From 18 to 10 - My Treacherous Weightloss Journey

The older I got, the more I would hear, "It's harder to lose the weight as you get older..." - Well, they weren't kidding!  I was a 200 lb., 29 year old with 2 boyfriends... You may have heard of them... Ben and Jerry.  Great guys, but I finally realized I'd be better off without them!  Although they put up a fight, I let them down as easy as I could and I moved on to greener pastures... Like pastures of salad!

I'm not saying that what I did is a cure all, but believe me when I say that I tried every single diet on the face of this earth and nothing ever worked for me.  You see, I'm Italian... Lasagna is like the brother I never had... He's there at every meal... taunting me with his evil ways... How in the WORLD could I lose weight with HIM around!?!?

Anyway... The plan was simple.  I decided to start my transformation.  I began by replacing my bacon, egg and cheese on a bagel with a slimfast at breakfast.  Next, I would have a salad and a granola bar for lunch.  So far, so good.  Then, I would proceed to eat almost everything in my home that night for supper.  Great plan.  I WAS STARVING!!!  So, I researched.  Hmm... This time I would try reducing my fat, calorie and carb intake.  Another great plan.  Wait... How in the world am I supposed to know what's in everything at the Chinese Buffet!?!?  Would you believe this!?!  This is turning out to be like "WORK!"  ...And that's EXACTLY what it is... work.  Nobody ever said to me, "WOW!  LOSING WEIGHT IS EASY!  YOU SHOULD TRY IT!!" - yah... right.

Ok.  Plan C.... or was it D?

Geez.

I decided to buckle down.  No more eating whole boxes and bags of things... no more stuffing myself to the point of nausea.  I went and got myself a notebook.  The best 89 cents that I have ever spent in my life.  The NEW great plan was to write down what I was eating... every disgusting, unhealthy thing.  My goal was to maintain a 1400-1600 calorie diet.  The first day, I almost had heart failure when I added up my eatings... AND I WAS TRYING TO BEHAVE MYSELF!!  From that moment on, I was a changed woman.... an EXTREMELY HUNGRY, but changed woman.  I won't lie.  The first month, I thought I may die of starvation.  My body was so used to being "filled to the rim..." and I'm not talkin' with Brim!

A few months went by and I lost a WHOPPING 10 lbs.  What gives?  Oh, yeah... Exercise.  Oops.  Here's the thing... I work in Retail.  I am on my feet for 8-10 hours a day.  The LAST THING I want to do when I get home is be on my feet... but... it had to be done to complete this transformation!  So, I did it.  Not much, mind you, but 30 minutes a day can go a long way!  That's all I did.  I walked at an excelerated pace on a treadmill, for 30 minutes a day and only 3 to 4 days a week.  The size 18's that were once PACKED TIGHT with my excessive figure were now FALLING OFF OF ME!  HALLELUJAH!!

Slowly, but surely, I won the fight.  :::ding, ding, ding:::  Now the only thing is hanging on to that championship belt!  The belt that holds my pants up!

Did I mention that I still ate almost all the same things I've been eating my whole life?  This is where that infomercial, non-believer would interject... "You mean I can eat anything I want and still lose weight?!"  Yes!  Well... kinda... Instead of a WHOLE pizza, I would eat one or two slices... Instead of Pasta EVERY night (thanks, Italian heritage!), I would mix it up with tuna or chicken salad sandwiches, or even sloppy joe's!!  The key is to read and try to switch to healthier options.  I basically only eat whatever the "serving size" tells me to.  This alone will help in anyone's situation.  The other thing is converting.  Instead of ground beef, I use turkey meat.  Once you put it in something or add something to it, IT TASTES THE SAME!  I SWEAR!  Another thing is milk... I have been drinking 2% for YEARS.  Who would've known that it may have been a contributing factor to my weight!?  Did you know that the serving size on milk is one cup?  Have you ever measured one cup?  It' s practically a shot of milk.  Now, you start drinking slimfast to help you lose weight and each scoop takes two cups of milk.  Two cups of 2% milk equals 10 (oh, yes, I said 10) grams of fat... plus the 4 grams from the slimfast.  Two slimfast drinks a day and that is 28 grams of fat... just from liquid.  Gross, huh?  Since the gradual switch to skim milk, I have lost probably twice as much weight as I would have, had I stuck with my original fave.

Lem'me tell ya... 50 lbs. ago, I never would have imagined me EVER talking about weightloss, but now, I have my sights set on helping others see that it can be done.  I did NOT take drugs to lose the weight, I did NOT have any surgical procedures.  Granted, that sometimes is the ONLY OPTION, but if you are a fully functioning person, there is no reason that this couldn' t help you.  Obesity runs in my family and the only thing that was ever on my mind growing up was, "My Father is not gonna live to see me get married."  ...and one day I said, "Holy cow.  If I keep this up, I won't live to see MY children get married... AND I DON'T EVEN HAVE ANY YET!!"  Thank heavens my Father is still around, but not a day goes by that I don't have that thought; and if I have been tortured by that thought for almost two-thirds of my life, why would I want to put others through that?

'Nuff said.  All joking aside.  I hope I have inspired at least ONE person out there.  It can be done.  I am living proof... and I expect to be living proof for a very long time.