BEFORE: Sept 2003 CURRENT: Down 59 pounds - June 2008
I'll continue to update the 2nd photo with my most recent picture... To see all the pictures please click on my picture page 'Pictures Along the Way'
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Who is Lori?? This is my story...
I have had issues with my weight all my life. My goal is to reach 150 and I can honestly say that I don't remember a time when I weighed 150. It was probably in elementary school or junior high. I was ALWAYS the fat girl. I was the fat girl in elementary school, the fat girl in junior high, the fat girl in high school and also in college. At this point I REFUSE to be the fat mom!!!!! I never had a "real" boyfriend until after I was well out of college which I attribute to my weight. Throughout my elementary school and junior high school years I created many defense mechanisms for myself to help deal with my lonliness and self esteem issues. In high school I became involved in lots of things, and with many of these things I was pretty happy. But there were also times where I was not happy and I would feel like a second class citizen. These same feelings continued throughout my college years. I don't blame anyone for any of this. I feel my parents did a wonderful job in raising me and I have them to thank for the woman I am today, but there were also very painful times in dealing with being overweight and obese.
I had managed not to cross the 300 barrier, even with my pregnancy of my DD, Justine, and I never thought that I would. When I started feeling terrible and realized that I needed to see a doctor about how I was feeling (I suspected high blood pressure which is what turned out to be the case) it became a turning point. I weighed in at over 320 I knew something had to give. I started to do long, in depth research about Gastric Bypass and even started with that process and the insurance company. I had spoken with my doctor about all of this, but he didn't seem very helpful, not to mention I didn't really like him. I finally realized that I was scared to death to go down the path of Gastric Bypass. So, I decided to find a new doctor (whom I LOVE, thank you Dr Benavides!!!) and get some different recommendations about what I should do. She recommended WW to me plus there were others that I knew who had recommended WW to me including people at work and my spirtual director, Sister Denise (whom I also LOVE!!!!). With that I decided to walk through the doors at the local Weight Watchers Center and give it a try. I also must add that there had been many times when I had thought about starting a 'diet', but they were very short lived. This time I was ready mentally and I will continue to believe in this new LIFESTYLE for me and my family.
I mainly started on this journey because I was sick of not having any energy and I wanted the health benefits that go along with not carrying so much weight around. I also didn't want to have Justine go through what I did while growing up. My whole family needed to figure out a healthier way to live and I wanted to teach Justine healthy eating habits. God knows I didn't learn them from my youth, plus my DH, Gary, is pretty much beanpole thin, but he doesn't have good eating habits either.
As for Weight Watchers (WW), this will be my first and ONLY time doing it - I want to be LIFETIME. I will be one of the ones who has "results not typical"!!!! I truly believe that!!!
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Feel free to contact me with questions/feedback. I'd love to hear from you!!!
I was the fat girl in elementary school, the fat girl in junior high, the fat girl in high school and also in college. At this point I REFUSE to be the fat mom!!!!! I never had a "real" boyfriend until after I was well out of college which I attribute to my weight. Throughout my elementary school and junior high school years I created many defense mechanisms for myself to help deal with my lonliness and self esteem issues. In high school I became involved in lots of things, and with many of these things I was pretty happy. But there were also times where I was not happy and I would feel like a second class citizen. These same feelings continued throughout my college years. I don't blame anyone for any of this. 
I feel my parents did a wonderful job in raising me and I have them to thank for the woman I am today, but there were also very painful times in dealing with being overweight and obese.
even with my pregnancy of my DD, Justine, and I never thought that I would. When I started feeling terrible and realized that I needed to see a doctor about how I was feeling (I suspected high blood pressure which is what turned out to be the case) it became a turning point. I weighed in at over 320 I knew something had to give. I started to do long, in depth research about Gastric Bypass and even started with that process and the insurance company. I had spoken with my doctor about all of this, but he didn't seem very helpful, not to mention I didn't really like him. I finally realized that I was scared to death to go down the path of Gastric Bypass. So, I decided to find a new doctor (whom I LOVE, thank you Dr Benavides!!!) and get some different recommendations about what I should do. She recommended WW to me plus there were others that I knew who had recommended WW to me including people at work and my spirtual director, Sister Denise (whom I also LOVE!!!!). With that I decided to walk through the doors at the local Weight Watchers Center and give it a try. I also must add that there had been many times when I had thought about starting a 'diet', but they were very short lived. This time I was ready mentally and I will continue to believe in this new LIFESTYLE for me and my family.