Obligatory Before and After Pics
A Novella by Pizzadaughter:
The past 11 months have been a pretty wild ride. On 3/31/18 I tipped the scales at 283lbs. I was clearly aware I was fat, but on that day something snapped. I realized I needed to check myself before I wrecked myself. I had not developed any serious weight related illnesses, but I knew my luck was running out.
On that day I decided to limit myself to 1200-1500 calories a day. Since I do not respond well to having certain foods off limits, I chose a CICO approach that allowed me to eat whatever I wanted as long as it was in the budget. Sure this means that some days a quarter of my intake might be candy, but generally I follow a diet focused on protein and veggies with a sprinkling of complex carbs. The actual diet part has been easy. The mental stuff is so much harder.
I didn’t get to 283lbs just because I liked food. I got there because food was my best friend, my first comfort, and my favorite cure for boredom. Redefining your relationship with food is incredibly hard. Learning how to deal with sadness/stress/disappointment without smothering it in cheese and stuffing those feelings deep inside was the hardest thing I have ever done. I had to recognize my emotions then attempt to deal with them more constructively. I spent a lot of time distracting myself from food in the early months. The urge to eat my feelings did diminish as the months passed. I still have to work against those urges every day.
Weight loss has given me so much. I have so much more energy. I became the kind of person who is a regular at barre classes. I became brave enough to sign up for aerial yoga. I have transformed into the kind of person who gets off the couch and does something. I’m really starting to like the person I am becoming. I have always been friendly and outgoing. Now I’m friendly, outgoing, and genuinely confident. I feel like I can take on the world.
Weight loss is also changing my relationships. One surprise was how much nicer other women are to me now that I’m relatively normal sized. I get invited to girls’ night now. As someone who has failed to make friends as an adult this feels like magic. Overall I haven’t seen much difference in how men treat me, but I’m a married lady in my 30s so I might just be invisible to the average man on the street. My weight loss does seem to have a positive impact on my marriage. I’m much less miserable to be around now that I’m not constantly in pain and wallowing in self loathing. Plus, my positive changes have encouraged my husband to make positive changes. Working on our health and fitness has given us a goal to work towards together. We are both trying harder to be the best we can possibly be for our partner.
One note: I never could have gotten to this point if I hadn’t sought treatment for depression. Years of therapy had given me tools to cope, but medication allowed me to experience a “normal” brain. It’s hard to care much about your weight when you are low key suicidal all the time. Getting my head right allowed me to start fixing the physical stuff.
TL;dr CICO and improving my relationship with food had positive changes on my life.
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from loseit - Lose the Fat https://ift.tt/2C9Ap1F
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