Saturday, August 3, 2013

Kim’s Journey

This  is about how I got to where I am today.
I started this current  phase of my journey 15 weeks ago when my daughter Jackie  ask me to do Michelle Bridges 12WBT with her.
My first  reaction was I don't think I can cope with failing again.
I have been on one  diet or another  for nearly 40 years and have manage to weight 163.5kg at my heaviest. For someone who is only 163cm  or 5’4” tall that's a lot of weight. Some  diets like weight watchers  I have done several times. I have done them all!!! from ever type of restriction diet like;  no fat, no sugar, no carbs, to: just soup diets, one food type each day, pre-package, meals, Lite n easy,Jenny Craig, protein only diets, Protein shakes, acupuncture, Hypnotherapy - where you think you have had lapband surgery..Its hard to remember them all. All were successful in getting me to loose 10 kilos or so  but all I could not maintain the diet   for one reason or another & I’m afraid I never really got into exercising regularly. Time frame  for sticking  to these diets  was also about the same time each time. I  would be brilliant first 2-4 weeks  seeing weight come off then slowly  I would start waving with old habits and by 6 to 8 weeks I would be lacking motivation to stick to it missing all my comfort foods. Sometimes I lasted longer  but eventually I would  gain the weight back  and a bit more as well.  So I am the classic yoyo dieter. Resulting  in  going from 80 kg (the smallest I ever remember being)  in my early 20’s to 163.5kg  in my 50’s.
At the time  when Jackie ask me  to do 12WBT, I  was at the end of 2 difficult years for me with my health. I had a workplace accident where I tore the tendon that goes from your big toe to your heel. When it happen I was still on one of the many diets & weighed about 140kg and treatment for nearly 12 months was have me sit with my foot up waiting for it to heel & putting me on a drug called Duromine- to stop me feeling hungry. What a mixture …. Duromine is basically speed  so here I am sitting not being able to move around, trying not to eat too much & having all this energy I could not get rid of.  By the time they agreed that sitting wasn't fixing the problem  I had put on another 10 kilos and  fitness wise, I could hardly walk anywhere without panting. After the operation I had no more pain  which was excellent  but now I had another issue. No pain but my heel was numb  which meant when I put it on the floor I cant not feel the ground…its a very strange feeling. So I learnt to walk again  with a numb foot and extra weight…I tried a few more diets & hypnotherapy, constantly at chiropractors  trying to fix my gait when walking. Then at the beginning of this year  I could hardly breath  and doctors  thought I had developed a clot on my lung, but  after testing  & being scared out of my life & seeing several Doctors, I was diagnosed with a twisting rib…it was like the straw that broke the camels back .. is this how life is going to be now…just pain all the time. I think looking back I was probably on the verge of a break down & I turned to comfort eating through the pain. Then through lots of treatments by caring medical professionals including my GP giving me  laser acupuncture, massages & chiropractic visits  my rib went back in…& I weighed 163.5kg. How could I be that heavy..scales must be wrong…
During this time I was watching  Biggest Looser  series on TV with parents and children with obesity problems and during most episodes I would just sob relating to so many things. And that's when Jackie asked  “do this with me mum…” I said  let me have a look at what it involves but I knew I would be doing it with her not wanting her to fail.  I would do it for her…I hated seeing her struggle with the same weight issues. Little did I know at the time it would change my life forever.
Our obesity  problems in our family go back through the generations. My father died at 46 of a massive heart attack when Jackie was only 3 months old,he was a big big  man, his father died 12 months before him also obesity related, my youngest sister also struggles with her weight and now my daughters have had weight issues. There has to be a better way other than having surgery, which I have had 3 doctors tell me I need to go have.
I am an intelligent educated woman why can I not  get my weight under control.
So we signed up to Michelle Bridges 12WBT that was 15 weeks ago

this was me

 pic20130512103324 - Copy


& this is me today 
after 12 weeks of healthy eating & walking
IMG_0159
I have released 15 kilos-
bust = -10cm, waist = -24cm, hips= -7cm,
thighs = -9cm, arms = –2cm
& have just signed up to do another 12 weeks with 12WBT.
Jackie & I are going to document our journey hoping that our struggles and successes help others put an end to obesity.
I did not fail,  It was the diets that failed me…
This is not a diet we are on, its a lifestyle change with health eating and we are getting healthier and fitter every day.
Kimscale     treadmill

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