The coolest story you'll ever read

Here’s a cool story written by one of my patients. It’s very motivating and involves losing weight as well as taking charge of your life. Congratulations to this young lady.

Here’s her story…

“When I finally decided that I had to do something about my weight or I would die, I was at a really low point in my life. I was 26, weighed nearly (if not over) 300 lbs, was in a bad relationship that was going nowhere fast, in a job I was completely miserable but extremely good at and was just plain tired of life. I couldn’t even face myself in the mirror. The more depressed I got, the more problems and stressors that occurred, the more I ate. Food was my comfort.

The first step I took was to go to some group therapy sessions. I would recommend any type of group therapy for anyone. It is a huge relief to know that whatever you are going through, you aren’t the only one, that there are LOTS of people out there going through the same thing. Even if they aren’t your support group, or you don’t buy into everything that people say while in the group, it will still help. The group gave me the strength I needed to make some life-style changes, including moving away from my boyfriend and back in with my dad. This isn’t a solution for everyone, however, in my case, it was essential to move away.

Once I moved in with my dad, and got a job out here, I started noticing some changes in my weight. It was really small at first, a pound this month, maybe two pounds the next month, nothing big or drastic. I wasn’t really doing anything to get the weight off though, so I wasn’t expecting any results. I was determined to get the weight off though, so I began walking during my 15 minute breaks at work. I didn’t change my eating habits for the first several months, but just adding the two walks for 15 minutes each time, I lost nearly 20 lbs in 4 months. It doesn’t seem like a lot, but it really every little bit counts, and as I started feeling better about myself, and feeling like I was accomplishing something, I decided to change more of my life-style and become healthier. I then cut my dinner portions (dinner only) in half. My dad and I eat out a lot. I started asking for a box right when the meal came and cut the meal in half, usually putting the bigger half of the meal in the box to go for lunch the next day. Guess what? It worked. I started losing more weight. I lost another 35 lbs within 5 months. I wasn’t just losing weight though, I was dropping sizes. Once more, I decided I wanted more results, so I gave up soda, no diet sodas, no regular sodas, for caffeine, I drink tea, no diet teas either. I believe Aspartame is evil. I continued dropping weight, and in a little more than a year I had lost about 75 lbs. SEVENTY-FIVE POUNDS!!!! I still can’t believe it sometimes.

I also started paying a LOT of attention to WHEN & WHY I was eating. What time was it? Was I hungry? Was I upset? These are questions I still ask myself before I eat. I try not to eat after 7 pm. Unless I know I am going to be up for at least 5 hours after eating. I make sure I’m hungry before I eat. If I’m not hungry, I don’t eat. Yes, it is that simple. It can be a little daunting at first, but it gets easier with time. I check my mood at the time I’m eating too, because if I’m eating out of anger, I could think that I’m hungry when really I’m angry or maybe depressed or both. Not a good time to eat. Generally, if I notice I’m in a “mood” or “funk” I stay away from anything food related. I would either pick up a book or walk or surf the web or pay attention to my cat, whatever would take my attention away from food. Generally, if you can think about something else for 20 minutes, the feeling goes away.

Now, this isn’t to say I’ve never caved in and gave into a craving or ate when I shouldn’t have. Sometimes things happen. The problems I had before while trying to lose weight the mentality of being “on a diet.” I felt deprived of certain foods, of whatever I wanted, it didn’t seem to be on the menu. In this case, I don’t feel that way. Why? I’m not on a diet. If I am craving something, I eat it. I just eat less of it. Let’s say I’m craving chocolate, instead of eating an entire chocolate bar, I eat a piece of the chocolate bar and save the rest for later. (Some trivia you may not know, when you crave chocolate, it’s your body’s way of telling you that you need magnesium).

You may be wondering exactly what I eat in order to lose weight. The answer is simple: I eat what I want. I just eat LESS of it than I would have before. Portions are the key. I still eat pizza, I just eat 2 slices and stop at that, I still eat cheeseburgers, but instead of the huge burger with extra cheese, I get the smaller version.

Something else that’s very important and probably the most difficult is self-confidence. The mirror was always one of my biggest enemies. I would look in the mirror and be completely disgusted with the way I looked. I got to a point where I stopped looking in the mirror altogether. I did figure out though, that didn’t help me. What did help was looking in the mirror directly in my own eyes and telling myself “I’m beautiful.” I would say things like “wow, look at your hair, it’s gorgeous,” or “look at your eyes, they are so deep and soulful.” I know it sounds funny, but it really does work. Also, if you’re a woman and don’t wear make-up, start. One of the ways I got myself to start looking in the mirror again was to start wearing make-up, not only did I feel better after the make-up was on, I got to look at myself and see that I wasn’t ugly at all. It amazes me now, how far I let myself spiral down.

I recently started going to a gym. A year ago, this never would’ve happened. I wasn’t ready a year ago. I didn’t feel confident enough in myself to think that I could. Physically, I wouldn’t have been able to handle being at the gym or on a treadmill. I still have more weight to lose before I’m where I want to be physically, but I set goals for myself and every year I work to achieve those goals. Last year was to lose 50 lbs and I exceeded that. This year is to lose 60 lbs and I’m hoping to exceed that too. At the gym I started simply, I would go in and start on the treadmill and walk for one mile, then that became easier so I would try for two miles, that too became easier, so I started messing with the incline, I would have a higher incline and lower speed or increase the speed and lower the incline, then I decided to start working on adding jogging in. Now I walk for 4 minutes and jog for a minute, then walk for 4 minutes and jog for a minute. I am working to be able to jog for at least 3 miles. Dr. Story nearly has me convinced to do a triathlon next year so it really gives me something to work toward.

I hope that this has at least inspired some confidence within you. I’ve lost about 80 lbs total since I started all of this and I feel so much better about myself. I know that you can do it too. Just remember to start small and don’t ever give up.”