Time and Patience

Hi everyone, I haven't posted for a while. I don't come and visit the posts as much as I want, but, I was surprised by a lot of the posts I read today. So many of us with doubts in our heads!!! I think it's just that time of year. Right after the holidays we have to start focusing on ourselves again and not the party's, the friends and family, resolutions, etc. And we get discouraged because we may have seen some weight gains, or haven't see the results we wanted even though we worked our butts off eating right and exercising. But, I'll tell you, It takes time. I changed my life three years ago, and have lost a lot of weight -212lbs. All diet and exercise. But it took me three years and I still have about 65 more lbs to go. I had tons of peaks and valleys. The main thing is to get back on track - whether you do it that day, the next day or the next week. About 9 months ago I plataued and was getting really upset. So, I joined a different gym about 2 months ago and started losing about 1 lb a week. In the beginning of January I decided to get a personal trainer to help me and WOW what a difference. We meet once a week for an hour and she gives me "homework" to do when I come workout by myself. Just working the different muscle groups and doing different forms of cardio and weight lifting has really helped me out. I've lost 14lbs this month, and am really happy with my decision. I guess what I'm trying to say is that time and patience is so important. Try something new. ( My body had gotten too used to my routine workouts). I am soo happy that we can all come here and support one another. We all know what it feels like to be heavy, to have self doubt, to feel depleated. BUT, I what I think is most reaffirming in our decisions to be here sharing, listening and communicated is when we share our successes- no matter how big or small. You guys are great and I feel fortunate to be able to talk with all of you. Katy

congratulations to you on your weight loss success. it seems like making a big change in your workout program was really helpful for you. what you say is so right. this is a lifelong batte required patience, time and LOTS of hard work. i "finished" my weight loss journey in summer 2003 (i give that date because that's when i decided i was "done" and had my first plastic surgery). now, 4 years later, i still have peaks and valleys. days where i feel great about myself and my weight and other days where i feel fat and disgusting (more of the later lately). that's just the way it is and i've made peace with the fact that this is the genetic card i've been dealt - i have accepted that this must be a way of life. a lot of people i know (including some who had WLS) seem to think you can lose the weight and then get back to "normal" life. even with WLS, you'll have many many years where you'll need to watch what you eat. i almost think maintenance is harder than the weight loss phase because i'm not seeing results/rewards for the same level of work. weight loss is hard. weight maintenance is hard. exercise is hard. there is no easy way out in the long term, surgery or not...

Amen to all you said. Thank you so much for this post. Congrats on your success! I have to agree that this is an everyday, one step at a time process so I look at it as a life goal. D.r Peter Daniels an awesome man of God visited of churc in October and I bought his book on life goals. It blessed my life and I realized that I really did not have any life goals. So many after that conference set business or money related goals but really felt like I need to set a goal to feel better, get healthier, and to feel better about myself. That day I started and I have not looked back. I praise God for the grace He has given me to make it this far and I am believing that I will continue to lose down to a healthy weight. So far I have lost about 45# since Oct 30, 2006. I don't know how long it will take but I just want to stay focused and realized that I don't want to go back. I remeber what I felt like at 284 - 287# and I was miserable. I remind myself of that everyday. I get discouraged every now and then but I remember all of these things and get the passion to continue. I am always blessed by this board and thank God for you all. We will succeed! We can not help but to succeed after all we are losers....right!! OOOOXXXXOOOOXXXX

Hi Katy!!! Glad to see ya. Your story is so inspiring! 212#. You have defnitley seen the peaks and valleys. Time and patience are all we have, really. It would do no good to roll over and pretend it isn't happening. I've done that too, just try to let it go and walk (plus the other many physical things i do), try to eat balanced, but it seems the moment I take my eyes off the scale and every morsel that goes into my mouth, the scale creeps upwards. I'm in. I'm in for the long haul no matter how it all plays out.