My journey begins:
I started my journey on May 17, 2000. I had hit my all-time highest weight and I'd had enough. In April 1999 I had a very big scare--I was diagnosed with MS (Multiple Sclerosis). I knew that it could be a very debilitating disease at times. I had been taking steroids for a few months and that made the weight pile on faster. My energy levels were down, I tired very easily, and the extra weight I was carrying around wasn't helping it any. My wonderful sister Deborah and my mother had been following Weight Watchers for some time, and they thought that this would be a good way to lose weight for me. They gave me all the info that I needed, and lots of love and support. And I decided that this was something I had to make a commitment to in order to work.

By July of 2000 I had been at this for a few months and though I didn't notice a big difference I'd lost 15 lbs. It was really easy, just a little bit of planning was needed and as long as I was "good" most of the day I could enjoy a regular dinner with my family and not have to cook 2 different meals. Losing the weight was kinda slow going for me...but I can say that the medications I was on was a contributing factor. Ok, so I wasn't losing 2 lbs a week--sometimes I didn't lose anything for a couple of weeks. But even though I slipped more than a few times, I kept up with the Weight Watchers program. I probably would have had better control over my weight loss if I had officially joined Weight Watchers, but I live in a rural area and the closest meeting place is an hour drive each way. When you have small kids that are very involved in after-school activities it doesn't allow for a lot of "luxuries" in your schedule. So, I continue doing this at home...but not alone! I have a great support team...my sisters are a BIG help and all the wonderful friends I had made from Dotti's Weight Loss Zone..an online website with TONS of information and support.

In October 2000, with the MS pretty much fully in remission, we decided to have my husband's son from his first marriage move in. Things were tough in the beginning, especially when adding a teenage boy to an already small food budget. So, some things needed to be "forgotten" and that meant my special foods that were being bought in addition to the every day stuff. We always had 2 kinds of stuff around, regular mayo and diet mayo or regular margarine and diet margarine, regular maple syrup and low-cal syrup, etc. After losing 40 lbs in 5 months--I essentially had to give up. This is where that GREAT support system came in. My older sister Cynthia was visiting us in February 2001 and decided that I'd worked too hard to get where I am to just give up. By this time (after seeing what I, our mom and sister were accomplishing with Weight Watchers) she was embarking on a weight loss journey of her own. She took matters into her own hands and decided that a trip to the store was necessary--stocking my cupboards and fridge with all the diet stuff that I just couldn't get anymore. She taught me that after 12 years of catering to everyone else in my family I deserved just a little bit of catering to myself. So, I got back on the wagon. Imagine my surprise when I got on the scale and it said that in the 6 month "vacation" from my diet I'd only gained 1 pound!!! I guess subconsciencely I was still pretty much following the plan and making due with what I had.

Things were going well after that, and I was losing again. I had lost another 15 lbs between Feb and June 2001.

June was a bad time for me. I had my second MS attack and this one was worse than the first. I had pretty much lost the use of my right side this time, and was admitted to the hospital for 3 days. The next 3 weeks were torture between not being able to take care of myself and really loathing what had happened. I really have to thank my kids (ALL of them--especially my 11 yr old daughter who would help dress me and my stepson who would cook!) and my husband for basically giving me the swift kick I needed to get out of my funk and making sure I was TRYING to get back to normal. I didn't give up on the Weight Watchers this time although the medicine and lack of exercising due to the relapse didn't help any. And in the 4 months it took to get back to my "old self" I'd only gained back 6 lbs. I'm happy to say that at my 6 month check-up the other day I've achieved a 99% recovery of everything, and I'd lost those nasty 6 lbs (even with 4 birthday parties and Thanksgiving/Christmas!)

As I create this special place for myself, I can reflect back on everything that has happened the last 20 months. I'm glad I made the decision to do something for myself. I've now lost 60 lbs and the 40 left to go doesn't seem such as hard of a goal as the original 100 lbs did. I feel 200 times better than I did before...although I still have problems with being tired and low on energy I can honestly say that it's more from the MS than from my weight. This journey has been a slow one, but I know that it's something that I did--an accomplishment that I know I will finish to the end.

Tracking My Journey
I'm not the greatest of "keeping track" but this is how I've done since May 2000:

Began 5/17/00: 252
5/24/00 & 5/31/00: 246
6/7/00: 243
6/14/00: 240
6/21/00 & 6/28/00: 237
7/5/00: 235
7/12/00: 232
10/1/00: 211
Stopped following WW plan 10/00-2/01
2/28/01: 212
6/1/01: 196
June 3, 2001 had 2nd MS attack (back on the steroids!)and was off program until 10/01
10/8/01: 205
10/24/01: 200
I wasn't faithfully OP during the holidays but I did try! Lost 10 lbs since I started back OP.
1/1/02: 195
1/28/02: 190
2/10/02: 191
(minor setback after a terrible 2 day binge)

UPDATED 6/23/02: I was pretty much bouncing back and forth the same 2 lbs for about 3 months. MS relapse 6/5/02 and have been on IV steroids (5 days) and oral steroids (14 days). Starting again with trying to be OP everyday to lose the 11 lbs I've gained these 3 weeks!
6/23/02: 202


UPDATED 9/23/02:Things have been really hectic here and it's time I got back OP (on program). Got on the scale this morning and it was definately a wake-up calling, it said 207. That's not alot, only +5 lbs is what my brain was TRYING to tell me but I'm not listening. I'm not going to let myself get back to where I was before. So, I got out my handy-dandy journal and started keeping track. I've gained back almost 20 lbs since February and I'm determined to lose every one of them again. I can't use the medication as an excuse anymore--I just have to work that much harder. My mini goal right now is to be at 187 by Christmas. 30 lbs in 3 mos? I'm gonna try my hardest!!

UPDATED 11/16/02: We've had a bit of a setback here on the homefront, but I've been trying to be a good girl the last couple of weeks. Only a 3 lb loss in the last 8 weeks, but there was a bit of "chaos" for a while and things are just now starting to settle back into a routine. Have been OP (following program for non-WW'ers) for a whole week and hopefully the scales will be good to me at weigh in on Monday. Looks like that mini-goal will have to be revamped cause I don't think I'm gonna see 30 lbs gone by Christmas anymore. Signed up for a "challenge" for 10 lbs by New Year's and hopefully I can pass that but I definately want to meet it!

My favorite Links
Dotti's Weight Loss Zone