I've been struggling lately with feeling like a failure. I've re-gained about 20 pounds from my lowest weight, which puts me 30 from my goal weight. I've struggled with motivation and consistent eating and exercise. I've just gotten back into it within the past few days, and came across this picture while I was searching for motivation for myself and wanted to share!
5'5"
SW: 260
CW: 176.6
GW: 150
I was morbidly obese for most of my life, and was very much in denial. At my highest weight, I met the qualifications for morbid obesity, and also for weight loss surgery.
Here are some of the things that have changed for the better since I lost the weight:
- When I bend down to tie my shoes, I don't have to hold my breath.
- I can climb a flight (or 3 or 4) of stairs without being so out of breath that I need to stop and sit before I can have a conversation.
- I can walk short distances (from the couch to the bed) after sitting for a while without my heart racing.
- I don't have to worry about not being able to fit in chairs in places like the movies, auditoriums, planes, restaurants, and those plastic deck chairs with the arms.
- I can sit cross-legged comfortably for the first time in memory.
- I can find clothes more easily (not much, though, since now I have the opposite problem; I wear a small in shirts and a 32 in pants, and those sizes are more difficult to find in thrift stores, which is where I do most of my shopping).
- I no longer look like a potato in the face and have a visible neck!
- I no longer feel like I'm choking or being smothered when I lay on my back at night.
- When I do lay on my back and put my hands on my stomach, I've gone from my fingers barely touching to my hands completely overlapping.
- I regularly have people call me small!
- I also regularly have people who are amazed that I weigh around 180 and that I still have 30 pounds that I would like to lose.
- I'm no longer described as a "larger/bigger guy" when someone is describing me objectively to someone who hasn't met me.
- Even though I haven't been working out as much as I would like lately, I am now able to see my underlying musculature when I "flex."
- My fingers no longer look like sausages.
- I have so much more energy.
- I've significantly decreased my risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes (which runs in my family).
- My shirts don't "gape" like they used to at the stomach when I sit. (This is starting to happen again, which is what really drove home that I'd gained some weight back.)
- My friends and family are proud of me for losing the weight and (mostly) keeping it off for the past 2 years. When I occasionally post an old picture, they are amazed and say that they barely remember me like that.
- I had to adjust my hat smaller (apparently, I had a decent amount of fat on my head)!
There are so many more, but those the ones that come to mind and the ones that were the most impactful.
So, pictures! Three comparison collages, then two befores followed by two afters.
I'm always looking for new friends, so feel free to add me if you want!
