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Today I am 215 pounds, 55-60 pounds above a healthy weight for my height. I slowly began gaining weight 8 years ago. It began while I was in college, adjusting to the new lifestyle of being on my own: not eating as healthy or exercising as much as I had in the past while living at home with my family.

In high school I was involved in sports and lead an active life. Looking back, even though I was very small, I was never happy with my body. While in college a pattern emerged: I would gain weight during the school year and then run it off during the summers when I had free time. After college I no longer had summers full of free time; instead I commuted, worked and adjusted to my new life, which left little time for the gym and my once cherished running time.

Slowly over each year I have transitioned into a size larger in pants, shirts etc. At first it seemed like something controllable and I would think “I’ll start back working out and eating healthy tomorrow”. Tomorrow would come, and I would try, but I never stuck with it, mostly because I didn’t really know what to do. I would even buy pants a size too small in hopes it would motivate me to lose the weight to fit into them.

Now here I am nearing the end of 2009…yet another year in which I’ve allowed myself to gain more weight and be unhappy with that fact each and every day. I do try to work the gym into my daily/weekly routine, but going it alone can be quite a challenge.

I’ve asked friends and family to help, but as we get started someone (even myself) always backs out. Currently I am not even able to shop in my most favorite stores, as they don’t make a size large enough for me! When I look in the mirror at my face I think to myself, “you’re a good person and you’re pretty, but no one can see that anymore because you’re so fat”.

I wonder to myself how anyone can stand to be around me when I look this way. And as I stand there literally staring at all the places on my body I hate, I know I am only hurting myself. I tell myself that as soon as I lose the weight I’ll do this or that, but those days have yet to come…and I am tired of waiting.

I have the sincere desire to look and do better in my life, and on top of that I have always been a very competitive person. This is why I am an ideal candidate to be one of Rob’s Big Losers. I will be committed to the meetings, exercise and workout plans set out for me.

After the 12 week cycle, I will continue along the journey that has been prepared by the trainers and supporters in my life. Thank you for presenting the Upstate with this opportunity and I hope to be a part of it. Lauren Crabtree  

2/19/10

Last week I had my wellness meeting with Katie and this week we met again at the YMCA. We went over my workout routine, which I completed 2x this week and did cardio 5 days this week. I lost at least another pound this week, which is exciting! As the results come, it's getting easier!! I am heading to do my weigh-in in about 3 hours so the scale will tell the results!

2/8/10

This past week I was able to work in a lot of work out time. Sunday I participated in a spin class, did an hour of cardio on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. I also normally eat fast food at least once a day (usually for lunch) but this past week I only had fast food one time.
 
At my weigh-in on Friday I had lost 1.5 lbs, which isn't much but I know more is to come! It was hard to make the right decisions as to what to eat and when to work out, but seeing the weight come off on the scale was the motivation I needed to keep going!
 
This week I am having my wellness assessment and am looking forward to getting some one-on-one attention.

 

1/29/10

This week has been a week of planning and settling into a schedule. I have been evaluating my food choices closer and have planned a healthier shopping list for next week's groceries. My plan is to walk on a treadmill where I work on my lunch breaks from 1:00-1:45. After work I will be going to the Eastside YMCA most likely every Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 6:30pm. On Saturdays I will be going at 12:30pm and Sundays in the mid afternoon. I plan to use both the gym and the pool for a full body workout! It is a bit intimidating at this point to commit myself to such a large goal, however I am excited to meet the challenges that are ahead!