Donna:

Congratulations on the 10 pound weight loss. I am 5 6 1/2 inches tall. I used to (at one time) weigh over 300. I didn't look it. I always look at least 50 to 60 lbs LESS than what I am.

Something about my body structure, bone density, etc.

Whatever, I still weigh more than I'd like, but I look perfectly normal.

I've also posted on the weight loss forums on this website. Seems there are quite a few people dealing with weight loss issues.

Losing weight is not the problem. Keeping it off and re-directing our brains to view food as fuel...well THAT'S THE KEY!!

Took me a long time. And I did this in my 50's. That's no small accomplishment, let me tell you.

I guess my brain finally learned.

I was told to lose weight YEARS AGO. But I had never gone to a nutritionist, I was never educated as to exactly where the food goes in our bodies, what it nurtures, what it does to our heart, etc. I never really learned (or I just didn't want to learn) about free radicals, anti-oxidants (that is now why I eat broccoli practically every day, and I eat broccoli sprouts EVERY DAY). Because they are packed with powerful anti-oxidants.

I used to just eat what I wanted. And the holidays?? Oh brother.

My mother, who stood 5 feet in her bare feet and boy could she cook. It seems my mother (one of 10 children), was fat up until she was 18 years old. Now we are talking over 70 years ago. All her brothers and sisters called her Fatso and the nickname FAZZ stuck with her.

She went on a diet at age 18 and never put it back on. I never saw my mother with any weight problem. But I later found out that she would have one day a week when she ate only ice cream sundaes. Actually she never ate in front of me. She cooked the food, but she never ate. She also drank. And she smoked heavily. All this contributed to her being very sick as she got older.

But boy could that woman cook!!!Sausage and hams and roast beef. But I remembered ONE THING that helped me stop eating any beef. And this memory came YEARS after the actual occasion.

It was a holiday of some sorts. We had ove 25 people over and my mother made a Roast Beef. Now her Roast Beef was to die for. But do you know what Roast beef looks like after it's cooked, and it's been sitting in the pan all day long.

All the fat was congealed. I never saw such an un-appetizing meal in all my life. I remember saying "mom, this looks horrible" and she laughed and said "well, now it does, but wait until I heat it up and all the juices will melt and it will go back to looking like it did when it first came out of the oven".

She was correct. BUT!! I never forgot that visual image.

And I used that image when I went off beef (quite some time ago). I just accessed that visual and I said "all that congealed fat would be coursing through my arteries".

For me, this is what worked. And I contacted a nutritionist who advised me not to eat beef whatsoever. It wasn't hard for me. I just ate chicken, fish and my veggies.

I came to like salads. Very colorful ingredients in my plate.

And I finally was able to stop eating all that sugar and sweet stuff at night. I would just sit in front of the tv, vegetate and pop snacks into my mouth. Not the healthiest thing for a person with diabetes.

Only when my brain changed in how I viewed the food that was going in my body, well, that was the kicker.

It really is the only way to maintain a weight loss. I mean, anyone can drop some pounds when going on a diet. but as soon as you go back to eating, well, there they come back again.

And all these pills on the market that are supposed to speed up one's metabolism. That might be fine if you're 20 or so. But not at my age.

So, while it took me a few years to do this, well, I FINALLY DID IT!!!

And once you view food the way I view food, YOU CAN'T GO BACK. You just can't. The brain is the brain. And once it inbeds a visual on your cebreal cortex (or whateve the hell it does, lol), well, you will look at food completely different.

I could no more eat a package of twinkies. I think it would make me gag. And all I had to do was view the ingredients on the back of the package. Must be 200 ingredients.

I once remember saying to myself "do I want to put 200 things in my body?" This is from ONE package of twinkies.

So I now read labels, and I make it even easier by making most of the stuff myself. I grow my sprouts, I throw them in my soups, I put them in my salads, etc. They taste good and they are chock full of anti-oxidants.

So I say to myself "well, you are doing all you can do to maintain a healthy blood sugar level, and a healthier weight'.

Sure, I could stand to lose 20 or 30 more pounds. My body doesn't reflect this, but they are there SOMEWHERE.

My doctor shakes his head in amazement. I went to see him last month. He came out and said "wow, look at you, and one of his staff members said "why, what did she do?" and he laughed (he's also a body builder by the way), and he said 'do you know she grows what she eats?!! She used to weigh 300 lbs". And we had all the staff wanting to know about sprouting. I never laughed so hard in all my life.

We had the office staff hysterical.

So I figure, "hey I'm 61, I've got a lot more years in me".
"Better to enjoy them healthier than I did when I was in my 20's"

So I wish you well. You are on your way!!!

Melody