Mellissa's Story (pics )

I wasnt always heavy, as a child up until 4th grade I was average weight. Then I got old enough to go to the liquor store on my own. {it was just across the street so not far} that seemed to be the beginning. I slowly added the weight.
By Jr High I was in the 200 lb mark. I was always active and I had friends, I can't say that being heavy was great but my child hood could have been worse. I think the worst part in Jr High was when we had a boy as a teachers
assistant for P.E. and he got ahold of the weights and therefore went on to let me and probably others know what I weighed, the funny thing with this was.......he was heavy himself, probably outweighed me. lol
Anyway, in high school at 16 my mom let me do the shot diet, I dont even remember the name of it, but you had to go in daily to get a shot, a double dose on friday to carry you through the weekend. I did well on that and got
down to 201 then stopped the diet.
I was still pretty active and could out run my smaller friends in gym class but I wasnt happy with myself and ok there was a guy i had a crush on {did he ever ask me out?? no, but he sure stared a lot}
After stopping that it took a bit but the weight came back with friends. When I was a teen my brother and I went in together and bought a Dr's scale (since he kept taking all the other ones apart to see how they worked) paying
250.00 for it back then stopped that lol
When I got preg with my daughter at 22 I weighed about 328, gained about 20+ lbs with her and lost it all after I had her, then stayed about the same. I went to get on the pill when she was about 2 because I was back to seeing her
dad. The Dr. wouldn't give them to me because he felt I weighed to much. So within 2 months I was preg again. I weighed about 328 when I got preg with my son. Gained about 50 lbs with him, though not sure the scale only went up to 350 and I was over that.
When he was a year old I joined Jenny Craig {and no I didn't lose any easier nursing him, and the little monster actually liked Jenny Craig food, he would eat mine lol}
I lost about 60 lbs in 4 months there but couldn't afford to keep going.
Back then it was about 80.00 a week for their food, not counting what I had to buy at the store for myself and to feed my kids. My mom was also doing J.C. and
she tried to help but it was just to costly so I stopped.
Slowly put the weight back on. I joined J.C again a few years later and found I had gained a lot more than I thought. I don't remember what, but I think I was in the high 300's then.
I have to say in all this time I was active. I did a lot of things with my kids, kept up with them well, I was never down. As a single mom I wasn't allowed to be lol
I also had a paper route that kept me active, plus I did a lot of subbing for others when they went on vacation. I got lots of activity in then. One time I lost 7 lbs in a week without dieting. {theirs was a walking route lol}
I had joined ww a few years ago and I think went to 2 meetings and knew it wasn't for me and I stopped.
About 5 years ago I started working in food service at an elem school, being around food all the time that was free made it easy to gain even more weight.
I cashier and I sell snacks to the kids, cookies, fruit snacks, peanut butter and cheese crackers, all right there within my reach and I ate. lol
I had finally decided that was it. When school ended in June of 98 I was joining ww again. I had been watching the ads for the 123 program and I thought I could do it.
In the mean time my neighbor who had about 100 lbs to lose and her friend decided to join. They wanted me to join at that time but I KNEW I needed to be on the program for the summer while I was off to be able to do it.
So the day after school got out I went and joined. I have the best leader. I weighed in at 428.8 and she didn't even blink an eye although I had to have been the biggest she had weighed. I started crying but she patted me on the back and told me I could do this.
So it began :), I did really well during the summer, passed up my friends who had started a couple months before I did, then I started having trouble at work with all the food. {we have a salad bar but who wants that when you can
have a cookie}. By the way my friends both stopped going and have gained all their weight back PLUS more
I made sure I walked a few times a week, which wasn't hard because as I have
said I've always been active. I kept going on, by Jan I was close to my 65 lbs mark, then my mom started getting sick, she was in and out of the hosp and it was really hard to be
there for her and take care of my kids and the stress, I kept hanging in there though and made the 65 mark. Then my mom passed away {on my birthday no less} Talk about my world falling apart. She was my mom, my best friend and
like my child since she didn't drive and I had been trying to take care of her, then she was gone :(
I continued going to my meetings trying to keep things together, I have to say I don't know how my kids managed because I was here but noT here, anyway, there was so much I couldn't control but I knew that the weight loss was
something I could try and gain control over once again.
During this 18+ {im saying plus because I'm still battling for control} Anyway the first 18 months or so I gained about 14 lbs back while trying to get a grip on it again. I would go weigh in but not stay for meetings, I
couldn't sit still {there were so many ladies there for me during that time, if not for them I probably wouldn't have kept going}
Well on my up and down road during that time I left so many times telling myself that was it, I wasn't going back I couldn't do this, and then there I would be the next week {and trust me, my leader knew when those times were
and kept fingers crossed that I would be back.}
I guess at that time I decided I wasn't going to give up on ME!! and I refused to give up no matter what. I finally realized I was worth it. Luckily my kids are very supportive {if you don't count the wanting to go to cold
stone for ice cream hehe}.
Last year my leader got remarried and then started giving up her meetings, talk about panic. lol, I had always weighed in on Fri, but moved to Thurs when she kept that meeting, there I met my friend Brenda who one of the
receptionist there had been telling me about and telling me I should go to a Thurs meeting to meet her that we would hit it off. It took awhile, I'm not good with change
but...Brenda and I have become good friends, both online and off {shes right behind me. She's lost 110 lbs and I'm
not sure how much more to go} but its nice to have someone that KNOWS what I'm dealing with.
Anyway, I've hung in there and in Feb of this year {2001} I made it to my 100 lb mark. Right now I'm at 115.8 hoping for more this next Thurs. {I was hoping
to reach 1/2 by the new year but... oh well}
Sometimes I get discouraged because I'm still pretty much wearing the same clothes, I did buy a size smaller for work this year but I'm hoping one day to have to buy a new wardrobe {this is what I get for wearing knit clothes lol}
I have never rewarded myself for any of this {ok food is still a reward}.
I had planned on getting this birthstone {bad kids} charms for a reward and my mom had my brother order it for me for my b-day, I got them after she was gone. Then I was going to get a black hills gold charm, my kids got that for
me, both for my b-day in 99 and then this last year for my b-day and making it to 100}. So, so far I've not gotten myself anything. Oneday I will.lol
I have probably made this journey {and yes its a journey not a diet} harder than it should be. I have REFUSED to give up any of the good stuff that I like {I figured if I try to ad it later, then I would have trouble, and if I
didn't want to give it up for life I wasn't giving it up at all}
So we eat out A LOT, both fast food and resturant food, so yes you can lose weight eating out, I have learned moderation, and to pick and choose what I want.
WW is a doable program. And it's a program that can be made to fit anyones life!! I still have a long way to go, but........I know I will get there. I'm trying to be more commited and hopefully in 2002 I will be closer to my goal.
And if anyones wondering, so far I don't have any loose skin, I think thats one thing that keeps me from trying to lose fast. I drink lots of water and I try to take vitamin e which I've read is good for helping skin to re shrink itself and I use firming lotion, anything to try to help. lol
I have started Richard Simmons toning tape and I'm hoping that will help. And my daughter and I need to get back to the gym, I'm waiting till I feel better {darn cold}
I also want to start a learn to line dance tape lol
Anyway, I feel much better being 115 lbs lighter although I seem to get sick more often but I'm hearing that from others that have lost a lot so I dont know. Well if anyone wants to know anything else, feel free to write me. Thanks for listening to my story.
mellissa