Meetup Thursday #1

I probably should get a cool graphic thingy that links to my blog stating this is a portion of “Meetup Thursdays” like a proper blogger, but I didn’t think of that till just now. So we will just pretend for today and I’ll try to whip up something for next week.


And I am pleased to present to you the personal stories of our first 3 women. Remember, these are real women, just like us. Make your comments kind, and love the stuffings out of them just like you do with me!!! I'm just going to let each of these tales speak for themselves. And 2 of today’s girls have blogs, so check those out too!

Introducing…

Stephanie:

I am 20 years old and currently weigh around 100kg (depending on the day).









All my life I have struggled with constant taunts and remarks from so called friends, family and random people. Through primary school starting from grade 3 I started to gain weight, I hadnt changed the way I was eating but still seemed to get bigger. Most of the other kids were cruel (as we all know kids say some nasty things). I was called many a name and those names have followed me all the way into adulthood. It wasn’t just the children it was teachers too (the only teacher I liked called me a fatso and tried to make up for it with a merit award), friends parents (wouldn’t let me play with their children in case they ended up like me) and even family. My own father would call me fat. It hurt like crazy, I became depressed, lacked the confidence i needed to go out in public and didn’t spend time with anyone.

I thought going to high school might be a little different, but it didn’t change except the taunts got nastier. I was in a shell, depressed and never wanted to come out of my comfort zone. I tried going to university but was put down by adults (I thought it would have changed their attitudes). I quit going after I was sitting alone in the hallway on the phone to my bf (who has been extremely supportive through thick and thin) when another student walked past and said "hey baby can I have your number" and when I turned to see who it was he made the remark of "ew what a f—kn’ fat dog don’t look at me". It hurt so much that someone I didn’t even know could make a comment about me. I sank into a deeper depression and become suicidal.

Now at the age of 20 it still hurts me inside. I have no confidence to wear different clothes because I’m afraid of what people will say to me. I can’t look at photos that I am in because I am disgusted at what I see. I feel thin in my head but look huge in photos. It makes me feel sick. My self confidence has been shot down so many times I just don’t know how to get back up again. People will still make comments to this day about my weight. I have struggled through more diets than I can count. I have tried pills, shakes, Jenny Craig and just plain old exercise and no fatty food. Nothing is helping, I’ve been told my next option is to have lap banding. I am hoping I can improve on my confidence and make myself a better person.

That’s my story if it made any sense.Thanks for letting me share.

Up next is Lee-Bird. (Her blog is Prayer Gifts)



(I have actually MET Lee in person, last year at a conference. See? I'm strengthening actual relationships here!!!)




School is back in full swing for me. In fact, my students had a big social studies test today and will have a huge math midterm tomorrow.As a special education teacher, I find myself a tad secluded on testing days, for many of my students require small group testing and other accommodations.

Today, sequestered in the media center computer lab, I facilitated testing for students sharing their newfound knowledge of the U.S. Constitution. We the people...should have studied harder!Between telling about a dozen kids what the word "impacted" means and reminding ornery boys that they had no reason to be messing with the computer keyboards, I noticed an almost life-size poster of Amare Stoudemire tacked onto the door of the lab.

A star player for the Phoenix Suns, the poster advertises Amare's dependence on milk to keep him in tip-top, ball-dunkin' shape.The poster includes a handprint, actual size, that dwarfs the hands of curious junior highers who take the time to hold their hands up against it.At the bottom of the glossy picture is a shoeprint of Amare's size-17 basketball shoes. Do you think he has ever tripped over those monsters?

Now here is where the ugly truth comes in...The poster graciously shares Amare's "dimensions."

Amare Stoudemire: Height: 6'10", Weight: 245 pounds

Sigh.....blush....groan

Lee: Height: 5'6.5", Weight 243 pounds

I WEIGH ALMOST AS MUCH AS A PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE MORE THAN A FOOT TALLER THAN ME!!!!

I remember having a similar rude revelation when I was nine months pregnant with my first son, Garrett, and heard some football player's "dimensions" on TV...it was bad then, but it's WAY WORSE now! My last baby was born almost 11 years ago, and I weigh the same as I did when I delivered my first baby.

Something MUST be done, and I am the one who has to do it!I MUST get this weight off. No more excuses and no more procrastination.I would be debt-free if I still had all the money I've invested in diet books, diet pills, and check-out stand magazines promising my belly fat will melt away while I sleep. I don't need another diet book.

I need to cut back on the CRAP food and get active.I need to drastically decrease my consumption of empty liquid calories and increase my water intake. I need to deny my spoiled-rotten cravings and make better choices for myself for my good and for God's glory.

Help me out, bloggy friends...by praying for me and by giving me your best tips to making positive health choices. For now, I'm taking my Amare-sized body upstairs to bed!



And finally for this week- bloggy designer extraordinaire- Jessica: (and Jessica, I totally apologize because I couldn't figure out how to get your other adorable picture onto piece o' crap Blogger. Feel free to send it in another email with just the pic and I will add it.)

My name is Jessica, I’m 19 years old, and I’m a foodaholic.

There has never been a time in my life where I have been thin. And to make matters worse, my two younger sisters are tall, athletic young women who have never struggled with their weight. Growing up, I was always so embarrassed and ashamed of myself for being the “fat sister.” Friends and relatives would rave about my sisters’ athletic abilities, only to pause and look at me to say “…and you’re the artistic one!” That’s not a consolation prize.

I entered high school at age 14 weighing about 160 at 5’2”. Because of the insecurities I had about my weight, I isolated myself from social situations whenever possible and threw myself many a pity party where I would eat my feelings instead of dealing with them. Because of this routine, I packed on a whopping 30 lbs in high school – the worst part is I was only vaguely aware of it happening. It wasn’t until I compared my school photos side-by-side that I came to the shocking and horrifying realization of just how out of control my weight had gotten.

It took a photo from a family vacation the summer of my junior year to hit rock bottom.

Yeah, I’m the one looking uncomfortable in my own skin. When I saw this photo, I wanted to crawl into a hole and die.


My senior year, I decided to do something about it. I joined Weight Watchers. I fought a battle of epic proportions with the scale, riding an emotional roller coaster as the number bounced up and down each week. And after 8 months, I went from weighing 190 to 162. I was getting compliments regularly about how great I looked and my friends noticed a big change in the way I carried myself.


At that point, I had little to no gut to speak of, a much thinner face, and proof that I actually had a neck and collar bone. I had maybe 25 more pounds to lose, but I was definitely feeling good about myself.

…Then came my downfall: the !@#$ing holidays. Not only did I fall off the wagon, I catapulted myself off of it. Each week at weigh-in, I became more and more disgusted with myself as the number on the scale crept ever higher. I stopped going all together when I hit 167.

Fast forward through a year’s worth of “oh, I’ll start dieting again on Monday. I’ll start on the 1st of the month. After my vacation.” You name the excuse to put it off, and I used it.

That would bring us to present day. I procrastinated myself all the way to 190 – right back where I started. I could kick myself for not only quitting when I had made so much progress, but putting it all back on just as quickly as it came off.

In an attempt to keep myself accountable, I started a blog back in April at The Skinny on my Weight-loss at 177 lbs. Did that stop me from putting on 13 lbs in the following 4 months? No. Is it even possible to put on 13 lbs in 4 months? Apparently.

Luckily, I’m slowly on the decline. My highest weight recently was 190.6. I’ve gotten down to 185, and I spend a LOT of time in between.

Looking back I could kick myself for throwing my whole diet out the window when I was up a measly 5 lbs, when I had already lost nearly 30. But I did learn a life lesson from it: I will inevitably struggle with my weight my whole life, and I will be that much stronger having learned to deal with this issue so early on.

Despite my frustrations along the way, however big they may seem at the time, I refuse to let myself give up again. I have to keep pressing forward - day by day; little by little. There will be many blunders along the way, and I’m sure some days I will fall flat on my ass. The only thing to do will be to pick myself up and keep on trekkin.’

I am officially rejoining Weight Watchers this week, so this self evaluation could not come at a better time. I can’t promise you I’ll get better at blogging, but I promise to update you on my successes and failures every once and a while along the way.

The best of luck to those of you trekkin’ along with me! Your stories inspire me to do better.



What strikes me the most about each of these girls is that I can relate to something within each of their stories. There is a chord that rings true in every word they say. I hope these stories unite us in a new way as companions on this journey to lose the fat, and that we all form new friendships today!