Good to see you back on here. Looking forward to hearing your progress.

I swear, I can't catch a break! :(

So October hit and my recovery from my surgery took longer than expected. Then we had a layoff at work which propelled me into emotional/stress eating. This went on through November as a coping mechanism of being faced with a larger workload and DH not being able to find a job (his unemployment benefits ended at the end of Nov.) which led me to picking up 2 more side jobs (I already had one). I'm beyond stressed and crying at least once a week. No fun lol

I started working out again at the end of November/beginning of December to help cope with the stress, only to be sidelined by a mysterious pain in my foot, which then I was diagnosed with gout (inflammatory arthritis). My eating choices over the past month flared it up. I was previously misdiagnosed 3 years ago repeatedly with sprains (when I was REALLY unhealthy. At that point in time I was over 260lbs).

Now that I have that diagnosis, it was a wake-up call (yet again, I've had a lot). For anyone who has never had the "pleasure" of having gout, it feels like someone's taken a nail and hammer to your foot, drilled it in, then poured acid in the wound. It is incredibly painful, 60% genetic and usually affects men. While I have gout for life, the other two conditions that I have (Type 2 Diabetes (diet controlled for 2+ years) and Hypertension) are reversible. And gout flare-ups can be prevented with meds and the right diet.

Tuesday when I was at the doctor's, I was 220(I told you I wasn't eating well). I immediately changed my eating habits that day. Today, I weighed 215. I cannot exercise until the flare-up is gone, hopefully by Wednesday I'll feel my foot can take it.

My dietary change can be best described as semi-vegetarian. I am limited to 4-6 oz a day of animal protein...which basically means...chicken or a non-fatty fish. No beef, pork, veal, organ meats, shellfish, shrimp and other types of fish. Whole grain carbs (which I already do, since the diabetes diagnosis) and plenty of veggies and plant-based proteins. I have to stick to this. While I don't feel the effects of my blood pressure or the diabetes, gout is so darn PAINFUL that I NEVER, EVER want to feel it ever again.

I also had the opportunity to upgrade my gym membership to include childcare for my son and the ability to bring any 2 people with me whenever I want. So if DH doesn't want to go with me, I can bring a friend or two :) and it's on the way home from work (the main source of my stress). The stress should diminish end of January when things slow down finally.

I'm still positive I'll get close or even reach my goal of 160 by next July.

I'll try to update more frequently :) I've just been so embarrassed by my lack of progress, but I didn't want to fall off completely. :)

And if anyone has some good veggie recipes they'd like to share, please do

You are doing great. I'll be following your thread. I could never stick to an exercise routine. After reading your thread, it gives me motivation to start losing some lbs.

Today's weigh-in: 210.8

I've successfully lost 4lbs since last weekend. I expect it'll even out to 1-2lbs a week shortly.

My foot is almost 100%, but DH wants me to ease in to working out so I don't aggravate any remaining inflammation. I just stopped limping today. I'll probably give it one more week before I head into the gym.

We're also enjoying our new diet! I love cooking, so discovering veggie dishes has been fun. DH has been amazingly supportive and doesn't want me making meat for him so I won't get tempted. He just eats meat during lunch. I want to try meat alternatives, but I think it might make me miss meat. LOL

That's my check-in for the week :)

Glad to hear you are back on track. Isn't it crazy that we have to be in pain to make a change? Ugh!

I like to saute garlic and sweet onions in a little bit of olive oil then add a can of black beans. Serve it over brown rice with a little but of lowfat cheese for a quick meal. Or just eat it as a side dish without the rice.

If I think of other vegetarian recipes I'll post them.

I'm here...I've been waivering for the past 2 months to post LOL

I had one heck of a 1st quarter. Not to bore y'alls with details, but it sucked. But I'm back and have a MUCH healthier frame of mind.

I realized sometime back that this journey I'm on is not about me losing weight. Weight loss is secondary to the lifestyle change I'm going through. I am very much a slave to the scale. Every gain defeats me, every loss motivates me. But there was a point in time in the past almost 6 weeks where I had gained 8lbs! I almost wanted to quit...it wasn't because I had been slacking. I was doing everything I thought I could and in the "right" way. But I didn't let it defeat me and two weeks later, I dropped the 8lbs and then some. This is when I realized, it's OK to gain. I am healthier. I am doing things that I avoided because I thought I couldn't do it. And if I gain a few here and there, it's because I am WORKING MY BUTT OFF. lol!

These days, I'm at the gym every morning, except for one day. Alternating C25K and weight training. I'm also at Disneyland 2-3 times a week. Food-wise, I'm still eating what I want (given my dietary restrictions), but am so much better at stopping when I'm full and eating only when I'm truly hungry. As of yesterday, I was at 203...but look smaller than what I weigh thanks to my weight training :)...if this was me years ago, I wouldn't have wanted to do any of it.

Anywho, sorry for the long post...but I wanted to end this with a couple photos. The first one is me close to my heaviest (about 4.5 years ago)...and another photo of me 10 days ago (an old friend wanted to see my progress...otherwise, I wouldn't have this photo LOL).

...this has been such a long journey, but I can't help but think it's been well worth it :) :





I'll try to update more often! I think that, no matter where I end up at on July 8...I'll never EVER look like that first photo again.

OMG!! what an amazing change!! Congrats!!!

Woweee! You're looking hot. Congrats on your progress so far.

I've got a similar aim. Want to celebrate my 30th birthday (this summer) in an outfit which doesn't include support pants!

Congrats! You look amazing. I'm trying to slim down before 30 too. I'm 28 and have about 15 lbs to lose. In 2009 I lost 35 lbs before my wedding but 15 have crept back on. I would love to support each other!

^^ Totally! feel free to come back over here anytime You can do it!

Today I weighed in at 205. I dropped down to 202 last week and the 3lbs came back, but I'm starting my period soon, so that could be the case. I've also upped my weights over the past week and a half. Not sweating it.

I restarted week 6 of C25K this week. Last week, I didn't think I could do a 25 minute run on the 3rd day and decided after day 2 I wouldn't do it...and immediately felt like I was failing LOL. But I'm glad I did because this week day 1 and 2 were SO easy for me to get through. I got so excited thinking about how my fitness level has improved.

I also finally purged my bigger clothes yesterday. I should do one of those before and afters with the bigger clothes lol. I had been keeping them all these years thinking I was going to balloon back up. It was such a mental trip to put them aside for donation. We're talking clothes 8-10 sizes bigger. And I was still wearing them LOL. My husband said I needed to get rid of them already because I was belting them so much lol and it only contributed to my F'd up view of my body.

My latest fear now is how am I supposed to find clothes that I can wear so I'm not buying a new wardrobe every time I have a drop in sizes? I'm thinking I'll be in mumus and maxi dresses for the rest of the spring/summer LOL. Buy new belts lol.

I went from a size 12 to a 6 so I feel your pain! I tried to just buy a couple staples and make do with what I had until I reached my goal. Now I don't fit into some of my goal weight clothes but I will again soon!

Quick update!

Today's weight: 199.2! I knew my period totally threw me off and I've dropped over 5lbs since last week :) I'll probably stay around this weight for most of May before I'll see another drop.

I haven't been at this weight since about 2 years ago!!!

I'm getting better at taking my gains and losses in stride and not feeling defeated. I know as long as I stay consistent and gradually increase my activity every couple weeks, I'll keep dropping :)

^ Hi, you are doing great! just wanted to come in and cheer you on

You rock, irainei!

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How are you doing?