Wasn't going to post yet but...

[alienjenn]

I didn't want to post until I hit the next mega giant milestone but I'm close and this is a giant one... this marks new territory... I haven't weighed this little since before being pregnant with my fourteen year old...

I've lost ninety pounds... (about thirty five since new years)...

I like comparison pics... I can't often tell when I look in the mirror so I make pics...

The toddler in this pic is my fourteen year old... I was 340# in the left pic 250#in the far right... I have to retire those pants because as tight as I tie them they still fall down!

I found the pic pin the top left (green shirt) while going through old Facebook pics... I had to look at it three times because I didn't recognize it as me.... I knew I had lost a lot of weight but I still don't always see it in the mirror...

I see it I don't see the giant me in the mirror any more... I have a long way to go (I hope to lose about a hundred more) but... I can see that it's possible... it's going to happen... you guys are my rock and you guys are so good to me and I don't think I could have done it without you!

please forgive typos and such... autocorrect is not my friend and my phone is a goofball.... gotta love tapatalk!

[StarGazer]

This is AMAZING! You are doing so well at bettering yourself and you must be so proud! I love that you have decided to acknowledge this accomplishment for the achievement it is even if you haven't met your overall goal yet.

 

You are making great strides and are an inspiration! Keep it up and stay awesome!

[alienjenn]

This is AMAZING! You are doing so well at bettering yourself and you must be so proud! I love that you have decided to acknowledge this accomplishment for the achievement it is even if you haven't met your overall goal yet.

 

You are making great strides and are an inspiration! Keep it up and stay awesome!

Thank you so much

please forgive typos and such... autocorrect is not my friend and my phone is a goofball.... gotta love tapatalk!

[Shereads]

That is Freaking fantastic! The difference is huge from your first to current. Keep on plugging away. You may not have met goal yet but you are so close.  I know I've not been around long but you inspire me!

[Georges]

So many changes (inside & out) - I hope you're proud of all your work!  Amazing!

[UltraPoweR]

That is some GREAT progress right there!Let me ask you:how are you feeling?In terms of physical health?And how did you lose all that weight?

[Vian]

Oh my gosh Jen! You look like a whole different person. You ARE a different person! Such an inspiration!

[Morrigainz]

Dang!!! I love it!

[maeggieakamegan]

Fantastic work, kudos to you, Jenn!!!

[whittierrenegade]

Wow this is so amazing, YOU are so amazing! I'm so glad you are able to recognize this success and take a moment to truly be proud of yourself. You've deserved it

[amynbagheera]

This is so awesome Jenn! I myself am hoping to lose around the realm of 100lbs and I've just started posting to this site but have been looking around for about 1 year now.  May I ask, what are your diet plan and exercise regimen like? Congrats once again and keep it up! I'm rooting for you!

[alienjenn]

I'll try to post a real story later tonight... it's hard to type on my phone

Thanks guys for all the love it means the world to me

please forgive typos and such... autocorrect is not my friend and my phone is a goofball.... gotta love tapatalk!

[AhmadMasrahi]

You've truly inspired me. Keep it up  

[Thrillho]

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[NiklzNDimz]

Oh wow, that is fantastic! Congrats on how far you've come; your story had best be pinned to the you-can-do-it inspirational board. Very exciting!

[AuntAbby]

::applauds::

 

Kudos! I'll bet you're feeling great. You should be proud.

[alienjenn]

thanks for all the love guys

 

I have been so busy that I haven't had much time to write my story... but I got some time now

 

 

 

 

 

So in April 2004 I had this cyst on my breast that I had to have removed, and when the cytology came back that it wasn't cancerous I was relieved. However the doc said "this cyst had the makeup of something we see often in very severe diabetics, have you been tested?" which sent me to the lab for bloodwork and and and... long story short I was diagnosed with diabetes (my A1C was >14  which meant my average blood sugar was >350) I was 340#... and I was miserable... I had three toddlers (my youngest was about to turn 4)... I couldn't keep up with them I couldn't walk and run... I was *THAT* mom... the one who sat on the bench at the park and yelled at them.... the one who just sat there... if there was a problem they had to come to me... I had no energy I was in constant pain I was miserable

 

Growing up I had an "Aunt" (friend of the family really but we called her Aunt Betty) who had diabetes... her first amputation was her toes then part of her foot then partially up her shin and then her knee then halfway up her leg... by the time she died she had also lost toes and fingers... the gangrene had settled into her pelvic area and there was no more to cut off and she got very ill and died... we watched her children suffer with this... and in my mind it was all because she couldn't give up her soda and her twinkies... I watched the resentment that we had for her because she wasn't able to do it... I thought about how much her children HATED her and how hard that was on them... and I refused to do that to my kids!!

 

that was the beginning for me... I bought a pedometer... I stopped drinking *real* soda... I made the goal to be more active... I started by just logging and not making any changes... I have this belief that if you want to go anywhere you have to know where you are... so I started just logging my steps and calories without changing... the first goal I set for steps was something like 900... because at that point I was averaging 700 or so... and 1000 was WAYYY too much... so every two or three weeks I added 200 steps to my goal... I would call my mom and talk to her while walking in my driveway to get my steps... there were MANY MANY days I didn't make it... but I slowly worked my way up... and now I don't have a *daily* goal anymore... but I have a monthly goal... last month I logged 191.8 miles... it was insane

 

I also started counting calories... I got a notebook... this was before I had a smart phone so I would use programs on the computer... I kept notes in a daily notebook and just tracked things... my first steps were to just log what I was eating.... I had NO clue but I knew that whenever I tried to do the 1200 calories per day (that my doc recommended) I felt like I was STARVING and I was ANGRY and HUNGRY ALL THE TIME... seriously... NOT GOOD!!! so I was eating like 35-3700 calories a day... my first goals were 3200 a day... and some days it was a struggle... then every 2-3 weeks I would cut that down

 

in 2004 my (now ex) husband decided it would be a good idea to move from AZ to VA... his kids from his first marriage lived here and he wanted to be closer... he told me that he had a job lined up (which I found out later was a lie) and that he had a house lined up (again a lie) so we packed up the three kids and moved cross country in our volvo... about half way here he tells me no house... and then later no job (but he made it out like they fell through)... this was the beginning of me seeing that the issues in our marriage were unsolvable... 

 

 

 

I lost a bunch... .. got down around 280or so... and then gained... it was horrible... my first goals were so stupid... "lose 10# in a month" and stuff... I would fail (oh I only lost EIGHT pounds) and then binge as a way to express my depression over failing... and then I would be MORE Than I was at the beginning of the month which would set off this horrible cycle... my ex would bring home junk food and donuts and no matter how much I tried to change he would berate me... "just because you are becoming a sugar nazi doesn't mean we can't enjoy good food" "well maybe you are just never going to be thin so here have a donut" he would buy a 2# package of cookies and he and the kids would eat the whole thing in one setting... we would be lucky if they even made it home from the store... we went through about 20# of sugar every month.... and I can't begin to express how much bad stuff we ate... 

 

it's been a BATTLE transitioning my kids to healthy eating since he has been out of our lives... but I can say SEVEN years later my kids now LIKE good food and healthy stuff and usually pick the good stuffs over the bad stuffs... they get treats now and then and just because I don't eat it doesn't mean I don't let them... it just means that junk food is usually left for when we are doing a big hike (like more than 10 miles) or a big bike ride (like more than 30 miles)... and my yongest has issues with weight gain (as in he is 13 and 80# and TINY) so I am a little more lenient with him than the others because he needs calories... but he still has to eat the good stuff before he gets the bad stuff... (but he eats like 4000 calories a day so I don't really worry about him getting too fat )

 

separated from the ex in 2006... went back to school... spent 4 years getting 2 2 year degrees... past nursing school/boards... got pneumonia once or twice... had sinus surgery... was unemployed for almost 3 months after school looking for a first job... got a job... was prematurely promoted... lost the job because of office politics (I asked to step down... there were issues with our state inspection... and I was the newest and youngest nurse and the director didn't like me).... spent 6 months unemployed then I got a job at the local university in intensive care... fast forward to last year and I was back up to more than 300... and I decided that I was ready to REALLY Get back to work... I had stagnated... and I wasn't going anywhere (except up) and I wasn't happy... I was very close to 320 and I NEVER wanted to see that number again... I started playing with carb cycling... sorta worked... played with IF.... sorta worked... played with restricting calories... sorta worked... yo yo'd from 290=310 most of last year...

 

started jogging... started long distance biking... it was awesome... I logged so many miles last year... amazing

then in august I broke my foot... I was jogging... and it just broke.... stress fracture... I got a boot and went to work (on doctor's orders) and the third day I injured it more... somehow I caught the giant boot on something in a patient room and twisted it and tore the nerve... they told me NON WEIGHT BEARING for 8 weeks... the pain was terrible... torture... I didn't leave my couch for six weeks... I could not even really shower (ewww) because I have no balance... I really wanted to not lose the gains I had made so I was doing knee push ups... I would crawl off my couch and then do push ups and then lay there because my foot was throbbing and then crawl back to my couch... I was out of work for 12 weeks

 

somewhere towards the end of that I found nerdfitness... (my 1 yr anniv is in oct)... I was like... oh well another thing to try... 

 

I was getting more active... I was doing all the right things... and I broke my dumb foot... 

 

I was not losing like I wanted... at least I didn't gain anything when I was broken... I had a reaction to the lyrica (given to me for the nerve pain.... when they talk about psychotic depression... it is a possible side effect... PAY ATTENTION) I wanted to kill myself... I ate all the things and I didn't care... it took me almost a month after being off of it to feel normal again... I have battled depression for YEARS and it has gotten very bad... but NEVER to the extent it was last fall... I didn't even really tell people the thoughts that were going through my head because I KNEW it would get me put away... and I probably should have gotten help... but I did stop taking the meds and went back to neurontin which worked better for the pain anyway... 

 

I was given the go ahead to start walking again in november... and it was hell... I had pain... I had no endurance... I was tired ALL THE TIME but I tried... and I did it... and I just forced myself... 

 

in January I did a daniel fast with a church that I follow... basically you eat fruit and veggies and drink water... I did that for 19 days (was going to  do 21 but I got VERY protein deficient and sick after a large hike.... I don't like almost dying... ) I LOVED it... I felt so amazing... the intestinal symptoms that I had for YEARS were gone... I had no pain in my guts... my joint pain was VERY improved... I felt awesome... the only thing I craved was MEAT (I seriously had dreams about meat.... like where I chased cows and just bit them... it was... unnerving) when I went back to "normal" at the end of the fast... the symptoms and pain returned with a VENGEANCE and it was like... I didn't realize how much pain I had until it was gone and then it was back and I was so sick I wanted to die... 

 

the 6 week challenge that started in feb... I decided that I would try "paleo-ish" (I eat beans and corn and don't eat nuts).... basically just fruit/veggie/meat... it has worked very well for me

 

I am back up to biking long distances (we did the greenbrier river trail in june 160 mils... just did 105 miles on the c&o trail last week)... am going to get back into hiking the distances... I have done a couple long hikes but no more than a couple days... am working my endurance back up... 

 

 

I started this year at 285... I was 250 at the doctor's last month and I have no idea what I am now... I had a challenge goal to not weigh this six weeks because I was addicted and weighing multiple times a day and it was horrid... it kinda scares me that I am coming up on a hundred pounds lost... I am shocked and amazed

 

until a few months ago... I think probably until may... losing weight was just something that *might* happen... even though I had lost in the past it never really occurred to me that it was going to happen... it was just like I was just talking... no amount of planning was going to make it happen because it was just words... 

 

then I had this massive shift in my thinking while on my last trip (I wrote about it in my challenge thread... I am running out of time and have already written a book )  

[maeggieakamegan]

Thanks for sharing you're story, I know it's not easy going back through all our struggles and failures. But at least we can say we pushed past it and came out better than we were before

[Duality]

Holy crap! You melted! Awesome!

[alienjenn]

Thanks for sharing you're story, I know it's not easy going back through all our struggles and failures. But at least we can say we pushed past it and came out better than we were before

it's amazing for me to think that it's actually possible. ... like really actually possible

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[alienjenn]

Holy crap! You melted! Awesome!

I know right? !

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[cline]

Why wait to post?!

Amazing. Battle fought! Well done! !!!

[weirdquark]

Awesome!

 

And dropping calories a small amount is the way to go -- starving yourself is neither healthy or fun and if you only eat at a small deficit, it'll be easier to switch to eating at maintenance. In fact, you may find an amount of calories where you're losing weight slowly but will cause your weight loss to stop at a weight you're happy with and then you will be already eating at maintenance and won't have to deal with the weight gain that you would if you dropped your calories low and then tried to increase them.

[alienjenn]

Awesome!

 

And dropping calories a small amount is the way to go -- starving yourself is neither healthy or fun and if you only eat at a small deficit, it'll be easier to switch to eating at maintenance. In fact, you may find an amount of calories where you're losing weight slowly but will cause your weight loss to stop at a weight you're happy with and then you will be already eating at maintenance and won't have to deal with the weight gain that you would if you dropped your calories low and then tried to increase them.

I actually don't worry about calories at all any more. ... I just eat meat and veggies and fruit occasionally cheese (maybe once or twice a week).... it's so easy new that i don't have to think about it

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[alienjenn]

Thanks for sharing your story! Sounds like paleo has been a fabulous choice for you! Congratulations again!

It's so easy to automate things. ... makes it kind of difficult when we are on the trail to find food (it's hard to find cheap non bread foods at convenience stores. ... sigh) and I'm still working on easily portable food for hiking (tuna pouches are good but not enough calories! )

Thanks so much Athena!

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