Interview with Helen

Name:   Helen

State or Region you live in:  I live in Northeast Ohio

A brief description about yourself and family:    I've been married to Greg for 5 1/2 years now and we have an adorable little boy named Evan who is 4 1/2 years old.  We have a miniature dachshund named Rudy and a green parrot named Bridgie (short for Bridgette  Bird-oe)

How long have you been doing Weight Watchers:  This time around I've been doing Weight Watchers since January 2007, so that's 7 months now.  I did it for 9 months in 2005 with this group and lost 77 pounds then but regained 53 pounds after a series of family tragedies struck.  I'd gone to meetings about 3 times in my 20's and 30's but never stuck with it as long as I did in 2005 and now in 2007.

What was your starting weight and what is your height:   My highest weight ever is 457 in 2001 and I’m 5'7".  My highest weight this year when I started Weight Watchers again in January was 362. I'm down to 298 at this writing.

How much weight have you lost?   I'm at 298 right now; I've lost 64 pounds this year.  I'm down 159 pounds from my highest weight ever.

How long did it take you to get where you are?  This year, for the 64 pounds I've lost, it’s taken 7 months so far. From my highest weight, it's been 6 years.

What motivated you each day to keep going?   I'm a lot more motivated this year than I even was in 2005 because my family has had a number of health scares since then and so I really need to get healthy to be here for them.  My husband had a heart attack in October 2005 less than a month when our little boy had a very scary fall which resulted in an ambulance trip to the hospital and a few very scary moments where everyone had thought we'd lost him (September 2005).  Then about 2 weeks after my husband was out of the hospital I suffered a very nasty bout of kidney stones and in all I've had 5 surgeries to blast them away.  My husband went into kidney failure and currently has End Stage Renal disease and is on dialysis 3 days a week for 5 hours each time, where he will remain on this schedule until he has a kidney transplant.

    I’ve tried twice to see if I could give him my kidney, but doctors say I am not a candidate due to my issues with kidney stones and since I've had gastric bypass surgery in 2001, the kidney stone issue will always be a concern and so they won't let me give him my kidney.

    My little boy is developmentally delayed and at 4 1/2 years old, he is not speaking yet.  So - my family really needs me to be here to take care of them.  And - God forbid anything should happen to my husband - my little boy will need his mommy more than ever.

    I'm a survivor.  I was hit by a train when I was around 28, had a stroke when I was 33, and as hit by a semi truck when I was 38.  I'm determined to survive morbid obesity at long last too.

    My father died in 1998 of obesity-related issues.  Hospitals did not have equipment that was strong enough to hold him and others that he was too big to fit into to be properly tested.  He was too ashamed of his size to go to the right doctors in the beginning when the problems would have been diagnosed early and taken care of easily.  He decided he was just too big (close to 500 pounds) and had too far to go to worry about it now. So instead of tackling the problem one small goal at a time and being here to see me get married and meet his little grandson (after telling me I’d never find a man to love me if I stayed so fat like he was and telling me I’d never have a baby), he’s gone.

    I do not want to put my family through what my father put us through. I want to BE here and I don't want to give up just because I have so far to go.  I'm going to tackle this one small goal at a time and those goals will add up and I will beat this and stop the family history of morbid obesity with me.

    Another motivation is the accountability I have to the people on this list, and the Challenged to Change group that spun off from this group that's dedicated for people who have at least 100 pounds to lose (or have in the past). As list owner, I feel extra accountable to report in honestly and regularly.

    Lastly, but actually the most important reason, is my faith.  I'm a Christian and the Bible tells me that my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and that I'm supposed to take good care of it as such.  It tells me that I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  I want to be a good example to others of the power of God to take a life that has a family history of disease and dysfunction and turn it around and use it to show others that nothing is impossible with God.  I think too many people who are Christians know for sure that doing drugs and drinking too much is something that a Christian should not do and is a bad example to the world, but they don't accept that over eating is the same exact thing. I want to be a good example of someone who has overcome that with the help of God and spending lots of time on my knees in prayer (not just doing pushups).

Who or what was your biggest support?   My faith in Jesus Christ, The FOWW list, the Challenged to Change list, and the ladies I work out with at Curves. My little boy's smile when he watches me work out and giggles because he thinks it’s fun to watch Mommy dance around in the living room, and my husband.

What are some of your most cherished NSV's (non-scale victories) to date?  Recently (finally) making it into Twoderville and being at my lowest weight in 20 years, getting back into the clothes I wore to work when I got to my lowest weight after my stomach surgery in 2001 and getting below that weight.  My mom telling me how good I'm looking (she doesn't often offer compliments about my appearance), Surprising myself at working my way up to riding my bike 5 miles a day (round trip) to Curves to work out at back 3 times a week and walking 5 miles once a week.  If someone had told me 6 years ago that I’d be doing that and working out so hard, I'd have laughed at them and told them no way. Just feeling pretty darned good most of the time now instead of getting up in the morning to go to the bathroom and hobbling around for a while till the back of my heels stopped being so stiff from carrying around so much weight.

What are a few of your favorite low point snacks and or meals?   Well I'd like to say veggies, but the truth is I hate most of them.  I may have lost weight faster this year had I liked more veggies, but there are only a few I like well enough to make myself eat. 

    As far as snacks, when I just have to have a candy bar, I'll have a Slim Fast snack bar.  It's pretty much a candy bar, but lower in fat and higher in lots of vitamins than a real candy bar is and my favorite is Chocolate Peanut Nougat and it tastes like a normal candy bar to me.  Also, York Peppermint patties have next to no fat in them and are 3 points for a good size piece; easy to fit into your plan if you just have to have something sweet.

     Also, Fiber One bars.  Those are a mainstay of my diet this year.  They have NINE grams of fiber in them, they're chewy and yummy and only 2 points for one flavor and 3 for the other flavor. Lately for breakfast, I've been having one ounce of cheese, a Fiber One bar and a piece of fruit.  I get my fiber from the Fiber One bar and my protein from the cheese as well as calcium.

    I like the new caramel flavored Weight Watchers one-point cakes.  When I want ice cream, I'll have a fudgesicle as it's lower in fat than ice cream.

    I have to avoid artificial sweeteners as my body just doesn't tolerate it (Aspartame gives me a wicked headache and Splenda makes me retain water like you would not believe), so when I want something sweet, I'll have the regular stuff in small portions. 

    My husband pops popcorn a lot and that's a snack we have at time a few times a week.

    We eat a lot of chicken and lean beef and ground beef.  We buy our ground beef at a little country store that butchers their own beef and their ground chuck is so lean, when you cook it, you don’t even have anything to drain off.  I also have Weight Watchers Smart Ones frozen entrees for my third meal of the day at times (my second meal of the day is my heaviest meal).  I try to have carbs and protein together and focus on balance a lot. 

     Basically, I eat just regular foods in smaller portions and try to keep snacks lower in fat and smaller in portions and I try to have a little protein with any high sugar snack I might have to keep my insulin level steady.

If I was new and I asked you for advice what would you say to me?   Take it slow and steady.  Slower weight loss means it will be more than likely to stay lost more so than a fast weight loss.  I had gastric bypass surgery in 2001 and lost weight very quickly in the beginning, but I also lost some of my hair (broke off about an inch from my scalp in some areas) and I have a potassium deficiency I have to keep a close eye on now too.  Gastric bypass surgery definitely has it’s place in cases like mine (another story for another time), where your life is in danger if you don't lose weight promptly and regardless of what anyone says, it is NOT the "easy way out". 

    However, if your weight is not at a point where your life is in danger, please try to do it the old fashioned way through eating healthy and moving more and take it one day at a time. 

    Don’t make the mistake my dad did and think you're too far gone or have too far to go.  Start someplace, knowing it's not going anywhere overnight.  You have to make this a lifestyle or any lost weight will find its way back (like much of mine did in 2006 after all my hard work in 2005).

    Let yourself have a snack once in a while, but portion it out and work it into your plan. If you deny yourself completely, you’re more likely to binge.

    Don’t skip breakfast!  Eat every 3-4 hours to keep your insulin level steady and not bouncing all over the place as it spikes when you go too long without eating.

    Eat enough!  Don't eat too little or you’ll throw yourself into starvation mode and hit a long plateau and mess up your metabolism (I learned this the hard way in July).

    Stay with the FOWW list (and CC list if you’re over 100 pounds overweight) and post often!  Be accountable to your support groups and offer your support in order to get support back. Lurking only gets you so far.

    Work out as much as you can and start slow, working your way up into bigger workouts and you will surprise yourself at what you’re able to do!  Exercise is absolutely important to your success.  Do cardio at least 4 times a week (anything that gets your heart rate elevated for at least 20 minutes) and something involving weights or resistance of some type at least 3 times a week (with a day in between off to give your muscles a chance to heal and build).

Any other comments you would like us to know?   I thank God for the Friends of Weight Watchers group, where I got started on learning to eat healthier in 2005 and it gave me a place to come back to this year when I needed to get busy again.  I'm so thankful for you all, and the Challenged to Change group. I know I would never have accomplished what I have so far without all of you.  You support me, you encourage me, you listen to me whine and moan at times (LOL ) and you offer input when I'm struggling or need ideas of how to change things up and you laugh with me and rejoice with me when I've had a victory.  I even remember a few of you mentioning that you were crying with me.  I don’t know any of you offline, but I feel like you are a type of family to me, and I thank you Diana for all you do for us, and all the moderators for their hard work to make this group what it is.

     Also, yes, I had gastric bypass surgery in 2001 and lost 157 pounds before I got pregnant with my son.  I got down to 300 on the nose from 457. After I had my son, I gained back up to, I believe 383 or so.  So you can regain after surgery if you aren’t careful.  So although I started out with help from the surgery, you can see that I lost from 383 to where I am now at 298 the old fashioned way, so it can be done. 

    Gastric bypass surgery was absolutely necessary for me with the health issues I had at the time (email me off list if you want to know more about that or see my web site in my signature line) and I thank God for the surgery at the time.  I used to be a diabetic on insulin shots and was on high blood pressure medication.  The surgery loss took both from me as well as enabling me to conceive my baby boy and I’ll always be grateful for it.  Surgery has it's place.  But I also know what it's like to lose it the old fashioned way with sweat and hard work.  Both have their places, and I encourage you all to do it without surgery before you get to the point where surgery is absolutely necessary like it was with me.

    Don't put it off like my dad did, and like I was on the path too till I finally had some scares of my own and snapped out of it.  Do it now.

    Thanks everyone!

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