Yup - another newbie! =) (long, sorry)

about2loseit

about2loseit

New member
Hello, all - I'm Angela. I am a woman on a mission, you could say, and I am looking for a bit of support. I figured this thread was the best place to introduce myself and rant about myself a little. :) (It gets long from here, so if you want to turn back now, feel free. I wrote this for myself, really, and feel better for it. If you are bored, however . . . please continue :p)

I have been a yo-yo dieter for many years and never really saw my weight loss through to the end. Every time I would lose 25, 30, 40 pounds, I would start to feel good about myself and I would slack off. Or something stressful would occur and I would put myelf off. Each time I would tell myself, hey - I did this well so far, I'll take a break and get back to it and do just as well. Then, I would try to jump back on the wagon only to find that the wagon had grown a foot since I'd jumped off and it was not quite as accessible as it had once been. So, each time I would "wait 'til tomorrow." Somehow, though, tomorrow never comes because there is always another excuse to . . . well . . . wait until tomorrow.

The other day I was feeling pretty low about my recent non-successes and got on the net looking for a reason to stay away from the junk food that was calling my name. Trusty Google brought me here. I began reading stories and posts and looking at before-after-in between photos and two things ocurred to me: (1) I am not alone. This is my problem but it is not something I have to face alone. Others have been where I am and have succeeded. I don't have to suffer alone because I am not the only one out there that has these issues. There is power in numbers and it truly gave me hope when I realized that I can learn from others on their journey, adopt some good habits of my own through example, and hopefully one day help another newbie that feels like I do right now; (2) A pretty big part of my problem is denial. If I don't admit I am fat - okay, I'll be PC and say obese - then I am not obese, right? Well, yeah, that works for a while. Then I'll pass a mirror and glance over and think, damn - am I really THAT big?? Or I would find myself in the middle of thin, beautiful people and suddently I am an obese sore thumb. I would feel out of place and feel like everyone was looking at me in disgust. Yes, this was probably all in my mind, but I felt that way nevertheless.

I am imagining myself thin and beautiful and healthy and happy. I can visualize shopping in the ladies' section. I can see myself going swimming and not being so self-conscious I want to hide. With these visions in my head and following the example of the people on this site I will make a plan, stick to it, and one day be who I want to be.

I am obese. I plan to change that. Tomorrow truly is the first day of the rest of my life and there will be no more waiting for the next tomorrow. There is only now. One day at a time.

If you are still here, thank you so much for reading this. You truly have no idea how much I appreciate that.

And now I begin my journey . . .
 
Welcome Angela. You don't really give your stats so it's hard for me to say if you are heavy/fat/obese/or what. I know at my heaviest I knew I was overweight, but I am also tall so I deluded myself into believing I was just a bit overweight....big, but not really fat.

It's easy to delude ourselves in good ways and bad ways.

If you feel you are overweight and want support in building a healthier you, this is a great place to come to though. Lots of great people here and even more great info!!
 
A warm welcome to you Angela! Thank you for sharing how you feel about your weight, I've felt very similar to what you've shared here with us, and your right, your NOT alone! Best of luck to you on this journey, feel free to share your plans and stats with us and even start a diary when your ready.You can do it!! :D
 
Thanks to all of you for the warm welcome. :) I'm happy to be here and I feel empowered at the moment. I have begun a diary so that I can go back and recall how I feel right now when things get a lil tough. :)
 
Welcome Angela! I'm pretty new here too. Good luck with your weight loss, loads of people on here have great advice, so in your spare time, follow up with their posts. Tons of good webtools to use etc.

I know what you mean about denial. I fooled myself into thinking that because I was so active, my figure was 'athletic'. I'm 5'8 so I carry the weight well. But seriously, I just needed to get real and resolve to get rid of this weight...for me, it is my diet holding me back, so I'm changing my habits as best I can.

All the best!
 
Welcome aboard Angela! Nice to see you in our May challenge. I'm sure you'll do very well.

So it seems once you get your mind on the right track that you can lose the weight. But have you thought about what you are going to do to keep yourself from going into slack mode when you reach the goal? You've succeeded several times, that doesn't seem like it'll be the hard part for you... staying with it when you're where you want to be would be my concern.
 
Thanks for the welcome, thedarwinfish. :)

thedarwinfish said:
But have you thought about what you are going to do to keep yourself from going into slack mode when you reach the goal? You've succeeded several times, that doesn't seem like it'll be the hard part for you... staying with it when you're where you want to be would be my concern.
Click to expand...

While I have succeeded in the past, but I haven't gone all the way. I've never actually gotten to where I want to be - just to where I feel comfortable with me again. I've always stopped before I hit my final goal weight. I'd reach a good milestone and call it quits for whatever reason. The large number looming before me has been a very bad thing, because I get so focused on what I have left to lose that I tend to lose sight of what I've already accomplished.

That being said, I think I will try to set small challenges and goals for myself. I'm not going to worry (or fixate!) on the fact that I have to lose 100 lbs. (well, a little less now - yay! :) ) I will just focus on 5 pounds or 15 pounds at a time. That's not quite so daunting. That is the major reason for my entry into your May challenge. If I tell others what I plan to do - I am more likely to actually do it. Accountability and all that. This way, I can focus on May - 2 lbs. at a time for 4 weeks. I don't have 100 lbs. to lose - I have eight. I can do that! Then in June set myself a new goal and work towards that.

Once I do get where I want to be, I honestly have no idea what my plan will be for maintenance. I've read lots of posts and articles on maintenance and I do realize that it is a whole other ballgame from actually losing the weight. I'm going to gather all the info, advice, and pointers I can along the way to goal.

Thanks for making me think, btw. ;) It made me hungry. Off to eat an apple . . . !
 
Hello Angela glad to have to here
Your right, your not alone. take it one day at a time. thinking about what you'v said and I've been the one who just couldn't wait to get fit, I was inpatient and wanted fast results. Knowing what I do know it's not worth it so I say take baby steps and you'll get there. I've been a yo-yo dieter since I was 15 and I know it's time for me to eat right and exercise. We all have our "days" but don't ever let it get to you.
 
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