Here I am with my story...

BellaTraveller

New member
Dear all,

I'm quite excited to be here and having registered an account here. First of all, I'm Bella from Malta. Anyone else out there from Malta?

So what's my story? Just so that I won't bore you to hell, I will keep it as short as possible.

From since I can remember, I always had an issue with weight. I was always overweight/obese. That changed when on the 2nd of February 2009 I decided I had to do something about it. I went online (naturally) and searched for a respectable place to be there and share stuff with others and hopefully lose the excess weight. I went from 190 pounds to 125 pounds in 9 months. I never in my whole life managed to lose more than 5 pounds, let alone 65 pounds. So I was on top of the world. (By the way, I'm 5 feet 2 inches tall). The great thing is that it didn't feel that difficult to do it. I lost around a pound a week on average.

The thing that helped me the most was being surrounded with like-minded people. I was very active in one particular forum which unfortunately isn't still around... The nutritionist there and the other members helped me a lot. After just 2 months there, I was one of the leaders, creating challenges, rooting others and I ended up hitting my lowest weight every of 125 pounds in November 2009.

I kept roughly that weight for the next 2 years or so... Until June 2011... When I started experiencing a lot of fatigue, exhaustion, difficult to concentrate, difficulty to formulate a response when in conversation with someone, having to sleep 10 - 12 hours a day, finding it SO difficult to get out of my bed every day to go to work in the morning, started to be very very moody, crying myself to sleep every day, wanting to stay in my room with no contact with others, no even my own boyfriend, etc...

In July 2011 I got diagnosed with Hypothyroidism. I'm now on daily medication. I have to admit that my weight has been a constant struggle. I gained weight. I did try to lose weight again every now and then but staying on track for like 3 - 4 weeks and seeing a loss of JUST 100 grams isn't motivating at all, right? And that's how I ended up gaining so much of the weight back. I think I'm at around 156 pounds right now.

I challenged myself in September 2011 to go for a Zumba Instructor Training in Wales just to prove myself "I STILL CAN", sort of. I got the license but it was more of a personal challenge rather than to start giving out classes.

I would really love to find motivation again. I am still friends with the people whom I lost weight with when I was so active on the other forum but some of them who have gained the weight back are always finding excuses for NOT doing it or for saying that IT'S OKAY. But that attitude won't help me lose weight for good once again... So on my life coach's order (LOL) I went to search for another place and I found this place.

I hope that I will make some real friends on here... I really need to stay accountable and to be in a challenge.

Thanks for taking the time to read this

Bella
 
Welcome to the forums, Bella.

I'm sad to say that I'm not from Malta, I'm Dutch, but I'm very glad to see you on the forums - we could always use more active members. The diary section is full of people who look for and give motivation, be sure to check it out! I'm sure that you can get back to the weight you wish - it may not always be easy, but then again, worthwhile things rarely are.
 
Thank you for your welcome, mrxian.

You're right - everything which is worthwhile involves some sort of effort and input.

If not now, then WHEN?

 
Thank you for welcoming me, Trusylver.

I made an effort to weigh myself this morning and I'm flabbergasted ... I'm at 76.5 kgs (I thought I was somewhere around 71kgs) - 168.65 lbs.

Okay... I'm going to start making small changes ... I will weigh myself again on the 29th of January most probably...
 
I strongly believe that small changes are the way to go. They do add up, and they prevent you from becoming overwhelmed.
So what changes were you thinking about making?
 
I like mini-goals. They have worked well for me back in 2009 so I'm going to aim for that again.

My first mini-goal is to lose at least 4-pounds by February 14th (Valentine's Day).

I will do this by doing Zumba at least once a week; keeping calories below the 1450 a day; listen to my stomach and follow its signs on when I have to STOP eating.

What are your goals, mrxian?

If you want to join the Valentine's Day Challenge, I've just opened the thread in the Challenges category ^_^
 
Mini-goals are very much needed. When we just focus on the goal at the end, it seems so far away and so much that it makes it easy to wish to give up. By instead looking at the step in front of you, you continue forward progress as well as being allowed to feel a sense of accomplishment.

And welcome to the forum! It sounds like you are on the right track.
 
My goal is to run a marathon.
But to do that, I have to get in a lot better shape and lose a lot of weight, so I'm focusing on those two things for the moment.
I'm not sure how much weight I'll end up losing, but my goal is to weigh somewhere around 100kg, plus or minus five kilogram. Right now I'm about 135 kg, so I have a ways to go, which will take at least six months, so I'll start defining the goals better by that time.
I find that having too specific goals is troublesome for me, as I experience it as a severe failure when I don't make my goal, and that in turn is demotivating.
 
I love that you have mini goals to help you, but I have to ask about your plan. I would like to see what you are doing each day to get where you want to go. I'm interested knowing if you're making dietary changes along with exercise to get there? This is an area I have spent most of my adult life helping people with. So if there is anything I can help you with just post it and I'll see what I can do.
 
I do believe I know HOW to lose weight - I've helped a lot of people with that myself for quite some time. I just have to start using my own advice again now.

I will do it by counting calories...stopping to eat when my stomach is satisfied...eating at a slower pace so that I have time to "connect" with my stomach to know when to actually stop....drinking plenty of water...
 
Will you be doing any type of exercise? Do you have an amount of calories your trying to get from protein, carbs and fat during the day?
 
Hello Bella!
I am new here myself and am looking for a way to get back to my old figure before I had my kids. I hope we can help each other on this weight-loss journey!
 
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