250 to 175!!! (Including Pics!)

Archerychickge

I started this journey on January 8th... I weighed in at 250 pounds. I was miserable. I couldn't do half the things I wanted to do in life, couldn't hike, hunt, camp, canoe, or even walk up a flight of stairs without getting winded and gasping for breath. I hated myself and the way I looked. I also physically felt like crap too. I had BAD reflux and kept a constant cough for better than 2 years. My doctors ran every test known to man to try to figure out why I had the cough, but with no success. It was so bad that I' would have coughing spells that literally made me gag and throw up. My chest and ribs hurt all the time, and I was borderline incontinent as well. That kept me out of the woods all hunting season last year. On the rare occassions I did feel good enough to go shoot my bow, I would have to stop every 15 yards to stop and catch my breath...It SUCKED. I wore a size 20 jeans. My *kitten* was HUGE.

<img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/5021879/uploads/FileUpload/be/46cf45eb12071bb90cda8a53b20cb2.jpg&quot; />

My doctor told me I had a hiatal hernia that was causing the reflux and subsequently the cough. He said he could do surgery to repair it, but that I needed to lose 60 pounds first. I asked him "How to your propose I do that?" He said "NO bread, NO potatoes"... Um yeah right. But I had a friend who's son was oon the same baseball team as my son, and I knew she had lost alot of weight using the MFP app... In fact I had tried it a year before but didn't stay committed. So I started back up with MFP more determined than ever to get the weight off so I could get healthy and feel good again.

The first 20 pounds came off in a matter of weeks. It was AWESOME! I started feeling good again and could even cut back on some of the medications I was taking. At 2 months I had lost about 30 pounds. I was now in a size 16 jeans.

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I kept it up. It felt good to go to my closet and not be able to find things to wear... not because they were too tight, but because they were literally falling off me. By th3e time June rolled around I had lost over 50 pounds and my doctor agreed to go ahead and schedule the surgery. I was now in a size 14 jeans.

I had my surgery on June 18th. Everything went fantastic, and I was up walking multiple laps around the hospital ward within just a few hours. I was sore for sure, but I knew it was a new day and the start of not feeling like crap all the time.

At my two week follow up, I tell my Dr that I have not needed any reflux meds since the surgery and that the cough is already clearing up. Yea me! I'm down almost 60 pounds at this point and wearing a size 12 jeans.

By August, I'm down almost 70 pounds and wearing size 10 jeans. I feel like a new person. I look like a new person. It feels GREAT.

<img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/5021879/uploads/FileUpload/07/719d423b7b40ddc60aa0b0672ffd5c.jpg&quot; />

As of today I am down almost 75 pounds and am wearing size 8 jeans. They are a bit snug but I'm determined to get to the point where they are comfortable. Thankfully, my upper-frontal region has stayed much the same... Hubby is happy, and so am I.

This last pic is from 9/20/14. I was at about 73 pounds lost. Not the most flattering picture, but definitly an intimidating one... My *kitten* is TINY now.

<img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/5021879/uploads/FileUpload/31/c69a54a5d00cd767b639a8e41a1ced.jpg&quot; />

I still have a little way to go before I reach my goal of 165, but I'm getting there. I wonder if I"ll be able to fit into a size 6 jeans then? That would be flippin AWESOME. I always used to say that I knew I'd never be a size 6.... Guess I lied!

sljohnson1207

Great job!

cmabnx

fabulous. and inspiring! thanks for sharing.

lavagirlangie

Wow! You are awesome and you look great too. I am so impressed with your progress. I started a month ago and have lost 8 lbs. I am 65 and am unable to exercise. What exercise did you do that had such good results?
Thanks for posting, you are inspiring.
Angie

ImmaZombie

Congrats! You look awesome! Keep up the good work.

Archerychickge

lavagirlangie wrote: »

Wow! You are awesome and you look great too. I am so impressed with your progress. I started a month ago and have lost 8 lbs. I am 65 and am unable to exercise. What exercise did you do that had such good results?
Thanks for posting, you are inspiring.
Angie

Well, I walk from time to time, and I golf as well. Plus the archery and outdoor stuff. I don't "workout" per se... I loathe the gym. For me it was all about finally controlling my food intake vs my activity level.

Realtree2429

Excellent! On a side note, totally loving the bow....I missed my doe last weekend, going out tomorrow and I had better get that deer!

Archerychickge

I'll be teaching archery all weekend at a big NWTF JAKES event herein VA. Can't wait, it's always alot of fun, and I burn a TON of calories. but the down side is I don't get to hunt this weekend... Oh well next weekend for sure!

Realtree2429

That's awesome!!! It's an early muzzleloader weekend here this weekend. Still going bowhunting, just wearing orange I say bowhunting (teaching) definitely burns calories!

trudywc2

You look great. You started around the same weight I started at, looking to be under 200 by the end of the year.

Thanks for sharing

KristaPerseveres

You are such an inspiration friend!! Keep it up, those size 6 jeans are just around the corner!! (*)

snorkjuice

Congrats! And thank you for sharing your story this morning. I woke up feeling horrible...wanting to give up...but I decided to come here first, and I am so glad that I did.

Rachelwin65

I LOVE your story! It is so wonderful when a passion is the incentive for health. For me, it is African drumming. Not only do I need major upper body strength, but I need to be fit and healthy to be able to travel to Africa! GREAT job. And be sure to share some venison recipes,LOL.

chesnity3

Awesome job!

Schwestak

Thanks for your stoy. I just started 5 days ago. My motivation is my kids. They always want me in participate in certain activities and I never feel like it because of the weight. It's hard staying motivated. Your story is inspiring.

NikonPal

Great job....

Beabell73

Congrats! The most important thing is your health not jeans size and you managed to get it back!

Archerychickge

Beabell73 wrote: »

Congrats! The most important thing is your health not jeans size and you managed to get it back!

yes and no.... My jeans size is a fairly good reflection of my overall health most of the time. It's certainly not the most important thing in the world, but I'll admit that the vain part of me would love to be a size 6 or heck maybe even a 4... but even if it never happens, I'm really happy and proud of where I am right now, and the way I feel physically is vastly better than I felt at 250.

It's a process, not just to lose the weight but to change my way of seeing myself. I still see all kinds of flaws in my appearance, and there isn't a part of me that I wouldn't like to change and make "perfect"... the problem lies in figuring out what is "perfect" for me, rather than what everyone else thinks is perfect, and then learning to accept myself even if I never achieve either version of "perfect".

Okay, now I'm officially rambling!! LOL

Archerychickge

Here's a before and after shot of me in the same black fleece jacket...

urwhaturnot

You look great!

atac9806

Glad you finally posted pictures......you should be very very proud you look GREAT!!!!!