3.5 weeks, 8.5 pounds!

ScratchyAnderson

Hi all,

I've been on and off MFP for a year now, but have been logging in daily for almost a month. I haven't been doing anything gimmicky or revolutionary since then, just staying committed to improving my overall health. For me, this means increasing my physical activity (minimum 10K steps per day, but preferably 15K), boosting intake of fruits and veggies, lean meats, and whole grains, and cutting way back on added sugars (I am a total sugar fiend).

I'm 42, and since having my second child 5 years ago, I've gained 25 pounds. I actually lost a lot of weight during pregnancy and immediately afterward, since I suffered from hyperemesis and threw up multiple times per day, every day, until the day I delivered. During pregnancy, the only foods I could stomach were sugary, fatty baked goods and sweets, but since I barfed most of them up, I still dropped 30 pounds in the week following delivery. Since then, my weight has crept back up--a few pounds here and there--with a big jump of 15 pounds in the past 18 months, when I went on hormonal birth control to try to regulate chronic migraines. (I get 4-5 per week, and have since quit the birth control, since it's contraindicated for other reasons).

Long story short: I'm ready to recognize myself in the mirror again. For a short person, I have a big frame, and most people have no idea I weigh as much as I do. But I feel it in my knees, and see it in my face. I work--of all things--in public health and policy, and there's not much out there I haven't read about the health effects of overweight and obesity. It's felt like a dirty little secret that I'm one of those statistics.

Since starting this process, I've lost quickly, which I know won't last. In 3.5 weeks, I'm down from 167 to 158 and change. I'm aiming for 1-1.5 pounds per week from here on out. I know this isn't a linear process, and I'll likely hit setbacks and plateaus. The biggest thing for me is staying true to the overall commitment, and not letting any one day's choices set me back into unhealthy habits, or leave me feeling like such a failure that I throw in the towel.

Good luck to everyone else out there just starting out!