Age: 29
Height: 5’1″
Start Weight: 230 lbs
Current Weight: 150 lbs
Goal Weight: 130 lbs
Total Loss: 80 lbs
Start: June 2007
End: not done yet!
Hi, I’m Melissa (MelissaPlasencia in Kimkins forums). I have put off being a success story for a few reasons.
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First, I don’t really have a “story”… I didn’t have this huge trauma in my life or a big “aha” moment. I’m just a normal girl with normal struggles, little willpower and a lousy metabolism.
Second, I know my patterns when it comes to dieting, that I’m famous for finding “outs” and giving myself a “break” all too often and I have never made it to the finish line. I have had many times in my life where I’ve said “this is it!” and then failed miserably.
I have been overweight most of my life, I can remember back as far as 5th grade and being called a “pink elephant” when I thought I was “pretty in pink” on Valentine’s day. Went on every diet imaginable from junior high through high school and beyond.
Before I got married, I finally got to a pretty small size, for me, but I wasn’t proud of my success, as much of it was attributed to diet pills with ephedra in them (which I blame my recently discovered heart murmur on!). After I got pregnant with my first son all my efforts went down the toilet with the diet pills anyway. I put on 80 lbs during my first pregnancy, putting me at an all time high of 230 after I gave birth to my son.
I’m only 5’1, and had a BMI of about 40. I was a borderline candidate for gastric bypass. I struggled with postpartum depression for the first year after that, but managed to eventually start exercising and began to lose a little.
I felt a little better emotionally, got off my depression meds and was excited to start seeing a little success. Then I got pregnant again and POOF gained 60 lbs, putting me back at square one! Even with exercise during the second pregnancy, I still had no control over my eating. I was beginning to hate myself and the way I had morphed into this eating machine, using my pregnancy as an excuse to eat whatever I wanted.
So in June of ’07 a friend of mine told me about Kimkins after she’d had some success of her own. I had just had my second son and decided that with 2 little ones (and a husband who has seen me at my worst!) it was time to cut the crap and get serious. I needed to realize it wasn’t just for me anymore. This was about 2 little boys and a loving husband who needed me to be here for them and be the BEST I could be.
I joined KK at roughly 220 lbs, dropped about 40 lbs right away and kept it off. And then fell back into my old patterns, gaining and losing the same 20 lbs for the past 2 and a half years.
I found the Sassy Sista’s Challenge group a few months ago. I have finally dropped that stubborn 20 lbs and then some, thanks to their support and “no excuses” attitudes. We are a STRONG and opinionated group of girls who are very supportive and full of tough love! I am confident that with their help, I will continue my success, as well as encourage others to write their own success stories!
And my final reason for putting off this little story, it’s not finished yet! I am not at goal and I thought if I could put off sharing my success, it would push me to get to goal faster. That was not the case. I think I was afraid to get there, afraid of the unknown, so now I’m sharing this with you to get OVER the hump, over the fear, and ask for YOUR help in getting off the rest! I have the final 20 lb to drop and that will put me at my goal of 130 — which will be 100 pounds lost!
I have never felt so empowered, so sexy, and most important, so healthy! I feel like I “missed out” on a lot of my 20s because I was hiding in shadows, hiding from cameras (I could barely find any “before” photos for this success story!), hiding from LIFE. I know I can’t get those years back, but I am a young 29 and finally feel ALIVE and full of energy! I’m excited to see my boys grow up, and I plan to be as active as they are and enjoy every second of their childhood before it’s gone!
I am proud of myself, the work I’ve put in (no matter how long it’s taken me!), I have not given up, have not thrown in the towel. I try to look at the big picture and how far I’ve come, it’s not a race, and life will happen and get in the way.
My success is not measured in how many times I fall, but rather how gracefully I get up, brush it off, and continue moving FORWARD. If I can help one other person feel this good, then I’ve done what I set out to do!
