[LiteraryLark]

This is me at 180 pounds, 70 pounds heavier than I was six years ago before my hospitalization, and for the first time ever I am finally comfortable with my body just the way it is. Lately I've been doing a lot of self-love and self-care, respecting my body and embracing it. I bought a nice garter belt and sexy underwear, put in a new belly piercing jewelry despite a few years of feeling too self-conscious to wear one, and decided to take some photos. This turned out the best. I came up with the captions, maybe it's not original but it rings true with how I feel. I'd like to share this image on Facebook but I'm too chicken for that. But I wanted to share that I love my body the way it is which is a huge deal for me and wearing lingerie is something I truly only do for myself because it boosts my self-confidence and makes me feel proud of my body.

I don't expect comments but hugs would be nice.

[TishaBuv]

Hot stuff!

I'm just happy to have a working body after all my health has been through lately.

[Angelique67]

Yea, me too. I want my body to work lol. But I'm glad you are fine with your body, LL, you look very cute. (((((LL))))) lots of cyber hugs for you.

[unaluna]

Id kill to look like that. I didnt look like that when i weighed that. Well maybe i did and i just dont remember now. I do remember weighing in the 170s and wearing a black 2 piece, and a young neighbor married woman said, gee i always thought a person had to be skinny to wear a 2 piece (bathing suit) but you look okay.

You look more than okay. Id say concentrate on what activities you would like to do. I know you have a physical job, but maybe belly dancing or stg? Stg fun!

[laffer75]

Wow super sexy!

[ReptileInYourHead]

The body I see is beautiful. Very brave of you to post it.

[Unrigged64072835]

That's very pretty. Glad you love your body.

[*Laurie*]

Thank you for this post, LL

[LiteraryLark]

Originally Posted by unaluna

Id kill to look like that. I didnt look like that when i weighed that. Well maybe i did and i just dont remember now. I do remember weighing in the 170s and wearing a black 2 piece, and a young neighbor married woman said, gee i always thought a person had to be skinny to wear a 2 piece (bathing suit) but you look okay.

You look more than okay. Id say concentrate on what activities you would like to do. I know you have a physical job, but maybe belly dancing or stg? Stg fun!

I've lost 30 pounds in 3 months at my former housekeeping job, in six months I've only gained 4 pounds, therefore, 26 pounds since my heaviest.

I am looking into local gyms.

There this amazing gym only $50 with no first month/last month which is nice, but I am trying to save up for a new car, and the gym is $600 a year. That's a heck of a lot of money that could be going towards a new car. There's another gym $10 a month, but with traffic it could easily take 30+ minutes to get there.

I think my biggest focus needs to be on healthy eating. Breakfast at work is very healthy and filling, I usually skip lunch, and then dinner I tend to lose it when my parents and I go out to eat and it's usually never healthy, and then towards bed time I get the munchies and can't stop eating. I eat a lot of junk food and fast food and sugary energy drinks. I've already made the commitment to switch to sugar free energy drinks by shopping at the grocery store which also saves me money over what we have at the hotel. However, I am switching to front desk so there's a less need for that major energy boost to get me through the day and at front desk we have access to free coffee. That's a big start. Again, my breakfast is very healthy, but I think I need to have something small during my lunch. I usually dedicate lunch time for smoking and I don't like waiting for food to cook if I only have 30 minutes, so I think bringing a protein drink or a salad or even buy a small thing of milk and eat cereal will be a big help. And I'm not sure about dinner and munchies. Lately my munchies consist of cheese, cereal, granola bars, and chips. I also drink alcohol which I know is not good for me. I think that if I can dedicate my time to be more watchful of what I eat and drink it will help me lose weight and help my mental health. Then go from there with exercise.

[laffer75]

Sounds like you are doing good! Happy for you :-)

[LiteraryLark]

I really want to share this on facebook, but for some reason I believe this would be taken offense more so than any political nonsense I have to acknowledge or hide on my wall. And I also have to take into account my family and possible coworkers or bosses who may see it. =/

But I think this is a safe enough place to share. It's a start.

[laffer75]

I think you are right ) You should be proud of yourself though!

[unaluna]

LL - your dinner out might be high sodium? That makes me LOSE MY MIND, i get bottomless hunger from it. It doesnt make sense, bacon and eggs and hashbrowns in the morning ALSO is salty, but it feels like it keeps me going all day. But a salty dinner and i am screwed.

A lot of times i make a big salad, with half a bag each of plain cut up lettuce and one of those fancy mixes with nuts and dried fruits and brussell sprouts and kale and stuff. Then i add fat free feta cheese and briannas poppy seed dressing, i dont like the dressing in the bags, they seem weird to me. Anyway you chew on this for half an hour, then you can have some meatballs or stg solid after. I was NEVER a salad eater, but i figured out a way to make one that i liked. I did veg and hummus for a while too. Steam the veg in the microwave for a minute - it smells like grass! That always struck me funny. Im so easily amused.

[LiteraryLark]

Originally Posted by unaluna

LL - your dinner out might be high sodium? That makes me LOSE MY MIND, i get bottomless hunger from it. It doesnt make sense, bacon and eggs and hashbrowns in the morning ALSO is salty, but it feels like it keeps me going all day. But a salty dinner and i am screwed.

A lot of times i make a big salad, with half a bag each of plain cut up lettuce and one of those fancy mixes with nuts and dried fruits and brussell sprouts and kale and stuff. Then i add fat free feta cheese and briannas poppy seed dressing, i dont like the dressing in the bags, they seem weird to me. Anyway you chew on this for half an hour, then you can have some meatballs or stg solid after. I was NEVER a salad eater, but i figured out a way to make one that i liked. I did veg and hummus for a while too. Steam the veg in the microwave for a minute - it smells like grass! That always struck me funny. Im so easily amused.

Breakfast at HGI can vary, mostly containing scrambled eggs, potatoes, and meat either by itself or in breakfast burritos/quesadillas, and on Fridays the F&B manager likes to mix it up with bread pudding and steamed or sauteed veggies or new recipes she tests on us before she serves it to the guests like breakfast enchilada casseroles which was amazing, but it is high in protein which I need to work hard and most of the time it tides me over until dinner.

What is STG? You said that about exercise but in this response you referred it to vegetables.

I have been craving vegetables for the past couple weeks, and I don't think I've been getting enough fiber as several times in the past week and a half I've spent 20 minutes on the toilet constipated. I'd really like to eat more cooked tomatoes by themselves, which I have been craving the most, but not sure how to prepare them. I was thinking of just grabbing a can of tomatoes and frying/sauteing them on a pan, but that seems a little silly.

[unaluna]

Stg = something.

Craving veg is what turned me on to salad. One time at work we had italian ordered in, and the salad was the best part to me! I mentioned it to a coworker who i know was very fit and healthy, and he said yeah, the lack leads to craving. Tomato is potassium and vitamin c, you can also try oranges, melon, peppers, cabbage / coleslaw. I made some cooked cabbage and felt 20 years younger - my gp's assistant said it helped my thyroid. Gazpacho is a great soup too, for me its an eye opener. Maybe you should switch to Bloody Marys for drinks!

[Yours_Truly]

Very sexy! Congrats. It doesn't look like you have a thing to worry about.

Nice bod! nice pic, nice message!

[hermitix]

Originally Posted by LiteraryLark

I've lost 30 pounds in 3 months at my former housekeeping job, in six months I've only gained 4 pounds, therefore, 26 pounds since my heaviest.

I am looking into local gyms.

This happened to me too at my old housekeeping job!! I've gained some back from not being as active and from quitting smoking though.

[Blanche_deveraux]

How did you get there? Trying to accept mine even if love isn't an option.