Update: 9 years after losing 100+ pounds

Hey all,

It's been many years since I posted, but I've decided to come back in hopes that I can start to make a positive difference on the world.

Starting weight 325, current weight 200.

https://i.imgur.com/xllIJIw.jpg < Pics

My journey started in February 2011. I had raised my daughter from birth to 6 years old, and she had gone on to live with her mom due to my local school system being terrible. I was alone, overweight, a smoker, and now I was depressed. The year before my mom had lost 100+ pounds through a program called food addicts. Its basically AA for fat people. Eating is an addiction that you can't quit, etc. You get a sponsor, I picked my mom obvs. She was amazing and set me on the right path. In 6 months I dropped to my lowest weight of 175 pounds. I lost a pound a day during that time. Probably not the absolute healthiest way to go, but here we are.

So How did I lose the weight?

Structure meal plans - I weighed and measured everything I ate. I reported it to my sponsor / accountability partner / mom.

Breakfast was 2 eggs, grits, butter. Lunch and dinner was 6 oz chicken, 12 oz veggies. After dinner I would have a piece of fruit. - Thats it. No cheat days, nothing fancy. No counting carbs or protein. Just clean eating. I didn't have any rice, potato, wheat, or corn while losing.

For exercise I did stronglifts for a few years, and just kinda piddled around at the gym. I have a little home gym now. I also rode my bike everywhere, and a lot. I'm sure that helped.

Since then I've been up and I've been down of course. I tried bulking and got up to 230. I'm currently right at 200 and trying to get down to 190. One of my goals is to get down again so I can get all the extra skin off. Fun subject there.... moving on. In the 9 years since I've lost the weight I've consistently not eaten terrible food terribly often. For the first 5 years I had no carby food at all. Now I allow myself cake and cookies as a treat, and the occasional Mexican night. I still bike to work, but I don't bike 20 miles a day after work. I still weigh my food and still talk to my mom about food fairly often. I'm approaching 40 now, and I've hurt my back and healed a few times. I had a bad bike crash and torn a few muscles here and there. I'm definitely using my body for all its worth!

Benefits of the weight loss - I can play with my kids, I can move and run and go! I can still pick up heavy stuff. I feel a bit better. I was pretty happy before the weight loss, I am just happier now. Best perk of all, As soon as I lost all that weight I met my wife. Funny how that works when you start caring about yourself other people care about you too.

Well I hope my story has helped you. I'll be around to answer questions and I'd love your kind feedback. I can't say to everyone to do what I've done, but hey, it worked for me. I wish you all the success in the world.

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65lbs Lost = Insulin Resistance Reversed!

23 5ft SW: 175 CW: 109.8 GW: 100

So happy because I haven’t been this small in 8 years😊 Also met my quarantine weight loss goal, wanted to be 110 by mid-July or by the time my state fully reopened.

I started this journey to look and feel better but improving my health was also in the back of my mind. 5 years ago, I was diagnosed with insulin resistance and PCOS at 140lbs. I was advised to lose weight and the doctor (an endocrinologist) offered metformin and birth control to control these conditions because it would be “hard” to lose weight without medication. Personally, I felt that the doctor was a bit pushy about the medications and negative about the prospect of losing weight without going on any medications. But I decided to skip the medication because I didn’t feel it was necessary and told the doctor I would just lose weight on my own.

Well I left for college a few months after that appointment and the college lifestyle (combined with me just not caring about my weight) led to me putting on 35lbs by the middle of my senior year. At my highest weight, I was likely pre-diabetic. Being alone on campus for a winter class led me to eat out of boredom and I put on a few pounds. I had also been buying whatever I wanted and it was a bunch of junk food like ice cream and cheesecake.

Seeing myself in the mirror, I hated how fat I’d become and I knew I did not want to keep getting any bigger.

For the first time in my life, I made a serious effort to lose weight and I’m glad I did it on my own (through college, a semester of grad school and quarantine) because it showed me that even with insulin resistance and PCOS, the weight can still come off by cooking healthier foods at home, counting calories, working out and having discipline (you won’t always feel motivated). Anything is possible when you put your mind to it.

At first, my goal was to just “lose weight” because I’d never done it before. But as I started making lifestyle changes and saw the weight coming off, I started to believe I could do it. I still have PCOS and I ended up getting a hormonal IUD 3.5yrs ago to get rid of my heavy, irregular periods after I had one that that lasted for 2 months. Truly one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

However, I’m 99% sure I no longer have insulin resistance since I’m 30lbs under my diagnosis weight and my Acanthosis nigricans aka. “dark neck” cleared up somewhere between 140-150lbs, approximately 6 or 7 months into my lifestyle change. All it took was making true lifestyle changes vs trying to “diet”. Though I can’t go to an endocrinologist to take an official test right now with covid going on.

Maybe it’s because I’m 5ft on top of my family history, but it doesn’t take much extra weight for me to develop insulin resistance so even though I was diagnosed at 140lbs, it is entirely possible that developed it at a smaller weight.

I share all this because I see a lot of women use PCOS as a reason they “can’t” lose weight. While it can definitely make it harder to lose weight, hard ≠ impossible. Anyone will lose weight if they are in a caloric deficit.

I’ve also heard of a lot of doctors being a bit eager to prescribe metformin to help with insulin resistance. There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking it but please don’t feel like metformin is necessary for weight loss if you are insulin resistant. I know someone who has been on metformin for years for their pre-diabetes. He has only kept gaining weight because he doesn’t want to commit to a lifestyle change. Metformin can absolutely help you lose weight but *only\* if you put in the work.

https://imgur.com/a/b3VFlKc

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NSV: beating the ASOS prediction

Hi, I lurk here a lot for inspo but finally felt I had something of my own to do a little brag about! I was ordering a very comfy jumpsuit from ASOS who offer a size “prediction”. I put in my height and weight and they predicted a 16, which was my size when I was at my biggest. I’ve lost 11kg (22lbs) since then I figured a 14 should be okay. It arrived and it turns out the 12 is my best fit!! Absolutely over the moon! My weight loss journey so far has been hella slow: 11kg in 14 months but I’m getting so fit and strong. My lifestyle has changed to intuitive eating, trying to be aware of my hunger cues and what I’m actually craving. I’ve also switched from a strength focus (back when gyms were open and life was more normal) to a cardio focus where I’m running every other day and doing cardio classes from YouTube on other days. Also yoga every damn day I remember! Really appreciate this community even though I’ve been quiet up until now.

TLDR: I’m a dense lady cause ASOS had me two sizes out!

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I can see my collarbones

15 F, 201 lbs, 5’0 (previously 214)

I thought it would take a lot more pounds to actually see my bones. Almost every week my family comments on how much weight I lost and I never believed them. I guess I just saw my overall body and not the little areas they have been noticing, so I just shrugged their compliments off, until one day I woke up and looked in the bathroom mirror, and I saw these long bumps being flexed in the mirror whenever I moved my arms. I didn’t think calorie counting would work so well and fast for me, so I was appalled. I thought, since I’m on the shorter side, I would have to lose a lot more to even see a glimpse of them. I guess the last two years of working out but eating whatever I want and still expecting weight loss kind of clouded my expectations. That was about a week ago. Every so often I’ll catch them in the mirror in the right lighting. Now? My collarbones are all I can notice every time I look in the mirror. I can’t ignore them even if I tried. Honestly I couldn’t imagine such a early and proud milestone.

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In the midst of a 3 day nonstop eating binge and I just don't think I can do it.

I'm F, almost 30, 5'6" and approx 160 lbs. I carry it decently well and have a good muscle base from years of lifting but I'm not happy. Especially because I'm getting married in 3 months and have just eaten probably 3000 calories in an afternoon working from home binge.

I had 2 YEARS to lose literally anything before the wedding and I just can't. I can't stop eating. I'll do well for a week or two then fall off the wagon for a month. I've tried different systems for meal planning, calorie tracking, and nothing sticks. But nothing has ever stuck, even outside of weight loss. All of the planners, calendars, organization systems I've ever tried have failed to help me get control of my life.

I've been in therapy for years and my therapist is hesitant to "diagnose" me with anything because she isn't eager to pathologize things that can be worked through with cognitive behavioral therapy, as opposed to medication. But I strongly suspect, through a lot of independent reading, that I may have ADHD. It manifests in a lot of ways, my job, the state of my apartment, etc., but also the binge eating, eating as entertainment, eating as a means of procrastinating tasks, etc.

(ADHD is a lack of dopamine, which drives the brain to seek constant stimulation, hence the distractibility and the difficulty doing things that arent "fun". Eating releases dopamine, so ADHD often goes along with problems overeating.)

I'm just feeling so discouraged. I feel so... helpless, but I feel like a whiner saying it that way.

I've flip flopped on my habits and stayed at this weight for years. I had 2 years to lose weight for my WEDDING, which I should think would be motivation enough for anyone, right? And I couldn't even lose what, 10 lbs? 5 lbs? Nothing. I just dont believe I can do it anymore. I held onto hope for like 6 years that I could get back to a comfortable weight if I could just get X right, but this clinches it. If I couldn't do it for my wedding, I just don't believe I can do it.

I'd love it if someone with ADHD weigh in (no pun intended). Is there anything else I can try? Should I talk to my doctor and pursue medication? I'm just so so tired of failing.

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Many many NSV! What I’ve noticed after 50lbs weight loss...

I’m making this post because when I first started my weight loss journey I loved reading through this subreddit and seeing all the positive things that weight loss had brought to people’s lives - it gave me something to look forward to and push me to my goals!

1. Things fit! The event that prompted this post was a surf trip. When I arrived, the main wetsuit sizes available were a women’s 10 and 12 (UK), and my heart dropped when I heard this. I was convinced I wouldn’t fit, but I put on a 12 and it was a perfect fit! I used to be a size 18 so it would’ve been a whole different story last year. It was so nice not to have to ask for another one and actually be a “normal” size.

2. No-one thinks I can’t exercise. On that surfing trip and on a really long hike with my family lately, I wasn’t the least fit. If I got tired or out of breath at a similar time to everyone else, and there was no suggestion that I was unfit if I wanted to have a break. Before the weight loss I’d get judgmental or silent looks, most likely thinking I was too overweight to be able to exercise a lot.

3. Getting cat-called/more people hitting on me. A negative and positive outcome of weight loss... Now on runs I get creepy comments from men in vans - which is annoying in itself but a tiny part of my brain thinks that this happened a lot less when I was obese. On the other hand I get a lot more looks from people out on the street. I’m gay and a lot more women give my that knowing look. I’m loving it.

4. Clothes aren’t for hiding my body. I’ve moved back home from university temporarily and have been trying on old clothes from about 5/6 years ago. Whilst putting it on I was getting worried it was too short or too tight, but it’s not! And if it is tight or short it’s in a good way!!! I’m not trying to hide a muffin top or my thighs and actually enjoying having them out for the first summer in years.

5. Being naked is nice. I live near the sea normally (Cornwall) and have been skinny dipping a few times recently with my pals. I don’t have to worry about them judging me for my body. I still have stretch marks and a little belly but I just don’t care. It’s made it easier to do fun and spontaneous things.

So many small things that combine to eventually make you realise all that work is worth it. This is not me saying that you need to lose weight to be happy (and it’s a shame society isn’t more accepting of heavier people) but it’s certainly come with some perks for me.

(Just for background: 50lbs lost over about 18months using CICO and running a lot, SW:208lbs CW:158lbs GW:140lbs F/21/5’7”)

Let me know if you have questions or have had similar experiences.

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Looking at MFP history and realizing why all of my previous weight loss attempts failed

I've been using MFP on and off (emphasis on off) to log calories for about 6 years. Every once in a while I'd start a "diet" (ie cutting calories), I'd stick with for a week or so then quit or have a ton of cheat days. I always felt like calorie cutting was sooo restrictive and I never got to eat very much.

Well, I looked at some logs from 3+ years ago and I completely realize why. I was eating the same kind of junk as always (pizza, burgers, breads, fries, beer, ice cream), but in tiny quantities or eating nothing for breakfast/lunch then all my calorie budget at dinner. No wonder I never could keep it up for long.

Now I've been on a 1200 calorie diet for almost a month and it's working! I'm eating more protein and filling foods (egg, chicken, fish, nuts). I'm eating actual meals (who was I kidding ever calling a Starbucks Frappuccino "breakfast?") and I still have budget for an occasional beer or ice cream. It's so much easier and I don't feel hungry. I think this time I've made the mindset changes that are going to help me be successful long term. :)

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