Please click on thumbnails to see the full size photo.
As
of right now, I've lost 115 lbs since 7/24/00 with 27 more to go. I first joined
WW in October of 1989 and reached goal in November of 1990, having lost 147.5
lbs. I was able to maintain it for 4 years. Through a series of events which
affected my day to day life (meeting my future husband, returning to college,
etc...), I began to regain my weight. I tried to circumvent this by rejoining
Weight Watchers a number of times but was always falling off the wagon...It's
a wonder I never broke a leg :-) I experienced such self-loathing.
It was very difficult, and took me a long time, to actually forgive myself
for what I was doing. Until I WAS able to come to terms with my present situation,
I was of no use to myself or any weight loss efforts. My husband, being an amateur
chef, was not very supportive either. He was always too consumed with feeding
me his wonderful delicacies and seeking my approval of them. I had lost sight
of what was really important to me. I had become complacent and accepted
a life of obesity once again. I'm not religious but I actually used
to pray "just let me somehow be back at goal and this time I'll keep it off...I
promise". It was a very, very low time for me.
What
finally set me in the right direction I think was July 11, 2000. That was my
39th birthday and with that, of course my thoughts turned to the
big four; oh-no! I decided on that day that I would do something positive and
productive for myself. Not only did I want to reduce my depression over hitting
'middle age' but also wanted to ensure that I actually got there...and beyond.
So, I gave myself a couple of weeks to get acclimated to the idea and by July
24th - the day after my mom's 69th birthday (and a heck
of a BBQ picnic) I began to diet again in earnest. I didn't actually rejoin
Weight Watchers but, rather, followed my own plan based on what I'd learned
from WW through the years...and that was a lot. I don't think any other plan
gives you more info or prepares you for a lifetime of healthy eating better
than them. I also used a lot of common sense...Having been on the diet circuit
for so long, you really do develop a sense of what to eat and NOT to eat.
By
that October, I'd lost 30 some odd pounds. By Christmas, I was down 50. Here
it is, May 30th (my brother's 35th birthday) and I'm down
115. I should mention that on May 2nd (hubby's b-day...is there a
trend developing?), I did rejoin WW and have lost 10 lbs since then. I went
back because losing weight at 290 lbs is much easier than at 175 lbs. I also
felt I was starting to lose sight of exactly what and how much to eat. I think
I needed a little direction and guidance - Who better than the staff at WW to
assist? I love the Points program and the flexibility it offers. I'm down to
27 lbs from goal.
Best
Regards,
Suzanne
This
photo is a sort of collage of myself from before the diet to present.
Each image has the date when the picture was taken.