Shelley! Weight Loss Success Story! 1/01/10!!!

I want to thank Shelley for participating in my New Years Weight Loss Success Story!! I have been following Shelley’s blog for a while now, and I love reading her accomplishments, and what she is doing to lose the weight!

So here are the questions I asked Shelley:

1). What was your “Aha” moment when you decided you needed to do something about your weight?

When I weighed in during a routine visit at my doctor’s office, I saw that number and realized that if I lost 100 pounds I would STILL be overweight – that brought my weight problem into perspective for me and all of a sudden it became urgent – I was almost 45 years old, and realized that time was running out – I was either going to be fat for the rest of my life, or I could give losing weight one more try.

2). Had you tried to lose weight in the past – were you successful when you tried?

I’ve been on diets off and on since I was in high school – and have had success, but always, always gained the weight back. This time it hit me that I was going to have to change my way of eating forever. Finding other bloggers (like Lynn at Lynn’s Weigh and Lori at Finding Radiance) who had lost 100+ pounds and are keeping it off really motivated me to make lifestyle changes and not just go on another diet.

3). How do you find time for yourself to concentrate on losing weight?

As an empty-nester, this was easy for me. Both of my sons are away in college and my husband travels quite a bit for work, so I don’t have to plan meals for anyone except for myself most of the time. And luckily, when he is home, my husband is content to eat the big salads that I love to make for dinner, although he supplements his meals with an apple and yogurt! With my kids not living at home, I don’t have to deal with having snack foods that they love (and are hard for me to resist) in my kitchen. Also, not having to deal with getting kids to school or pick them up from practice has given me the time to fit working out into my schedule without feeling too rushed.

4). What kept you going? Were there times where you wanted to give up?

Honestly, my blog kept me going, because even when my weight loss was stalled, I could look back and see how far I’d come, and that made me realize that even though I wasn’t having success at the moment, I had been successful with losing and would be again. Giving up wasn’t an option – I liked my new body, the new, smaller clothes I was able to wear, and I just felt so much better, physically.

5). Did you exercise while losing weight, if so, what do you like to do for exercise.

For the first nine months, I exercised lightly – I rode my bicycle around my neighborhood at a leisurely pace, and I did step aerobics on my Wii Fit. This felt like I was doing a lot…and considering that I had been doing nothing, it was! But as I lost weight I began to feel like I could do more, and that’s when I started working out with a trainer and a small group of people. I do whatever my trainer tells me – mostly it’s a crossfit workout, which combines cardio and strength training. I’ve also started running, which surprised me – even during the jogging crazes of the 70’s and 80’s, I never ran, so it’s amazing to me that at the age of 46, I am a runner!

6). What are some tips that helped you along the way?

Eat protein after you work out to help build muscle! I didn’t do this when I first started working out and as a result, didn’t get as strong as I should have. Once I started adding a lot of protein to my diet, my muscles became more defined and my strength and endurance increased. Drink tons of water – it helps to fill you up and flushes out your system. Plus, my skin has never looked better! Don’t starve yourself (this was from your sister – she practically had to beat it into my head, but I finally got it…thanks, Biz!) – your body will stop losing weight and try to hang on to every ounce if you cut your calorie intake too much.

7). Did you have people in your life that weren’t positive towards the changes you were making?

Not really…occasionally I get a silly comment from a co-worker like “your face it too thin – you’d better watch how you lose the weight” – like I have any control over where it comes off of my body, haha! But my family and friends have all been very supportive and helpful.

8). We just finished the Holidays, what strategies did you use to stay on track?

Well, this year I didn’t make fudge or pumpkin bread or peanut brittle or…you get the picture. By not having the things that are so hard for me to use portion control on in my house, I saved myself countless calories and a lot of angst. Although I’m sure my kids would have liked to have the traditional Christmas goodies in our house, they didn’t complain and for that, I’m grateful. I also tried to keep in mind that Thanksgiving was one meal, and the same for Christmas. It was ok to cook and eat our favorite foods for those meals and have dessert, but I tried to limit myself to just the one meal, no leftovers in the days to come (and especially no pumpkin pie for breakfast!). Getting back to my normal way of eating has helped me to not only not gain weight during the holidays, but to actually lose several pounds. Now that is a change I can live with!

AND, look at how far she’s come and how fantastic she looks now!! Shelley you are such an inspiration to me!

And, if you’ve missed my other weight loss success stories:

Meet Diane
Meet Jen
Meet Keith