Virginia - MVUHLT
May 2009
I live in Cumming, GA, about 40 miles north of Atlanta. I have been working in programs that serve homeless people for over 28 years. Currently I am director of a Council operated by the United Methodist Church in North Georgia to give grants to programs that serve homeless and poor persons. I am an ordained United Methodist minister, and my husband is also. He pastors a church, and we live on the church grounds.
We have three children, a daughter 28, who lives in Atlanta with her husband, a son 25, who is teaching in Seoul, Korea, and a son 21, who is studying plant genetics at the University of Georgia.
DH & I enjoy going up to our cabin in North Georgia (especially since we live at his church!), and we compete in triathlons together. That’s an interesting story. A few years ago I would have thought people who did triathlons were crazy! A few years ago I joined a master swim group at the Y and learned that relay teams could compete in triathlons. DH like riding his bike, and DS was a runner. I asked them to do a relay team with me on Mother’s Day weekend. We fell in love with the sport, and we were all hooked! Since then we have competed individually in our age groups.
I made LT in WW in 1983 after my daughter was born. I put on a bit of weight with each pregnancy, and by the time I was in my 50’s, I had reached my all-time non-pregnant weight (190). I started having all kinds of joint problems – feet, hips, knees. I lost into the 160’s, but I had just stalled out there and couldn’t seem to get any lower.
I joined the SOP thread in 2009 but didn’t really do it very well. I argued about some of the rules, especially the cut-off time. I thought I would die of hunger at first, but I stuck with it, and that rule has served me well. Evening tends to be a time that a lot of people have a problem with out-of-control eating. I figure if I’m not eating, I’m not overeating!
For a while my problem was that I kept sabotaging myself with sweets. Finally I faced the fact that I could not eat sweets. It all came down to a candy corn binge before Halloween. I was so disgusted and sick, and I made a decision to give up sweets completely. After that I was able to stay SOP, and I lost weight down to my lowest weight in years. I have abstained from sweets since that day in October 2009, when I also started the daily thread “Say No to Sweets.” Checking in there has really helped me, as well as posting my menus on the SOP thread.
I got my spoons charm in January when my weight got below 160. My apples goal was to maintain below 155 and to do 3 triathlons. The 3rd triathlon came up short because of a bike problem, but I was out there! And I got my Apples Charm!
A word about maintenance:
This is a lifestyle change, not a diet! I will not be healthy and fit unless I see it that way. Now that I am on maintenance (officially a STOMPer), I go to my WW meeting at least once a month, and I appreciate the community and accountability there. I stay with the SOP thread because I need daily accountability. It helps me to post my menus. I also like to help and encourage other people (I’m know as the Protein Police). I appreciate Leather’s charms that she gives as incentives.
Diabetes runs in my family, and I am literally running from it! Since I lost about 15 lbs. using the SOP “rules”, my cholesterol is improved (it was okay before, but now it’s even better). I’m still on BP meds, but the genetic factor there is really strong. My mother had high BP at around 30.
Maintenance doesn’t mean just staying the same. For me it is important to keep a goal in mind. Now that I’m essentially at my goal weight and have done all the triathlons I’m going to do for a while, my next goal is to do some serious weight training so that I can build muscle. I have “tank” body fat testing done periodically, and I want to get into my ideal range. It’s about more than a number on the scale.
I am 60 years old, and I’m doing things now that I would not have dreamed of doing in my 40’s. My collection of shirts and medals from events keeps growing, and I know I look a lot younger than many people my age. Life is sweet!
We have three children, a daughter 28, who lives in Atlanta with her husband, a son 25, who is teaching in Seoul, Korea, and a son 21, who is studying plant genetics at the University of Georgia.
DH & I enjoy going up to our cabin in North Georgia (especially since we live at his church!), and we compete in triathlons together. That’s an interesting story. A few years ago I would have thought people who did triathlons were crazy! A few years ago I joined a master swim group at the Y and learned that relay teams could compete in triathlons. DH like riding his bike, and DS was a runner. I asked them to do a relay team with me on Mother’s Day weekend. We fell in love with the sport, and we were all hooked! Since then we have competed individually in our age groups.
I made LT in WW in 1983 after my daughter was born. I put on a bit of weight with each pregnancy, and by the time I was in my 50’s, I had reached my all-time non-pregnant weight (190). I started having all kinds of joint problems – feet, hips, knees. I lost into the 160’s, but I had just stalled out there and couldn’t seem to get any lower.
I joined the SOP thread in 2009 but didn’t really do it very well. I argued about some of the rules, especially the cut-off time. I thought I would die of hunger at first, but I stuck with it, and that rule has served me well. Evening tends to be a time that a lot of people have a problem with out-of-control eating. I figure if I’m not eating, I’m not overeating!
For a while my problem was that I kept sabotaging myself with sweets. Finally I faced the fact that I could not eat sweets. It all came down to a candy corn binge before Halloween. I was so disgusted and sick, and I made a decision to give up sweets completely. After that I was able to stay SOP, and I lost weight down to my lowest weight in years. I have abstained from sweets since that day in October 2009, when I also started the daily thread “Say No to Sweets.” Checking in there has really helped me, as well as posting my menus on the SOP thread.
I got my spoons charm in January when my weight got below 160. My apples goal was to maintain below 155 and to do 3 triathlons. The 3rd triathlon came up short because of a bike problem, but I was out there! And I got my Apples Charm!
A word about maintenance:
This is a lifestyle change, not a diet! I will not be healthy and fit unless I see it that way. Now that I am on maintenance (officially a STOMPer), I go to my WW meeting at least once a month, and I appreciate the community and accountability there. I stay with the SOP thread because I need daily accountability. It helps me to post my menus. I also like to help and encourage other people (I’m know as the Protein Police). I appreciate Leather’s charms that she gives as incentives.
Diabetes runs in my family, and I am literally running from it! Since I lost about 15 lbs. using the SOP “rules”, my cholesterol is improved (it was okay before, but now it’s even better). I’m still on BP meds, but the genetic factor there is really strong. My mother had high BP at around 30.
Maintenance doesn’t mean just staying the same. For me it is important to keep a goal in mind. Now that I’m essentially at my goal weight and have done all the triathlons I’m going to do for a while, my next goal is to do some serious weight training so that I can build muscle. I have “tank” body fat testing done periodically, and I want to get into my ideal range. It’s about more than a number on the scale.
I am 60 years old, and I’m doing things now that I would not have dreamed of doing in my 40’s. My collection of shirts and medals from events keeps growing, and I know I look a lot younger than many people my age. Life is sweet!