326 Days and 100lb down

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firef1y72
firef1y72 Posts: 1,579 Member
Way back in November I finally plucked up the courage to step on the scales to discover my weight was approaching 300lb. At 289.5lb and 5'1", I had a bmi of 55, could barely walk and was heading for an early grave. It was more than time to do something about it and try to get my whole life back on track.

With a total loss of 153.5lb needed to get to a "normal" bmi, the sheer scale of things was overwhelming. I couldn't bring myself to enter the target weight in any of the apps, I didn't think I'd find the "you have 150lb left to lose|" motivating, so I set myself a series of smaller targets, mostly based on 10% weight loss. As time passed and the pounds dropped the I slowly started to come to terms with how much I needed to lose until I was finally able to put my target weight of 136lb in to the Fitbit App.

So how did I lose the weight, what was the magic trick? Well there was no magic, I simply ate a little less and moved a lot more. I didn't follow an faddy diet, or cut any food out, I simply logged everything I ate on here and used a Fitbit to track my activity, ensuring that I ate less calories than I expended. Once I'd lost around 20lb, I finally allowed my photo to be taken and joined a gym where we worked out a programme that would help minimise muscle lost and increase my overall fitness. At this point I still struggled with mobility, couldn't get up and down from the floor and would easily burn 700 Calories in an hour as I struggled just to walk.

As the last ten months has past, I've steadily lost the weight and as it's come off I've found myself able to do more. A couple of months ago I started going to actual exercise classes, high impact classes at that, Insanity and Boxercise. I can't yet manage all the moves, but I'm getting there and making improvements every week. I also started an actual weight lifting programme (5x5), to further help maintain muscle. Everything was going swimmingly, except I discovered that lurking under the fat there was an umbilical hernia, it had probably been there for years, but I had it repaired at the beginning of the month and am just starting to get back to the same activity levels. I've found scaling the weights back to barely anything the hardest, but used it as an opportunity to work on form and the depth of my squats, turning the enforced low weights in to a positive (and almost getting atf in my squats). But strangely the enforced rest seems to have made me stronger, I can do so many more push ups than a month ago even though last night was the first time performing them in 3 weeks.

Anyway this is getting more than just long, so the point is that today marked 100lb lost, 2/3 of the way towards that seemingly insurmountable target and just 53lb away from being at a "normal" bmi. I'm also down ten dress sizes from a UK 26 to a UK 16 and have lost a mind-boggling 108cm (43") from my bust, waist and hips combined. I also get random people stopping me in the street telling me how well I'm doing.

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Replies

  • LEAS86
    LEAS86 Posts: 144 Member
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    Incredible! Well done and the best of luck for the remainder of your journey
  • Loug1983
    Loug1983 Posts: 89 Member
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    Fantastic progress, well done!
  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,287 Member
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    What a great story of gaining strength and mobility. Truly amazing how hard you have worked to reclaim your health. You're on the home stretch now...can't wait to see your final progress pictures.
  • veggie16mfp
    veggie16mfp Posts: 114 Member
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    Fantastic journey and just what I needed to read right now!!
  • Kristi26
    Kristi26 Posts: 184 Member
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    Wow! What an amazing story! Great job!
  • jbatinker
    jbatinker Posts: 313 Member
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    Great story, very inspirational. Congratulations on saving your life!
  • blwelch1
    blwelch1 Posts: 81 Member
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    Love stories like this... Great job!
  • blackchick46
    blackchick46 Posts: 27 Member
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    more encouraging for me to go forward .good job
  • ridiculous59
    ridiculous59 Posts: 2,846 Member
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    Thank you for sharing and inspiring :) Well done!
  • fbcarlson
    fbcarlson Posts: 283 Member
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    Absolutely amazing progress!!! You are inspiring!!!
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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    You are freaking amazing! I love how sensibly you worked your plan!
  • lynder64
    lynder64 Posts: 97 Member
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    Thanks for sharing! You must be feeling SO amazing!!! Inspiring!!!
  • KetoneKaren
    KetoneKaren Posts: 6,411 Member
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    @firef1y72 You rock! Thanks for posting. What an inspiration...
  • DanerTee
    DanerTee Posts: 263 Member
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    What an amazing accomplishment, and thank you for sharing such a great story. You are in inspiration, I can't wait to see your pics when you reach your goal!
  • RredSonja
    RredSonja Posts: 307 Member
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    It's wonderful, what you've done. Not only for you, but for us - taking the time to post your story and pics is a wonderful gift. Thank you. I started five months ago with 157 pounds to lose, so seeing your progress makes me feel very hopeful and positive. Keep going girl! And post back here when you're done!
  • solieco1
    solieco1 Posts: 1,559 Member
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    This is such a great story and you are looking fantastic! I love reading a no nonsense, no fad approach. Just plain hard work and consistency. Thanks so much for sharing and the inspiration.
  • ipaint1017
    ipaint1017 Posts: 1 Member
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    Great job! Keep moving forward in your journey
  • rebeccaEsmith
    rebeccaEsmith Posts: 1,136 Member
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    Great job!
  • Boppadeboppa
    Boppadeboppa Posts: 4 Member
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    Amazing effort and boy has it worked you......bravo :)
  • Firefly0606
    Firefly0606 Posts: 366 Member
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    Thank you so much for sharing your story. You're an inspiration to just start, and keep taking little steps in the right direction.
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