Move Over Jared~

there's a new gal in town!! Not that I would care to eat Subway every day for a year; but I have had the occasional Subway sandwich on my 50 pound weightloss journey. 50 pounds. WOW! I've lost 50 pounds!

I began losing weight in late summer of 2008. Not because I was on a diet or exercising, but because I didn't feel well. I was having terrible stomach pain and acid reflux problems which in turn made it difficult to eat or to keep much down. So by the time I finally made it to a doctor for tests, I'd lost 10 pounds. The tests revealed that I had a condition called Gastritis which is "inflamation of the stomach lining" probably caused by the large doses of Ibuprophen I was taking to try and alleviate my constant back pain. The EGD also diagnosed me with Acid Reflux Disease. So I was told to stop all Ibuprophen-based meds and to start Prevacid for the Acid Reflux Disease. Following doctor's orders, I did start to feel better almost right away. And because the scale said that I'd lost 10 pounds, I decided to try to keep the weightloss going. I was able to lose another 15 pounds by eating less food and exercising a bit more, but I wasn't necessarily following any specific diet.

Fast forward to April of 2009 and I'm sitting at the neighborhood park's picnic table talking with my friends about how I've lost 25 pounds, but have hit a wall and have not been losing any more weight. That's when Tera said I should go to a Weight Watcher's meeting with her, and how about Wednesday. I agreed and joined WW on April 15, 2009. (Heartfelt thanks to my friend, Tera, who has been an amazing friend and supporter on my weightloss journey. I am forever grateful-you don't know how much!)And since beginning WW in April, I've lost another 25 pounds for a grand total of 50 pounds.

So that's how this journey began. But the focus of this post isn't necessarily about the 50 pounds I've lost, but about how losing that much weight has changed my life. But before I tell you how much happier I am today, I'm going to give you the numbers, the raw data, because one of the greatest lessons I've learned is how to be honest with myself. "The truth shall set you free"-whoever said that was one smart cookie! Whew, here goes: my starting weight was 259 pounds which incidentally isn't my all-time high; no, that weight is forever etched on my OBGYN chart from the day I gave birth to Katelyn on July 29, 2004: I weighed 234 pounds when I got pregnant with Katelyn and gained 30 pounds during my pregnancy for a grand total of 264 pounds. 264 pounds-it's hard for my fingers to even type those numbers, but it's important that I do it because I have to own those numbers. Because that's something else I've learned on this journey-I'm responsible. I had to face myself. I had to understand why and how it happened. I had to forgive myself. And I had to find the strength to change it.

So, here I sit today: 209 pounds. And I've never felt better about myself. I love every pound. I love every inch that's me. My weight hasn't been this low since my mid-twenties. And I have weighed less, but I was so miserable at the time it didn't matter. I couldn't see it. When I was age 22 I lost a lot of weight, something like 75 pounds and got down to 155 pounds, a size 12. Perfect for my 5'7 1/2 body. But I couldn't see it. I was so depressed, so lost, so lonely, and I had no confidence, absolutely none. So from age 23 or so to age 38 I managed to get to 259 pounds. Now you have the history. So how has losing these 50 pounds changed my life?

1. I am full of confidence. Seriously, someone should bottle it up and sell it. I walk straighter, I hold my head up high, I smile more, I love myself-maybe for the first time in my life. I look in the mirror and I'm proud of the reflection.

2. I no longer take medication for Acid Reflux Disease and haven't for about 4 months. I can eat any food I want, and I have no need for any kind of antacid. I am probably in the best health of my adult life.

3. I would no longer qualify to be on "The Biggest Loser".

4. My daughter told me the other day: "Hey mom, you're almost medium!"

5. I've gone from a size Women's 24 to a Ladie's size 16-18. I've lost 6 clothing sizes people!!

6. I love to go shopping and I always find clothes that fit.

7. People notice that I've lost a lot of weight and comment. (I can't tell you how much I appreciate the compliments & supportive comments!)

8. I am no longer out of breath when I go up and down stairs.

9. I have adopted the Weight Watcher's program as my diet, but also as my way of life. I expect to reach my goal weight following the WW diet, and then continuing on "Maintanence" for the rest of my life.

10. I have a support group. I've been on lots of diets in my almost 40 years, but this is the first time I have a support group. I go to my WW meetings EVERY week, and the support from my friends there has made all the difference.

11. Food is no longer my friend, but purely sustenence and nutrition for my body. Now this doesn't mean I don't still struggle with "emotional eating", but I have a much better handle on it than ever before.

12. I eat so healthy. We're talking all the right number of servings of every food group every single day.

13. I've learned that my weightloss is just another aspect of MY journey. I'm not in competition with anyone else. I don't aspire to be a certain size or number because someone else is or because someone else thinks I should be. I'm doing this for me. And that's perhaps the biggest accomplishment of all.


Summer of 2008: 259 pounds

Today at 209 pounds


Is 50 pounds really a lot? Yep! In this picture Katelyn (almost 50 pounds) and I are wearing the same pair of jeans-my old size 24's!

And here we are sharing a skirt, also a size 24!

Good-bye size 24!!!


So where do I go from here? Well, I'm about halfway to my goal weight of 155-160 pounds which is considered a healthy weight for someone my height and bone structure. And when I reach my goal, I will have lost 100 pounds. I also plan to set better exercise goals, although I wish I had Jillian here to tell me to get my *@#+*^%$ to the gym!! HA! Anyway, I'll keep you posted, and hey, thank you my friend for reading this post. "I get by with a little help from my friends", and you know who you are!! Love, Shell