JennD

Send Message

Block

Add Friend

Has it really been a year since I've posted?  Wow time really flies.  So much has happened in a year.  I've lost my weight, maintained it for the most part.  I have about 13 lbs I want to get rid of which is part of the reason I am back on here.  Support is everything as is accountability.  Both of which I haven't had much of recently.  My fault entirely though.  I got divorced and pulled away for awhile but I need people who understand and will hold me accountable so I am back.  Life is good.  Too good.  I am in a wonderful relationship again and have gotten way too comfortable.  Time to step out of the comfort zone and get back on track!

Posted on the board today had to add it to my profile!

Post Date: 5/20/09 8:12 am
I put this on the train but decided to make a separate post.  I sit here with tears in my eyes.  I did it!  I hit my goal weight.  I actually did it yesterday but needed another day of weighing to make sure.  I started this journey a year ago.  I weighed almost 300lbs.  Today I weigh 147.  That is a total of 152 lbs lost.  I still can't believe it.  I will be a year out May 29th which is 9 days away so I can say that in less than a year I have accomplished all my goals that I set when I started this journey.  I am at my goal weight.  I am in a size 2/4 (6 was my original goal).  I am not just healthy I am FIT!  I am literally running my butt off and loving every minute of it.  I have been hiking in the mountains, gone to amusement parks, gotten off all prescription meds, no longer have to monitor my diabetes, gained confidence, self esteem and great friends.  This has been a wild wonderful ride and though there have been some downs I will never regret any of it and would do it again tomorrow if necessary.  I plan to work hard to make sure that is never the case.  I have learned so much from this board and from all of you who contribute.  I can honestly say I don't think I could have done it without you guys.  This is my BIG THANK YOU for all your support, motivation, love, prayers, etc...  You are a great bunch of folks.
So what does the future hold now that I am at goal?
Time to learn maintenance, perseverance, continued learning.
My new goals are to have a body fat % less than 17 but greater than 15.
Jillian Michael's upper body. (don't laugh it will happen)
10 min mile avg for half marathon in Dec.
6 min mile avg for 5K's
Full marathon next year (Yeah Baby!!!)
And continued success with my healthy lifestyle.
Life just keeps getting better and better!
Love you all,
Jenn

I posted this on the board to hold myself accountable.  I am posting it here in order to keep an easily accessible record of it!!!!

I didn't really take care of any of my goals for April so I hesitate on jumping in here but I will give it a shot.
My goals for May are:
1. Start eliminating stress from my life that is causing me to emotional eat.
 a) get a job
 b) no more sugar
 c) get home organized, one project a day.
2. Structure my weight lifting.  I have been doing it sporadically and want to get more structured and start logging my weight training.
3.  Water, Water, Water!!!  64ozs daily.
4.  Have my first appointment with a therapist completed by the end of May!!!!!!
5.  Train for 10K May23rd.  I want to run it in less than 1 hour 8 mins.  (I am currently at about 1 hour 16 mins so I need to shave off a little over 1 min per mile, sounds simple, NOT)

So these are my goals.  They may not seem like WLS goals but they really are.  I am an emotional eater and I have a lot of emotional stuff going on in my life right now.  If I follow these goals then I won't do as much of the emotional eating and therefore will be healthier on my weight loss journey.  I am going to copy and paste this in my profile and then print it off to hang in front of my computer.  If you notice me pulling away into my shell please call me out so that I can get back on track.

Jenn

I DID IT!!!  I finished my first half marathon in Disney World.  My goal was to do it in under 3 hours and I did it in 2 hours and 55 minutes!  I feel so accomplished and happy!  I am on top of the world right now.  My body is tired but my mind and heart are so full.  I went to Disney with three other amazing women and the support of all my family and friends and cannot begin to tell everyone how much that has meant to me.  The whole trip was amazing but the run was the icing on the cake.  I would and will do it again.  As a matter of fact I already have my next one planned.  In September Disneyland is having a half marathon and I plan on being there!  This time I am going to do it faster.  So let the next phase of training begin!

I posted this on the TMB this morning and wanted to keep it always!  I can't believe the day is finally here!

Post Date: 3/3/09 9:56 am

We are coming up on race day and I know all four of us are excited, nervous and scared as we contemplate what we have decided to take on.  I want to tearfully come out and say how very proud I am to be a part of this.  What an amazing thing the four of us are doing.  We made a commitment and we stuck too it and because of that we are all healthier than we have ever been.  I bet if you asked any of us 4 a year ago if this running a half marathon was a possibility we would have laughed in your face.  I know I would have.  I laughed in these girls faces when they suggested I join up.  I am so very happy I did.  Look at us!
  Tracey, you started this.  You were the motivating force behind all of the rest of us even dreaming up the possibility that we could do this.  You are down 138.0056774 (LOL) lbs and still losing.  You are gaining muscles in places you didn't know you had them! 
Gina, you are almost 7 yrs out and because of your training you have lost more weight and several sizes.  You are the older one of us 4 yet there you are right along with us heading to Disney World to run a half marathon.  You are such an inspiration to all and my hero!  Loralea, your knowledge and determination have always inspired me.  I believe it was you who first told me I could do this and then inspired me with your words of encouragement along the way.  You too, because of this commitment have almost made it to goal and look at your body fat %.  You go girl!! 
Then there is me.  I cannot believe that a year ago I had just started my pre op process.  I am now down 136lbs and I have GUNS!!!! (arm muscles for those who don't get it)  I can go run 6 miles and not blink an eye.  I have found a passion that not only keeps me healthy but sane as well. 
What an accomplishment for us all! 
So from the bottom, top and middle of my heart I want to thank you 3 for being there for more and motivating me to keep on going.
I also want to take a moment and Thank all of you who have supported us on this amazing journey.  Your words and prayers and thoughts have meant more to us than I think any of you will every know.  There were times where we all felt like throwing in the towel I am sure and it is because of something we read here on the TMB or heard one of you say that kept us going.  You are the wind behind us and we take each of you with us in spirit as we head out.  I leave tomorrow, Tracey and Gina leave on Thursday and Loralea, late as usual LOL, will be coming in on Friday.  Please keep us in your thoughts and on your hearts as we go do the impossible.  4 FORMER FAT GALS are running a half marathon!!!!!

We started the meeting with a song, "I am Changing" sung by Jennifer Hudson in Dreamgirls.  This is a powerful and moving song that reminds me that I am not in this alone.  I chose this song to be the anthem of the group.  If you would like the lyrics I would be happy to send them to you.  The next item was the Quote of the Month.

Jan. Quote of the Month
"Life is what you make it"
No one is responsible for your happiness, sadness or success.  No one but you. Yes, you!  The day you take complete responsibility for yourself and your choices is the day you start a journey toward grand personal fulfillment.  You're the only one that lives your life.  Believe it or not, you do have the power to succeed at anything you choose.  The strength to fulfill your dreams is within you, at this very moment.  Accepting responsibility without excuses, frees your power to achieve.  You can do it.  So, do it today!

We then went around the room discussing every ones goals and plans.  As part of the Agenda we wanted to give people some examples of goal planning techniques.  Tawnya shared with us a great storyboarding technique and I shared my tools I found in a great book  "Me: Five Years From Now, The Life-Planning Book You Write Yourself" by Sheree Bykofsky.  We then gave out some links to websites with other goal planning techniques (I will be happy to share with anyone interested just let me know).  Everyone was then challenged to go home and WRITE out their goals and come up with a plan to achieve them.  We concluded by discussing the next meetings dates and topic and upcoming Texas Message Board events.  A very informative and successful group meeting.  If there is more information you would like to discuss or if you have a question feel free to post a discussion and we all can answer and chat!!!!
Next months topic is Workout planning and goals lead by my co-leader Tawnya Hendricks and there might just be a surprise in store for those that make the Sunday meeting!

Woohoo!  Time to get this party started.  I am so excited that I completed my OH leader training so it can all be official!!  Welcome to the group and even if you can't make the meetings you can come here to find out what we have been talking about.  I will post a blog about January's meeting to update those that couldn't make it!
Lets have some fun!

I posted this on the TMB message board in response to the February Focus Challange for this month.  It is hard for me to remember what I actually put down later in the month so I wanted to blog it here so I can come back and look.  Helps keep me accountable!

Here we go!!
I am excited.  The last challenge had me drinking more water, eating more protein, taking my vitamins and logging my food.  All of those things have become a habit so I want to add to the list this month.  Obviously I don't want these other things to fall away so I will leave them on the list for this challenge as well.
February Focus Goals:
1.  100 oz water.  Better hydration leads to weight loss and is good for the muscles.
2.  Take Iron and Calcium daily (not together)
3.  Stay between 1200 to 1300 calories. 
4.  Workout 6 days a week.  Schedule looks like this:
      Mon:  Run 5 or 7 miles
      Tues:  Gym: upper body workout, partial lower body, core 1 hr on bike level 10 or higher
      Wed: Run 3 or 5 miles
      Thurs:  Biggest Loser DVD or Gym same as above
      Fri:  Yoga
      Sat:  Run 8 or 10 miles
      Sun:  Rest
5.  Run at least 18 miles per week.
6.  Stop late night snacking.  No food in my mouth after 9 pm unless I workout late and then protein only.
7.  Stay strong on the weekends.  I have been taking a weekend off from logging and exercise here and there.  Not this month!
7. Continue last months goals to take vitamins daily, get at least 100 g protein in, logging my food on myfooddiary.com daily.

I no longer have a weight goal.  I know somewhere in the 140 to 145 range is where I want to be.  There is no time frame on that because my main goal is fitness and if I will follow my Feb Focus goals I will be working towards that.  All that being said, my starting weight for this challenge is  165.5. 
Let's see what happens!

Good Luck everyone!

Big grins going on here.  I had to share this because one, I am so damn happy about it and two, I think it might help others struggling with some of the same issues I have been.

I want to start by saying I am not sharing this to brag (well maybe just a little because I am very proud of myself) or to make ANYONE feel bad.  I am so happy and had to share because you people get me!  LOL

As anyone who reads my post or talks to me on a regular bases will know I have reached a point in my weight loss journey where I was confused about weight vs clothing size.  I was having huge body issues based on what is in the mirror, what is on my body, what the scale was saying and what those damn BMI charts suggested.  Let me explain a little.  The BMI chart stated that for my height my weight should be in the 118lbs to the 153lb range.  WTH, that is a huge range.  So I thought a goal weight of somewhere in the middle would probably be  a great place to start.  "I" set my goal weight at 130 to 135.  I also decided based on looking at others that are about the same height as me that I would like to be in a size 4 jeans.  Again this is all something I have set for myself.  My doctors just tell me that they want me to be healthy and not focus on a weight.  LOL Like that will ever happen.
Here lately I hit a plateau which usually means you are getting close to the end of your EASY weight loss goals.  I am only 8 months out and thought this was way too soon for that to be happening but it was.  So during the 30 day challenge I did everything under the sun to get the scale to move.  I upped calories, I lowered calories, I upped workouts, I skipped workouts.  I upped protein, I drank more water.  I was trying everything and the scale wasn't budging and the clothes weren't getting looser.  I so bad wanted to get to my goal this severely depressed me.  It was recommended to me that I should have a body fat test done.  Money being an issue meaning I don't have any extra right now, I didn't see how I was going to get it done. 
So now for the good news.  I went to the gym on Friday and went t the fitness desk.  I spoke to the guy there which just so happens to be head of the fitness department and asked about the tests.  They are done there at the gym and are totally complementary.  So I asked to schedule one and he said he had time so we did it.  He measured my body fat, my strength, my flexibility, my VO2 max (cardio fit), weight.  He was able to do a fitness analysis and discussed goals with me.  It was a very enlightening experience.  He informed my that right now I am at 28.3% body fat, my BM is 26.8, My fitness age is 38 (I will be 37 in June)and that if I keep my muscle mass I have right now I need to weigh 147 in order to have 17% body fat.  So in non fitness expert terms what this means is, I am still in the overweight category according to BMI but not by much.  I am not overweight in my body fat %.  I am average.  19% body fat in a female is considered excellent.  We did a scenario to get me to 17% body fat which would be at 147lbs.  I being the optimist I am decided that based on all this information my new goal weight will be 145 which means I am only 24lbs (of fat) away.  ( I currently weigh 168 to 170 depending on time of day, only 48lbs of that is fat) WooHoo!  I finally have an educated goal weight that is attainable.
Now as I work out and build muscle which I am working on as well then the numbers will change slightly.  All that would mean is if I lose down to 145 and continue building muscle then my fat % will be lower than 17% which is better than excellent health!  12% is what most extreme FEMALE athletes are at.  As for sizes, I am currently in an 8 (which is finally starting to get loose) and can wear some 6's(wore a pair of 6 jeans to the stock show yesterday).  I still think a 4 is doable so that goal hasn't changed.  So I think the reason I am heavier than others but in a smaller size is do to the fact that I am mostly muscle!!  I love saying that!  I am mostly muscle!!!!!  LOL
I had to share my good news.  This puts me in such a positive place now.  I have much more finite goals to work towards which is what this OCD person needed.  I am almost there folks and I am only 8 months out!!!!  That is why I am so proud of myself.  I also wanted to share so if there were others out there struggling with these same issues I would strongly suggest getting a fitness test done.  It really helps put it all into perspective.  I want to say a special thank you to Tawnya for suggesting the fitness test.  I am so happy I have such a knowledgeable good friend to pull resources from!  Now I need to pick her brain on how to burn up this fat and keep the muscle!

Well guys today is my official 8th month anniversary of the day I took back my life.  8 months ago I followed through on a decision that has changed my life.  I had weight loss surgery.  Some say I took the easy way out, well I am here to tell you there is nothing easy about this.  I still diet, I still exercise.  The difference now is that I can.  I can plan my meals and eat smaller portions but it is still a daily decision to eat the RIGHT things and the RIGHT amount of the right things.  It is a daily decision to exercise or not.  They did surgery on my stomach not my head and these things are just as important now as they were before surgery.  The difference is now I CAN.  I can move, I can stretch, I can touch my toes, I can do push ups, I can lift weights, I can RUN!  When I was almost 300lbs I couldn't hardly walk long distances now I run them.  I love to go to the gym.  You can actually see my muscles now.  I have started working on muscle definition.  I am training for a half marathon in March and another in September and will probably run a whole marathon one day.  These are things I couldn't have even imagined before.  I am healthy, happy and alive!  I am living life not just existing in it.  I started this journey in a tight size 24/26.  Today I wear a size 8/9 and have put on a size 6.  I no longer have diabetes problems, I no longer take or worry about blood pressure meds.  I have lost over 130lbs.  I can't even describe how wonderful that feels.  It hasn't been easy and the ride isn't over but I would make this decision again without hesitation.  Life is mine now.  I plan to do something with it!