Dear 100# Loss, Happy Third Anniversary. Love, Me
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TallGlassOfQuirky
Posts: 282 Member
On August 5, 2011, I met my goal weight, having lost 100 pounds since joining MFP and 114 pounds from my highest recorded weight (not that I made a point to step on scales frequently at that point, so it may have been higher at some point).
Today, exactly three years later, I weigh what I did that day.
At one point, I was 24 pounds lighter and quite a few inches smaller. I was a poster girl for MFP Success. I had gone from close to 300 pounds, more than half of which was body fat, to essentially half of that weight and only around 20% body fat.
I felt too small then, so I was okay with gaining some back. I didn't really want to gain as much back as I have, but...
This body, in the past three years, has gone through a divorce. It has gone through an 850 mile move to a place where the ONLY person I knew was a man I'd fallen in love with on MFP and where the culture was so very, very different than the one I was from (I am from an artsy/hippie community in southern AZ and moved to northern Utah... need I say more?). It's been through more miles sitting in a car each week to and from work than it used to go in a month.
This body has been through a life-threatening spinal cord injury that paralyzed my left leg. It's been through re-training my left foot to point forward, to rise up, to do both simultaneously, and then how to walk with a cane instead of a walker and finally without anything at all but my own two feet, even though the left one was left with permanent nerve damage and partial loss of movement. It's been through doctors saying the leg wouldn't get any stronger and then it's been through repeatedly proving the doctors' predictions wrong (up to a point - about a 2000% stronger point - and then it's been through disappointment but otherwise complacent acceptance - it's a lot further than the doctors thought, anyway).
It's been through failed back surgery that meant that although, thank God, I could figure out how to walk again, I was in constant agonizing pain despite a pharmacy worth of medicine. It's been through having a spinal cord stimulator implanted. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, you CAN feel the [roughly half-a-deck-of-card-sized] power box on the back of my hip, which I have to charge for several hours every week with something that looks like a very unimaginative person's version of a medical Iron Man belt, and you can even feel the spot where the wires come out of my spine - it feels like an al dente spaghetti noodle, by the way.
It's been through significantly less (although still a substantial amount of) pain since this surgery was complete.
This body has been through a wedding, just a week and a half ago, to that incredibly wonderful man I met on MFP. This body will spend the rest of its years with him (YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!).
This body will go through a lifetime of hills and valleys.
And although that number is just a small part of its story, this body weighs the same today as it did three years ago.
Today, exactly three years later, I weigh what I did that day.
At one point, I was 24 pounds lighter and quite a few inches smaller. I was a poster girl for MFP Success. I had gone from close to 300 pounds, more than half of which was body fat, to essentially half of that weight and only around 20% body fat.
I felt too small then, so I was okay with gaining some back. I didn't really want to gain as much back as I have, but...
This body, in the past three years, has gone through a divorce. It has gone through an 850 mile move to a place where the ONLY person I knew was a man I'd fallen in love with on MFP and where the culture was so very, very different than the one I was from (I am from an artsy/hippie community in southern AZ and moved to northern Utah... need I say more?). It's been through more miles sitting in a car each week to and from work than it used to go in a month.
This body has been through a life-threatening spinal cord injury that paralyzed my left leg. It's been through re-training my left foot to point forward, to rise up, to do both simultaneously, and then how to walk with a cane instead of a walker and finally without anything at all but my own two feet, even though the left one was left with permanent nerve damage and partial loss of movement. It's been through doctors saying the leg wouldn't get any stronger and then it's been through repeatedly proving the doctors' predictions wrong (up to a point - about a 2000% stronger point - and then it's been through disappointment but otherwise complacent acceptance - it's a lot further than the doctors thought, anyway).
It's been through failed back surgery that meant that although, thank God, I could figure out how to walk again, I was in constant agonizing pain despite a pharmacy worth of medicine. It's been through having a spinal cord stimulator implanted. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, you CAN feel the [roughly half-a-deck-of-card-sized] power box on the back of my hip, which I have to charge for several hours every week with something that looks like a very unimaginative person's version of a medical Iron Man belt, and you can even feel the spot where the wires come out of my spine - it feels like an al dente spaghetti noodle, by the way.
It's been through significantly less (although still a substantial amount of) pain since this surgery was complete.
This body has been through a wedding, just a week and a half ago, to that incredibly wonderful man I met on MFP. This body will spend the rest of its years with him (YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!).
This body will go through a lifetime of hills and valleys.
And although that number is just a small part of its story, this body weighs the same today as it did three years ago.
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Replies
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I love this post!0 -
You were an inspiration to me when I first joined MFP and you still are. Thanks for sharing.0
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Gah - I almost cried - not easy to do with me. Congratulations - I'm so proud of you!! It needed to hear a successful maintenance story - it's one of my biggest fears - losing all my weight and then gaining it back. Again, congratulations!!!0
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I think everyone is afraid of that, and since I have gained about a fifth of my total loss back, I totally understand that concern.Gah - I almost cried - not easy to do with me. Congratulations - I'm so proud of you!! It needed to hear a successful maintenance story - it's one of my biggest fears - losing all my weight and then gaining it back. Again, congratulations!!!
Still, when it comes down to it, if you are eating well and exercising regularly (as your body allows - you won't see me doing dead lifts no matter how much I might want to-it's not safe for me to do anymore), that's something you can keep doing when you reach your goals, only you will be able to either add an extra snack or have a slightly larger portion so the calories you consume are roughly equal to, instead of less than, the calories you use in a day.
You will fluctuate - I actually am usually around five pounds less than this and the fluctuations typically go lower rather than higher - but as long as you stay within the range you feel your body is the healthiest, you can easily adjust up or down your exercise or food consumption when you start going too far up or too far down on the scale.
Case in point: I have to be more careful for a while with what I eat (my exercise options are relatively limited and I can easily replace some of the junk I have been eating with more nutritious foods for fewer calories) because I have gone outside of the range I feel most comfortable in.0 -
You're amazing my beautiful principessa! Thank you for going through all that with/for me! I love you more!!!0
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You're absolutely amazing and I'm so thankful that Tim brought you to Utah so we get to be friends in real life! Keep being your-awesome-self and motivating us to work a little harder than we did yesterday! :-)0
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Just went though your profile pics.........
Your ex is kicking himself.....0 -
I have a little something in common with you, while you hit your goal 3 years ago this month and lost 114 lbs, I have been on mfp for 3 years this month and have also lost 114 lbs. Congrats to you and here's to finding the love of your life on mfp also, you are beautiful!0
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Bump0
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Congratulations on everything!0
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My God what a beautiful testimony. Enjoyed reading this what a wonderful inspiration.0
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I'm crying, such an amazing journey, keep on keepin' on !:flowerforyou:0
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Wow - you should be very proud of yourself! I'm sorry you had to go through so much of a struggle.0
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you seriously are an amazing lady. awesome job, wow.. great job at taking care of yourself.. and i hope your health stays on the up and up!!0 -
Happy Anniversary to you!
I admit it. I cried. You're an inspiration.0 -
Wow I thought MFP was good before but that is wonderful you met your husband on here. I met a friend at the beach we go to and thought that was something. I said I would never see any of these people, who knows. I told her where I was vacationing and she lived there about 7 hours away.
Your story is so inspiring. I have friends who don't want to lose weight and they are in bad health and can barely walk but say they don't want to deprive themselves of anything and when you get older food is about all you have. I hate they have this mindset, it is a good thing I go to the gym and are around people who are fit and this rubs off on me. I am glad you are young and have gotten this under control. Yep, it is nice hearing some good news!0
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