Pledge To Better Health: Meet Angela from Honey I Shrunk The Mom

People with goals succeed because they know where they are going.
 
Last May I sent out a call, a call to my readers to make a pledge to take control of their health and I received an overwhelming response!  There were goals of weight loss, goals of running 5K/half marathons and even goals of "giving up soda".  Six months later, I contacted those that took this pledge and was inspired and motivated at all the accomplishments that were made. 

There was one particular person that really stood out to me.. 

Meet Angela from Honey I Shrunk The Mom!  Since December 2010, Angela has been on a weight loss journey to lose over 100 pounds.  She is currently down over 50 pounds and doing it the right way!

I asked Angela if she would share her story with us to not only celebrate her achievements but also inspire those struggling with their own weight issues.  Thank you for agreeing to do so and "putting yourself out there"!

  
You ARE an inspiration.

Honey I Shrunk The Mom

 

When did your weight issues start?

Some time in middle school I started thinking I was "fat".  I was large chested and I never seemed to get the defined waist that all of my small chested friends seemed to be getting.  I started wanting to wear clothes that draped over my mid-section and drew away from the size of my chest.  I look back at pictures of me in middle school and high school and realize that I was far from fat; my jeans were a size 5!  But my friend's bodies looked different from mine and there was no one telling me that having a different body type was any less beautiful.  My parents were never negative but they weren't the type of people who gave compliments or talked about feelings and emotions either. I'm not sure they ever really even knew about my self esteem issues.  I remember having Slim Fast shakes for breakfast and lunch in high school.  I think back wondering how my parents didn't notice that I was having body image issues and I wonder if someone would've helped me through that if it would have changed everything?

I gained some weight in my early 20's and was up to 173 lbs.  I got down to my goal weight of 145 lbs. by following Weight Watchers and had a breast reduction.  I was comfortable with my body for the first time in my life.  Not long after that I got pregnant with my daughter.  I didn't gain much and dropped the weight quickly.  I had my son 4 years later and I gained around 40 lbs. but this time the weight didn't fall off and it seemed to continue to climb.  I don't remember getting on a scale but looking back at pictures I can see my weight went up.  It was 1999 when my son was born so I've been toying around with this extra weight for 13 years.  Through the years I tried dieting, I tried Weight Watchers and even bought (and sold) a treadmill and exercise bike.

You said your weight issues started in middle school.  Was this "just" due to your own body images or were there ever times you were made fun of that contributed to these issues?  

One memory re: body image that has stuck with me is shopping for a swim suit with my mom some time around 5th or 6th grade.  I remember picking out suits I liked based on how cute they were and not thinking about how they looked on me. But I also remember being in the dressing room to try some on and my mom mentioning how one that bloused over instead of fitting against my skin might look better on me.  I was crushed and embarrassed. I didn't tell her that was how I felt but the shame was there.  I hated the swimsuit we ended up buying (a one piece with elastic around the waist and extra material that bloused up around my mid-section.  I'm 40 years old and to this day I can remember it down to every pattern detail.  My first "fat girl" swim suit. I remember thinking how fat I must really be for my own mom to tell me that I needed to a special type of swim suit to look cute.

At school, I was never really teased about my weight. I did hear a lot of comments about my chest size and that certainly made me self conscious about my body, but no one was calling me fat. I think in my mind I just "heard" the word "fat" because that's how I felt. Of course looking back, I was not fat. Not even close. I had a bigger chest and I guess my mom thought that was something to camouflage.  All I knew was that my body did NOT look like my friends and that = fat. 

 Was there a breaking point that ultimately made you decide to choose the path to better health?/What made you realize you wanted/needed to lose the weight?

Just a few weeks before my 39th birthday my back went out.  I don't mean a backache, I mean I couldn't move without excruciating pain.  I couldn't roll over.  I couldn't sit in a sitting position.  I couldn't walk.  I couldn't go to the bathroom by myself.  I couldn't even sit down on the toilet.  The only thing I could do was lie flat on my back.  My husband had to help me do everything.  He had to literally carry me and hold me over the toilet because I couldn't lower myself into a sitting position.  It was the most humiliating experience of my life.  I don't know what I would have done without him.

It had been a long time since I'd stepped on a scale but I told myself right then that this was it.  I had to get rid of this extra weight and I had to start exercising.  I did not want to live my life this way.  I had a lot of time to just think while I was lying there and I realized the awful things I had been doing to my body and felt like I was being a terrible example for my family.  This inactive, unmotivated and fast food junkie was not the person that I wanted to be.

On November 29, 2010 I went to a Weight Watchers meeting and weighed in at 250.2 lbs.  I started the plan the very next day.  I had no idea that I had gotten so heavy.  That number was a huge surprise.  Even now when I look back at those pictures I just didn't realize how big I actually was.

 Who was your biggest support during your weight loss?

I am fortunate to have a great support system in my family.  My husband and kids are awesome.  I also met a great group of ladies on a scrap booking message board and we have all been checking in daily since back when I started Weight Watchers.  Some of them have met their goal, some are struggling and some have even left, but we get new girls joining all the time.  It's been great to cheer these ladies on and have them to cheer me on too.  I've made some great friends there.

I have recently joined MyFitnessPal and have found some really great, supportive friends there, too.

For those times that you wanted to give up (we ALL have them) what kept you motivated? 

Honestly, me. As wonderful as it is to have a support system, the only person that can keep me on the right path is me.  Until *I* was mentally ready to change my life and my lifestyle, nothing was going to be a long term change. 

If you had to pick a moment in which you KNEW this was it, that you were on the path to better health and nothing was going to stop you, what would it be?

I have to go back to when I hurt my back.  I knew then that I was NOT going to stay that way and began the change.

I don't want to give the illusion that I put myself on some strict diet and dropped the weight instantly because that is far from the truth.  I've been losing weight for quite some time now and I'm down 50 lbs. with 55 lbs. to go.  I have not restricted myself from eating anything that I truly want.  When I started this process I knew that I wanted to make lifestyle changes but I also knew that I didn't want to make temporary lifestyle changes.  I wanted to make changes that were things I could live with for the rest of my life.  The way that I eat now is how I plan to eat for the rest of my life.  I still have pizza.  I still have the occasional glass of wine or beer.  I still have everything that I enjoy.  I just don't have those things every day or even every week.  Everything in moderation.  The one and only thing I have completely given up is soda.  I was a serious Diet Coke addict and most days that was the only thing I would drink.  6-8 cans a day!  

Back in February of 2012 my (then) 16 year old daughter was doing a challenge at school to give up soda and fast food for the entire month.  I was surprised at how well she was doing on the challenge and on February 11th I told her I would join her on the no soda challenge.  It was HARD at first.  But I did it.  And I haven't gone back.  I think about how addicted I was to drinking soda and realize that if I could give THAT up, I can do anything.  It's been almost 7 months now and I don't even crave soda at all any more.  And FYI, my daughter rarely drinks soda now either.  This was proof to me how leading by example is SO important for my children's health!

I really don't crave much junk at all anymore.  When my husband or the kids are having something that I know will not fit in my plan for the day, I will have a bite or two and that satisfies me without blowing my calorie intake.  Sometimes I plan for things like a DQ blizzard or some bbq pork ribs but I have those things because I planned for them, not because of an emotional craving.  

When you look in the mirror now, who is the woman you see before you?  How has she changed since the beginning of this weight loss journey?

Oh, boy.  That's a tough one. I mean, I know that I still have a long way to go in reaching my weight loss goals, but I can see so many changes in myself, physically.  The other day my husband snapped a picture of my back side and when I uploaded the pics to the computer I couldn't believe that it was me in that picture.  I had no idea that my body had changed that much!  It was laughable, really! 

I grabbed a couple plain, cotton t-shirts to workout in at a store the other day.  I've worn a men's size 2-XL from this particular store for years as a sleep shirt.  I knew the ones I'd been wearing were now too big and I KNEW that I was smaller, but instead of trying them on I just grabbed a size XL and purchased them. I get them home and they are way too big too!  I really had no idea that was even a possibility.

When I look in the mirror I see the difference in my face.  I have collar bones!  I'm so happy to finally see the changes happening in my mid-section (the area I am most self-conscious of!).  Still a long way to go, of course!

And then there are times when I look in the mirror and see the muffin top that is still hanging around.  I see the dimples on my thighs.  Or the still fullness in my face. But then I look again and remind myself that I have parts of me that are so much smaller than they were! I just have to keep going!

Make the pledge and join us on the road to success!