Success Story mixed with Semi-Frustration..

NadaHamade

Hi everyone,

I am new to the MFP community & decided to use My Fitness Pal regularly now after plateauing/wanting to get in good shape for my wedding in 8 months.

Before MFP, I have been on a weight loss journey since two years ago! I am 25 years old & was overweight my entire life. At 5'2'', I grew up with bad eating habits & the clung to me from grade school until after college. So after my graduation I decided to hire a personal trainer and help me make a change.

I started out with my trainer for a few months and then she quit due to personal reasons but she taught me wonderful habits (eating healthy at 1600 calories a day, strength training, & good cardio habits) & was SO positive that her lessons stuck with me! So for a year and a half I exercised (MOSTLY strength training to be honest) & ate healthy without counting calories very much.

I went from 190 pounds to 145 and I went from a size 12/14 to a size 2! I was using a body fat monitor and lost about 10% body fat as well.

This is the part that surprises people because I know I have friends that will ask me how much I lost. I tell them 40 pounds but they say things like "it seems like so much more!" And then I tell them I lost more pants sizes than pounds.

And this is where my insecurities lie....when the number on the scale still says 145. I am 5'2'', so I am a pretty short girl. But I can fit into a 2 and there was a point, a few months ago, when I hit 138 and was a size zero.

But there is SO MUCH stigma about the weight on the scale, that I still get REALLY frustrated when I look at the numbers at the scale without thinking about my success in the size of my jeans and the inches I lost.

I am trying to get over the stigma of the scale and all the negativity with it. It makes me want to restrict my calories ALOT and then I get frustrated lately and binge eat when I am silly and go to 1200.....

So, now I am adjusting my calories back to at least 1400-1500, and I am going to work on incorporating more exercise. When I was strength training I was at 1600-1700 and losing weight steadily. (But again for me it is inches rather than pounds which is still very frustrating.)

I am not sure what to do about the pounds. I have not weight trained in awhile so I am not sure if the pounds are from body fat. But if that were the case, wouldn't I have risen in pants sizes? I think I should stop worrying about the scale and throw it away and just focus on measurements since that's what works for me....but I'm curious to what everyone else on here thinks...:\

I have just been overweight my entire life so this is a new change for me & I am trying so hard to get over the scale fear! It has stuck with me all my life since I was a chubby toddler at the doctor's office lol!

Also if anyone wants any tips/advice or anything on my diet & exercise when I lost my weight I'd be more than happy to give you my thoughts (but I'm not an expert by any means)