Monday, July 29, 2019

265 to 187 to 256 to 206 all in 4 years...

The body pictures aren’t of me at my highest weight. I didn’t want to post that in Imgur because they’re a bunch of assholes. I only uploaded there so I could post here... but damn! Anyway, here’s the goods:

https://imgur.com/gallery/2Cj1dns

Long post.... not expecting anyone to read this whole thing, but I’ve been thinking about doing this for a looong time. If this post can help even one person on their weight loss journey, I’d be happy!!! If not, oh well, this was cathartic lol.

I have struggled with my weight for 25 years. I’m 31, so that means I had a glorious 6 years of life where I wasn’t concerned about how fat I was. I was 6 and in kindergarten the first time a kid called me fat. I went home and cried after school almost every day because it became a constant thing from 2 particular girls in my class. Fast forward to the summer between 8th grade and freshman year of high school. I became anorexic and stopped eating except for a few pieces of lunch meat and maybe a slice of cheese. I lost so much weight, a few of my classmates didn’t recognize me. I spent my high school years believing I was a fat cow, even though I look back at my high school pictures and can’t BELIEVE how skinny I was (5’7 about 160 to 170 which for my frame looked good).

Fast forward to college. I met a guy who was 2 years older than me... charming, funny, quite heavy himself. I was still in pretty good shape. But then the abuse began. As I became more depressed, I ate and drank and I gained and I gained and I gained. The more I gained, the more I hated myself. People around me were nicely trying to make suggestions. I wouldn’t hear of it. I made excuses like “I can’t because I have no will power,” “I tried but nothing works,” “I don’t look THAT bad” or whatever else I came up with. I ate when bad or sad things happened to try to make myself feel better, I ate when my boyfriend yelled at me, I ate when great things happened, i ate as a reward for something I did, I ate when I was bored. Basically, I was always eating.

5 years of that shitty relationship and 1 restraining order later, I was free of the asshole and moved north to Boston. I was so ecstatic to be in a new state for a fresh start, but I was so angry at myself for letting myself get that way. I decided to forget losing weight on my own. It wasn’t possible since I had gotten so bad. My only option at this point was to get surgery (or so I thought). There is no other way. My sister had it done 5 years prior to that point and she still looked great! I went through the whole process. I went to Massachusetts General Hospital, attended the support meetings and informational sessions, met with the nutritionist, the psychologist, and even the surgeon... I made it all the way to talking to the financial consultant to determine medical insurance vs. out of pocket cost. She told me that I wasn’t fat enough for the surgery. Apparently you had to have a certain BMI, and I was short by maybe 2 or 3 points? I was heart broken. I would never be able to lose weight on my own. I’d have to be fat forever. So what did I do? I decided I’d eat more to get up to the right BMI and get the surgery done anyway. If that’s not messed up...

Again I ate and drank and had a grand old time. On weekends, I would go out to eat dinner, drink with my buddies, then call Dominoes to order a large pepperoni pizza and cheesy bread (don’t forget the garlic sauce!). I’d eat the entire bread box and half the pizza on my own. Which I’d usually finish for breakfast the next day. Weekdays I’d have Dunkin’ for breakfast, pizza or chipotle for lunch, and 15 wings and fries for dinner or KFC. Plus something for dessert of course. It was a disgusting routine.

A couple years later after I gained enough weight plus some, well turns out I got a different job with a different insurance. I no longer felt like bothering to do that whole process over again.

I was at the Boston Marathon during the bombings in 2013. I worked at BU, and they provided grief counselors for us which was incredible. I remember talking to the woman and telling her about the guilt I felt that day for not doing more to help.. and somehow we got on the topic of my weight. And I gave her one of my old excuses, “I’m just so lazy.” She turned around and said, “You are working a full time job and got a promotion all while taking extra classes to apply to grad school? You don’t sound lazy to me.”

Now, that comment didn’t fully sink in until a year later. Out of no where it popped in my head after I failed yet ANOTHER diet. I wasn’t a lazy person. I was only lazy when it came to my health and eating habits. Once that sunk in, I snapped. I realized if I could be motivated in other aspects of my life, I could be motivated to improve my health.

Oddly enough I discovered LoseIt shortly thereafter. I read about people like me who had struggled their whole lives, who also had ridiculously unhealthy relationships with food. And they lost weight. Lots of weight. Suddenly, things were in motion and I felt like there was a way to gain control over my life again.

Long story short (because this has been so damn long already lol), I lost almost 80 pounds. I was the happiest I had ever been.

I met my (now) fiancé in March of 2017. He is one of the most incredible, compassionate, loving human being I have ever met. I got comfortable with him, and unfortunately gained back everything save for 8 pounds... I was so happy to have found someone who treated me like I deserved to be treated, I didn’t care. I was (and still am) so unbelievably in love.

September 2018, he proposed. It was amazing, he took us to where our first date was, proposed, then both our families and a few friends showed up (I had no idea!!). We took a bunch of pictures... that’s when I saw myself in the long skirt and was mortified. I couldn’t get married looking like THAT! I’d look awful in a wedding dress.

I set a goal to be 199 by the wedding. Our wedding is October 12 (less than 3 months). I am now 206!!! So far, I have lost 50 pounds since September 2018. And I did not diet straight through... I took some time off in order to take it slow this time. And I will most definitely lose the rest of the weight in the next month.

I’m not done, I’d like to continue losing weight even after the wedding and get down to maybe 180. Additionally, I’ve realized I most likely will never be done dealing with my weight and food issues. I unfortunately will probably always struggle with my weight. But I am better equipped to handle it now. If/when I mess up again, I know how to get back on track. Hopefully that will never happen again, but if it does, I won’t beat myself up and hate myself for it. That doesn’t do anyone any good.

All we can do is try our best and set our mind to it taking it one step at a time.

Feel free to ask me any questions!! I love helping people on their weight loss journeys since so many people helped me on mine. Some didn’t even know it... referring to those who post in this sub 😂.

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Update: 20 pounds lost

Hi everyone!

I posted here when I lost ten pounds, so I decided to post that I have lost another ten. Yay!

23 yo F 5'4" / SW: 270 / CW: 249 / GW: 180

I haven't been taking traditional comparison photos, but the first photo is from around the time I started losing weight, and the second is from a week ago. They are similar poses, but I am dressed totally differently in them. When I lose another 10 I will post another pic. Maybe I'll work on actual comparison photos with the same location, pose and outfit.

I am calorie counting and going to the gym 3-5 times a week. In the second photo I weighed 252 compared to my starting weight of 270, and today I weighed 249!

Weight Loss - 20 Pound Difference https://imgur.com/gallery/7uptivX

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Officially 10 sizes!!

NSV!! I’m a long time follower, first time poster. I’m on my own weight loss journey, and although everyone in my life is very supportive, I sometimes feel weird about celebrating my victories with those close. When I have victories to share I feel like I’m bragging, but I’m honestly just excited! I love this sub because I can relate to some of these posts, and I love being excited with posters, so I figured someone here might be excited WITH me!

I’m a 26F and I started by journey in January 18 at a size 16. Since then, I’ve changed my eating habits and have managed to lose about 50 pounds (I fluctuate 5 or so pounds either way) . I’ve always purchased pants at the store Maurices, and I can remember buying size 16 and now more recently celebrated comfortably fitting into an 8. I bought another pair of size 8 pants last week, and tried them on today. They are officially lose enough that I’m safe to order a size 6! Seeing that number on the screen is crazy to me! I never in my life thought I would be a size six. Sometimes I forget the progress I’ve made, and am too hard on myself, but numbers help remind me! Some people may say Maurices sizes run big, but I’m still going to celebrate!!

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[tip] The importance of having a food scale & weighing EVERYTHING.

I have been on this weight loss journey for awhile now. 3 years next week, actually.

Over these 3 years, I have learned a lot of different things. A lot about myself, a lot about motivation and discipline. The difference between motivation & discipline. I learned that while motivation is what gets you started, it undoubtedly is discipline that keeps you going. I learned a lot about other people and how the wrong ones in your life want you to fail, even at something as important as getting your health under control.

However, of all these things, what helped me the most was learning that I needed a food scale to get a truly accurate count of the calories I was eating. Measuring your food is a WONDERFUL place to start, don't get me wrong - but it's only an estimate. And the way my brain works, it doesn't like estimates.

I commented on a post awhile back about how different the weight was on tuna cans/pouches versus what you actually get. It just goes to show that a true breakthrough comes when you weigh your food rather than rely on the company's nutrition label serving size.

It may not seem like a major difference, but when you’re counting calories & eating at a deficit, every calorie counts! Saved myself 8 calories.

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From "Lose it" to "Gain it", my progress towards a healthier lifestyle.

https://i.imgur.com/1o7ITf6.jpg

First, I want to start off to say that no matter how much you intend to lose, never give up and keep trying to better your health. Find the path that is right for you and find your motivators. Health is a marathon, not a sprint.

To make a long story short, over many years I had struggled with weight gain after some surgeries took away my near-daily surfing and activities. To go from an active and semi-sport lifestyle to a stagnant and rehabilitating life really packed on depression and weight. At my largest I was 260lbs. Not incredibly large, but no where near healthy and being unable to tie my shoes effectively was very disheartening. I ended up putting myself into a stress/weight gain feedback loop. Get stressed, gain weight, stress about gaining weight, gain more weight. So on and so forth.

In the past 4 years I have lost nearly 80lbs then gained back a healthy 25lbs to be at my current weight of 205lbs. I do intend to cut and try to shape a little more, but here are a couple things I learned from all my mistakes and failings over the past years.

  1. Find an eating regiment that you will follow easily and effectively. Most importantly stick to the caloric deficit portion of that eating protocol. No matter if its Keto, IF, Paleo, etc. eating below your maintenance will be the main reason you "lose it"
  2. Increase activity and follow simple compounds and simple isolation lifts in conjunction with cardio. The more motor (muscle) units you recruit, the higher your caloric maintenance. Therefore, your calorically deficit diet becomes more effective in weight loss.
  3. There is no secret supplement, training, or diet that will create fast results. Your weight will shift due to water retention, waste retention, fluid swelling after heavy lifting, etc. Nearly all "lose weight fast" remedies are simply ways to lose water weight rather than fat.
  4. Take the time to educate yourself and find meaningful and accurate weight loss/fitness channels. There will be a sea of "do this" or "do that", but in the end what works for you is unique to you. The best advice anyone can give is for you to understand basic diet and training protocols and develop your own method over periods of months to years. You wont see success in weeks time, rather it could take half a year to a year to find the right balance of diet, training, and daily life that works for you.

I intend to post some mythbusting posts in the future to highlight some of the common myths and misinformation that I have even fallen for in my pursuit of health. My goal is to educate those who care to listen about finding their path towards their goals and not to be bedazzled by clickbait and photoshopped influencers.

Don't be afraid to message me if you have any questions and have a lovely Monday!

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Poor mental health, healthy weight loss?

I've been lurking for a while and finally decided to create an account too. I've been mostly overweight - and briefly obese - my entire adult life (now 27), and have never had a healthy relationship with food. I've struggled with binge eating, restricting to dangerously small amounts / nothing, and at times purging too. So my weight has always gone up and down very quickly and drastically. I was at my highest weight a couple of years ago, at around 198lbs (at 5ft6) and quickly lost around 20-25lbs, but that's where I've stayed since then, very unhappy with my body and how I feel in general. I've also been depressed for a large part of my adult life.

About a month ago I had a sort of epiphany that I actually deserve to feel good about myself and deserve to feel comfortable in my body - something that I have never really felt before. This triggered a plan of more sensible calorie restriction than what I've done before, and I've felt really good about it. I've stuck to my weekly calorie budget almost perfectly and this felt sustainable and good. I also started jogging, which made me feel really good about myself. I was pushing myself and I felt good about it.

I've been unemployed during this period - which has made it easier to make these changes now, without any distractions - but it's starting to get to me now. I was hopeful of finding something I'd enjoy, but I keep getting rejections from employers on a constant basis. My mood has been low, and when I come across an interesting job opportunity I actually feel hopeful, and then I get rejected again and feel worse than I did before. I also got injured a few days ago which means I have not been able to jog (and this was something I was starting to use as an outlet when feeling very anxious). I don't really know where I'm going with this - I just feel like my stress levels are getting higher and higher and I'm worried that I won't stick to my healthy weight loss plan. I'm scared that I will ruin all my progress by binging if I get too depressed (and since it's only been a month since I started, my healthier ways don't seem quite set yet), and I feel like I should just focus on completing each day according to my plan, as this seems to be the only thing I can actually do at the moment. But I also find it concerning that I feel weight loss is the only thing I'm successful at right now - I really don't want to go back to my disordered ways of losing weight. I feel constantly on edge and like I'm about to slip one way or the other. In order to maintain healthy habits, I have to keep reading other people's success stories almost non-stop. So, I guess what I want to ask is: any advice or support? How do you deal with times of stress and poor mental health without losing control?

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Pregnancy while trying to lose weight

Just had an insightful convo with my midwife and my OB about trying to lose weight during pregnancy. I just wanted to share and maybe hear some experiences from other women.

After baby 1, my weight increased. At my peak, I was 196 pounds. A healthy weight for me (and my goal) is 155. I am now at 183. I started my weight loss journey end of February 2019 and it's slow but I'm trying.

I recently found out I'm pregnant. While excited, I was a little bit anxious because I was afraid my weight would balloon and I'd be much heavier than my heaviest. So I talked to my doc.

I was tracking all my calorie intake on MyFitnessPal and had a daily maximum of 1200. I expressed my concern to the doctor and midwife that I want the fetus to be healthy but I also want to avoid gaining too much weight, so what's the healthy and safe solution?

The OB advised that all pregnant women should increase calorie intake by 300 from whatever they normally consume. She recommended I continue to weigh myself regularly (weekly basis) and focus on getting protein and fiber as well as THREE LITERS OF WATER (101 ounces!!) daily.

So I'm almost through with my first trimester, and I have maintained my weight. For me, I have to exercise huge restraint over the things I crave (fricken hot wings and garlic bread) but also continue to track my intake. I'm feeling pretty positive. With my first child, my starting weight was 177. I'm 6 pounds over that right now, but my motivation is strong.

Any moms or doctors who could give some more insight on this? I would really like to know more or at least hear other experiences!

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