FINALLY reached my goal weight!!

Before and after pics (slightly NSFW because of sports bra): https://imgur.com/a/nPFs6pS

It's been a long journey with tons of ups and downs, but I did it, I finally reached my goal weight! In 14 months, I managed to lose over 95 pounds.

Like many people on this sub, I grew up fat and always struggled with my weight. I managed to lose a decent amount of weight twice, but I gained it all back because I had the mentality that I could go back to eating how I used to. Last year, my work had a weight loss competition, and I decided to join. I knew I needed to change and get healthy and figured this would be a way to keep me on track. Although I didn't win, I was one of the few people that kept going after the competition ended and actually ended up leading a team for this year's weight loss competition!

I did CICO and worked out, nothing special. I started working out 1-2 times a week for around 30 minutes and walked during lunch. Every few weeks, I tried to increase the amount of exercise I did. I now workout 6 times a week for 40-60 minutes a day. I was eating around 1200-1300 calories a day for the first year or so, but I recently upped my calories and am closer to 1500-1700 a day.

Some tips and advice that I would offer to anyone trying to lose weight:

• Don't give up - even if you have a bad day, week, month, keep going! No one is perfect, and there's no reason to beat yourself up if you fall of the wagon.
• If you have an unhealthy relationship with food, you need to work through it. During my past attempts at weight loss, I never analyzed my relationship with food. After lurking on a few subreddits and podcasts, I realized that I have binge eating disorder, which explained a lot of my eating behaviors and why I always gained the weight back. Now that I'm aware of this problem, I have armed myself with the tools I need to identify and end a binge when it starts.
• The scale isn't everything, and it's always going to change. I used to weigh myself every day and would get so discouraged when I "gained" a pound overnight. It took a long time to realize that my weight is always fluctuating and "gaining" a pound overnight doesn't mean that I messed up. My weight fluctuates anywhere between 1-4 pounds during the week, and I've found it's best for me to pick one a day a week to record my weight on MFP.
• The time is going to pass anyway, so why not try to better yourself? A year from now, will you be wishing you had followed through with your weight loss goals or will you be thanking yourself for the changes you made?
• It's not motivation, it's discipline and follow through that are going to make the difference.
• Small changes add up over time. Walking at lunch, picking healthier lunch options, or parking further away may not seem like they make a big difference day to day, but they will help in the long run.
• The best exercise/routine is the one you're passionate about. There are so many ways to get your body moving, if you hate your current routine don't be afraid to try something else!
• Meal prep is king.
• Take monthly progress pictures, you'll thank yourself later.
• It's not easy, but it's worth it. I am eternally grateful to past me and all the sacrifices she made. The countless hours spent meal prepping and exercising, the willpower to turn down office goodies, and the courage to not give up even when it seemed impossible.

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Thank you for taking the time to read this and for everyone who has offered support and inspiration in my previous posts. I'm really scared to start maintenance, but I know I can do it. If you ever need someone to talk to or encourage you please know that I'm here for you!

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