Hi SkinnyBonz38,

Thank you for that lovely, inspiring response. We have a lot in common. My main goal is to reduce heart attack/stroke chances. That indeed means reducing weight, processed foods, cholesterol & blood sugar levels. I'm at an age where goal weight & looking good means less than my health.

For me success means taking one step at a time. My main diet addictions were dairy based fats (cheese, salad dressings) & soda. I would have had to eliminate those even if I could have Bariatric surgery. So I finally realized that self control would have been a requirement even if that had been an option.

I love to cook from scratch. That made avoiding most processed & GMO foods easy. The exceptions were soda & dairy fats. I still need to reduce carbs & volume.

Your suggestions were appreciated & helpful. I have used food tracking in the past. But when you're out of control, you stop doing that as well. It is in fact step #3 in my plan. I don't know if this plan will work. What I do know is that I do not miss the soda or cheese & dressings. Even if I don't achieve any other step: I'm already healthier, and 8 lbs lighter with just those 2 baby steps.

I wish you continued success and health. Most of all:thank you for your kind encouragement.

Hi Marky I feel your pain in mostly all of your post. I too blew through four surgeons and have a heart condition. And I very well may need to lose 135 pounds to be skinny.

Blue cheese dressing is the only dressing I use but I now add acv to thin it out. Never liked soda but loved flavor bubbly water. Gave that up for my HEALTH. Now I love room temp water with lemon.

Good for you to give up on those things! In ten weeks you could be 25 pounds lighter just from doing what you are doing. It is a start which many find difficult. I too am a very slow loser...I kinda hate it but I will get there just like you will get there too.

Are you posting your meals (or everything you swallow) on My Fitness Pal? Do it right away.

I don't know if you are a numbers person but having your RMR calculated and then eating 500 fewer calories each week will yield BIG results.

If you can walk do so, swimming is the best and lately I have been doing standing stretching routines on utube. I get sweaty from it and I know I am burning. My next goal is to start walking on the treadmill using a slow pace with a high incline. I can't wait!!!

In my family one sister is very lean and cheats maybe once a month she works out THREE hours a day no health problems none, another sister never works out eats everything GMO and has had both a heart attack and stroke, yet another has had diabetes heart stuff and cancer, another one has had a stroke GERD and they all eat GMOs regularly with no movement.

I'm FAT and have a bad heart but am trying to prevent a stroke high bp cancer diabetes heart attack and every other evil thing that harms our precious bodies. So I try to eat righ****ch anything artificial and GMOs and and am losing weight. So DON'T YOU GIVE UP either!!!

It's the first time I've done it with this plan and mindset. Prior attempts were done on 'diets' where It was something I had to do until I reached my goal. As expected, I'd lose 10-20lbs and then fall off the wagon. This time, it's not a diet, it's just the way I have to live. The program I did was focused on living the healthiest lifestyle possible that was still enjoyable and sustainable for us. As long as I do that, my weight will sort itself out. It's also the first time that I've dealt with the underlying emotional and behavioural reasons for my overeating.

I understand that somewhere around 98% of people who lose weight will gain it back, but I have to try; I'm not just going to assume that I cannot succeed long term. Clearly WLS is not an option for me right now and I hope it never will be again.

My plan is to keep eating exactly as I am right now. I weigh and track every bite that I eat and I don't go off plan. Basically, I follow the same diet a WLS patient would, except that I can have lots of non-starchy veggies and I stay between 1100-1200 calories.

People can and do out-eat their surgery; to be successful either way, vigilance is necessary. I would have liked to have the surgery but I am not going backwards. My BMI is 27 now so WLS wouldn't be an option unless I gained a lot back. I have lots of support from family, including my husband and children, and a good therapist if needed.

I've also discovered a love for exercise and spend an hour or two at the gym every day. I know that needs to be part of my life forever and I genuinely enjoy it.

Finally, I weigh myself every day to track changes. This way, if the scale starts moving in the wrong direction, I can correct behaviours before it becomes significant.

I'm not a chicken but I lost enough waiting for my referral for surgery that I no longer qualify for WLS. So I did an Optifast program and am now losing with just diet and exercise.

Good luck with your journey!