Hello Sparkies! My name is Monique and I am 26 years old. I live in Los Angeles, California with my wonderfully loving Fiance. Starting this journey has been a culmination of events and factors that finally opened up my eyes to the harm and unhappiness I was subjecting myself to. With the exception of the first 5-7 years of my life, I have always been overweight. It happened early on, and I’m not even sure how it happened. I have three siblings (2 brothers and 1 sister) and they all ...

Hello Sparkies! My name is Monique and I am 26 years old. I live in Los Angeles, California with my wonderfully loving Fiance. Starting this journey has been a culmination of events and factors that finally opened up my eyes to the harm and unhappiness I was subjecting myself to. With the exception of the first 5-7 years of my life, I have always been overweight. It happened early on, and I’m not even sure how it happened. I have three siblings (2 brothers and 1 sister) and they all managed to be healthy and thin. So it was something specific to me, rather than a product of my environment. Maybe I liked food and ate more than them? Maybe I was genetically predisposed to become overweight? Maybe I was less active? Whatever the reason, I have been overweight for the past 20 years. As a child I know I was shyer than most and more self-conscious. As a teenager I was the same way. And as a result, I feel like I missed out on a lot because I didn’t have the confidence and motivation to get involved in certain activities. For example, I stopped playing sports when I felt I couldn’t be as competitive. I also stopped because I was way too self-conscious of my body and the way I looked running around. I didn’t go to my high school prom or any high school dance for that matter. Looking back on those things, I don’t really feel bad for missing them but it does seem a little strange. I wouldn’t want my child to miss out on a single opportunity because of their weight. As an adult, I don’t want anything to stop me from pursuing anything and everything I want.

Since becoming an adult, I have tried a handful of times to lose weight, only to fall off the wagon. Deep down I felt like there was “still time” to get healthy (whatever that means). Over the last year, I have seen myself gain weight, bringing me up to my highest weight ever of 196.4 lbs. That was a serious wake-up call. I realized that if I let things be as they are, I will continue to get unhealthier. The scale wasn’t going down by itself, but it sure was going up! I have also seen two aunts and one uncle suffer serious health issues, and I am determined to make sure I don’t suffer the same fate. This past July, I fainted after waking up in the middle of the night to go to the restroom. That was yet another wake-up call. Something wasn’t normal. CT scans & X-rays were fine, but I know my body is trying to tell me something. I got engaged in February 2009 and will be planning a wedding soon. I have made little progress in planning because like missing the school dances and sports activities, I am not ready to put myself out there. I can’t get married looking the way I do. In the next few years, I will consider having children, and I do not want to have to wait to get pregnant because I am overweight. I have to do this now. I made that decision October 5th, 2009 and there is no turning back. As I enter this new chapter of my life, I am set on moving forward. Consistency has been a problem in the past, falling off the wagon has been a problem in the past. There are no other options, and I’m going to keep moving forward.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the encouragement and motivation I have received from SparkPeople. Even though I joined in October 2008, it wasn’t until this year in October 2009 that I truly realized what an amazing group of people we have here! I am taking full advantage of this site, learning a lot, and meeting some fantastic people. My fiancé works long hours, I live an hour away from my family, and don’t really know anyone out in Los Angeles, so I end up spending a lot of time alone. Everyone I’ve met on Spark has really made my days brighter and my journey happier. We are all in this together! I love meeting new people and keeping in touch, so please feel free to drop me a message or a comment. Also, if you're out in West LA drop me a line. I'd love to meet some people in the area!

Wishing my BEST to you ALL!

"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony." -Gandhi

"It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop." -Confucius

“There's a difference between interest and commitment. When you're interested in doing something, you do it only when it's convenient. When you're committed to something, you accept no excuses; only results.”

“To insure good health: Eat lightly, breathe deeply, live moderately, cultivate cheerfulness, and maintain an interest in life.”

"Your stomach shouldn’t be a waste basket."

“If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.”

“A man who wants something will find a way; a man who doesn’t will find an excuse.”

MY PROGRESS

10/5/09: 196.4 Starting Weight
[1] 10/12/09: 194.4 (-2 lbs)
[2] 10/19/09: 191.0 (-3.4 lbs) TOM
[3] 10/26/09: 189.0 (-2 lbs)
[4] 11/02/09: 187.0 (-2 lbs)
[5] 11/09/09: 184.2 (-2.8 lbs)
[6] 11/16/09: 181.8 (-2.4 lbs) TOM
[7] 11/23/09: 179.4 (-2.4 lbs)
[8] 11/30/09: 180.0 (+0.6 lbs) WI after Thanksgiving Weekend
[9] 12/07/09: 175.8 (-4.2 lbs) Back on track! :D
[10] 12/14/09: 173.0 (-2.8 lbs) TOM
[11] 12/21/09: 172.2 (-0.8 lbs)
[12] 12/28/09: 169.8 (-2.4 lbs)
[13] 1/04/10: 168.2 (-1.6 lbs)
[14] 1/11/10: 167.6 (-0.6 lbs) TOM
[15] 1/18/10: 166.8 (-0.8 lbs)
[16] 1/25/10: 168.2 (+1.4 lbs) Sodium, eek!
[ ]1/29/10: 164.8 (-3.4 lbs) Changing WI to Fridays
[17] 2/05/10: 162.6 (-2.2 lbs) TOM/No longer Obese! [Total: 33.8 lbs]
[18] 2/12/10:
[19] 2/19/10:
[20] 2/26/10:
[21] 3/05/10:
[22] 3/12/10:
[23] 3/19/10:
[24] 3/26/10:
[25] 4/02/10:
[26] 4/09/10:
[27] 4/16/10:
[28] 4/23/10:
[29] 4/30/10:
[30] 5/07/10: Spark 6th Month Anniversary Week
[31] 5/14/10:
[32] 5/21/10:
[33] 5/28/10:
[34] 6/04/10:
[35] 6/11/10: WEDDING WEEK :)
[36] 6/18/10:
[37] 6/25/10:
[38] 7/02/10:
[39] 7/09/10:
[40] 7/16/10: My Birthday Week!!!


MILESTONES
182 lbs: 1/4 way to goal (Met 11-16-09) :)
168 lbs: 1/2 way to goal (Met 1-4-10) Yayayayayay!
163 lbs: No longer "obese" according to my BMI (Met 2-5-10)
154 lbs: 3/4 way to goal

As of February 4th, 2010 I have become a SparkPeople Motivator! It's quite an honor, and I am thrilled to be able to motivate others to lead a healthy and happy life!

Read More About MONIQUEV2 (Updated February 9)

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