9 Months Later (weight loss with pictures)

JessToSuccess · September 2014

Apologies for the different angle in the third picture - I moved house (and islands) so was unable to completely copy the position, but hopefully you get the idea. Disclaimer - the underwear I am wearing are the most unflattering I could possibly find!

These pictures were taken December 2013, February 2014 and September 2014 - 9 months apart in total.

Measurements:
Bust: 111cm - 106cm - 103cm (8cm lost)
Waist: 92.5cm - 89cm - 83cm (9.5cm lost)
Hip: 111cm - 107.5 cm - 105cm (6cm lost)
Butt: 122cm - 118 cm - 113cm (9cm lost)

My first picture I was 95kgs. I was depressed by my weight, self conscious, I felt fat all the time and I generally didn't like how I looked. I knew my diet wasn't healthy, I binge ate all the time and was only growing fatter and fatter. I had struggled with anorexia in the past (from around 14-19years old) but believe I had "cured" myself by allowing myself to eat (I had classed my self as ‘non anorexic’ for 3 years). I wouldn't wear fitted t-shirts for fear my bulges would show, I wouldn't exercise out of embarrassment, I could only walk a short distance without getting puffed. I had tried pretty much every diet, pill and other forms of weightless I could think of and nothing worked for long. I was miserable - I felt like I was drowning or stuck in a hole I could never climb out of.

Fast forward to now. I am 100 times more confident. I wear more fitted and tailored clothes - and I love shopping. I am easily a size 14 (generally all size 14 clothes fit me and some are getting baggy) and can fit more and more size 12 (NZ sizes) clothing now. My ultimate goal is to be a stander size 10-12 NZ. I bike sometimes, do Zumba sometimes, walk sometimes and I am even thinking of joining a netball team - something that in December last year I would not a dreamed of doing. Yesterday I did over 22,000 steps including walking halfway up a mountain and I barely even got puffed. I can now bike 10kms easily and an hour of Zumba is fun and barely even challenging anymore! My fitness is ridiculously better and I am even getting a tiny amount of muscle tone (and hoping to focus on strength training in the next so many months- if anyone has any tips for me please let me know).

How did I get here? Well long story short I was fortunate enough to have a boss in the new job I started at the start of the year who saw my struggles with food, exercise and weight and slowly and gently convinced me to see a counsellor. That in itself was terrifying, but with her help I managed to do it. Through my counselling I learnt that my issues with food - my eating disorders - was only outwards symptoms of problems and issues I was facing or had never faced internally. It didn’t matter how much self-control I had, if I didn’t sort the issues then I could never sort the symptoms. Its like when you get a cold- a cough is only a symptom of the problem, not the problem itself. Facing these issues and understanding the reasons behind my food issues started a chain of things in my life - I began binging less and less. I used to binge basically every day and could eat a packet of biscuits, a 250g block of chocolate and a bag of lollies easily in one go. Now I couldn’t even eat a whole block of chocolate on its own in a day (maybe ¾ :P). Now I don’t really binge at all. If Im super hungry I’ll have a meal or a tonne of fruit or some nuts or drink some juice or a coffee. I try and eat what makes me happy - this is often salads (chicken or beef, spinach leaves, avocado, tomato and some croutons with a small amount of balsamic are my fave!) a wrap, a sandwich, soup, panfried or roasted vegetables with meat, tonnes of fruit, yoghurt, milk, the odd juice etc. I still eat chocolate when I feel like it, I still eat junk food and as of late I have been consuming large amounts of alcohol than I used to as I am going out a lot with new friends. (Although starting September I have cut back on alcohol and am definitely feeling much better for it). My diet is by no means normal or perfect or amazing healthy, but it is 100 times better than it was 9 months ago and I know it will only get more so. I am still loosing weight (although at this stage I have made the decision not to weigh myself as I feel it only puts pressure on me to focus on that number) and I am growing more and more fit. But most importantly I am happy.
This is only the first step in my weight loss journey, and more importantly my journey to a healthy me, but now I can easily see it and know if I keep travelling down this road it will happen. My current size doesn’t bother me - I may still be classed as obese and am definitely still overweight but I don’t care. Everyday I am healthier and thats all that matters!

This is only a snap shot of my journey - if you want to know more just ask. I also in no way advise anyone to copy me in terms of diet, process or anything else as I am definitely no expert and I am certainly not maintaining a balanced, healthy diet yet. It is still a journey for me.

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