I have been struggling lately with my eating plan and exercise. My head isn’t in it. That makes t so hard to keep going. I am not really gaining weight, just maintaining. to me, that is HUGE. The fact I can maintain is a fear I had when starting, that I would be able to do it. But here I am, doing it.
I have 27 more pounds I want to lose to get to my goal. I will get there. I am doing great, having lost almost 50 pounds so far… but I am just stalled.
Tonight I was looking for a high school photo for a scavenger hunt I am doing and I ran across the photo above. I weighed about 350 pounds in that photo, maybe a bit more. I was shocked, to be honest, to see that photo. To see that person, who I don’t relate with at all. How did I get that large? How did I let it happen?
The photo was taken at a picnic for other people having weight loss surgery. It was in August 2003. About a month later i had surgery. It was the biggest mistake of my life. I have had so many complications and I didn’t follow the meal plan. Yes, all of this time I maintained about a 70 pound loss, but I still wasn’t healthy. I was still heavy, still lazy, still eating whatever I wanted to, just smaller portions and every once in a while throwing up because something would either get stuck or the sugar I just ate didn’t agree with me or I just had one bite too many. You would think then that I would have lost weight with the protions I was eating, but no… Calories. If you eat smaller portions but fill those protions with huge calorie items, you aren’t going to lose. If you don’t exercise, you aren’t going to lose. I wasn’t doing either.
This past winter a friend of mine and I were talking about maybe starting a Biggest Loser type challenge with friends. We had about 20 people. I collected the weights each week and it was fun. I had some bumps in the road but overall I did really well and I was proud of myself! Now we are doing BLC Vol.2. This time 47 people joined and we are now smack dab in the middle of it all. I have lost almost 50 pounds since January and I feel the best I have, ever.
Anyways, sometimes we get in slumps and we need to pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off. Then hop up and get back on track! I am hoping to get there starting NOW! Seeing this photo reminds me of my accomplishment. I am about 115 pounds down from this photo. That is something to be proud of! But maintaining is ALSO something to be proud of. making better choices about food, not beating myself up over bad choices, but getting myself back on track and exercising… all things to be proud of.
Please list five things in the comments that were positive today (or the day you read this)
Positive things that happened today:
1) Listening to Katie talk on the phone with Madison
2) Talking with Amber and T on Facebook. Made me happy to have friends 🙂
3) Time outside with the neighbors and the kids
4) Finding old photos and realizing how good life is.
5) lunch, my lunch was yummy! (Lean Cuisine Turkey, Mashed Potatoes, Stuffing, Green Beans and Cranberries, my current fave!)
6) seeing the doe and her two fawns
7) having Renee as a friend is a blessing (photo below is of us in college)
pattimargarita.wordpress.com 
Wow! That’s incredible that you’re putting this all out there…very theraputic, I imagine. You must be SOO proud of yourself for how far you’ve come in your journey! It’s fun to see how positive and happy you are, with all of your facebook posts and whatnot. Congrats to you and may you reach your goal!
Proud of you!!
amazing transformation patti. and I think maintaining is just as fastastic/ more fantastic than the big loss. because like most things that are fun and new, the new and fun wears off and you are then stuck with grit and commitment. It takes more grit and commitment to find new ways to move forward/ find new avenues to make that shiny feeling stay alive. you must be very very proud of yourself, your grit, and your commitment.
five postive things today:
1. finished painting Q’s room a crazy shade of apple green. phew.
2. cleaned the livingroom without being distracted by kids (a minor miracle)
3. had a blast catching kids coming down the slide at the pool today
4. finally semi-edited a few of my own photos today.
5. enjoyed watching my husband strugge to choose which photos he wants to order from Kim. He has always claimed to not care about that kind of stuff; but his list has a lot of stars and hesitant cross offs 🙂
6. reading this and appreciating goals.
i love you Patti! way to stand strong! You can do it, u have already made it so far and i am so proud of you! What a great example you are!!
xxo
Thank you so much for posting and sharing this with us Patti. I haven’t done nearly so well as you have and already hit a rutt and it really helps to know that others are going through it. You are such an inspiration to myself and so many others as you speak from your heart.
5 good things about today:
1) I got done the things I really needed to get done today.
2) I had enough time leftover to take the youngest two to the park for some outside time.
3) I got to hear my children tell me they love me (I never get tired of hearing that, ever, and it thrills me no end each time)
4) I managed to get all the groceries put away
5) I managed to get the toilet unclogged after Nico put about 1/2 a roll of tp into it. So glad it wasn’t Mozart Music Blocks. LOL
Patti – you are doing an incredible job! Brave of you to share. We are all here for you and want you to be healthy and happy, no matter weight that is.
Okay so you are awesome, I am having a hard time lately, I read this blog because you are always so inspirational. I love it and then I see number 7 and you are so sweet. It was just what I needed!! I love you too!
It was good to see this, this morning. Is a great inspiration for me. Thank you for sharing with all of us. I am very happy to have met you and to be part of the weigh loss competition, it gave me a start I struggle to find previously. I’ll be grateful to you forever.
You go girl!!! I’m so proud of you. And I’m “positive” your weight loss will bring more great things 😉 in addition to feeling great about yourself! Love ya!!!!!!