F/32/5’7” – SW: 204, CW: 158, GW1: 160 , GW2: 135
Original post here – which essentially was a rant about having been finally pushed over my personal limit with my unhealthy eating habits. I was sick of being fat, I was sick of being a broken record about how unhappy I was about being fat, and I was tired of feeling like I was never going to lose weight in any lasting way. I vented big time and have spent the past 6 months being pretty damned upset about food.
The response from my post was totally overwhelming. I can’t even begin to express my gratitude for so many people taking the time out of their day to share their thoughts. Even the ones that weren’t so positive. They all helped to motivate me to continue to follow through with my plan. After watching an incredibly well put documentary on Netflix (Fed Up), the plan started simple enough. Cut out foods that have added sugars/sweeteners, and eliminate processed foods from my daily life. I wanted to use myself as a test subject and see if what they were suggesting in the movie (that sugar is a drug) was right or wrong. Only one way to find out! It started very much as a “one day at a time” mentality. Every day, hell, every moment was a new opportunity to focus on making better choices and talking myself out of temptations. I threw out everything in my kitchen that I considered to be “junk” or things that contained sugar/sweetener. The temptations were immediately removed as junk was no longer easily accessible to me when I felt like snacking. I quickly realized that I had thrown out pretty much everything edible in the house.
I got advice from redditors to write things down. So I started keeping track of thoughts I had throughout the day on my phone. Then I started keeping better track of my movement by investing in a Fitbit. I also weigh myself daily, always in the morning for flattery and sometimes in the evening out of curiosity. I am amused to observe the amount of fluctuating the body does day-to-day. I’m never really ONE weight. It depends on what time of day it is, how full of food and/or liquid I am, if I’m menstruating, etc. I think of it more as a weight range rather than a specific number. I still track when I hit new lows, as it is still exciting (as a former obese woman) to look at the scale and see such a low number. I consciously continued to keep track of my weight, emotional responses, cravings, and eventually started a weekly blog to keep it all organized.
I went through a lot of ups and downs emotionally, but overall I deemed the summer of 2015 my personal best yet. I felt better physically, which made me feel better mentally. It felt like all of a sudden I could focus on other things going on in my life and work on improving something else. This lifestyle is not only beneficial for my health, but I find it fun, too! 6 months ago I had no idea how amazing I was going to feel. Considering I’ve been obese since I was around 11, this is a totally new experience for me and I feel like a child in the way I am reacting to it. I want to wear ALL of the pretty dresses!!!
Here’s a basic lowdown of what I did and some milestones: Got weighed at a clinic on March 12th and I weighed in at 203lbs (BMI: 31.8 – Obese)
Wore a size 16 jeans and could not wear women’s sizes for t-shirts, only men’s L or XL.
Watched “Fed Up” on Netflix and got super pissed off.
Posted my original rant on April 24th.
Went through a HUGE emotional shitstorm while experiencing the lovely withdrawals of sugar.
Joined a co-op and started going grocery shopping twice a week (as 90% of what I buy is fresh and has a short shelf life)
Started eating salad every day – eventually without any kind of dressing/oil.
Got over the hump and suddenly started loving/craving foods I never liked before (like cherries, blueberries and black olives).
Tried some Reese’s peanut butter cups and had to spit them out as they became unpalatable.
Stopped wearing as much makeup (not sure if related, but it was a significant change for me).
Learned how to make a bunch of new things, like almond milk and cauliflower crust pizzas.
Decided to start walking my dogs every day (about 2-3 months in).
Further limited my consumption of any honey, maple syrup, naturally occurring sweetners, as I still believe them to be excessive.
Routine clinic check up on October 8th and weighed in at 164lbs (BMI: 25.7 – Overweight).
Continued to go with the flow and hit my goal weight of 160lbs on October 18th.
Went shopping on October 19th and bought my first pair of size 7/8 jeans.
Wear women’s size t-shirts between a medium and XL depending on style and brand.
Hit 158lbs on October 22nd making me officially “normal weight”. (BMI: 24.7 – Normal weight)
Have absolutely no fear in my mind of ever returning to my old destructive behaviors.
I’m very excited to have learned a new lifestyle that works for me. The truth is, I love being smaller. It’s so easy to get up from sitting or lying down, and running doesn’t kill my knees. Also, I had no idea how fun it was to be picked up and carried around! My body feels much better when I am eating healthy and that keeps me motivated to continue with this lifestyle.
I love r/getmotivated, r/loseit and r/fatlogic. Get motivated did just what it boasts, and being able to read tons of other people going through their own personally struggles helped me to realize no one is alone on this issue. Lose it helped because the community is so lovely and embracing. I needed those stories. And I love Fat logic because it keeps me humble. Many of the things posted there are things I have been guilty of either thinking or saying myself. I used to be mostly constructed of lies and delusions about my weight, my eating habits and even on my own attitude. I used to think the way I was behaving was perfectly acceptable, it was the world that needed to change. But I realized it wasn’t about changing THE world, it’s about changing MY world. The way I see MY world is very different now.
I hope that you all have been able to rock out your own goals and have made some improvements in YOUR world!
