a "meat/cheese" diet, and thought that was a WOE that would fit me well.....but mistakenly thought it was not only unhealthy, but simply too good to be true.
My second enlightment came in March of 2004. I got a frantic phone call from my Mother, telling me that my father had collaspsed at home, transported to the ER via ambulance, that it looked serious, and I'd better get down there. I packed Tom and Amy, my two teens, in the car, and raced 60 miles to meet my Mom, sisters, neices and nephews at my hometown hospital.
The hospital was overloaded, so they put my Father on a gourney in the ER corridor to await treatment. He was only allowed one visitor at a time, and called each of us in one by one. Nobody would reveal what he said to them when they came out. My Mother was first, my oldest and the firstborn grandchild, Tom, second. I was asked in third.
When I went in, my Father began telling me that he had lived a good life, and to not mourn him if he didn't make it. He said he was very proud of me, told me I had raised two wonderful children, told me certain possessions he wanted me, my husband, and my children to have. He asked one thing only of me -- that I do something about my health and weight so I didn't end up like him.
I fought the urge to cry, as I knew he was saying goodbye to me...but he was conscience and alert, how could he be dying??? I told him this, and then I noticed he was breathing really hard, and he wasn't looking directly at me -- he was blind!
CAT scans showed later that while my father laid on that gourney for five hours, he had a series of major strokes brought on by undiagnosed diabetes due to poor nutrician and obesity. Prognosis was complete blindness, loss of motor function, unability to walk without assistance, severe thought process impairment. That was considered "lucky" by the docs.
They put him on a LC diet. He dropped over 100 pounds in nine months, completely defied his prognosis. He got 90% of his sight back, can get around better than he did before the strokes with the weight gone, sharp as a tack, and completely medication free. Throughout his recovery, he continued to remind me of his deathbed wish -- that I change my health and weight for the better.
On Jan. 12, 2005, my own life changed. I was sitting in a Carrow's restaurant enjoying a hearty BREAKfast, when I heard a voice behind me raving about the LC WOL. I couldn't help it, I turned around to see a 45ish, very attractive, fit man, and asked, "How the heck do you DO LC????". He told me that all I had to do to learn how was to "buy a book".
I left the restaurant with my BREAKfast half eaten, and drove straight to our county library, where I checked out every single LC book they had. I stayed up all night and read, read, read.
The 30-Day LC Diet Solution was the easiest to follow, fit my needs to best, and the book that enabled me to get started NOW.
I started my LC WOL on Jan. 13, 2005. Within a week, ALL of my health issues greatly diminished. I suddenly had energy, and my heartburn, sleep apnea, bowel problems, gas, chest pains, heavy breathing, back pains, dizziness ALL disappeared within the first few days. My blood pressure gradually went down over the course of a couple of months. When I started, it was 170/90, now it is a healthy 122/80.
I have lost 71 pounds in 6.5 months. My stamnia, energy level, and general health is better than it has ever been in my entire life. I am a 38 year old smoker, and feel better now than I did when I was an 18 yo. non smoker.
How did I do it?
Well, the biggest factor in my success was doing research on the various LC plans, chosing one that fit my preferences, and reading the book for that plan.
I also stuck to whole foods, avoided processed foods and "frankenfoods". I prepared my meals in advance to make LC foods handy and easy to fix and avoid the urge to "cheat" on something more available. I used my newfound energy to exercise.
Lastly, good old fashioned determination got me through. My Father almost lost his life on the same path I was on -- and I didn't want to die, I didn't want to end up diabetic and/or end up disabled through a heart attack or stroke, and I wanted desperately to feel better and look better.
I look at pics of myself, taken in the last few days, and I cannot beleive that it is actually me, the way I look RIGHT NOW. I look at my before photos and reminded of how bad I looked and felt, and can't beleive that it was just six months ago.
My husband is chasing me all over my house. When we go out, he strolls behind me to "check me out". My son's friends, who are teenagers, come over and tell me I am "hot". My family makes me music CDs for my exercise routines, and walk up with glasses of water and wipe the sweat off of my forehead for me while I am on my treadmill. I have the energy and self confidence to go more places, enjoy doing activities with them that I couldn't do before. My son, daughter and husband has said of my newfound weight and health, "Welcome Back".
I believe that the good Lord above put that man in the restaurant that day in Jan. to show me the way....and I took it, with every ounce of motivation and strength I could muster, and ran as hard and fast as I could with it.
I can't say that anything in my life has ever been more worth it.
For those of you at the beginning of your LC journey.....DON'T GIVE UP! This WOL really does work, and the benefits go way beyond weight loss. Never forget that YOU are worth it :-)
MeBLady aka Lori
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