Life's Good
New member
So here I am... I have stopped talking / thinking about starting my own diary and I am doing it.
In week 9 of my program I wrote in this forum for the first time and introduced myself. In that introduction I said that I was going to start my own diary but am now in week 18 and still have not done it. So here I am...
Some background info about me is as follows:
I'm 27 years old, live in Adelaide and I have been overweight all of my adult life and all of my childhood even though I was quite active. I started the program on 2 May 2007 weighing in at 112kg after what I believe was fate happening. After years of telling everyone else to ‘stop talking about it, just do it’ for things they were thinking / talking about I had it thrown back at me in the same smart ass tone I often use. The rest just happened and it's actually quite a nice story, I will share it sometime I am sure - I just don’t want this first post to be a book in its own right.
I have been fortunate to have had a wonderful and fulfilling life so far, however, like everyone else I have certainly not without some very hard times, many of which I have had to work very hard to move on from, some are still with me every day. But what doesn't kill us makes us stronger and I really do believe that the best times of my life are still to come. I look forward to getting older and having more experiences. I'm certainly not one of these people who wish they were still 18 or 21!
The wonderful and exciting things that have most imprinted my life, and which I may refer to often when writing, have been living in the US for 12 months as an exchange student when I was 16, having the opportunities to have travelled Australia and at the minimum see each capital city but also much of the country side along the way, to have also lived in the UK when I was 23 for 12 months and also the privilege of travelling around Europe for 3 months in addition to that. I had the honour of being able to visit the small village in Slovakia that my beautiful, however recently passed, Oma was born and grew up in, easily one of the most significant experiences I have had in life. I have had wonderful friends who have always accepted me just the way I am and for who I have grown into be. And lastly, but certainly not the least significant a beautiful sister who is my absolute best friend and wonderful parents who have allowed me to experience life as it was meant for me. Wow - that actually just had me very emotional, especially writing about my sister, we are very close.
I also have a lovely boyfriend of three years (now referred to as LB) ha ha that's just made me giggle because my initials are LG, hence the Life's Good and his are LB... anyway a LB who have been nothing but fantastic through this whole experience, however I do think some of his support has been because of the benefits he also seems to be getting!
Some of the negative things of my life that have at the end of the day been horrible but have made me the person I am have involved relatives (surprise, surprise I'm sure! ha ha) and also an OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) I have had since I was 8 years of age. This I will refer to often which is why I have mentioned it because Dr Cohen's has also helped me almost completely overcome this and for me that’s HUGE!
I think a lot about what life after Cohen's is going to be like because I have so much ‘life’ to schedule in. I have always been one to keep adding things to the list of must do's and when I am in control of my life I will be able to achieve these. In the past I have put restrictions on them because of my weight, how I look and my general health. Basically made excuses… well no more!
As I said at the top I have always been an active person and I actually love to exercise, swim, ride, run whatever, and be in the outdoors, water sports, hiking, camping whatever. I have always just ‘loved’ over eating and making poor nutrition choices. I have set myself a number of goals to ensure I keep myself in check when the program is over and it is up to me to do it for myself and stay healthy for life. No more yo-yos (biscuit or otherwise!).
Goals (in no particular order and some of these are in my 10 year plan of things to achieve and towards the 7-10 year end at that) for me to achieve, for me, and no one else. This is what I WANT OUT OF LIFE - MY NEW FOUND LIFE! Some are big feats; some are small things that hold some significance to me!
1. Complete Certificate IV in Fitness and become a personal trainer - Still haven't decided if I will actually train others or not but the main reason it to have the knowledge and skills to keep myself in good health.
2. Participate in a triathlon.
3. Do the Kokoda Trail - A dream of both LB and I and is scheduled for next year!
4. Everest Base Camp (as mentioned some are towards the end of the 10 year plan)
5. Continue to manage and keep OCD in check by keeping processed foods to a minimum along with additives and preservatives.
6. No. 5 will therefore allow me to have a lovely full, thick head of hair which I want to dye BLONDE - only colour I have never experimented with!
7. Participate in Adventure races with my LB
8. If I want a 'sometimes / moderation' food that I can make (i.e. pasta, bread, etc) I will make it from scratch as apposed to buying it. Cut out nasties, save money and also have the effort make the experience much better - that is if I can tolerate it when finished to start with!
9. Make 'me' time every day instead of feeling lucky if I find some!
10. Overcome my fear of change rooms for fear of relapsing into a depressive states.
11. Be a great healthy and active role model to my two gorgeous nieces, family and friends and be sure to be a positive force in their lives.
There are a few more but those are the one's I need staring back at me from my diary pages to remind myself who I am doing this for, me of course, and why, because I want to be able to do these things.
Well it looks like it's become a book anyway. I guess it is my diary though! Please visit me and offer any advice or guidance along the way and certainly if you think I may be able to help you please ask. It's always good to know you have been useful or have made someone's day a little brighter!
I have a lot of energy to give these days...
Lauren
In week 9 of my program I wrote in this forum for the first time and introduced myself. In that introduction I said that I was going to start my own diary but am now in week 18 and still have not done it. So here I am...
Some background info about me is as follows:
I'm 27 years old, live in Adelaide and I have been overweight all of my adult life and all of my childhood even though I was quite active. I started the program on 2 May 2007 weighing in at 112kg after what I believe was fate happening. After years of telling everyone else to ‘stop talking about it, just do it’ for things they were thinking / talking about I had it thrown back at me in the same smart ass tone I often use. The rest just happened and it's actually quite a nice story, I will share it sometime I am sure - I just don’t want this first post to be a book in its own right.
I have been fortunate to have had a wonderful and fulfilling life so far, however, like everyone else I have certainly not without some very hard times, many of which I have had to work very hard to move on from, some are still with me every day. But what doesn't kill us makes us stronger and I really do believe that the best times of my life are still to come. I look forward to getting older and having more experiences. I'm certainly not one of these people who wish they were still 18 or 21!
The wonderful and exciting things that have most imprinted my life, and which I may refer to often when writing, have been living in the US for 12 months as an exchange student when I was 16, having the opportunities to have travelled Australia and at the minimum see each capital city but also much of the country side along the way, to have also lived in the UK when I was 23 for 12 months and also the privilege of travelling around Europe for 3 months in addition to that. I had the honour of being able to visit the small village in Slovakia that my beautiful, however recently passed, Oma was born and grew up in, easily one of the most significant experiences I have had in life. I have had wonderful friends who have always accepted me just the way I am and for who I have grown into be. And lastly, but certainly not the least significant a beautiful sister who is my absolute best friend and wonderful parents who have allowed me to experience life as it was meant for me. Wow - that actually just had me very emotional, especially writing about my sister, we are very close.
I also have a lovely boyfriend of three years (now referred to as LB) ha ha that's just made me giggle because my initials are LG, hence the Life's Good and his are LB... anyway a LB who have been nothing but fantastic through this whole experience, however I do think some of his support has been because of the benefits he also seems to be getting!
Some of the negative things of my life that have at the end of the day been horrible but have made me the person I am have involved relatives (surprise, surprise I'm sure! ha ha) and also an OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) I have had since I was 8 years of age. This I will refer to often which is why I have mentioned it because Dr Cohen's has also helped me almost completely overcome this and for me that’s HUGE!
I think a lot about what life after Cohen's is going to be like because I have so much ‘life’ to schedule in. I have always been one to keep adding things to the list of must do's and when I am in control of my life I will be able to achieve these. In the past I have put restrictions on them because of my weight, how I look and my general health. Basically made excuses… well no more!
As I said at the top I have always been an active person and I actually love to exercise, swim, ride, run whatever, and be in the outdoors, water sports, hiking, camping whatever. I have always just ‘loved’ over eating and making poor nutrition choices. I have set myself a number of goals to ensure I keep myself in check when the program is over and it is up to me to do it for myself and stay healthy for life. No more yo-yos (biscuit or otherwise!).
Goals (in no particular order and some of these are in my 10 year plan of things to achieve and towards the 7-10 year end at that) for me to achieve, for me, and no one else. This is what I WANT OUT OF LIFE - MY NEW FOUND LIFE! Some are big feats; some are small things that hold some significance to me!
1. Complete Certificate IV in Fitness and become a personal trainer - Still haven't decided if I will actually train others or not but the main reason it to have the knowledge and skills to keep myself in good health.
2. Participate in a triathlon.
3. Do the Kokoda Trail - A dream of both LB and I and is scheduled for next year!
4. Everest Base Camp (as mentioned some are towards the end of the 10 year plan)
5. Continue to manage and keep OCD in check by keeping processed foods to a minimum along with additives and preservatives.
6. No. 5 will therefore allow me to have a lovely full, thick head of hair which I want to dye BLONDE - only colour I have never experimented with!
7. Participate in Adventure races with my LB
8. If I want a 'sometimes / moderation' food that I can make (i.e. pasta, bread, etc) I will make it from scratch as apposed to buying it. Cut out nasties, save money and also have the effort make the experience much better - that is if I can tolerate it when finished to start with!
9. Make 'me' time every day instead of feeling lucky if I find some!
10. Overcome my fear of change rooms for fear of relapsing into a depressive states.
11. Be a great healthy and active role model to my two gorgeous nieces, family and friends and be sure to be a positive force in their lives.
There are a few more but those are the one's I need staring back at me from my diary pages to remind myself who I am doing this for, me of course, and why, because I want to be able to do these things.
Well it looks like it's become a book anyway. I guess it is my diary though! Please visit me and offer any advice or guidance along the way and certainly if you think I may be able to help you please ask. It's always good to know you have been useful or have made someone's day a little brighter!
I have a lot of energy to give these days...
Lauren