So, as I said yesterday, I've been struggling to lose weight for going on three years now. Before, I lived in a happy denial place, only trying to lose weight because it's a socially acceptable thing to do. I'm stunned by how good at hiding from myself I was. It's . . . humbling.
I had struggled with weight pretty much all my life. I wasn't a particularly active child, but looking back, I wasn't a heavy child, either. Frankly, I'd love to be back to the weight I thought was fat as a teenager. After college, I just sort of hid and ate. I told my parents I'd go to Weight Watchers if I could afford it. They gave me ten meetings for Christmas and I started in January 2005.
And I did OK that first year. I almost lost 20 pounds that first year. I got frustrated in June because the weight wasn't coming off fast enough, and I couldn't reach that first 10% goal. I gained about 10 pounds back in the second half of the year.
Late November or December, a family friend mentioned my jeans looked loose. I said thank you, but that they always end up feeling tight by the end of the day. She suggested that I might have food sensitivity. The two most troublesome foods are gluten and dairy. I gave it some serious thought. Giving up gluten (in wheat, oats, barely, spelt, couscous, rye and some other stuff I can't recall) and dairy meant not eating anything I normally ate. But I needed away to recommit to my weight loss, and thought this might be a good way to do it. I really thought that the cravings would get me, but I researched and planned.
And was successful. I lost over 40 pounds last year. I got to 60 pounds lost for a grand total. That was a struggle at the end, though. I started to get frustrated in the summer, especially at the family reunion week, and just coasted down the hill from there. I'd gained 9.6 pounds back in 2 months.
Although, I've lost 2.4 pounds of it.
So, what have I learned? Eating the (mostly) unprocessed foods on my "restricted" diet last year helped me to feel my best. I felt lighter and energized. I even got downright giddy some days. I even wanted to move. I want that back. So, I'm glad I've recommitted. And I'm glad you're all here to support me. I probably wouldn't have gotten very far without you.
And to mark just how far I've come, here I am before:
And here I am now:
(Err, sorry about the rotation. I can't figure out how to fix it.)
And, for fun, Osiris:
No comments:
Post a Comment