Linda (Cetaganda) photos

[Cetaganda]

OK, so here I am with my husband in July, 2003. I must have been close to my highest weight,
which, according to my doctor (who after all should know) was 269 in November, 2003.
I had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes (it runs strongly in my mother's side of the family)
more than a year prior to that date but did not do what my doctor advised (go on the South Beach Diet
and start measuring my fasting/morning blood glucose levels). It took me until mid July, 2004
to do what she advised. Since then I have lost more than 20 pounds. I am also more than 45 pounds
lower on the scales than I was at my highest. To this I say: Yay!! Hip hip hooray!!

OK, enough stalling. Here is the photo. When I get a more current one made I will upload it, too.

It could be interesting and perhaps even motivating to someone else for me to share my before,
during, and after the South Beach Diet (phase 2) photos:

[Paris M]

Hi Linda! We have a very similar start stats! Congrats on all of your successes thus far; keep up the good work. You & your hubby look very happy together and you have a gorgeous smile.

[dweir]

Cetaganda.... thank you for sharing your story and pic. Looking forward to seeing the progress you have made!

Paris... fantastic! Thank you for sharing these inspiring photos.

I've been off the beach for a couple months now, but I think I'm ready to give it another try.

[Cetaganda]

Hi Linda! We have a very similar start stats! Congrats on all of your successes thus far; keep up the good work. You & your hubby look very happy together and you have a gorgeous smile.

Hi Paris M,

It's nice to find someone with similar stats. You are doing so well, too .... congratulations!!

My husband and I have been married to each other for most of our lives. That is, we married when we were both 19 years old (he was almost 20) and we have been married for 36 years. We do not have any living children or grandkids, although that is what I would like to have had. So, we just have two little dogs (both Lhasa Apsos) who are naturally spoiled but lovely little dogs that I adore.

Thanks for the compliment for my smile (gorgeous?? blush!) At one time I believe that I was quite pretty. I am thinking of having cosmetic surgery done when I get to my goal weight and stay there for a while. The first one that I will have done is to make my eyes look young again. I saw on television today that this is the most popular cosmetic surgery that people are doing these days.

[Cetaganda]

Cetaganda.... thank you for sharing your story and pic. Looking forward to seeing the progress you have made!
Paris... fantastic! Thank you for sharing these inspiring photos.
I've been off the beach for a couple months now, but I think I'm ready to give it another try.

Hi dweir,

I'm still on the SBD but it has been a little harder lately. I hope to regroup and recommit because I have a long ways to go to reach my goal.

Best of luck to you as you give the South Beach Diet another try!! Please let me know if there is anything that I can do to support you.

[corley16]

I went to the tickerfactory.com web page and i cannot figure out the paste it on my singature page

[Cetaganda]

I went to the tickerfactory.com web page and i cannot figure out the paste it on my singature page

Hey Corley,

You will have to have something that looks like the following in your Profile signature:

url=http://www.TickerFactory.com/
img]http://www.TickerFactory.com/ezt/d/3;8;95;0;1/c/218/t/138/s/268/k/e1a5/weight.png[/img]
[/url

I left off the beginning and ending square brackets [ and ] so that you could see what the lines look like. Make sure that you have them or this will not work.

The first line will be the same for you as for anyone else.

The second will have to come from the TickerFactory.com website. It is the address of your very own personal ticker.

Good luck and keep on trying. Don't get discouraged. You can do it. If you need help, let me know.

[Cetaganda]

Just thought that for fun I would show you a picture of me 16 years ago. I weighed about 130 pounds and my body fat was 22% (in the normal range). My SBD target goal is to have 22% body fat, whatever weight that corresponds to. I hope to have more muscle working for me whenever I get down that low ... I will get it if I start walking again and using an elliptical trainer during the bad weather days and adding some yoga and strength training ... where will I find the time??

You may have noticed that I used this photo as my Avatar ... it will help me remember that once upon a time not so very long ago my body fat was 22% ... and it will again in the future ... I just need to believe it and work toward my goal by living according to the South Beach Diet lessons. It will probably take me between 1 and 2 years to achieve this goal.

My health coach (doctor) says that a realistic goal for me is to show a reduction of about 50 pounds during the next year, which would bring me finally out of the obese and into the overweight category.



Linda (Cetaganda) in 1988 with a normal range 22% body fat

[Mercedes]

You're a beautiful woman, then and now!!!
Thanks so much for sharing the old photo. You're doing a great job and have made great progress; I have no doubt you'll reach your goal!!!

[Cetaganda]

You're a beautiful woman, then and now!!!
Thanks so much for sharing the old photo. You're doing a great job and have made great progress; I have no doubt you'll reach your goal!!!

Amanda/Mercedes,

Blush!! Thank you for the compliment. I have honestly never thought of myself as beautiful at the moment ... but when I look back at the photos of me in earlier years I see someone who was actually, admittedly, pretty.

Thank you also for the encouraging words. I am having a somewhat hard time getting back into the SDB program after being away in Florida and Georgia for the month of November, including a wedding, a large family reunion, and a large Thanksgiving dinner with the family.

Then, sadly, there was the very unfortunate and awful night before Thanksgiving Day when we decided to be brave and eat somewhere else besides one of our favorites, Applebys.

We ate at a Brazilian Steak House called Sal Grosso, in Atlanta ... oh my gosh!! was that ever a disaster. After filling up on the best salad bar that I have ever visited, we were continually served a huge amount of meats on very large skewers (filet mignon, leg of lamb, beef ribs, chicken wings, lamb chops, prime rib, sausage, and so on), even when we indicated that we had more than enough and had a plate totally full of meat after we had stuffed ourselves. The waiters, all decked out in costumes, seemed to be insisting that we have another slice of whatever meat they served ("house specialty, you must have some of this!") We did notice that there were some seriously big time eaters dining with us (ourselves included??)

And, to top it off, they brought out the dessert cascade and we, silly ones, ordered desserts. As we left the restaurant we vowed to never eat anywhere that had Grosso in its name, no matter what type of restaurant it was. And I don't mean that in a bad way.

That dinner at $100.00 cost us more than the hotel suite that we had for the night!! And we had to add to that price the cost of the Mylanta Total for half a dozen symptoms, all of which we had. In fact, we had to take the minty flavored chalky tasting stuff every half hour or so into the night. Live long enough and you learn? Or is it live long enough and you die??

Gluttony is one of the 7 deadly sins ... and now I know why.

Take care, Amanda/Mercedes. Let's be very kind to and compassionate and patient towards ourselves ... we richly deserve it. Thanks again!

BTW: I like your Christmas ticker very much ... it's so cute. And you have been having great success on your SBD program, too. Congratulations!

You too will reach and maintain your goal weight ... just have faith and know that you do not walk alone in spirit.

[Cetaganda]

So here we are, my mother and I, at Steamboat Springs, Oregon, in September, 2004. The photo is not great or professional in quality ... but it does give you an indication of approximately how I looked then.

OK, I hated the way I looked in the photo so I took it off of this page.

I'll post when I get a better looking photo. We had some made at my mother's wedding the day after Thanksgiving. A CD with all of the photos is being mailed to me. I have not seen the photos yet.