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My name is Jennifer Mashburn, I live in a rural town
in northeast Alabama, I have been
overweight all my life, I went through school overweight, always felt it
held me back some,
I was very gifted, being the salutorian of my senior class, at a small
Christian school that I transferred to in the ninth grade, I still feel
I missed out on a lot during those school years,
I met a wonder man during my freshman year, His aunt was the
administrator of the school. We automatically clicked, He loved me just
the way I was, We were married in October of 2000. Both of us have good
jobs, and I soon discovered my love for shopping had really blossomed
after I went to work, I've always love pretty things and lots of them, A
day of shopping is medicine to my very being, Shopping for an obese
person is not so funny. You cant find pretty things in large sizes, They
all look like clothes for Grandmas, and I refused to wear a grandma
outfit just because it fit, So I began shopping at Lane Bryant, and
other large retail plus size stores as well as online, I was spending a
fortune, I love to dress up and have everything match but it was getting
ahead of my pocketbook, So I decided Id
loose the weight, and pretty things would not be so expensive and I
could shop at consignment shops and thrift stores better being slimmer,
Plus my mother was overweight and it was really hurting her health now
as she was older, and I didn't want that to happen to me,
I just decided Id make my own diet, and exercise plan, I could do it as
well as I could pay someone big bucks to do it,, and id rather have that
extra money to shop. I started on may 20, 2007 at a beginning weight of
324 pounds with a BMI of over 60 which makes me morbidly obese. I
decided I would try first cutting out my junk food, especially sweets,
and just make that a one time treat maybe once a week, or once every two
weeks, I actually found out I didn't need the sweets at all, so I
stopped them, Me and my husband loves Mexican food, and we also love to
eat out, We both have hard jobs, no kids, and I prefer not to spend my
off time cooking, So when we eat out now, we stay away from high fat
foods, fast foods, and eat in the most healthy places ,, concentrating
on the salad bars. If we do get a high fat treat,, we half the meal, my
husband lost 30 pounds that now he is trying to put some back on, the
lucky dog.! The first night I started my walking program I thought id
die, my legs and back hurt awful, I walked ten min a night building up
as I went along to 30 min a night, Now I walk two miles and jog one, The
weight just came falling off, People started noticing me at work and the
public, as I work with the public, I went to my family physician and
weighed every week, He monitored my weight as I went along, I have now
been dieting for nine months and have lost a total of 119 pounds, I like
about 40 pounds to go, I want to set a realistic weight goal. , one that
I can live with, I can always come on down some, if I wish,
I am enclosing before and after pictures, The before picture was made in
July of 2006 at Gulf Shores Alabama. The after picture was made Feb
1,2008 in my living room at our home in Altoona Alabama.
Thank you for allowing me to share my story, Now I eat to live instead
of live to eat, It is still hard to turn down the deserts, , but If I
can do it anyone can, The key to weight loss to me is portion control
and moderation,
sincerely
Jennifer Mashburn
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