The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[dlr2424]

When I was 32 and my DH Rob was 34, life had seemed to change, at least from how we knew it. At that time we had been together 16 years...10 of them married. We had just built our second home...had two children 2 & 4...both girls…. and was quite comfortable and very happy.... temporarily to be replaced with the real challenges of life... ... Challenges that would test our strength...our faith…and our marriage vows. Rob, who had always been healthy…. never overweight...never smoked…. very active and physically fit had a virus that settled in his heart.... the last 14 years have been a continual roller coaster...(and I thought I had given up roller coasters)...lol.... well the first 4 years of his illness I thought couldn't be any more challenging... ... ….that was until the next 5 years took place... ...during that time we were waiting for a new heart.. …. received a new heart... ... & then trying to cope with the many challenges it all brings about...living in & out of hospitals.... one minute dieing...the next minute surviving...over & over…like the Energizer Bunny…just keeps on ticking… needless to say it was a stressful time…and when I’m stressed I eat…. (I also ate when I was depressed… …happy… ... hungry… …. Bored…:yawn: …. etc)…during that time I ended up in counseling…(and my counselor was a gift from God). We both needed to go to learn how to deal with a life challenging illness and still live life as well as continue to raise our girls during the extremely intense times. During my personal counseling many things were revealed…buried issues brought to the surface…most all related to weight in some way or another. I had a warped self-image. In one session my counselor asked me to name a couple of things I really liked about my personal appearance. I could not think of any…. Nothing. The following week when I came back I had come up with an answer. I realized I have always liked my Wrists & Ankles. You may find that odd…. …. I know my counselor did. However, when she asked me my reason I said…. they were the only two parts of my body that was small and have always stayed small… it now has become a joke between my girlfriend and I… … My DH was giving me a compliment once (he thought it was a compliment). He said “gosh Donna you have the smallest ankles…how do they hold up your body”? Now I really didn’t see that as a compliment…but I did laugh. I am now 45, and realized that thru it all we have been tremendously blessed in numerous ways… … Is that to say the health challenges are gone? Unfortunately not, however we view them differently now. I’m also learning to deal with stress differently…. and as far as the self image…that’s a work in progress…I know that God gave us all beautiful bodies…I just happened to at times decorated mine with extra flabbage…. not a pretty decoration. I am excited that for the first time in my life I will reach goal… …. with the education and strength I drew from Medifast & the forum… …& FREE of any diet aids… or surgical procedures etc. And with the continued MF support & education I can enjoy the next however many years of my life in Thinnieville… … Now ...after this long drama of a story my point is we have to have rain showers in life to experience the rainbows…. and how about (for those that need to) start a personal exercise “What I love About Me List?” I know I need to come up with more than just my ankles and wrists.

Donna…dlr2424

[raederle]

I always liked my eyes for the same reason-- they never got fat!

But I wanted to add to *your* list, Donna. What about those sparkly eyes and brilliant smile that are OBVIOUS in your avatar pic??? Silly! And what about all the internal qualities that are so plainly wonderful-- like your selflessness (in posting that terrific story, for starters), your generosity (look how much time and effort you spend supporting others here!), and your buoyant sense of humor that keeps us all laughing here. You probably don't even notice these things about yourself cuz you're so used to them, but to me, they are rare and wonderful!

Thanks for posting and starting this thread-- yours is a heart-wrenching and inspiring story that we'll all do well to think on.

[doglover]

Hey Donna - my buddy - I am now 36 and been with my DH for 15 yrs married and 5 yrs prior to that (yes we are high school sweethearts!). Your story once again rang true, other than the health issue. Mine was with me, not my DH and thankfully it appears I have fully recovered. Nothing near as stressful as yours. Thank you for sharing your story. Thank you for starting this thread.

I always like my wrists too! I don't think that's weird. I always felt they looked feminine. Other than that I like my eyes, and most days am ok with my hair. But I am truly working on the inside as well as the outside. I am trying to be more giving and less selfish. One small change I made when I started MF was to make weekly goals in my journal. This may sound weird but I am a sweatpants and PJ bottoms kind of gal. Due to working at home and being fat I was getting into the habit of staying this way all day. Poor DH left ofr work and came home and I was in basically the same clothes! I do shower every day but would put PJ's or sweats right back on! Got dressed to go out on appts, came home, PJ's! So I made a goal to get dressed and stay dressed. I now do that all the time and feel so much better.

But....I am venturing off topic. One other small thing to help work on the inside of me was that I vowed to write a personal letter (not e-mail) to someone every week. I LOVE cards and can spend hours in the card aisle. So I get one every week and send to friends/family just to say hi and that I am thinking about them. Some weeks they are birthday cards as I want to be better about remembering those special days. So I am getting happier w/ the me on the outside and also on the inside.

Your buddy forever - through MF and beyond
Donna

[want2Bthin]

Donna-
I don't even know what to say to such a beautiful sharing of emotions. Wow.

I have always been a fan of my hands and my hair.

I really am at a lost for words- what an awesome story. Thank you for sharing.

Angelia

[dlr2424]

I always liked my eyes for the same reason-- they never got fat!

...Rae..that's a good one...I never even thought of eyes getting fat.....when I was a teenager my girlfriend...who is now my sister-in-law was ALWAYS (as well as her family) very judgemental ... ...(and until I was in counseling I allowed them to add to my insecurities). She use to tell me I had cow eyes & horse nostrils.... as a teenager that comment stayed with me for some time....Now.... this world is full of BALCONY PEOPLE as well as BASEMENT PEOPLE...and let me tell you ...she was not in the BALCONY section...

Donna..dlr2424

[LilMsTexas]

Donna you are truly a Godly woman and I am proud to be associated with you. Thank you for sharing such an intimate story with us.

I have two physical things about me that I love the most..........MY FEET and my LEGS! I am ALWAYS saying I love to buy shoes because my feet don't get fat and there has never been a day in my life that my legs gained any weight (except pre-eclampsia during pregnancy this last time) and they are awesome!! If I can get some sun on these puppies I'll have it made! I say all the time that if my body matched my legs I would be a rail. Sometimes it's a problem because the roley poley belly is big in comparison and just like you and your ankles I wonder how my skinny legs holds the rest of me up! But there are certainly worse problems and I don't have any saddles to deal with

Ya know I've always loved my hair and I am complimented on my skin all the time. I am very fortunate to have good skin after my mother. Ya know the dang bottom line is that I'm pretty terrific minus the 40 more lbs of "flabbage" and I'm working on that! Dadgumit I'm gonna be a down right HOTTIE at 35!

Thanks for inspiring me to look at the positives for a change Sister.
YOU ROCK!

[scrabbler7]

love to buy shoes because my feet don't get fat

Well - after a 27 pound weight loss, I've actually lost weight in my feet. I'm falling out of my new size 6 shoes ... I think I've got to go get 5 1/2's. So I guess you really can gain weight in your feet!

[24KaratGold]

love to buy shoes because my feet don't get fat

Well - after a 27 pound weight loss, I've actually lost weight in my feet. I'm falling out of my new size 6 shoes ... I think I've got to go get 5 1/2's. So I guess you really can gain weight in your feet!

On another (not weight related) board that I post at I mentioned last night moaning about my big feet and wishing that dieting could do something about them. I'd always heard that your feet stayed the same no matter what. Imagine my surprise when maybe half a dozen people posted in response to tell me that either they themselves or someone close to them had lost up to a whole shoe size after losing weight!

I sure hope that happens for me!

[LilMsTexas]

ya know I guess since my skiny feet are attached to my skiny legs they just stay the same. I'm just hoping my BOOBS will shrink!!

[kassilou]

My feet went up two sizes with my first pregnancy! They came down one after, and didn't go up again with my second child. Weird. But I also carry my weight *everywhere*. Blech. The only things small on me are my earlobes! Oh, well, MF will fix that!

[junglejane]

Funny you should say that LilMis, about the boobs shrinking. While reading this post i was thinking about what my favorite body part is and concluded it is my boobs. Consistently the only part of my body I like. They have always been a little large but they balance out my LARGE hips. Maybe when I finally reach my goal weight I won't have to be partial to one body part and like all of me. I would love to not have to pick out clothes that accent certain parts to draw attention away from others. I'm afraid there were times I looked kind of like a "hoochie mama" and that is not my personality at all. Is "hoochie mama" politically correct? I hope so.Don't want to offend anyone.

[Guest]

The only things small on me are my earlobes! Oh, well, MF will fix that!

Well, actually.........Medifast will NOT increase the size of your earlobes....hehe


Just Kidding

Dean

[Dean0408]

Who was that guest?..........that wasn't funny.

Hey wait.......I think it was me.........errrr......never mind.

[raederle]

Uh-oh.... We have a poster here with multiple personality disorder...! Someone fetch a doctor!!!!

[NE gal in South]

and my empathy for others that I have always though were my strong suits.

I will tell you gals that it seemed like ages before the "girls" shrunk enough to no longer make me look like a former topless dancer. The 38C girl holders that I bought 6 weeks ago are too big. Yahoo, Yahoo. Now the size 7 1/2 shoes down from size 8's are getting a little loose and floppy and that disturbs me a bit. It is a long trip from my house to Nordstroms and then finding suitable shoes is not always easy, but I guess I will have to do that soon or be barefoot from walking out of my shoes.

I will soon have lost more than I weigh, today I dropped below 150. It is nearly time to put the flag up.