I LOST 50 POUNDS

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No, I didn't misplace it. I permanently lost it off my body.

Americans are so into speed. The first thing everyone asks is, "How long did it take you"?

I say, "Four years". And then the person makes a face that basically says it doesn't "count", if it took me so long.

IT COUNTS!

I went from dress size 16, 14, 12, 10, now SIZE 8.
I went from T-shirt size Extra Large, Large, Medium, now size SMALL.
I went from 175, 165, 155, 145, 135, now 125 pounds.

Anyone who says that doesn't "count", doesn't know how to do math.

[Tituba]

Well done. You should be very proud. Methinks there is a book to be written about this journey and lesson.

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Thanks, Tituba!

[Elaine Glimme]

It most certainly does count! That's the whole point - not to just dump 50 pounds and pop it all back on in a couple of months but to change the way you eat and live and move so that it's a permanent part of you. If you've been able to keep heading in the right direction for four years, you're doing that. You know all this, of course, but hopefully you don't mind hearing it.

That inspires me to keep going.

Way to go!

[inspiresuccess]

You know all this, of course, but hopefully you don't mind hearing it. That inspires me to keep going. Way to go!

Thanks, Elaine. I always welcome positive feedback! I'm glad you're inspired to keep moving forward.

I think when people lose too fast physically, it doesn't allow their emotions to keep up. I moved so slowly that I really didn't notice much change. That gave my emotions time to process a little at a time. It wasn't such a shock to my system, physically or mentally.

The way I did it, is the way Barbara Sher suggests we do everything. Baby steps. One step at a time. And give ourselves lots of pats on the back along the way. I had to pat myself on the back and stay away from others who were trying to lose because the focus was on "fast", which wasn't what I wanted. I wanted to get healthier and if I lost weight along the way, I saw that as a bonus.

I thought if I mentioned that I lost some weight, little by little, people would congratulate me and be happy for me. They weren't. It made them uncomfortable because it reminded them that they needed to lose weight, too. I stopped telling people.

The next step is exercise. I intend to do it the same way. 10 minutes per week. 20 minutes per week when I'm comfortable with 10 minutes. Baby steps. And yes, people. I said WEEKS, not days. 10 minutes per week to start.

In the tortoise and the hare story, the turtle beat the rabbit. I may be a turtle, but look what I accomplished doing it that way!

A message to all Americans in all areas of your life. SLOW DOWN AND ENJOY THE JOURNEY!

[Elaine Glimme]

You say you're a diver. I consider myself a diver also. We need scanners and divers in this world. We both contribute. And I think that's the strength of being a diver - Some things, like loosing weight or getting fit is a one-step-at-a-time process, and that works well for us divers, and is a bit more of a struggle for scanners. And yes, sometimes people who have struggled to lose weight and haven't succeeded yet get

Anyway, I'm not I'm inspired.

[Tituba]

I always found it hard to take praise whenever I've lost weight. It tends to make me want to go back to bad eating habits. You are right about getting your emotions in line, which is a slower process. Much wisdom in your post.

https://www.google.com/search?site=&tbm ... 5ex1TkM%3A

[reginamirus]

That's fantastic! Way to go!

[inspiresuccess]

I always found it hard to take praise whenever I've lost weight. It tends to make me want to go back to bad eating habits. You are right about getting your emotions in line, which is a slower process. Much wisdom in your post.

https://www.google.com/search?site=&tbm ... 5ex1TkM%3A

Thanks for the link!

"No matter how slow you go, you are still lapping everybody on the couch." inspiredlivingaffirmations.com

[inspiresuccess]

Much wisdom in your post.

Thank you. That's a kind compliment.

https://www.google.com/search?site=&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1240&bih=621&q=lapping+on+couch&oq=lapping+on+couch&gs_l=img.3..0i8i30k1l5.984.7831.0.8070.22.18.3.1.1.0.187.2008.8j10.18.0....0...1ac.1.64.img..0.22.2014...0j0i10k1j0i30k1j0i24k1.-tKvhm3E3Qs#imgrc=TH2AieV5ex1TkM%3A

Thanks for the link! "No matter how slow you go, you are still lapping everybody on the couch." inspiredlivingaffirmations.com

I love it!

[inspiresuccess]

That's fantastic! Way to go!

Thanks, Regina!

[SquarePeg]

That's an awesome achievement! It's the daily choices we make that add up to success.

[inspiresuccess]

That's an awesome achievement! It's the daily choices we make that add up to success.

Thanks, Square Peg!

[inspiresuccess]

You say you're a diver. I consider myself a diver also. We need scanners and divers in this world. We both contribute. And I think that's the strength of being a diver - Some things, like loosing weight or getting fit is a one-step-at-a-time process, and that works well for us divers, and is a bit more of a struggle for scanners. And yes, sometimes people who have struggled to lose weight and haven't succeeded yet get Anyway, I'm not I'm inspired.

I'm so glad you're inspired That's always what I hope for when I share my successes.

Thanks for mentioning being a diver. I've been thinking about starting a Divers Thread. There are so many for Scanners. I feel like you and I are the only Divers out there! I'm a serial diver. I dive into one thing for a long time until I feel like it's going along well on it's own. Then I dive in another direction. I'm doing that with being a designer. I've been working on that for about 9 months. After a year when I feel like I can count on it to continue, I'll add art and music. They are all big categories for me and eventually I can do them at the same time. But I'm unable to bounce back and forth from one to the other like Scanners can do. At least not in the beginning when I feel like I'm still on the surface of something.

Any other divers out there? Come join the Divers Thread when I set it up.

[inspiresuccess]

Everyone has to do this in their own way and I encourage you to find the way that works best for you. However...just in case you're interested, here are the top two things that helped me the most. I got both things to help me get healthier, not to lose weight. The weight loss happened as a sort of bonus, side effect.

Health Minder Personal Wellness Journal. You can buy them on Amazon. Really nifty little book with checklists that make it easy to fill out. It helped me to see the interrelationships between various health issues -- not just weight and food and exercise, but lots of other easy things to check off. For instance, there's a place to check off weather. Sounds odd but when you have joint pain or allergies it makes a difference. It also has a section for the meds you're taking. I kept waking up having a painful tight ball in my stomach that I was massaging and using a heating pad on in the morning with no relief. Finally I got fed up with it and asked myself when it started. I checked back through the journal and the stomach pain started 2 months earlier at the same time they doubled my cholesterol medication. I tried going back to the original dose and within 3 days no stomach pain. Plus, I'd noticed during those 2 months the weight loss had stopped. Once I went down on the meds the weight started going down again.

NutriBullet. After I used it for awhile people kept asking me if I lost weight. I kept saying no but finally I thought I should weight myself. I'd lost 15 1lbs without noticing. But other people did. No guarantee that it will help you lose weight but there's a pretty good chance you will get healthier. If anyone wants to give this a try and wants some tips, let me know. People who reviewed it on Amazon returned it for problems that I had, too, but solved instead of returning.