Hi! I am 36, married for 16 years and no kids....and 5'6.5", small frame and a total pear shape.

I used to see weight loss as a very private and embarrassing issue. I leaned towards keeping it all to myself in the "real world," so a site like this helped me talk to others anonymously in the beginning stage - which was extremely helpful.

Once I get going, I am pretty good about motivating myself. But, it is nice to receive extra encouragement and advice from others - ...

Hi! I am 36, married for 16 years and no kids....and 5'6.5", small frame and a total pear shape.

I used to see weight loss as a very private and embarrassing issue. I leaned towards keeping it all to myself in the "real world," so a site like this helped me talk to others anonymously in the beginning stage - which was extremely helpful.

Once I get going, I am pretty good about motivating myself. But, it is nice to receive extra encouragement and advice from others - especially from total strangers. It seems more sincere that way.
Now that I am roughly 20 lbs. away from my final goal (OMG, I can't believe it!), I have gotten more used to talking openly about my weight loss efforts to anyone who brings it up. Discussing it doesn't bother me as much as it did.

I also find it interesting how much my way of thinking is changing as I go through this physical transformation. Meaning, I am more active, more willing to be seen in public, and more willing to buy nice things that make me smile.

I really was neglecting myself over the last 4-5 years when I was obese - and I am now making up for lost time - it feels great to be a normal weight again. I just wish I had not wasted some of my younger years like that, but here I am trying to turn it all around before it's too late.

As with anything I do in life, I just "rip it off like a band-aid" - before I talk myself out of it. That's the way I have always approached any goals I set, including weight loss.

I started off with very intense cardio exercise, but am now at a point that I need to wean myself from so much of it, so I can focus more time on weight training. It now feels right to me, so I finally started circuit training DVD's 2 months ago (Nov 2008).

Something I feel very strongly about is that nobody was able to influence me when it came to exercising routines. Some tried to get me to do this or that, but I did what I felt was right for me.

I chose to do more cardio and put off weight training. It worked! I am almost at goal. I know I need to tone and build more muscle definition, but I certainly am not going to become a "body builder" type that is lifting weights constantly. I just want enough to tighten my problem areas...and then just maintain.

I must develop an exercise plan that is functional and can be maintained for the long run. I am working on tweaking my cardio and will experiment to see what works for me.

If you walk away from this page with anything of value, please let it be that there is no one certain way to lose fat or weight. There are many ways to approach this in terms of the type of exercise you do. Weight loss is all a numbers game at the most basic level - calories in vs. calories out. But, it has to work for you and nobody can or should tell you that you will not succeed unless you do it their way.

Research and experiment various methods to see how your individual body responds. People can be quick to judge and lecture, but those people are not going to be in the gym with you helping out. It's all you, and only you - -so do what works.

I am sharing my fitness and nutrition tracker for anyone to see. I eat a lot of everything, especially sweets. I have no intention to cut carbs, any sweets or my diet cokes - period.

Good luck to you all - it can be done!


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** MEASUREMENTS: 12/16/2008**

Weight: 147-151 lbs. (water weight fluctuates - been stuck in this range for 2 months due to eating issues)
Height: 5'7"
Neck: 12.5"
Bust - (I don't even look at this - it's too depressing)
Waist: 27"
Upper Hips: 38"
Lower Hips: 40"
Waist-Hip Ratio: 0.71 (Universal attractiveness preference per Wikipedia is 0.70)
Thighs: 23" (this especially upsets me greatly since we recently discovered that my husband's head is 23" around also).

** MEASUREMENTS: 02/05/2009**

Weight: 140-144 lbs.
Height: 5'7"
Neck: 12.5"
Bust - (I don't even look at this - it's too depressing)
Waist: 26.5"
Upper Hips: 37"
Lower Hips: 39"
Waist-Hip Ratio: 0.716 (Universal attractiveness preference per Wikipedia is 0.70)
Thighs: 22.5"

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Currently working on P90x and have gained weight since starting....we'll see what happens when I am done in mid July 2009 - see my progress pics on this page and in my album after Phase 1 taken 5-18-2009. I just started Phase 2.
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Update 8/25/2009:

Hovering at same weight in 150's and having trouble going down no matter how many weights I lift and so forth. Decided to try InSaNiTy programa and Cathe Friedrich for weight lifting and set goal out to 130lbs. by April 19th, 2010 - exactly two years after I started losing weight from 214. Seven more months.

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2nd week in March **

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