About Me

Me, taken 9/24/11. I was wearing Old Navy's Retro Flares. So the waist is high. I know you can see it lol.



This was me - late Nov/early Dec. 2009





This is me more recently. Taken 5/9/11


Well first let me start off by saying that, like an onion, there are many layers to me and my life. My weight gains and losses are only one of many layers! 

I must warn you that I have had difficulty keeping up with the internet lately. I feel strange even saying so, since, for years, I was hopelessly addicted to the internet and would spend hours and hours and hours on it. And even now, I really do miss having the time to socialize online! I miss it a lot, actually!
These days most of my life is lived in the real world. Blogging will always be secondary to things "IRL" because it has to be. My hope is to stay fairly consistent with updates, but if some time has passed and I haven't updated, this is why. It's easy to stay busy "running in circles" with 3 kids! And although I really do miss being online... I would rather be spending time with the 3 little beings who will not be small forever!

November 9, 2010 is the day I began the process of changing my life. I walked in to the weight loss clinic and I never looked back. I have lost an incredible amount of weight so far, and I plan to lose even more. I am determined to be within the "normal" range of my BMI!

I am a towering 5'2. At my heaviest (not including being 9 months pregnant) - I was 283 pounds. I had only gained 5 pounds when I was pregnant with my daughter, but that had the scale reading two-hundred-eighty-eight pounds from August-September 2010!!

When I graduated high school in 1999, I weighed 160 pounds (and I thought I was fat then!!!). A few months into college, I had gone up to 165. It just kept increasing from there.

10 years later, I had gained almost 130 pounds.

On any given day in 2009, my weight would fluctuate between 278-283. This became "the norm" for me. Then I was pregnant for most of 2010, reaching up to 288. After I had my daughter, I saw the scale go back down to 278. Between her birth (Sep. 23, 2010) and when I started at the weight loss clinic, I managed to lose 10 pounds. So my starting weight at the clinic was 268.

I am still in the process of losing weight, and I have found that losing the weight is not nearly as hard as I imagined it would be. It's actually happening a lot easier and more quickly than I anticipated!

I now understand that the real battle (or war!!) will begin once I lose all of the weight. I know I will have to fight and battle myself (my own worst enemy!) to KEEP it off.

The hardest part has yet to come.

But I'm going to fight!!!

Because with every pound I lose.... I am gaining my life back! And I am not going to give it up again!!!

So, what is it you're doing to lose the weight!?

I am on a medically supervised diet. That means that a doctor is overseeing my weight loss treatment. This way, I know that I am doing the right thing... that I am not losing weight too quickly. She ensures that I get enough of the vitamins and nutrients I need to keep my body thriving while still losing weight.

Specifically:

  • I take phentermine 37.5mg every day. While for some, this helps curb the appetite, for me it's like my cup of coffee in the morning. I don't get jitters or heart palpitations. The benefit of phentermine is it dries out my mouth, so I am constantly drinking water. Please note: Phentermine alone will NOT help you lose any weight!! A few years back I tried that. My main doc prescribed it for me and I took it but never changed anything else. Surprise, surprise! I never lost a pound (that time).
  • I take calcium pyruvate 2-3 times per day. You can buy this at any vitamin store. It is said to help your body burn more fat. I started taking this in January. It may or may not be helping?
  • I started out with meal replacements that were provided by the doctor, who gets them from the Center for Medical Weight Loss. I had to eat 4-5 times per day, which was actually a struggle for me! Every 3-4 hours. I would typically have 2 shakes, 2 bars, and 1 pudding per day. I did this for 1.5 to 2 months.
  • I went down to 3 meal replacements per day and 2 regular meals per day. As of May, I vary between 3 meal replacements or 2 meal replacements per day, with real food in between. With lots of nutrition and diet counseling, I have made better choices.
  • I am always counting calories (or trying to anyway). When doing the 5 meal replacements per day, I determined I was taking in 800 calories per day. With real food in the mix, I take between 800-1400 per day. When possible, I try to stay closer to 800.
  • I have not been consistently exercising. :X Though with weight loss comes more mobility, more ease of motion, and more energy. So I have been more active. Just no set routine.... yet.


So what do I want the "world" to know about me, the person behind the writing?

* My name is Laura

* I am married to my very best friend and soulmate. We have been inseparable since we met in late 1999.

*I just turned 30

* I have three wonderful children (whose real names have been changed for identity reasons)
                * Amex was born in 2005
                * Jay was born in 2007. He was diagnosed with autism in early 2010.
                * Kay was born in Sep. 2010.

* I live in Florida, though I was born and raised in the North East.

*.... and since I met the love of my life, I have been on a pretty straight weight incline. To say I got "too comfortable" is an understatement. I completely let myself go! But I'm doing something about it.

*I cringe at the question "What are your hobbies and interests?" because I never have a very interesting answer! The truth is... aside from my children, and spending time with them and my hubby...I don't have much of a life!! I don't even know what interests me besides many things family and kid-related. I don't have any hobbies. Maybe that will change, we'll see.

So this is a little bit about me (I think?) Thank you for reading! I hope it hasn't been too painful!! lol