![\"annette](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nodietliving.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/1815193803_54cabf1f75_o-1.jpg?resize=300%2C218\")
I did have these from 2005 (my wedding day), 2006 (Alaska cruise), and 2008 (my niece\u2019s 16th<\/sup> birthday).\u00a0 Hopefully they give you a general idea of my size. During these years, I was at my heaviest.\u00a0 The most I ever saw on a scale was 389 lbs. I know it was during these years because the size of the clothes I\u2019m wearing in the photos was the largest size I ever wore.<\/p>\n![\"annette](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nodietliving.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/28563_394320384239_3919620_n.jpg?resize=231%2C300\")
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So, I posted these pictures on my personal Facebook page and the one I manage for this blog.\u00a0 I initially posted them because many of my friends hadn\u2019t seen me in years and wanted to see the changes.\u00a0 As an impulse, I also posted them in a Facebook group I joined a few weeks ago.\u00a0 It\u2019s a support group for people who want to lose\/have lost\/are losing 100 or more pounds.\u00a0 Their response to the pictures made me smile, gave me determination, and made me think a lot about the last few years.\u00a0 As they had no personal investment in my feelings, their response was the same as they would have given to anyone else showing \u201cbefore\u201d and \u201cafter\u201d photos. ![\"annette](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nodietliving.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/denise-party-solo.png?resize=259%2C300\")
\u00a0They were awesome.\u00a0 I was hesitant to join at first, mostly because I was never really into groups.\u00a0 I grew up with the perspective\u00a0that things were\u00a0best done when I did them myself. Self reliance, right? For example, I never wanted to join Weight Watchers because I knew it would be a program I could work around.\u00a0 I\u2019ve gone down that road before when I learned to work around the Nutrisystem program. \u00a0In general, it\u2019s more strict than the Weight Watcher plans. So when I decided to actively pursue a healthier me, I was going to do it alone, for myself without any kind of structured program.<\/p>\n
However, the men and women in this group showed me how wrong I can be.\u00a0 The daily support and sharing of steps forward or backward keeps me focused on my goal.\u00a0 I see that success is\u00a0possible, and also that I\u2019m not the only one who\u00a0falters. \u00a0These people have shown me that support is helpful, perhaps absolutely imperative to my success.<\/p>\n
This isn\u2019t the casual pat on the back where your neighbor says, \u201cyou\u2019ll do great\u201d or your spouse says, \u201cI know you can do it\u201d before they take you out to dinner for a hamburger and fries. These are people who understand your situation, as they\u2019re in the same exact place\u2026or were\u2026or will be.\u00a0 You might say, \u201cbut Weight Watchers is the biggest support group around.\u00a0 Why wouldn\u2019t that work?\u201d \u00a0Well, for me, I never gave it a chance.\u00a0 Who knows?\u00a0 It could very well have been successful for me, if I\u2019d let it.\u00a0 But, in my mind, I saw Weight Watchers as a place for people who want to lose those pesky 20 or get rid of their holiday season weight gain.\u00a0 That definitely wasn\u2019t me.<\/p>\n
Losing 20 lbs. or even 40 lbs. is not like trying to be healthy by losing 100 lbs. or more.\u00a0 It\u2019s not about a short term change to get rid of a little excess fat.\u00a0 It\u2019s a complete change in lifestyle (regardless of the weight loss method).\u00a0 It\u2019s a total change in eating habits and actually getting off your butt to exercise.\u00a0 But more importantly, it\u2019s a complete change in mindset. \u00a0These folks understand all of that\u2026they all have new eating habits\/styles that suit them individually.\u00a0 They exercise and move in ways that are best for them.\u00a0 The one thing they clearly have in common is their desire to keep going and reach their goals. \u00a0They\u2019re not in the group to get others to \u201cdo it their way\u201d or to improve others with their advice, or to not-so-subtly practice one upmanship. \u00a0They are simply there to offer support and receive some in kind as they make their way on their\u00a0own healthy self-journey.<\/p>\n
These people are a gold mine to me.\u00a0 They are a treasure trove of great ideas \u2013 offering options on fitness and food, without motive. \u00a0They are a collective sympathetic ear when the people in your personal life might be tired of listening to you complain or groan about another lost day of exercise.\u00a0 They are a cheering section when your doctor takes you off your high blood pressure medication, and I mean cheering!\u00a0 They know exactly how they would feel if their doctor did the same and you can almost see them smile through the words they type.<\/p>\n
I do sometimes wonder if I should regret not joining Weight Watchers.\u00a0 Maybe my healthy journey would\u00a0have started sooner or I\u2019d be in a better place now.\u00a0 I\u2019ve learned that life often puts you exactly where you need to be at any given moment in time. The truth is, I can\u2019t let the \u201cmaybes\u201d and the \u201cwhat ifs\u201d detour me from where I\u2019m headed.\u00a0 The important thing is that I\u2019ve found a great place. All in all, I\u2019m glad I went looking for a group and found it.\u00a0 More, I\u2019m glad the admins\u00a0let me join. \u00a0It\u2019s likely none of them will read this blog post, but I give them all big thumbs up, a high five, and wave my pom-poms in their general direction.<\/p>\n
So, if you find yourself faltering in a goal or wondering \u201cwhat if\u201d. \u00a0I say, don\u2019t waste your time or energy on that. \u00a0Use it to fuel your resolve and determination. \u00a0Seek out a community.\u00a0 If it\u2019s not your family and close friends, maybe a group of strangers in the same or similar position can be your answer.\u00a0 Maybe they can nudge you in the right direction, or commiserate with your backward momentum, but maybe they\u2019ll be there when it turns around and just cheer you on!<\/p>\n
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As I was finishing this post, I experienced a moment of serendipity. \u00a0A woman I met and knew many years ago (when AOL chatrooms were popular and you paid for data by the hour) visited here, on the\u00a0blog. \u00a0Inadvertently, she reminded me that I knew another time when strangers were my best support. \u00a0When women and men who related to my circumstances would meet nightly to discuss the ups and downs of being overweight. \u00a0When we could laugh and joke with each other and not worry about much. \u00a0So, to Vicky and Jerry, Rena, Kelly, Cai, Marcy, Jeanne, Dan, Laura and all the other people I only knew by chatroom handles\u2026Chzycrunch says thank you \u00a0I say THANK YOU! \u00a0There is one chatroom buddy who deserves a special thank you and a blown kiss. \u00a0Thank you Jack. \u00a0For everything. \u00a0I miss you.<\/p>\n
Until next time\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_code admin_label=\u201dCode\u201d global_module=\u201d25405\u2033 saved_tabs=\u201dall\u201d]<div class=\u201dfb-like\u201d data-share=\u201dtrue\u201d data-width=\u201d450\u2033 data-show-faces=\u201dtrue\u201d> <\/div>[\/et_pb_code][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=\u201dRow\u201d][et_pb_column type=\u201d4_4\u2033][et_pb_divider admin_label=\u201dDivider\u201d color=\u201d#ffffff\u201d show_divider=\u201don\u201d divider_style=\u201dsolid\u201d divider_position=\u201dtop\u201d divider_weight=\u201d3\u2033 hide_on_mobile=\u201don\u201d] [\/et_pb_divider][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [et_pb_section admin_label=\u201dsection\u201d][et_pb_row admin_label=\u201drow\u201d][et_pb_column type=\u201d4_4\u2033][et_pb_code admin_label=\u201dCode: Google Analytics\u201d global_module=\u201d25375\u2033 saved_tabs=\u201dall\u201d]<script> (function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i[\u2018GoogleAnalyticsObject\u2019]=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){ (i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o), m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m) })(window,document,\u2019script\u2019,\u2019https:\/\/www.google-analytics.com\/analytics.js\u2019,\u2019ga\u2019); ga(\u2018create\u2019, \u2018UA-80928733-1\u2019, \u2018auto\u2019); ga(\u2018send\u2019, \u2018pageview\u2019);[\/et_pb_code][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=\u201dRow\u201d][et_pb_column type=\u201d4_4\u2033][et_pb_post_title admin_label=\u201dPost Title\u201d title=\u201don\u201d meta=\u201don\u201d author=\u201doff\u201d date=\u201don\u201d categories=\u201don\u201d comments=\u201don\u201d featured_image=\u201don\u201d featured_placement=\u201dbackground\u201d parallax_effect=\u201doff\u201d parallax_method=\u201don\u201d text_orientation=\u201dcenter\u201d text_color=\u201dlight\u201d text_background=\u201don\u201d text_bg_color=\u201d#086a87\u2033 module_bg_color=\u201drgba(255,255,255,0)\u201d title_all_caps=\u201doff\u201d use_border_color=\u201doff\u201d border_color=\u201d#ffffff\u201d border_style=\u201dsolid\u201d] [\/et_pb_post_title][et_pb_text admin_label=\u201dText\u201d background_layout=\u201dlight\u201d text_orientation=\u201dleft\u201d use_border_color=\u201doff\u201d border_color=\u201d#ffffff\u201d border_style=\u201dsolid\u201d] Do you ever wonder what your […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25428,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[84,83],"class_list":["post-25182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-deep-thoughts","tag-facebook","tag-support-group","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nodietliving.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/pensive-female-580611_960_720-e1469022000576.jpg?fit=300%2C241&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7ITtH-6ya","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nodietliving.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25182"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nodietliving.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nodietliving.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nodietliving.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nodietliving.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25182"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.nodietliving.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25182\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25430,"href":"https:\/\/www.nodietliving.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25182\/revisions\/25430"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nodietliving.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25428"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nodietliving.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nodietliving.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nodietliving.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"AB](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nodietliving.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/initials-blog-sig.png?resize=109%2C85\")
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