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Come on and join author Melissa Bradley as she sets off on her latest adventure...

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If you are not 18, please exit stage left. While there is normally nothing naughty here, I do write and review erotica so there are links to spicy stuff and the occasional heated excerpt.

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Get Healthy Blog Hop


Our health is the most important thing and for a voluptuous chica such as myself, who LOVES food period, getting healthy and overcoming the bulge is a constant struggle. Today the awesome and truly caring quartet of Michael Di GesuAlex J. Cavanaugh, L. Diane Wolfe and Stephen Tremp are hosting a Get Healthy Blog Hop encouraging all of us to post health tips, recipes, etc. to encourage all of us to get healthy. It's a wonderful way to inspire and I thank them profusely for putting this together.

Yours truly has been fighting weight since birth, really, and when I was at the lowest point in my life, I tipped the scales at 360 pounds. Wow, did I just write that out loud? I've admitted it to friends, but never completely in public before. 360 pounds is 3 people. Three. I used food as a crutch, a comfort. I had been bullied in school and ate alot. Those Twinkies sure made the insults feel better. So did the extra slices of pizza. And  when you spend your 20's and part of your 30's taking care of catastrophically ill family members until they pass, you also need a lot of comfort.

Anyway, over the last 2 and a half years or so, I've managed to lose 110 of that. I did that by forcing myself to move, to change eating habits. At 360 you can't exactly jog, so I would walk. Around my neighborhood, park the car in the back of the Walmart lot and walk, take stairs instead of the escalator or elevator. Anything that made me move. I would eat carrot sticks, blueberries, grape tomatoes instead of chips, pretzels, etc. Small changes that netted some great results. If I can do this by making small diet changes, so can you. Going cold turkey only encourages failure, I think. Big pictures start off small.

Now I need to find something else, dig deeper, as I have hit a plateau. Getting healthy means keeping going and always staying alert. Michael Di Gesu pointed out that I need to push myself no matter how tired, bored, depressed, etc. I may be. And he is right.

40 comments:

  1. That's a huge drop - a third of your weight! Awesome, Melissa. And it is the small changes that matter.
    Thanks for participating in our bloghop!

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    1. Anytime, Alex! I really loved this idea. It is so encouraging to see that so many have come out to encourage each other along the path to good health.

      Thank you for the support. It means the world. :)

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  2. That's awesome, Melissa. The main thing to remember is you didn't gain the weight over night. People tend to forget that and expect immediate results. And when that doesn't happen, they quit the weight loss plan or the exercise program.

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    1. Thank you so much, Stina. :) Your words are definitely something I needed to see as there are times when I do feel frustrated, especially with this plateau.

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  3. this is what skinny people often forget - a lot of overweight people have been that way from birth or from childhood and it is extremely difficult losing weight when being big is the only thing you've ever known. You live your overweight life carrying the burden your parents put on you by not feeding you right as a kid. I know this too. Even though with my 75kg I'm by no means fat, I will forever see myself as fat because I had 100kg as a kid.

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    1. I always see myself as fat, too. No matter my size-I was the pudgy kid that was picked on. I hit puberty earlier than my friends. One of my mother's friends constantly picked at me. So, I heard big boned everywhere I went, at school, at home, and at church. My mom's friend was often at our home and co taught Sunday school with my mother.
      I ended up the smallest in the group, but had to move a lot and eat Zone based. This was before the Zone diet, but I did eat like that~ (I'm not big boned-I'm medium)

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    2. it's always like that ,Ella, it's written in our identities since we were fat while our identities were being formed. Even if we get a top model body (I wish LOL) one day we shall still be fat little penguins in our minds :)

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    3. I absolutely agree, Dez. Being chubby has been my way of life, but I was no obese until I hit adulthood and got less active.

      Oh do I know what you both are talking about. I look back at pics of myself from grade school and high school and realize that I was not really fat. But, because of bullying and everything else, I saw myself as this ginormous elephant in the mirror.

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    4. I wasn't fat either, but was bullied. When I did lean out I was bullied again, by the mean girls who didn't like me thin. I had become a threat, so they told me. Now, I am stuck in the middle-no one bashing me on either side. I agree Dezzy, I will always be that penguin-no matter what~

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  4. Congratulations on your weight loss so far - one whole person! You certainly seem to have the determination to continue. The simple things, like parking away from the store, is perfect and sustainable!

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    1. Thank you Annalisa!! My determination was wilting for a while as I languished at this plateau, but I'm starting to feel the energy again.

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  5. 110! WOW good for you.... stick with it :)

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    1. Thank you so much! It means a lot to see the encouragement from my blog friends. :)

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  6. Wow, 110lbs, congratulations, that is awesome! Hopefully your life is in a better place now x
    Suzanne @ Suzannes Tribe

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  7. Melissa-- I loved this post and can't tell you how much you just encouraged me to never give up. In fact, I liked your candid admission and am so impressed by your journey, I'm going to join your followers and stick around. Thank you for reminding me to not give up and pursue health. And here's to us voluptuous chics!

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  8. HELLO you GORGEOUS, VOLUPTUOUS, CHICHA!

    Thanks for posting your story today. MANY of us need to know HOW MUCH you have already accomplished.

    Plateaus will always be in our lives, Sweets, so we all need to up the game a bit. In most cases we just give up. BUT DON'T. Always take another step, you never know what's waiting for you around the corner. Some hot guy or girl, a HOT FUDGE SUNDAY, which we can have a lick of but remember to keep going, or a best selling novel. AMEN to that!

    MY advice to you and other... BE KIND to yourself. WE are OUR OWN WORST ENEMIES. A kind word to OURSELVES can go a long way. Keep telling yourself you are that GORGEOUS, VOLUPTUOUS, CHICA ... because YOU ARE!

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  9. Hi, Melissa. CONGRATS on your weight loss! 110 pounds is AWESOME. Thank you for inspiring me not to give up. : )

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  10. You are amazing, congratulations!!!
    You are officially my new inspiration ;)

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  11. Congrats Melissa-you can do this~ What a make over story you are going to have-You have accomplished so much...keeping taking those baby steps towards a healthier you~
    YOU have the spunk n' spirit to keep going! I think when we are open, we are on our way to another life changing moment!

    I'm an emotional eater...being diabetic has been a blessing and a curse~ I'm Type 1-yes, I'm a juvenile!

    Maybe we should have an email support group! So we can help each other! YOU can do it Melissa~ xo @>----------
    My weight goes up n' down, but I try to rein my bad habits back in, when I hit that certain number.
    I'm so sorry you have been a caretaker...it is a difficult place to be... Write it out...write when you want to eat and what would Healthy Melissa do instead of eat?

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  12. Congratulations!!! You are awesome! I will send you an email re: plateaus. Hugs and double hugs!

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  13. Congratulations on that AMAZING accomplishment! Way to go!!!!! You say you've hit a plateau, and I know what a frustrating place that is.
    Have you tried the Paleo lifestyle? I'd heard about it all over the place but didn't really pay attention because as a former anorexic, diets are a no-no. This is a nutritionally balanced, new way of eating and the weight is falling off me. 35 pounds in two and a half months. It's about WHICH foods, not how much. Not trying to tell you what to do, but I was going to write about this for my post but it got too long writing about my physical therapy, so it had to go.
    Anyway, the book that got me started is called, "It Starts With The Food" and explains very well how our bodies end up so messed up and how to fix them.
    Best of luck on your journey, and if you want to chat, I'm here. I like Ella's idea of an email support group!
    Tina @ Life is Good

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  14. That's amazing Melissa! As Alex pointed out, 1/3 of your weight. I can only imagine how hard it is to pass by all those yummy treats, but this is me saying Go Melissa...You Can Do It!!

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  15. I'm so proud of you, Melissa! You are an inspiration! Truly. So neat what you've done and sharing your experience. I love this post!!!

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  16. I hit a plateau in my walking too and knew I had to kick it up a notch (thanks Emeril).

    I had injuries so I went for weight-training to strengthen the muscles. First my exercise friend and I warmed up on the treadmill, then to exercise balls (once you get the balance thing down, these are a godsend to crunches and getting that core strong.) After a month of so of that we added free weights and cable machines. So keep going forward, Melissa, and add something new. A little is the best long-term way to do it. Congrats on what you've accomplished so far!!

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  17. What a loss!! That's great and, if you can do that, you can do anything.

    Keep at it and you'll get over that plateu. Maybe buy a couple of light, hand weights and work with them?

    However you decide to go, keep taking those baby steps and you'll get there :)

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  18. 110 pounds is a full person!! CONGRATULATIONS, dear friend! You always impress me. I'm sure we can all relate to eating for comfort. But only the real badasses like you make such drastic improvements. I love ya and am proud of you. Keep on keeping on, bloggy sis.

    xoRobyn

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  19. What an inspiring post Melissa! I've heard that small changes make a big difference and you're living proof.

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  20. Congrats on your weight loss. That is so great. Just this morning I drove around work parking lot for 10 minutes trying to find a closer parking spot. I need to park far away and get a little exercise in when ever I can. Great tip.

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  21. I made permanent changes and made them when I was ready. It works. If I had started out eating mostly vegetarian and organic, I would have failed. That's where I ended up, though.

    A lot of the big food company stuff is engineered to make us eat more. I'm entirely convinced of that. I stay away from it as if it's poison. It helps... a lot.

    You're most likely to succeed working with and around yourself than against yourself.

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  22. Mel, I never knew this. I knew there was something underneath the witty banter and our care free, fuck em all, view of the world.

    This has been a struggle of mine though and apart from addiction, its been the biggest crutch of my existence.

    You are beautiful inside and out.

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  23. I'm so impressed with you. You should be a speaker, perhaps to school students facing the same demons you did.

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  24. This is such an inspiring story, Melissa. Yes, move, but also change the scenery. Drive to a different park that has new trails to explore. Join a gym with fun classes where looking like a dork is the norm. (Sorry, but I always look like a dork when I jump around in those things, so I've taken to believing everyone else does too.)Take up a new hobby that requires moving - something like swimming or gardening. You're doing great and if getting off that plateau is your goal, I believe you need to change things up a bit to achieve it.

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  25. That is awesome, Melissa! It's hard enough to change habits, even harder to keep going when you've hit a plateau and nothing seems to be working. It will as long as you push through it and don't give up.

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  26. Good for you! It took me that long to lose 50 pounds. Plateaus are normal- I did see that on a weight loss forum when my husband hit a wall.

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  27. Michael is a huge inspiration! People do need to be pushed and that's where accountability and the buddy system make the difference.

    Thanks Melissa for participating in the Blop Hop!

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  28. WOW! Congrats, and thanks for sharing that inspirational success. My daughter has been battling weight issues all her life. She runs, she exercises, she watches what she eats, and she still puts on weight the second she isn't looking. At least for myself, I can blame my excess baggage on Butt In Chair spread.

    Little changes. Those I can do, and you're right, even parking in the back of the lot is a good change!

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  29. (((((((((((((((((((((Melissa)))))))))))))))))))))
    CONGRATULATIONS on your amazing achievement, Darlin'! I'm so happy for you, and I KNOW you can take it as far as you want. Of course you can, 'cause you're a BAMF. :-D
    <3 <3 <3
    Some Dark Romantic

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  30. Hey Again,
    Award for you at my place today.
    Tina @ Life is Good

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  31. Congratulations on all you've accomplished!
    It's good to remember how much of an impact small choices every day can make. For instance, I've got to stop skipping meals!

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  32. inspiring! You go girl!You're right about health being a choice to constantly keep on moving.
    Nutschell
    www.thewritingnut.com

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