This evening I went to the gym and started off on the elliptical...I did 25 minutes and managed to burn 300 calories...not to shabby....after that ... more

About Me

Growing up I had a weight problem off and on. My father would constantly remind me that obesity ran on my mother's side of the family. He would say things like are you going to eat that as early as age 11. He would tell me that a man would never be faithful to a big woman. My mother was extreme opposite...she taught me to use food for comfort...I remember skinning my knee and getting a ho ho....mom would say this will make u feel better...I would go eat dinner with family and mom would say eat everything on ur plate...they are paying a lot of money so u eat it all...Kids in junior high made fun of me. I not only had short hair and braces but I was the fat kid...eating my lunch behind the gym and sometimes even selling my lunch. It wasn't until high school that I knew what thin felt like...Slowly, my weight climbed back up after college...but my friends and family including myself...never saw it....
I remember the day my life would change forever...the day that I had a major reality check. Before that day I had several this is it moments...moments that I would soon discover wouldn't stick....There was the time that I was at Disneyland with my daughter and I couldn't fit on Space Mountain. I remember watching the cast members walk back and forth trying to figure out who's bar wasn't latching properly. Praying they wouldn't discover it was mine....but they did....and due to safety regulations they asked me to step off the ride...in front of hundreds of people my daughter shouted...If you didn't love food so much I would've been able to ride the ride. That was the start of my quick fix dieting. I tried a lot of different things...from Jenny Craig, cabbage diet, just eating soup, just drinking water and eating veggies, binging and purging and laxatives. All to which failed. I then heard of WW...a lot of my famly was on it at some point in their lives, so I joined it....I lost 50lbs within 6 months and was elated....I didn't keep it off long tho....After 29 yrs of marriage, my father upped and left my mother with no notice, just a note that said I'm leaving you because I don't love you anymore. Years later we found out it was because my mom was overweight and yes, he left her for a skinny woman. That was a tough year for me because with that I found out my husband was having an affair on me and when I asked him why his response was, "I wasn't physically attracted to you, maybe if you were smaller." OMG my dad was right is what I thought. I went through a terrible divorce. I used food to comfort my emotions and quickly gained the 50 back along with 40 more...so there I stood in front of the mirror 90lbs overweight....I proceeded to keep using food for comfort and topped the scales at 280.6. I was in such denial. I would wear my size 24 jeans with a shoe string thru the hole and tied to the button in order to say that I was still a 24.

I worked for Lane Bryant to have an excuse to be big. I mean why work for a store that caters to obese woman being thin....my daughter would lie on my belly and jiggle it and say mama ur belly is like a big body pillow....she would come home from school and ask why other mommys didnt breathe as heavy as I did....

I rejoined WW and lost 100 lbs. I swore I'd keep it off...never seeing that weight come back...in 2005 I was shot at while working for a repo company. I wasn't even supposed to be out in the field that day...I ended up having PTSD and again used food for comfort...gaining 50lbs back. I had trouble breathing, was diagnosed with sleep apnea, had border line high blood pressure and was always sweating. I would drive around the parking lot over and over to ensure I'd get the closest spot. I was back to having shoe laces being tied to the side, not being able to paint my toe nails and lifting my skin in order to sit comfortably in a chair.

In 2006 I came back to WW....this time something was different...different from the other times...I just knew in my heart that I was going to lose weight and be successful...because honestly I'm tired of spending my life trying to lose weight only to gain it back. This year has been a struggle for me...but I continued to visualize the day that the scale would say I was at my goal....I acted it out in front of my mirror dozens of times. Now that the scale reads I'm at goal, I feel so accomplished. It took me awhile to shed the weight I did...the hard work and determination finally paid off.

Losing weight has given me the chance to become a colon cancer survivor...I was able to discover I had cancer early on because not only was I monitoring my body but my doctor was too. I managed to walk/jog 26.25 miles at cancer relay for life, jogged 2 5K's, worked out at the gym and took a hike along with bungee jump and skydive. I feel like a whole new person....there's the child inside me who is living since most of my junior high was spent hiding...I've been able to make the right choices for my body. I now eat chicken in many ways other than fried, I make sure I follow the healthy pyramid and I treat myself to a naughty snack when I feel up to it...sometimes I eat more than I'd like but that's okay. It's life. I can tie my shoes with the shoe laces in the center, I don't have to lift my skin in order to sit comfortably in a chair and I can walk into pretty much any store and fit into their clothes. Now I can start living...

People have been asking me where do you go from here Kim? My response is I'm reaching for the stars...there's no limit in what I can or cannot do. I'm done with weight loss journey but I'll never be done with eating healthy and maintaining. I'm so elated.

I wanted to end this story by giving thanks to the one person who inspired me the entire way...and that is my daughter. Without her making a fool of me at Disneyland I would've never even thought of starting this journey. She has been so supportive...having me jog on days that I just didn't want to get out of bed....reminding me how hard I've worked and how proud she is of me...and when I wanted to quit a few months back she had me put on my size's 24's stuffed them with pillows and had me jog down the street...I was out of breath immediately...i looked back at her and she said I bet you'll lose weight next week huh mama...She has been my rock.

December 2007 I reached lifetime 174.6 lbs. Now it's September 2008 I've gained appx 14 lbs...time 2 get back on track!

People Motivating Me

People I am Motivating

Friends (View All 8)

Feelitnotfearit

kaylejay4

lesslisa

lfoster

marcherwill

msmelanie

Nika

Viana

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Profile Comments

Feelitnotfearit

Posted by Feelitnotfearit on Sep 28, 2008 04:03 PM

I am still on this site - just haven't had a chance to come on here in a long time lol!!! how are you doing??? :)

 

marcherwill

Posted by marcherwill on Sep 26, 2008 02:03 AM

It's still in it's first week, but I'm doing really well on food control.
Still undecided on where our vacay will be :)

 

msmelanie

Posted by msmelanie on Sep 26, 2008 01:20 AM

yes i am i think this is pretty cool so how have you been lately

 

Nika

Posted by Nika on Sep 17, 2008 05:24 PM

Hi Kimberly!!!

I don't know how I feel about it yet because I totally forgot about it! I've just been way overworked lately and barely have time to breathe. I'm hoping I can check this out more over the weekend.

I think it's going to be pretty cool!

xoxo Nik

 

Feelitnotfearit

Posted by Feelitnotfearit on Sep 10, 2008 08:44 PM

Hi there Kim,
Just being a motivatory and wondering how you are doing? What's going on? What's up.....fill me in on how you are doing :)!!!
T

 

kaylejay4

Posted by kaylejay4 on Sep 10, 2008 06:15 PM

hey you!! we are friends on myspace and i just want to say that you have inspired me sooo much! your a wonderful person and so beautiful!! i would love to have your help with my weight loss journey

 

msmelanie

Posted by msmelanie on Sep 08, 2008 02:26 AM

HEY KIMBERELY
SO HOW HAVE YOU BEEN THANK YOU FOR ACCEPTING MY FRIENDS REQUEST STILL LEARING ALL THIS BUT HOPEFUL IT IS GOOD LOOKING FORWARD TO TALKING WITH YOU SOON AND HAVE A GOOD WEEK

MELANIE