Late the next spring I went back to the doctor for my annual exam. I hadn’t seen the doctor since my last embarrassment on the scale.

I walked up to the receptionist, signed the sheet and sat down. Only one other person was in the waiting room at the time, and he was soon called back. I waited, and waited, and waited. Finally, the door to the inner sanctum opened and the nurse stuck her head through the crack in the door. She looked at the chart, looked at me, glanced around the waiting room and shut the door. Confused, I looked anxiously at the door, wondering where she had gone. A few seconds later the door opened again and the same nurse called my name. As I was walking across the room towards her she said, “You are Diane aren’t you?” I nodded. She said, “I looked at the chart right before I came to get you and noticed the weight. When I opened the door and saw you sitting there I thought I had the wrong chart!”  I said, “I’ve lost some weight.”  “SOME WEIGHT!” she exclaimed, “I would say so.” This time, when I got on the scale I felt a feeling I had never felt before. I felt proud that I finally was the weight I should be. As we walked to the exam room, she told everyone she saw, “She lost 150 pounds!”  For a change, I didn’t mind that appointment!

The doctor just about fell off his chair when I told him I had lost weight using good old fashioned diet and exercise. He told me, “I honestly thought you would end up having to have some kind of surgical procedure, or just keep gaining weight.” Needless to say he was quite happy with me for a change.

Experiences like that help reinforce to me that weight lost and weight maintenance affect all the experiences we have in our lives. Although I didn’t put off going to the doctor because of my obesity, I do know people who do. I would encourage you to get regular check-ups, etc. Every time I visit the doctor these days I’m so thankful that despite any other problems I may have, obesity isn’t one of them. 

Question:  Have you ever avoided the doctor because of your weight?  Diane

When I lost 158 pounds over 12 years ago, my oldest child was only seven. And as such, she was a little bit aware that I was changing in front of her eyes, but not 100% aware. I’ve asked her what she remembers from that time period and she says she was a little worried I wouldn’t be the same mommy anymore. She also remembers me taking her on lots of long bike rides – something I had never done before that time.

I remember very vividly coming out of the bedroom dressed for church one morning and her saying, “Mommy – that’s the prettiest you have ever looked.” I had lost about 80 – 90 pounds by then and I felt so grateful that she noticed and could articulate the difference she saw in me.

My other two children were only 3 and 1 at the time, so they weren’t aware of the changes.

Now, with seven children, the youngest four being born after I lost all the weight, they have no concept of what I used to look like, or act like! When they see pictures like this one below they say, “Who is that lady?”

I laugh and tell them it is me in the picture and then silently thank God that I don’t look like that lady anymore.

My kids are very proud of my accomplishments, but more important than that, I think they take to heart the message of good health and healthy living that I try and model for them.

They were one of my primary motivators to get healthy. I didn’t want to die from a complication of obesity and leave them motherless when I could change my health status. I wanted to be around for a long time. And I wanted to be an active part of their life – not just sitting on the couch trying to muster up enough energy to get up and see something they had made in another room.

I look back and am so thankful that I lost the weight, got healthy, and have kept it off. My kids think it’s great to have a mom who blogs, speaks about weight loss, and interacts with them. I think it’s great to have kids who are fun, active, and full of life!

So there you have it – an answer to one of the many questions I get through email, etc.

Do you have someone in your life who thinks you are doing a great job? Or someone who motivates you to never give up?  Diane

In the ideal world, weight loss is mainly about taking in less calories than you burn. However, I’ve haven’t met too many people who don’t have a lot of emotional feelings surrounding food. So in my humble opinion, successful weight loss often requires us to conquer the emotions while at the same time working on improving what and how we eat.

Agree or disagree?

For many of us, the experiences we have had in the past influence our reactions to food. I know it has for me. Without going into too many details, there were some situations that happened during my childhood that were less than ideal. I learned at a young age that food didn’t talk back to me, didn’t judge me, and seemed to make me feel better. So I indulged whenever I could, and overindulged the older I got.

And I gained massive amounts of weight as a result. I gained 150 pounds in about 8 years.

Healing the past isn’t easy, and often requires the assistance of a professional, or perhaps a trusted confidante. A lot of people ask me if I sought counseling during my obese years to help me on the right path and I didn’t. Not that I think anything is wrong with counseling, (because I do NOT) but quite frankly, it wasn’t something we could afford at the time had I wanted to avail myself of it.

So how did I work through some of those complicated issues that helped me gain weight?

1. I had to be 100% honest with myself that there were some issues in the first place, and worth through my feelings surround them.
2. I had to allow myself experience the emotions that were associated with the emotions
3. I learned that just because I knew what the emotions were, I still needed to learn not to eat based on those emotions.
4. When I messed up I gave myself a break, and didn’t beat myself up.
5. I finally understood it wasn’t a quick fix. Losing weight wasn’t going to change the past, but I could heal and move past the past while at the same time losing weight.

I wanted to say that I haven’t “healed” the past completely, but rather I’ve worked through it and been able to acknowledge it without allowing the past to rule my emotions and unduly influence my choices.

What do you think? Is healing and/or acknowledging past hurts a part of the weight loss journey for some people?  Diane

I returned from the trip to New York two days later than expected due to the huge blizzard in New York City. I got home at 2:20 on Friday morning exhausted but really happy I had the opportunity to go. The trip started out a day earlier than planned.

On Monday morning it began snowing at the airport I needed to fly out of. We live about 1 1/2 hours from there, so I began to get concerned about whether or not I’d be able to get to there on Tuesday morning, because believe it or not, there aren’t that many snow plows around here! So John and I drove to down there on Monday afternoon in some very scary weather conditions and I stayed in a hotel. The next morning I barely made my flight as the hotel shuttle was waaaay slow and late leaving the hotel. Lesson learned there.

I arrived in New York City at 12:30 and was met by a limo driver who was holding a sign with my name on it. My friend Evelyn met me there and took our picture!

We arrived at the hotel and unpacked. The Hilton was just a few blocks away from Times Square so after walking to the Dr. Oz studio for a voice-over and a coaching session from one of the producers, my friend and I went to Times Square, had dinner at a New York deli, and saw Phantom of the Opera. It was pretty fabulous.

The next morning, the show sent a bus to pick up all the show participants. There I got to meet Sarah, Lori, and Ann. I didn’t see Dawn until later, but never got a chance to meet her. I was sad. I also met Janelle. It was neat to meet people in real life that I already felt like I knew but hadn’t actually met! Once we arrived at the studio the whirlwind began.

I met Bill, Taisha, and Meryl – all of whom were going to featured on the show. Like Lori said in her post, they could have picked anyone of the “Oz 100″ to feature because everyone had a fabulous story. Bill lost 175 pounds and has maintained for a year, Taisha lost 130 pounds and maintained a year, and of course me. Meryl lost 175 pounds and has maintained a little less than a year. It was amazing to meet all of them. Here’s a picture of  Bill, Taisha, and me. Not the best picture I’ve ever taken.

After we met and were briefed by the producer, they took us onto the Dr. Oz set for a walk through. It was very exciting to be behind the scenes and then walk onto the stage. It was FREEZING in there! They told us what tape mark to land on, what camera to look at, and where to sit. I asked the camera guy, “What if we mess up – do we get a do-over?” He just looked at me like, “You will not mess up!”  So I tried my best! We weren’t allowed to take pictures in the studio, but if you’ve seen the show it looks just like that – only smaller.

Once we knew what we were doing they took us to hair and makeup. I have never seen so much makeup in one place in my entire life. Melanie, in the first picture did my hair, and Gil, in the second picture, did my makeup. He said I was scheduled for the “full face.” I soon found out that that meant a LOT of makeup – false eyelashes and all. Here’s me getting my hair and makeup done. I felt like a movie star, but was glad I didn’t have to have that much makeup on every day! (That’s my friend Evelyn in the pink!)

  After hair and makeup were complete we all got on our fancy clothes. The producers liked my dress and boots but I had forgotten a necklace. One magically appeared and here’s a funny thing. It was a beaded necklace, so the sound person pinned it right to my dress so it wouldn’t move and mess up the microphone that she had painstakingly taped on me! I think she used about 20 tiny pins. Tricks of the trade I suppose. Then, hair and makeup done, it was show time.

As we were standing backstage waiting to go on, we could see on the monitor what was happening on stage. We saw Dr. Oz give the welcome and for the first time I saw all the amazing people who, like myself, had lost 100 pounds or more. It was very moving. I thought, “Every one of these people has changed their life for the better.” I knew not to cry because I might have lost my eyelashes, but I had to fight back tears.

Finally, the stage director person said, “Diane – step up here. It’s almost your turn.” Then the doors opened and I went on the stage. It was an experience like I’ve never had. I felt a variety of emotions, from excitement to humbleness that I was there. Then I turned, shook Dr. Oz’s hand and sat down in the stool. Then Bill and Taisha came out. How fun! Dr. Oz asked each of us a few questions and then we got to share some of our favorite weight loss secrets. It went by so fast.

The next segments were Meryl, Richard Simmons (very fun), and the segment where he takes questions and has an audience volunteer. To see all the work that went into taping an hour show was amazing. But it seemed like everything just ran like clockwork. Then they had as many of us that could fit on the stage come back on and do a dance segment with Richard Simmons and Dr. Oz leading! It was a blast.

After the show, I got to meet Richard Simmons and have my picture taken with him. Here you can see how much makeup I had on. Richard in real life is exactly like you see him on television. He cries, he laughs, he sings! Dr. Oz was very nice and I liked that he is so sincere and caring. You can tell that helping people get healthy through maintaining a healthy body weight is a passion of his.

So there you have my New York experience. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and one I’ll never ever forget. If you want to see more pictures, you can check out the New York trip photo gallery. Thank you for all your well wishes and safe traveling thoughts. The whole time I was there I thought - ”I can’t wait to tell my blogging friends about this experience!”   Diane

It’s cold. It’s wet. It’s hard to drive in – especially with a rear wheel drive 12 passenger van!

But, it is absolutely beautiful and I do love seeing the little kids, the big kids, and the biggest kid of all – my husband enjoying the snow.

Then, after they had a great time running around in the snow for an entire hour, they decided that building a snowman would be great fun and it sure looked like it as I watched them from the warmth of the kitchen window! It was funny because they used chocolate chips for the mouth, and by the time it had gotten dark the chips were gone. I asked John if he sneaked out and ate them but he staunchly denied any involvement in the missing chocolate chips!

Imagine my happiness when a soft pretzel franchise opened up. I did my research online and found that the pretzels were low in fat, and only had about 200 calories per pretzel. If we split them up among our family, it made for a great little surprise while appeasing the little (and big) kids who were tired of shopping. But, they were pricey. So I found a look alike recipe online – altered to make it even more “real” tasting and make them occasionally as a special treat.

Here, for your enjoyment is the recipe for Homemade Soft Pretzels which are delicious!!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups very warm water
• 1 1/2 t. dry yeast
• 2 T brown sugar
• 1 cup bread flour
• 3 cups regular flour

Ingredients for “bath”

• 2 cups very warm water
• 2 T baking soda

Stuff for “after cooking”

• coarse (Kosher) salt
• 2 T butter (melted and real)

Directions:

1. Put warm water in mixing bowl. Add flour on top of water. In separate parts of the bowl, place brown sugar, salt, and yeast. Mix with a dough hook or by hand until very elastic. (It takes me about 10 minutes of hand kneading, or about 5 minutes of mixer kneading.) You may have to add in more flour, I almost always do. You are looking for a soft, almost sticky dough – not tough!

2. Let rise for about 45 minutes. It won’t completely double.

3. Break into 10 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a long rope. When I say long, I mean as long as your counter will allow you to roll it. You are aiming for about 1/2″ thick or less. Wrap into pretzel shape.

4. Now the strange part – after you’ve shaped them into pretzels, dip them in the bath of warm water and baking soda. Place on greased cookie sheet. (Please grease the pan or you will be sorry – believe me! )

5. Bake in preheated 450 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until golden brown. Brush sparingly with butter and sprinkle with Kosher salt. If you like a sweet pretzel, then brush with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar mixture.

6. Enjoy!!

And now, thank you to Tricia from Endurance Isn’t Only Physical for running the giveaway of the YouBar gift pack! It came yesterday and I can’t wait to try them!! Check out www.youbars.com where you can customize your own bars, trail mixes and more!!

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend. We are getting the schooling room cleaned out in preparation for school starting on Monday. I hope I’m ready!!  Any plans more exciting than mine?  Diane

Hi!  I’m John, Diane’s husband, and I have the honor of being Diane’s first guest blogger. 

I like the name of Diane’s website and upcoming book, Fit to the Finish, because it is very descriptive of her.  One of the things I admire about Diane is her ability to finish what she starts, especially since I am a chronic procrastinator.  No matter what she sets her mind to, she stays on task until it is done.  Diane never dabbles in anything–she masters it.  Over the years I have seen her learn quilting, scrapbooking, photography, refinishing and upholstering furniture, and of course blogging.  But the one thing she could not seem to master was weight loss.

Early in our marriage, when the pounds began to mysteriously appear, Diane tried different diets.  Unfortunately, she was not able to stick with anything.  The big meals, desserts, and snacks continued unabated—I should know, I was right there with her stuffing my own face!  But honestly, I always thought of her weight gain as temporary, because I knew it was something that bothered her a lot.The extra weight didn’t change my feelings for Diane at all.  To me she was the same wonderful woman I married, but I knew all  the extra weight was having a deep impact on her self-esteem.  Diane had always cared about how she looked and enjoyed being on the go.  But when she became heavy, she was less concerned about her appearance and she limited her activities, often sitting on the sidelines or staying home.  As her clothing size increased, the selection of clothing options decreased, and she had to resort to making her own clothes.  To save money, she would buy clearance fabric (never the most attractive colors or prints).  I remember one jumper she made that was purple and blue with a fish pattern (yes, it was as bad as you are picturing).  She had spilled bleach on it and ruined it.  A few days later, I met her and the kids for lunch at the mall and she was wearing it!  I asked her why and she said, “It’s fine.  Besides, no one looks at me anyway.”

When the scale announced that Diane had hit over 300 lbs., she set her will to doing what it took to lose weight.  Unhealthy or dangerous foods were banished from our house (darn).  To my dismay, the Oreos, Breyers ice cream, and chips were gone.  It was as if she had put a lock on her mouth.  She could not be enticed to deviate from her plan.  Sometimes I tried to get her to share my guilt in some gluttonous indulgences, but to no avail.  Once, at a child’s birthday party, the mother offered us a big slice of cake with the requisite mound of ice cream, and pointed us to the savory treats at the “adults’ table.”  I gladly took my plate and then heard Diane say, “No thank you.”  I did a double take and looked at this woman who had always joined me in consuming such tasty treats in bulk, but was now politely refusing some of her favorite foods.  I knew then that she was serious.  She became almost annoyingly tenacious about exercising.  No matter what the weather was like, or even if we were on vacation, the girl was going to walk.  And sure enough, the pounds began to come off.  This is not to say that it was an easy journey and that she didn’t stumble at times, but her determination returned and she was back on track.  I could tell, she really wanted to lose weight.

At the time, I called Diane “the incredible shrinking woman.”  I enjoyed watching the reactions of family and friends when they saw her transformation.  It was great to see her buying new clothes and having more energy.  One of my favorite memories was at Sea World where she was invited from the audience to participate in the Shamu whale show.  When the show was over, she leaned over and whispered to me, “They never would have asked me if I had still been fat.”  Seeing the look in her eyes made me realize how she had always felt about her weight problem and how much being overweight it had hurt.  It brought tears to my eyes, I was so happy for her that she had reached her goal of being fit. (Read that whole story here.)

In so many ways, Diane is my hero.  When I face temptations in my life or think I can’t accomplish something, I remember the commitment she made to herself and her unflinching resolve.  In dealing with my own weight issues, her example showed me, that no matter how many diets, gimmicks, or good intentions you have for getting fit, until you set your will  and make deep down commitment, is isn’t going to work.  Do you have that resolve in your journey?  John

By 1995, my weight commonly fluctuated between 275 and 305 pounds. Our bathroom scale didn’t go past 300 pounds, so one time when I was in the grocery store late at night I stood on the big scale they had in the lobby. I jumped on, saw 305, and jumped off, praying to God that no one saw me. I laugh now because even if anyone had seen me they wouldn’t have been surprised to see the big dial on the scale swing around to 305. I was gigantic. 

Sadly, weighing over 200 pounds had become part of my soul, my being, and I hated it. Yet in many ways I felt powerless to stop eating. Fortunately, in 1997, something in my head clicked. After leaving my doctor’s office I cried, prayed, and knew I had to change. That’s when my journey began.

Every pound lost was a victory. Seeing 250 on the scale made me so happy that I could have eaten an entire cheesecake (but I didn’t.) As the number inched down, I began to get more and more excited to reach 199. It seemed to take forever. Finally I was in the plain old 200’s. 209, 208, 207. . . .  I almost couldn’t stand myself. My clothes were hanging on me. My self esteem was improving. I was feeling in control. But I still weighed over 200 pounds.

Finally, about ten months after I started changing my life, it happened.

199

I rushed into the bedroom and woke up John. (Did I mention it was 6:00 a.m.?) I whispered excitedly, “I weigh 199. Isn’t that great? I weigh 199. HEY, are you awake?!” He was awake and he was so happy for me. It’s truly a day I will never forget. It’s one of those scale milestones that was important to me.

Some people say, “Don’t worry about the weight.” But for me, I knew that I shouldn’t be weighing over 200 pounds. I wasn’t a linebacker or a man. I was a woman and not 6′5″ tall. I should weigh under 200 pounds. And I finally did.

From that point on there was no stopping me. I kept on exercising, kept eating good food, and kept losing weight. Best of all my self esteem improved, I felt stronger, and others around me were positively influenced by my enthusiasm.  I know this is a Scale Victory. But it wasn’t my only victory along the way. There were many victories, both of the scale variety and of the non-scale variety. And they were all sweet.

Have you had a victory during your journey that made you want to jump up and down? Is there a goal in your mind that will cause you to wake up your spouse or best friend to tell them about what you have accomplished? I would love for you to share.  Diane

♥ Go to a ball game! – We took the oldest 5 kids to our minor league baseball game the other night! It was so much fun, and after the game there were awesome fireworks!

♥ Eat outside – There are few things as fun as setting up a picnic, even if it’s in your own backyard. Be creative with the food. When we did our last picnic we had wraps, cantaloupe/grapes and yogurt!

♥ Get wet! – If you haven’t been swimming this summer, make sure to go before summer ends. My children think it is the biggest treat when I go swimming with them!

♥ Visit a new attraction – Haven’t been to the zoo in a while? Go now! We live about an hour and a half from the closest zoo, so when we go it is a real family outing!

♥ Watch a movie – Have an old favorite movie you haven’t seen in a while? Rent it from the video store, make a date with your significant other and enjoy!

♥ Make a summer scrapbook- I love scrapbooking, and have 10 years worth of family memories! Too much for you? Buy a kit from your hobby store, add pictures and you are done.

♥ Play some games together – Our family loves to play games and do puzzles. Here’s a picture of some of us after completing a 1000 piece puzzle!

♥ Read a book – I love to read all year long, but there is something delicious about summer reading. All the pleasure and none of the guilt!

♥ Swing - If you’ve got kids, take them to a playground and swing with wild abandon. Don’t have kids? Don’t let that stop you – one of my favorite memories is of John and I swinging on swings right after we got married!

♥ Have a yard sale – Summer is prime yard sale time in most parts of the country. Get rid of your old junk and make some money at the same time!

♥ Volunteer – Whether for the library, the homeless shelter, or a local park, volunteering is good for the community, and good for you!

♥ Visit the farmer’s market – There is something really special about a farmer’s market. The people, the colors, the healthy food!

♥ Catch fireflies – My kids love running around in the early evening catching fireflies in a jar. Just don’t run into each other!

♥ Make popsicles- We made popsicles out of red raspberry zinger tea and all the kids loved them!

♥ Clean out your closet – Get rid of all the ugly, out of date clothes as well as the ones that no longer fit!

♥ Plan your fall – Plan for eating, for activities, for school. Plan to succeed!

Do you have some things you are going to do before summer ends?