Hey Donna (Getnfit@38)!!

K

katrid

Active Member
Donna:

I have read alot of threads and followed along with your progress to some extent, and I must say that you are definitely an inspiration! I mean, most people on this board are, but I look at how much weight you said you have lost etc., and all the sweat you put into working out, and it inspires me to not quit quitting. I have a very hard time "sticking" to a good eating plan/exercise program, but I have not given up. Reading your daily posts and the help from Bobbi, I am determined to find the right mix for myself this time around. If nothing else, I am learning more and more about myself each day and why exactly I sabotage any effort I put forth. I was wondering though, if you would ever consider sharing your story/progress with me? Like what was the turning point for you? What was your first attempt at activity? Did it take you numerous times to get it right, or did you just do it? Are you on a particular diet, etc. I know it is alot of info to share, and if you are not comfortable, I do understand that as well.

In any event, congratulations on your success thus far, and I'll be rooting for you all the way!!
 
Just seconding (is that a word?) my admiration for Donna! She is truly an inspiration around here. Also, Katrid, Good Luck! Sounds to me like you have taken the first giant step towards a healthy lifestyle and that is the desire you possess and not giving up! Hang around here and you'll get lots more inspiration!

Your-Friend-In-Fitness, DebbieH http://www.plaudersmilies.de/wavey.gif If You Get The Choice To Sit It Out Or Dance...I Hope You DANCE!!!
 
Must chime in here with my $.02 - I'm in total agreement with Katrid and DebbieH! Donna, your continuing successes continue to inspire me in my own personal fitness development, and I must admit I've relayed your story to other people in my life who think "it can't be done".

One of the things that is most striking about you, Donna, is how perceptive and discerning your questions are, especially about form and movement execution (one question I particularly remember was about the possibility of overuse injury when alternating standing squat/lunge leg strengthening with long-leg strengthening with an ankle weight). You have no idea how many potential exercisers flame out early because they think they can check their brains in at the door, and have precisely zero relationship with their bodies!

I too would dearly love to see you post your biography here, and don't bury it in the Profiles section!

Annette
 
Hi guys :)

It is so amazing that I would log on today and see this! Today (April 23, 2002) is my 1 year anniversary working out. I started working out last year on Monday, April 23, 2001.

I would be glad to share my story:
I've been overweight basically all my life, but I'd hit my all time high of 375lbs. in Aug. 2000 and my Dr. told me if I didn't do "something" about my weight I'd be dead in 3 years at the rate I was going. I did nothing about it immediately, blew it off for months, and just chalked it up to, "well, you gotta die from something!" Then in March 2001, I was terminated from my job of 8 years, which I adored (working w/ajudicated youth) for writing to a young girl who had previously been in our program, had no family support so was sent to another juvenile placement until her 18th birthday, so I kept in touch with her through letters, which when my company found out, they terminated me for.
So on top of being grossly overweight, I was now unemployed, and on the fringes of depression. It seemed as I sat home everyday watching court shows and soap operas that every other commercial was on weight loss! It made me think, "well, as long as I'm home for a while, maybe I should start trying to exercise or something." So while flipping channels one early morning the week before the 23rd I saw Denise Austin's "Fit & Lite" tv show and watched it. It seemed do-able so I committed to starting fresh that following Monday morning (the 23rd).
Well, let me tell you my first day was NOT PRETTY! I was literally out of breath during her yoga type warm up! And 10 min into the show I was completely wiped out and had to sit down. I sat on my bedroom floor and cried the remainder of the show and just watched her. After that cry, I got angry with myself and I decided to come back every day until I could finish the whole show. I started a workout log so I could chart my progress, and I woke up every morning Mon-Fri and did "Fit & Lite" and by the end of week 1, I could only complete 15 min, but by the end of week 3, I could do the entire 30 min show. I knew she had another show following that one, "Denise Austin's Daily Workout," so I made that my next goal. By the end of 8 weeks, I could do the entire Denise Austin hour (which is beginners aerobics)and had lost 25 lbs. So here I am at 350lbs., and reading anything and everything about fitness and weightloss. Somehow, I came across collegevideo and I ordered several videos as I knew I wanted to push myself harder than the Denise Austin workout, and one of those videos was MIS! This started my Cathe addiction! I knew immediately I wanted to sculpt my body and Cathe made me feel like I could do it! I can remember doing the MIS warm up and having to pause the vcr because I was too winded to start with the weight lifting, but week by week, I started lasting longer and longer, and having to buy more weights every few weeks or so, and then I got PowerHour and CircuitMax (which I thought was surely going to give me a heart attack every time I did it!), and I was doing intermediate types of step (Kathy Smith/Donna Richardson) because I thought Cathe cardio would be too difficult for me at my weight, but then one day I said, "what the he**, it can't be any tougher than CircuitMax!" So I ordered Step Fit, Step Works, along with PS Series and S&H Series, and the rest is history! :)
Cathe and the support from this forum has brought me from 350lbs to my check in weight of yesterday 194.5lbs.
And it amazes me that 1 year ago today I could only workout for 10 min before completely giving up, and today, I worked out for 2 hours (Powerstrike M1 + S&H legs-shoulders). Even more than the weightloss, I am enjoying the level of fitness and stamina I've gained.
But this is my story, and I thank you for all your kind thoughts and support. You guys have been instrumental every step of the way. Answering my questions, giving me your insights and advice. Keeping me from trying new products or ideas that could have been detremental (the colon cleansing thing!) And just giving me the mental and emotional push I need from week to week. :)
I could never have done it without all of you!
Donna
 
Donna you are my hero - my sister's too, she got me on Cathe and these forums and mentioned you way before I'd ever gone on here to read about you myself. When I think about all the people I know who are even just slightly overweight yet come up with millions of excuses as to why they can't workout or do something about it I want to tell them to go online and read about you. What you've done in the last year is amazing. Happy 'anniversary'! :)

Jill
 
Just chiming in -
Donna you are so amazing and my hero.
I love reading you posts the continue to inspire me in my own fitness journey.
 
Donna: Just wanted to add that when I think of "athlete" I think of you! Congratulations on your fitness anniversary! What an acheivement!

Thank you also for your openness and warmth and for being willing to share yourself with the rest of us. Your comments to me, even before I began posting on the forum, were instrumental in helping me acheive the weight loss and fitness gains I've made since December.

Katie
 
Hi Donna,

Just had to add my admiration! You are an inspiration in lots of ways! I cannot believe your company let you go when all you were doing was being a really caring and thoughtful person. Their great loss!! I know how much I appreciated your personal email to me when I hadn't visited the forum for a few weeks, asking me if I was ok! There aren't many people who take time out in this day and age to extend a caring hand. You do!

This forum in general is, in my opinion, the most caring one I've come across. There's always someone here when you need a shoulder.

Congratulations on your 1 year anniversary, Donna! Perhaps you could display a before and after picture on the forum? I'm sure this would be a great inspiration to many people struggling with their weight.

Take care,
Kaz.

Today Is The Tomorrow We Worried About Yesterday And All Is Well.
 
Donna! Happy Anniversary! I had no clue when I wrote you this morning that it was your anniversary. I have to admit, I'm here at work reading your story, and I am crying because I can just feel how proud you must be, and the self-confidence you must feel! I struggle with consistent motivation and come up with every excuse in the book, and this really makes me feel guilty! The next time I lose the will, I am going to read and re-read your story til I do something that day! You are totally awesome! Did you also change your diet cold turkey, or did you do that in increments too? I'm sorry for more questions, but you really do inspire me!
 
You are amazing, and should feel very, very proud. And you did it the No Magic Bullet way, with sensible diet and (the old bogey man) exercise. You belong in a commercial, and you make me want to take back all the snide remarks I've made about Denise Austin in the past.

We all KNOW you'll reach whatever goal you have in mind, and we fill cheer you on to the finish line.
 
Changing the diet....

Hi Katie,
I actually changed my diet in increments. I started eating more vegetables after hearing Denise Austin say daily, "eat any combination of 3 fruits/2 vegetables or 2 vegetables/3 fruits a day." I "thought" I didn't like fruit, so I ate 5 or more servings of vegetables/day. Then I started reading anything I could about fitness, and usually there were tips in the article about food. I remember I stopped frying everything early on. I think that was my first dietary change, then the vegetables. Then I found this forum and gained a cornucopia of dietary knowledge! Bobby was an absolute guru for me. I didn't even understand what fiber was before reading her posts. I'm not sure my daughter and husband are as fond of Bobby :) They had a difficult adjustment to my body's "fiber adjustment" and the addition of whole wheat everything to our lives!
So really all the changes came in moderation. I just tried fruit for the first time in 38 years 3 months ago. I FREAKING LOVE FRUIT! But if it hadn't been for this forum and the sharing of info, I probably still wouldn't know the joys of fruit!

:) And for everyone wondering: The reason I never ate fruit was because as a child, while grocery shopping with our mother, my mother (who clearly didn't know any better) would give my sister and I a choice for snack food. We could either have Hostess twinkies or cupcakes and milk after school, or fruit. Well, we chose the twinkies/cupcakes, and never the fruit, so there was never fruit in our home. And anytime a piece of fruit came with anything I ate outside my home, I threw it away like it was merely garnish or something on the plate! Sad but true! :)
We weren't poor or anything, not even on a budget growing up! My mother was just "dietetically challenged!"
Donna
 
Well, Donna, you know I already admired you, but I didn't know your whole story. I just knew that there *was* a story and that you had a really good reputation around these parts. Now that I know what you've done, I just want you to know that you have really touched me. Please post your success story when Cathe's website gets that going. (It says "coming soon"). Congratulations on all that you have accomplished, so far. I love your spirit!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Robin.
 
All I can say is...WOW!!!!!!

Donna, that is soooo totally awesome!! You have accomplished an incredible amount in the last year!! Congratulations on your 1-year anniversary! :) :)

Hollie
 
Donna:

In another post I labelled you the most likely candidate for "Cathe's Poster Girl" and reading this thread has convinced me that I was right.

I actually started getting teary reading your story of overcoming obstacles and your awesome perserverance. Here I am, sitting in my son's room on the computer as dinner burbles away, actually all misty eyed.

Thank you for sharing your story. Any time I feel my own motivation lowering I will think of you and all that you had to face to get to where you are now.

There are so many people where I work who are overweight and don't know what to do about it. They constantly ask me for the "magic formula" and tell me that they could not possibly exercise so much (no time, no know-how as to getting started, etc.) I am going to print your story and post it on our bulletin board and maybe it will motivate just one person to do something if they are unhappy with their present body.

You are an inspiration to us all.

Marlene
 
Hi donna, I havent been coming to this forum very long, but would just like to add that you are a true inspiration to us all.

Keep up the good work, and congrats on your success so far.

Jayne
 
You guys have me absolutely speechless! I guess I don't tell the "whole" story very often because I feel a great deal of shame at how "out of control" I allowed myself to become. I didn't have a medical problem, or some serious emotional trauma to blame for my eating, I only had myself to blame. Just plain old stuffing myself, with no regard for the dangers I was causing my body. I'm actually ashamed that it took a doctor to tell me, "look lady, you're about to eat yourself to death!" His actual words were, "Do you want to live long enough to see your daughter walk down the aisle one day? Because if you do, you'd better do something now, or you'll be dead in 3 years!" I should have been a better role model for my girls! Because I did this to myself, I raised my daughters to be "couch potatoes" instead of active, healthy children. I only pray that they'll take this image of me now and forget the old patterns before they do to themselves what I did.
I only wish I knew then what I know now, and that is that our bodies are amazing gifts, and that we owe it to ourselves to be as fit as we can be, and treat our bodies with respect. We only get one, so we should care for it well.
But I am so appreciative of the love and support from you all, it gets me through every weigh in, every workout, and every day!
You guys are the inspiration!
Donna
 
I have read and respected your posts since my first day on this forum - you go girl! How could you not support you - you're so motivational, smart, and funny!
 
Me again, Donna!

I've already told you that I think you are a wonderful inspiration here, but wanted to jump back on and say "HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY"!!!!!! How special for you to have all these great people here cheering you on.http://www.plaudersmilies.de/party/luxhello.gif Keep up the good work and we can't wait to hear of your even GREATER success this time next year!
[marquee]HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, Donna!!! http://www.plaudersmilies.de/party/party.gif[/marquee]

Your-Friend-In-Fitness, DebbieH http://www.plaudersmilies.de/wavey.gif If You Get The Choice To Sit It Out Or Dance...I Hope You DANCE!!!
 
I wish more folks would take responsibility for what they do to themselves like you did. Overweight, most of the time, is self inflicted....caused by lifestyle and not "disease."

Keep singin' your tune, Miss Donna!
 
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