Dea's losing weight and bringing out her healthier, happier self in the process

Dea Roddy

City & country: Bowling Green, Ohio, USA
Age: 30
Weight before diet: 290 lbs.
Weight now: 266 lbs.
Target weight: 150-ish

April 24 2007

The determination to stop missing out on things in life was one of the reasons for Dea's decision to lose weight once and for all. Like many other individuals, she is following her own weight loss regimen, one that she believes suits her best. It isn't just her diet that she's changing, as you'll read below. Mental  changes are just as important as physical changes in a person's weight loss journey and lifestyle transformation.

-What finally made you decide to start with a weight loss program?
I have been overweight for just about my entire life. I was always the fat kid and was always the one being made fun of. Now I have 3 children of my own and I want to be healthy for them and see them grow up. I want to be able to do things that I can't or don't feel comfortable enough doing at my weight. 2006 was a very hard year for me and I made a lot of changes about myself mentally and decided that I can never truly love myself at the weight I was and that I needed to lose the weight for myself!

I knew that I was about to turn 30 and felt like I've always missed out on a lot of things because of my weight and didn't want to miss out on anything else!

-What type of weight loss program are you following?
My own, lol. Low carbs, low fat, low sugar, lots and lots of water and I work out 5 days a week.

-Why did you choose this weight loss program?
I needed something that I could stick with for the rest of my life. This isn't just a temporary diet, this is a lifestyle change!

-How long have you been on your weight loss program?
I started on January 1, 2007. I decided with the New Year I wanted there to be a new me!

-What kinds of physical activities do you like doing to help you lose weight and stay fit?
I do work out videos 5 days a week and when the weather is nice I go for walks or run around with my kids outside. My kids love that I can actually run around with them now and keep up with them! I never thought I would say this, but I actually LOVE exercising!

-What were the most difficult obstacles you had to overcome or are still overcoming?
The biggest obstacle for me right now is the weekends. During the week I have a routine and everything is on schedule pretty much, but then the weekends come around and I'm running here and there trying to get everything done and I eat a lot of junk food on the weekends. I'm sure I would have lost more weight by now if I could control myself better on the weekends.

-How do you keep yourself motivated?
Before I started this lifestyle change, I made a list of all of my motivations. Everything that I wanted to do when I lost the weight and my reasons for losing weight. Whenever I start to feel like I want to give up I get the list out to remind myself why I'm doing it. Plus, now that I've come this far and worked so hard to lose what I have I don't want to give up now and gain it all back!

-Do you have any weight loss tips for our readers?
Prepare yourself mentally. It's hard to change your lifestyle. You have to learn to have control over your appetite and cravings and remember that being healthy is much more valuable than stuffing your face all day long! Drink lots of water and get off of your butt and exercise. You can make the time for it because YOU are worth it!

-Do you think it will be easy to fall back into your old lifestyle pattern? How do you prevent this from happening?
I've tried dieting a million times and usually after a few weeks I would give up and slowly go back to my old ways. This time, however, something is just different. I still feel so much motivation for it and I feel like I don't want to give up! I remember how crappy stuffing my face with greasy, fatty foods made me feel. Now I know how much better I feel mentally and physically just by my new eating habits and working out. I don't want to go back to my old ways and I have no reason to go back to my old ways. There's nothing positive about living that kind of lifestyle.

-Do you have a favorite Web site or blog that helps or inspires you to lose weight?
Well, I have recently started my own blog documenting my weight loss and offering tips and advice that I learn along the way: My Personal Journey to a New Found Me!

I also really enjoy SparkPeople. They have all kinds of great information and you can meet a lot of people there to talk to and help motivate you!