100 pounds down: my weight loss story…so far.
I did something I have wanted to do for a really long time. I took a trash bag and cleaned out my closet and dresser. The last time I did that I ugly cried. I was getting rid of my “small” clothes to replace them with my fat clothes. My mediums were replaced with 3x. My jeans were replaced with lounge pants and sweats.
I felt so uncomfortable in my body and just miserable.
My depression was at its worse and my moods were awful.
I hated that day so much.
But this time I cried tears of joy. I cleaned out my fat clothes. The one pair of dress pants I had, a size 24, were the first to go. The happiness I felt putting those pants into the get rid of pile was incredible.
I did it. I’ve hit one of my biggest weight loss milestones. Losing 100 pounds. I dropped that bag off at the charity clothes box and the feeling is honestly indescribable.
Then I bought my first pair of medium-sized workout pants in 13 years.
This is a goal that I have been aching to hit for the past two years. Yes, two years. I’m not one of those success stories that happened in six months or even a year. I struggled. I still struggle, but I’ve finally stuck to something that works for me and it’s something I can stick to without feeling incredibly restricted and hungry.
Let’s start at the beginning though. Like so many others I spent hours searching the internet for the perfect diet, the perfect exercise, and even weight loss pills that really work. (They don’t btw…there is no secret shortcut. Sorry.)
I realized I hated all of the diets. They were so incredibly restrictive and I LOVE food. Love food. Did I really want to give up foods that I love to enjoy just to lose weight?
Nope.
The workouts, I could do those. They seemed really simple. The one that hooked me and I still have a love/hate relationship with is running.
Let’s look at the diet. There are so many diets circulating that it’s mind-boggling. No carb. Low sugar. No sugar. High protein. Keto. Atkins. And so many, many more.
Then I found one that I could get behind. One that people tend to hate. Calorie counting. Or the calorie deficit. I didn’t have to give up the things I love, I just had to learn how to monitor my portions and how much I was eating to remain within my calorie deficit.
I could do that!
So I did. I figured out my maintenance calories and subtracted 500 from that. My daily caloric intake. So what would I eat? Whatever I wanted as long as I maintained that caloric deficit. What I realized was I overate. A lot. Before I started actually tracking everything that I ate and drank, I would just eat and drink all willy nilly. Don’t do that. That’s how you end up 290 lbs.
I started to take out things that I used as a crutch for the depression I had from being fat. The main two were alcohol and soda.
I used to drink more than I probably should. I still have a drink on holidays and special occasions, but that Monday night glass of wine because work sucked doesn’t happen anymore. The drinking a 2 liter of soda in two days is done.
The outcome from that? My headaches started to go away. The cravings for that sugary drink started to go away.
I started drinking a lot more water. A LOT more water. It’s pretty much all I drink at this point besides coffee.
My mental health has improved 100 fold. I sunk into such deep despair I struggled every day to just get out of bed to take care of my children and go to work. I saw no point in doing anything. I hated myself. I hated how I looked. And I hated that I didn’t know how to change things.
Then, one day my husband said enough. He told me to stop complaining and do something.
What? He’s not supposed to tell me that. He’s not supposed to hold me accountable for my own actions!
He did. We signed up for a gym. And we started going. I was nervous at first. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know anything about the equipment or how much I should do. Or even what I should do.
I researched. I asked the husband tons of questions and I found what worked for me and that first 50 pounds…the first time…came right off. I was so excited. Yes! 50 pounds!.
I ended up in the cycle of going to the gym, being incredibly motivated, then this wave of depression would take over and I would stop. That 50 lbs plus more would come back. Before I knew it I was up to 290 pounds!
When I saw that number on the scale I sat in my bathroom and broke down.
My health was suffering. I had sleep apnea, pre-diabetic, I couldn’t walk without wheezing, I couldn’t bend over without holding my breath. Even walking up and down the stairs at home was such a chore I just stopped.
I had to make a change before this ended up with me dying.
I stopped with the “my diet starts Monday” and I restarted for the millionth time right then and there. I downloaded MyFitnessPal. We both invested in smartwatches to track our steps and I got back into the gym.
Then the pandemic hit. The gym closed. I didn’t know what to do.
Husband started his research, realized we don’t really use our garage, and began the process of converting it into a home gym. He researched equipment, we looked at the different exercises that we wanted to do and we liked doing and we bought what we needed.
I invested in a good pair of running shoes and started a passionate love affair with daily runs outside followed by an hour of weight training.
I had absolutely no excuse to not stick with my weight loss journey. I didn’t have to drive anywhere to work out. I had my running shoes and just had to walk out my front door and my gym was down those God-awful stairs.
I kept at it. I increased those daily miles from a 30-minute mile shuffle/jog around the block to a 5 mile run in 50 minutes. I increased those weights from barely being able to do 4 sets of 12 with 5 pounds to 4 sets of 12 with 20-50 pounds depending on the body part I’m working on.
I’ve watched as my body changed. I was addicted to the runner’s high I would get after a few miles. I was addicted to the way I felt during and after my workouts. I was hooked. I kept at it. I refused to stop.
Now, I’m 100 pounds down. I’m not done. I still have another 50 before I’m at the ideal weight for my height, but I know I can do it.
And If I can do it, so can you.
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