Finally...I worked hard putting together my weight loss story to share with you. Here it is! =] Phew!
As a kid I was always active and my parents tried to incorporate nutritious meals and options. I never played team sports, but was always actively playing them with friends and neighbor-hood kids. I loved basketball, cheerleading, dancing, gymnastics, biking, swimming, you name it. Sometimes I even felt a little embarrassed when people claimed they wanted to "fatten me up".
Around the age of 12 or 13 I began to turn to food out of boredom and the stress of growing up. I heard many times that the weight would eventually catch up to me and sure enough it did around 15 or 16. At first I thought the weight gain was natural for my age, but I quickly learned I had a slight addiction to food. Being active in after school activities had me restoring to a ton of fast food. My weight in my senior year averaged around 148. Going from a size 4 to a size 6 the next year and so on was putting a major damper on my confidence.
After graduating high school I started a new job. Everyone at my new job ate even worse than I did and I got sucked in. Day in and day out I ate McDonalds, Dairy Queen, pizza, chips, sweets...You name it, I ate it. Food became completely mindless to me. I got to a point where I'd be literally sick from eating so much. There were times I knew I needed to quit, but I didn't know how to go about it aside from crash dieting. I bought a scale and weighed myself to be 151 as my highest weight to my knowledge. Yikes! Yes, I was officially over weight and felt disgusting.
About a year into my job a few people quit and the staffing at work was quite different. This time around I found myself working with someone who is very health conscious and I was inspired more than ever.
When I began watching what I consumed in June 2008 I weighed around 148. First and fore most I cut down on fast food and cut soda out of my diet completely. As bad as diets are, I started off with The Special K Challenge and within 2 weeks I quickly saw the weight coming off. But, after so long I realized this diet led to a lot of binge eating. I felt starved! Luckily internet is a useful tool. I searched day in and day out about eating better and finally had a decent concept.
Around August I was weighing in around 136 and a few people began noticing. Although people noticed and asked what I was doing I sort of denied I was trying to lose weight out of embarrassment. Losing 10 pounds made me proud and kept me motivated.
In September I began a food journal and also started counting calories. Many people don't like counting calories, but it has been a major part of my weight loss. Around this time is when I realized I needed to incorporate more fitness into my life to help me lose the extra weight. Yoga has been a life saver considering I have never been fond of exercise.
By October I lost 5 more pounds. 130! I originally thought I would be happy at this weight, but I decided to push for 10 more. The problem with this month is that I neglected to treat myself to some of the things I enjoy most, which again led to some binge eating.
November was the time I reached below 130. 125 was more of my weight average. I stepped up to working out 2 times a day and making more of my own meals, rather than resorting to prepackaged meals for every meal. My body looked and felt better than I have felt in years! My confidence was boosting, but with all of the weight loss comes a wardrobe loss. Bummer.
In the beginning of December I dropped below 125 and now range between 120-123. Unfortunately, I am not very happy with this month due to my insane holiday food binging and lack of exercise. On the bright side I am much more knowledgeable now than ever about nutrition. I discovered the world of food blogs this month and they have been immensely helpful in my journey! People now tell me how thin I am and even though at times I still get slightly embarrassed discussing my weight I am more open to say "thank you" and share what I did with them if they ask. In the new year I will be keeping up with my journey to become more nutritionally aware as well as becoming physically fit. A work out plan is on its way. 120 is a healthy weight and I plan to stick with it, but toning up is in order.
Now, here you have it in pictures...
Younger days:
Freshman year:
Still very thin around 14 years old. Most likely a size 3.
Sophomore year of high school:
A size 4 and happy with it.
Junior year:
This is when you begin to see my weight gain.
Senior year:
This was nearing 148. You can really see the weight in my face.
Summer 2008:
I assume I was weighing in over 150 at this point, my highest weight. I tried to convince myself that having on a wet t-shirt made me look heavier.
August 2009:
I was finally losing weight instead of gaining. 136 pounds.
October 2009:
Ranging around 127. I was finally confident enough to wear a costume like that!
December 2009:
Finally at a happy weight of 120-123(minus my holiday pounds). Now it's just about toning. =]
