Comments on My Journey to Fit: A Forty-Something's Weight Loss Journey: Coming Clean

Sniffle. Reconnecting with longlost friends is t...

2010-07-24T17:19:14.832-05:00

Sniffle.

Reconnecting with longlost friends is the best. You have history, but then there is so much new between you too. Reconciling those two pieces is an unforgettable experience. So glad you are getting to do so with Matt!

I'm back from vacation and see you are on your...

2010-07-21T15:35:11.939-05:00

I'm back from vacation and see you are on yours. I am catching up and just love your sharing with Matt and his response. Have a great day shopping, get some cute skinny clothes. I missed you.
Btw, I had a really nice trip, I'll post it soon.

Hi, Matt here. Wow, I got teary eyed reading all ...

2010-07-21T02:46:39.853-05:00

Hi, Matt here. Wow, I got teary eyed reading all the nice responses. You know, I felt totally honored that Shelley shared her blog with me. After reading other peoples reluctance to share I feel even more honored. I think though that any true friend would respond in the same manner after seeing what Shelley has done. Truly amazing. and no I'm not a youth minister.

You totally struck a chord with me with this post....

2010-07-20T18:15:15.550-05:00

You totally struck a chord with me with this post...mainly because I'm in denial and avoidance as well. I still see myself (mentally) as my "old" self, even though it's quite noticeable that I'm much "shinier" and "newer" now. When I see pictures of myself from before it's a total slap that I could have ever gotten like that...so I don't look at them, don't think about them, don't go through them.

And then I wonder WHY when I actually see people from "back then" (like you, I live 1000+ miles from where I grew up)they say I look different...

Good for you though - that's awesome that you've "come clean". Your friend Matt sounds wonderful!

Is Matt a youth minister? Or maybe he's that C...

2010-07-20T17:12:11.441-05:00

Is Matt a youth minister? Or maybe he's that Chinese lettering person?

Do you think he's going to want to really "get together?'
Did you see that episode of Louie? He contacted his first "experience" in high school and she was chubby and they both went nuts for each other. IT was a bit embarrassing to watch.

Ok, I got a bit weepy reading Matt's comment. ...

2010-07-20T13:04:56.726-05:00

Ok, I got a bit weepy reading Matt's comment. He was so dead on! Be proud of all that you have accomplished...and I will take your post to heart and do the same!

And Matt, if you are reading these comments...you are one heck of a nice guy! :-)

Great story...glad you had fun!

2010-07-20T12:17:41.591-05:00

Great story...glad you had fun!

lovely

2010-07-20T09:44:13.222-05:00

lovely

Wow, that is really amazing. Good for you! I lov...

2010-07-20T09:07:11.705-05:00

Wow, that is really amazing. Good for you! I love that you had such an amazing bloggy experience. I don't share my blog, and I really don't think I ever will, and I guess I'm just too concerned about what people (work, friends etc) would think.

Girlfriend I want to run that half without walking...

2010-07-20T04:47:43.497-05:00

Girlfriend I want to run that half without walking too. So going to work on that, can't stay behind you can I? :lol:

I can relate on so many levels. I live in the same...

2010-07-19T23:13:10.238-05:00

I can relate on so many levels. I live in the same area I grew up in so I run into people often and have posted plenty of "fat" pics on facebook. I have also facebooked about my journey and have received nothing but support and encouragement. I think, too often we let our own insecurites cloud our judgements about others and wrongly assume they would judge us or have negative thoughts about us. I'm glad you were able to come clean and that your friend was so kind and honest.

I've been a recluse for a long enough time not...

2010-07-19T21:54:28.606-05:00

I've been a recluse for a long enough time not to have too many to bother to reconnect with...there is always time...and you have so much to offer.

I can totally relate to this post. While I only l...

2010-07-19T19:43:00.098-05:00

I can totally relate to this post. While I only live 2 hours from where I grew up, whenever I would go home to see my family I would avoid going out. I would dread the supermarket, the mall, etc for the fear and embarassment of running into someone I knew. My high school class was over 400 per class so there are lots ofpeople to run into. And I didnt want anyone to see what I had become over the several years since I had seen them last. Now that I have lost some weight, most but not all, it feels like a weight lifted off my shoulders. I dont walk around in life feeling embarssed and hiding.

It sounds like you have learned so much along your journey! Congrats.

Jennifer
http://wecanlosethepounds.blogspot.com/

That's so cool, Shelley! I'm glad you reco...

2010-07-19T19:04:23.541-05:00

That's so cool, Shelley! I'm glad you reconnected with such an uplifting old friend!

I didn't know you before Shelley, but Matt'...

2010-07-19T18:43:37.050-05:00

I didn't know you before Shelley, but Matt's words do not surprise me. You are beautiful and amazing. You just never know who you are going to inspire!

How wonderful that reconnecting with Matt turned o...

2010-07-19T17:52:45.266-05:00

How wonderful that reconnecting with Matt turned out so well. I know what you mean about keeping things secret, my blog is only known to my husband, sister and 2 friends. Others have linked to me via Lynn's Weigh or blog comments like this but they don't exist in my everday life so it's easier somehow. Just not ready to have people commenting on how I'm going. Maybe one day.

What a great story! Doesn't it feel good to co...

2010-07-19T16:08:39.022-05:00

What a great story!
Doesn't it feel good to come clean?

Are you taking friends on facebook?

I live 1800 miles from where I grew up, and haven&...

2010-07-19T15:52:21.588-05:00

I live 1800 miles from where I grew up, and haven't seen certain family members or friends in almost 10 years, although I've been back several times. This coming November will be different. No matter what. Thank you for your post. It's inspiring. Vee at http://veegettinghealthy.blogspot.com

I always find life works out best when I'm rea...

2010-07-19T12:37:36.704-05:00

I always find life works out best when I'm real, honest and genuine. Great story!

Congrats on coming clean and this has inspired me ...

2010-07-19T12:12:51.472-05:00

Congrats on coming clean and this has inspired me to send a link of my blog to some old friends.

Matt sounds like a really great friend.

Yay! In my blog, I did the same thing. I posted ...

2010-07-19T11:38:26.618-05:00

Yay! In my blog, I did the same thing. I posted an entry about "coming clean". I wanted my friends, near and far, to know what I had been doing and how my health was going to improve! So many people responded with good vibes! It was awesome! I can't wait to get home to see all my old friends and family at my reunion in a couple weeks!
I'll be going home to Santa Cruz, and this year, by God, I'm riding the Dipper! No worries that I might not FIT! :-)
I might just ride it a few times!

I've hidden and hidden and hidden but I'm ...

2010-07-19T11:29:16.515-05:00

I've hidden and hidden and hidden but I'm not going to anymore. (Saying that because I totally understand where you were coming from!) I think we are so harsh on ourselves at times that we actually end up robbing ourselves from really good things and people who could be in our lives. Glad you worked through this and made the connection and found the freedom! Just another step in your journey, huh?

Why do we feel such shame about having gained some...

2010-07-19T11:24:34.614-05:00

Why do we feel such shame about having gained some/a lot/a ton of weight? I know I did the same thing - hid from lots of people. And it was an upcoming high school reunion that was the impetus for the first 75 pounds of my weight loss. Why do we judge ourselves so harshly? Do we/would we judge others in that same way? Yes, we would probably notice, but not really judge. I just wish we would all go a bit easier on ourselves. Yea, we might have gained some weight, but it's not like we've been out clubbing baby seals for breakfast.

Which is not to say that we shouldn't celebrate our victories and hard work. You've done life-changing work and you are going to have such a great time in CA.

Okay, even I got teary reading Matt's comments...

2010-07-19T10:12:24.256-05:00

Okay, even I got teary reading Matt's comments, but he couldn't said it better!

You should always walk tall Shelley! :D

That's exactly how I felt when I met up with m...

2010-07-19T09:58:15.400-05:00

That's exactly how I felt when I met up with my high school friends for the first time after 15 years. I was so ashamed of my past, that I thought for sure that they would have nothing to say to me. And well? My experience was much like yours. Relief, love and renewed friendships.