Over a year at goal

I would say I am a Success story for sure now! I plan on being this way forever actually...I love the way I look and feel ...it is strange saying that that is for sure...

I have been below my goal weight for over a year now...today is my regular day for checking my weight and I am still fine! I am constantly amazed that I am considered "thin" or called "tiny" ...but I am and if it will help I would love to share this with you...


I do not talk about my diet at work or with friends out side this board unless they really seem interested..I have done what I think is a good job by just living my experiance. I do not eat junk, I move my body a lot both at work and in my personal life, the food I eat either with or with out other people is always the best I can find, afford or make....and I drink a lot of water mainly from the tap ..if it tasts fine I trust our water in the US...or sparkling water...

these are the most frequent things people tend to ask me ...

How did you do it?

I pretty much read the book and used this board for support while I followed this almost to the letter...my two things I did not do exactly were I ate more veggies during induction (but still kept it around 20 carbs) and I drank regular coffee...I need it more than most people trust me... it is my ritalin.....

What is your "secret"?

people ask this all the time...I have no secrets ..I just got sick of my weight and how I felt..got on a roll of resolve ...and continued...

to me being fat is work! and being thin is work! ..I wanted to be thin is all..

why is your tummy so flat?

People love my tummy and at 48 years old I love that attention!!!
My husband adores how it looks ...so does the rest of my family and friends!!!...
who knows... by all rights it shouldn't be ..I had two huge babies and got pretty fat on and off during my life...and for some reason..on Atkins..it just went flat! ...I think refined high carby foods make fat tummies ..but who knows .... my btw husband lost his tummy too and his is flat and looks amazing too....(he did not even know he was on a low carb diet)

I have not in the past two years done one single crunch. ....but I have worked my asss off physically with work and remodel and I play outside as often as possible...I have lots of energy and try to keep really active burning it off ...so that is it...who knows?..but my guess is I don't eat any crap so I do not have a big tummy anymore...

how long did it take to loose your weight?

I hate this question because I wish people would just take this like a journey that is going to last forever...not just a diet to get to a goal....I did not go at it with a definate goal or date ...but in my mind last year on my birthday I wanted to stop trying to loose weight and just stay wherever I was for the rest of my life....well I did move to maintenance... a friend told me "just call it good an you may loose some more weight" ...so I took his advice and then lost more weight...I hover between 105-109lbs now ..

if I figure it out however I got to goal in 5 months then continued to loose for about two months after I called it good so... 7 months to loose 50 lbs if you have to know.

What do you eat to stay so slim?

my answer to this one...a huge variety of fresh foods, I cook most of what I eat myself ...and when I order out I order carefully and eat only at places where they prepare food there...no fast food...no chains...ever.
I try to buy locally grown produce and buy from local butchers...or ethnic markets who order from local growers...all foods that go into my body are good food ..I never eat just to eat..I eat to please my eyes, my nose my mouth and my body...period....garbage in and you look/feel like crap.
I also have found that even though I am eating the best food possible ...my food budget is low because I do not have tons of stuff in the house at any one time...I buy food as I need it .(except spices and stock pantry items) ..not anymore than a week in advance ..for me that works out cheaper...no bulk purchases ...
I eat between 40-60 carbs a day to maintain and if you care between 2000 and 2600 calories...and I eat from all the food groups now ..except I do not eat any refined or frankenfoods ..
I eat a LOT CHEESE

so that is it ..I hope this helps...I do not over think things ..I just do them ..that is why I think this works so well for me ..I read a book tried it ...listened to what you guys all said and here I am still under 110lbs....it felt right ..worked well and here I am ...

I still have other things disrupting my life ..but my weight is not one of them anymore thank goodness....

I just want to tell you if you do this correctly it works ..period....

thank you all for your support it has been so valuable to me

[Bren]

WEIGH TO GO HEIDI!!!!!!!!!!

You have found exactly what works for you and IMHO.......that is the key to success (not only that.. your so cute!!!).

Thank you for being a huge inspiration and remaining here to help others!

YOUR THE BEST!!!!!!!!!

[dotsamantha]

That is exactly what I need to read in the morning when I need a reason to get back to health.

Bren called me cute Thanks for your words you know you are my inspiration

Dotsam I do this for both of us ..It helps me to remind myself where I am and how I got here and if at the same time I can motivate someone else to make it over a hump it is win win as I see it ....

this week another nurse and I had a huge light go on...

we see and treat a huge number of obesity related illness ..everything from complications of diabetes to infections under skin folds..horrible cellulitis ..diabetic ulcers...asthma ..apnea....knee pain ..back pain...pain, depression, anxiety....on and on.....we have people that weigh so much we have to special doors to get them in the urgent care then can only put them in cardiac beds to treat them...

I imagine it takes a huge amt of work to be that heavy ....HUGE ...and it takes a huge amt of work to be thin....so we looked at each other and said..."what work are we going to do" work to keep ourselves alive as obese people work to get out of bed, to get ourselves clean, to get to the clinic and have treatments for problems directly related to being overweight ..or are we going to work at being thin and avoiding those complications....

we both agreed we would rather work at being thin if we do have to work ....

I want to inspire people to work in this direction...it is my lifes career and passion for people to acheive the optimal health and I can not isnspire others if I am not willing to work at my own crap....

[kkat55]

Your accomplishment is very inspiring!

Congratulations for all your hard work and being so successful!!

[ciaobella]

thank you for sharing your story!!!

it's a real motivator

[Kent]

You know I was actually surprised when I saw this thread. I thought to myself, "Heidi has been at goal for a year?!?! She seems so wise and with it that I thought she had been there for much longer!" Thank you for your continued presence across the board, and especially in the cooking forums. Keep preaching the gospel!

[Laurenfra]

Thanks for sharing Heidi. You are awesome!

[Pineapple]

The cheese bit really caught my eye. I've been afraid to eat more and more to find my limit because I'm afraid of gaining it back, but I think I'll experiment slowly now. Not much fresh cheese though, think I'm still too chicken for that ^_^

Originally Posted by Kent

You know I was actually surprised when I saw this thread. I thought to myself, "Heidi has been at goal for a year?!?! She seems so wise and with it that I thought she had been there for much longer!" Thank you for your continued presence across the board, and especially in the cooking forums. Keep preaching the gospel!

Thank you Kent ...you my dear astound me everytime I see your pic I think about when I first saw you!!!!!

I don't think I am "wise" I just took it for face value ..it said to do ABC so I did that is it...I am good at following directions I guess ..and I never over think stuff ...

it is nice to be called "wise"

all of you thank you so much this is a two way street and I appreciate when I feel like I am faultering I can come on this board and just read...