My name is Teresa and I'm on a journey to lose weight and get healthier. I'm 50 years old, my significant other is actually my ex husband/common law. I know that sounds confusing and it is, but it works. I have two grown children, a 28 year old son and a 25 year old daughter. My daughter is married and has a 6 year old son. Yes, I'm a grandma...he's the light of my life.
I wasn't always the fat girl, but I always thought of myself as fat, in high school I weighed 108lbs, but I was curvy, big boobs, little waist and big hips, I had the hourglass figure. It seemed all the boys were more interested in the skinny, no boob, no ass girls. I felt like I never fit in with the normal crowd. That's when the 4 letter word "diet" began. I think back and wonder, if I'd never tried to lose weight in my teens would I be fat now? Fast forward a few years. I got married, then had my son a few years later and weighed 147lbs at delivery. I thought I was HUGE...I might mention here that I'm only 5' and 1/2" tall. Yes, the 1/2" counts. I started a new "diet" it was actually called The Diet Center, I deprived myself of lots of food, no red meat (unless it was organ meat), no tuna, no tomatoes, no carrots, no cauliflower, there were lots and lots of nos in this food plan. But I lost weight, down to 103lbs. I felt great and looked pretty hot too! I finally felt like I was in the "in crowd". Then I got pregnant again. This time I weighed 159lbs at delivery. I went back to The Diet Center and lost the weight again, but only got back down to 116lbs. But, I was happy and felt good. Moving into my 30's was hard. I had to have my gallbladder removed at 33, the doctor said it was because of my low low fat diet. Within a few months of the surgery, I noticed I was gaining some weight and had horrible acid reflux and IBS. Medications didn't help so I just trudged along feeling pretty miserable. At 36 I had to have a total hysterectomy. That year I gained 60+ lbs. It didn't matter what I ate or didn't eat, the weight just piled on. I went to several doctors trying to understand why I was gaining so much weight, they told me I needed to be on a very low calorie diet. 1000 calories or less. So I basically starved myself, but the one thing I couldn't understand was this...because of the IBS, after every meal (within 15 minutes or so of eating) I'd have to RUN to the bathroom. I didn't have a normal bm for years and year. If what I ate was running straight out of me, how was I gaining weight? I tried other diets, Weight Watchers, NutriSystems, HCG drops, Phen Phen, other diet pills, shakes, even shots. Yes, I'd lose a few pounds, but as soon as I veered off the path, it would come right back on with friends. I will say, the best success I ever had was Weight Watchers, the problem I had was that they kept changing the program. The first "Points" program they had worked for me, but when they started "Flex Points" it screwed up my brain and I started gaining the weight back. I tried WW a few times after that and it just didn't work for me. So, I did what most people do and gave up. Resolved myself to the fact that I was just going to be fat!
In 2009, I lost my job. I was devastated. The job market was horrible, there were no jobs. My hobby has always been knitting, so the family told me "Why don't you open a yarn shop?" So, I did. Let me tell you, being a business owner isn't all it's cracked up to be. I couldn't afford to pay myself a paycheck so I damn sure couldn't hire anyone to help me. I worked 6 and sometimes 7 days a week for 10 hours a day. Knitting and helping others knit, teaching kids to knit, it all requires sitting. So for the past 5 years I've had a pretty hectic, but sedentary lifestyle. And, guess what...I gained more weight, yep I knew I getting bigger because my clothes were telling me I was getting bigger. I just didn't want to listen to them. I turned 50 years old on August 14th. I saw that bathroom scale starring at me. I hadn't talked to him in several years, just mopped him off once a week, but never stopped to visit. But that day, that day I turned 50, I could hear him yelling at me. I stepped on him and he told me the most vulgar story I'd ever heard. I weighed 207lbs. I cried. I never told anyone I cried, but I did. I stomped on his face, like it was his fault and cried. I knew I needed to make a huge change in my life, or I wasn't going to be around to watch my grandson grow up.
In the knitting world, when you aren't knitting, you're looking on the computer for cute patterns, spending time on pinterest and facebook. I had noticed someone posting about a weight loss group and decided I'd join and see what they were discussing. In this group, I saw lots and lots of picture and testimonials of people who had lost weight and were keeping it off. They were taking something called Skinny Fiber. One of the testimonials really caught my eye. It was a lady, 50 years old who had suffered from acid reflux and IBS. She had lost about 40 lbs and tons of inches and the best thing was that her acid reflux and IBS were gone. I clicked on the link provided and ordered a bottle. I figured, what the hell...I've tried everything else, why not give this a try too. What have I got to lose? If nothing else, maybe it will help with my acid reflux and IBS. My bottle of Skinny Fiber arrived about 6 days later. There was no special diet plan, no crazy exercise program. All it said to do was take 2 capsules 30 minutes before your two heaviest meals of the day with 8 oz of water. Heck, I could do that. So I did. My beverage of choice was not water, it was diet dr. pepper. I decided to go cold turkey on the ddp and only drink water, and I drank the crap out of that water. 80-100 oz per day to be exact. I noticed within 3 days that my acid reflux was gone. Within a week, I had the first normal "poop" I've had in almost 20 years...yes, that's right 20 years.
Today, I've been taking Skinny Fiber for 6 months. I feel so good. I've lost 30 lbs and 58.75". I measure my neck, bust, waist, hips, right bicep and right thigh. I used to go to bed and toss and turn all night long and wake up exhausted. Now, I go to bed and fall asleep within minutes of my head hitting the pillow and wake up rested and ready for the new day. I didn't change my diet, except for no more pop or carbonated drinks. Only water for me, thank you. I'm not good at exercising, but I want to be, if that counts for anything.
In January I made a big decision to close down my yarn shop. No one was getting rich except the landlord. I was missing too much of my family's lives. I wanted to be able to take my grandson to Silver Dollar City and go to his school functions. I closed the shop on March 20th. Now, I'm a housewife. I've never been a housewife before. I've always worked outside of the home, so this is a big change.
Since I've been off work, I've started a walking plan. I've walked every morning to the end of the road and back which is about 1/2 mile. I know it's not much, but I'm working on it. Remember, I did NOTHING for 5 years, so 1/2 mile is a good start.
If you are interested in joining my weight loss support group on facebook, you are more than welcome. I post healthy recipes, motivational and inspirational weight loss tips, exercise programs, we have a good time and yes I am a distributor for Skinny Fiber now, but I'm not going to push anyone into anything. Lots of people are in my group who don't use or want to use Skinny Fiber, they are there for the support in their journey to get healthy. If you want to come on over click this link https://www.facebook.com/groups/healthy.choices.wls/
hope to see you soon.
Teresa
Great Job!!!! Keep it up!!
ReplyDeleteLove your blog!
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