Weight: 207.0
Pounds Lost: 36.2

Day 1 of Cardiac Diet

Weight: 208.4
Pounds Lost: 34.8

Okay, this is working as a jump start. Only allowed to do this for 3 days, then have to take 4 days off.

Weight: 209.8

Okay, trying a new tactic for the next 3 days. Doing the "Cardiac Diet" for 3 days to jump start my weight loss again. Will let you know how it goes.

Weight: 209.4
Pounds Lost: 33.8

This is awesome...past another milestone...210 is behind me.

Weight: 210.2
Pounds Lost: 33

Weight: 210.8
Pounds Lost: 32.4

Weight: 211.0
Pounds Lost: 32.2

Weight: 211.4
Pounds Lost: 31.8

Trying to break the 210 barrier! :)

Weight: 211.6
Pounds Lost: 31.6

Weight: 212.0
Pounds Lost: 31.2

PAST THE 30-POUND MARK

Weight: 212.6
Pounds Lost: 30.6 pounds

Sick as a dog...may have the flu. However, my weight finally stopped its plateau madness! Still haven't started my period, but that will come. Finally surpassed the 30 pound mark. 30 pounds down, 50 to go! TAKE NO PRISONERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MWA-HA-HAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Weight: 214.6
Pounds Lost: 28.6

Finally got past 215. It's been such a struggle for the last week-and-a-half. I now have a cold and PMS...not a good combo, but I'm sticking with it.

Weight: 215.4
Pounds Lost: 27.8

Staying on schedule...

Weight: 215.8
Pounds Lost: 27.4

Broke plateau!

Weight: 217.2
Pounds Lost: 26

26 down, 57 to go...TAKE NO PRISONERS! One more pound and I'll be about 1/3 of the way there.

Weight: 218.2
Pounds Lost: 25.0

25 down, less than 60 to go! TAKE NO PRISONERS!!!!

Weight: 218.8
Pounds Lost: 24.4

FINALLY GOT PAST 220! I am taking NO prisoners! ;)

Weight: 220.4
Pounds Lost: 22.8

Finally started spotting...hoping weight will drop some tomorrow.

Weight: 220.6
Pounds Lost: 22.6

Almost to the 220 mark. Still have no period...am now weeks late. But I'm not letting it slow me down.

Weight: 221.2
Pounds Lost: 22.0

Still waiting on period, which is very late at this point. Definitely not pregnant. Hoped to be below 220 this week, but I still have 6 days this week to make it happen.

Weight: 221.6
Pounds Lost: 21.6

Still late on my period, but weight is moving again....

Weight: 222.2
Pounds Lost: 21.o

Okay, FINALLY broke this plateau. I have struggled to get past 223 all week. I still am late on my period...1 week late and counting. Once that happens, I think the weight will drop again. Glad to be nearing 220!

PAST THE 20-POUND MARK

Weight: 223.0
Pounds Lost: 20.2

GOT PAST THE 20-POUND MARK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Weight: 223.6
Pounds Lost: 19.6

Weight: 224.2
Pounds Lost: 19

Finally broke plateau...jeez, it took long enough. Hoping the next pound or two fall off by tomorrow. Took a 2 mile walk last night...is that what broke the plateau???

PLATEAU.......still holding.

This is the time when I want to give up, but I have to push on. Not sure if the plateau is due to constipation or a pending period...we'll see.

Weight: 224.4
Pounds Lost: 18.8

Excellent!

Weight: 224.8
Pounds Lost: 18.4

HOLY CRAP! YEAH! MORE THAN MET MY GOAL FOR THE WEEK!!!!!

Wow, surpassed my goal for Monday. Constipation broken and I'm drinking water instead of diet cokes...definitely helping.

Weight: 227.0
Pounds Lost: 16.2

Weight: 227.6
Pounds Lost: 15.6

Starting to make progress again...yeah!

Weight: 227.8
Pounds Lost: 15.4

Finally making progress again!

Plateau finally broken!

Weight: 228.8
Pounds Lost: 14.4

1 month in, 14.4 pounds lost. Finally broke the plateau.

Weight: 229.2
Weight Lost: 14 pounds

Booyah!

Weight: 229.8
Pounds Lost: 13.4

Feeling great...calories are back up in a normal range versus the eating-nothing-starving diet I was doing last week. I finally broke the 230-mark!

:)

Weight: 231.2
Pounds Lost: 12

3 weeks in, 12 pounds lost. Doing great.

Weight: 232.0
Pounds Lost: 11.2

Restarted the official Medifast plan yesterday, but only got 3 of the 5 Medifast meals in...my appetite has diminished greatly and my stomach has shrunk..yeah!

Weight: 232.8
Pounds Lost: 10.4

2 weeks, 10.4 pounds!

Weight: 233.2
Pounds Lost: 10.0

First 10 pounds gone and weight is stable. Been in this for almost 2 weeks. Medifast has not been my diet of choice the last week as I have had zero appetite and am just trying to eat at least 500 calories of protein every day.

Weight: 233.4
Pounds Lost: 9.8

Weight: 234.6
Pounds Lost: 8.6

Week 2: Starting out

Weight: 235.2
Weight Lost: 8 pounds

Can't eat right now...lots going on in life of an emotional nature. I'm fasting for a few days until my stomach gets back under control.

1 week down, 51 to go

Weight: 236.6
Pounds Lost: 6.6

Day 6

Weight: 237.2
Pounds Lost: 6

Woo-hoo!

Day 5

Weight: 238.4
Pounds Lost: 4.8

Day 3

Weight: 239.6
Pounds Lost: 3.6

Day 2: 24 hours on Medifast

Weight: 240.2
3 pounds lost

Wow, 3 pounds lost already...in one day. I've been trying to get into the 230's with little success the past 2 weeks and it looks like Medifast is going to get me there in a couple of days. Can I lose 20 pounds by day 31?

This time around, I am going to try to exercise at LEAST every other day, if not every day. I can walk outside or I can work out on my Wii Fit. We'll see the results I get with that. Maybe I should do both...the walking is great cardio and the step aerobics will tone my butt.

Starting out...AGAIN...Day 1

Okay, starting weight: 243.2

Yikes. Okay, I can do this...

Back on Medifast...Many, many months later

So, I'm about to embark on round 2 of my Medifast journey.

Let's see, what has happened since I gave up my Medifast journey in August of 2008? I got down to around ~180, 185. Then, I went on a Disney vacation and was taking some time off from dieting. I gained back up to 195 in this process. Then, in October, we had a BIG surprise...I was pregnant with my second sweet daughter. This was a shock...people who know me know that I am a planner and having a surprise pregnancy was definitely not on my to-do list. I had planned to lose down to 160 before getting pregnant, but it obviously didn't happen.

Fast forward to today. I am 4 weeks postpartum. I gained ~65 pounds in this pregnancy, which was definitely better than the 100 I gained in my first pregnancy, but I started out 35 pounds heavier. Otherwise, the advantage I had in the gain during the pregnancy was essentially negated by where I started. And the weight has not come off as quickly after this pregnancy as I had more fluid gain in my last pregnancy. Thankfully, my daughter Emily came with no major problems and I did NOT develop preeclampsia this time. We had a scheduled C-section...yeah!

So, I start tomorrow on losing the weight. I'm right around 240 right now...will weigh officially tomorrow to assess the "damage". It's disheartening to think of starting over, but I'm just reminding myself that every journey is taken one step at a time. If I had never embarked on weight-loss journeys in the past, what path would I be on now? Would I be over 300 pounds? Over 400? A lot of people consider a diet a failure if you gain the weight back. But if you never TRIED to lose the weight, what would you become physically?

I've battled my weight my entire life. It's an exhausting war that I will never win. I just have to win as many battles as I can. I know what strangers think when they look at me. They think I'm lazy, that I've "given up", that I have no self control or self discipline. It's hard to walk into any place with mirrors. Even getting my hair done is agony right now. I get to see the looks that people will give a fat girl when there are beautiful, thin girls around. I get the "body check"...meaning, put down the Twinkies and hit the gym.

I've considered bariatric surgery...gastric bypass or Lap-band...but I just don't think that's for me. I may reconsider that at some point, but if I can lose this weight the old-fashioned way, that is by far the best thing for me.

All I can do is deal the hand I've been dealt today. I have to lay down goals that are attainable. So, here are my goals:

On Emily's first birthday (June 26, 2010...11 months from now):

1. I will weight in the 160s. This is a weight I can maintain and live with. If I choose to lose below that, fine, but if I decide 165 or 160 is my weight, great.
2. I will be able to run a 5K or 30 minutes straight. The program I plan to use is outlined here: http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml
3. I will be able to wear a size 12 (or smaller) pair of jeans. I will buy myself an awesome pair of expensive jeans to celebrate...Lucky's, anyone?
4. I will have a family portrait made at this time and will not complain about being in it.

So, I've got a challenge to face. I'm ready for it. My kids will not have the fat mom. I will not have trouble keeping up with my kids when we're playing outside. I will not shy away from pictures with my girls because I hate any picture with me in it.

My heart goes out to all of the other "fat girls" out there. I was at Lane Bryant the other day trying on a pair of jeans and I heard a conversation in the room next to me. A girl couldn't fit into her usual size and was crying because she had gained weight. She said, "I'm so fat...I just wish I could love myself when I'm this fat." Today, I'm saying that I love myself enough to do something about my fat. This is not what I want to be physically, so I'm doing something about it. Maybe I'm not a gym rat or a runner, but I'll have to try it to find out.

Wish me luck!