I lost 50 pounds!

Skaren

I just lost 50 pounds...50 pounds! I never had a moment in my life when I even thought that I had 50 pounds to loose. Actually I have lost 51 pounds and 9% body fat. I am in shock.

January 19th, 2008, I weighed myself. The number was 204 ( i am 5' 7'', athletic build). It was the day I said something had to change. I never thought that something was 50 pounds.

I am a personal trainer and fitness instructor by trade. I spend my days helping others achieve their goals: weight loss, overall health, stress relief... I had a burnout in 2003 followed by a major depression and a diagnosis of Bi-Polar Disorder, accompanied by anxiety. It took me 12 hospitalizations over 4 years to get back on track. Why did I burnout? I was teaching to many fitness classes.

So I stopped and got an office job. My mind continued to be challenged but my body sat down for four years, with some downhill skiing interspersed. I continued to eat like I did when I taught 15 hours of fitness classes in 5 days.

The day after I weighed myself in January 2008, I found out I was pregnant with my first child. I started to change things from that day. I consulted a nutritionist and got some practical advice about adapting what I eat. It's not that I make bad food choices, it's that my portions were to big and the proportions of the food groups on my plate were not balanced.

I had done the full tour of the antidepressants and the anti psychotics, all of whom list weight gain as a possible side effect. So it was normal that i was gaining weight. Right?

I eat because it feels good. Because I like mac and cheese on a rainy day, because Nanny's casserole is yummy, because it's a waste to throw out food, because what would happen if I was out of the house and got really hungry and had no healthy food choices, so I better eat now, because I hate the feeling of being really hungry (and irritable, and a having a headache), I eat because I have control over so few things in my life but I do have control over what goes in my mouth.

I started to swim. Four times a week for an hour. I started to walk. As much as I could with a growing belly. Twenty minutes on a lunch break, from the back of the parking lot to the store.

I gained 2 pounds during my pregnancy. When my son was almost a year, I went back to work which included teaching 6 fitness classes a week. Slowly my body started to change. The day before I delivered my daughter, 2 years and 10 days after my son was born, I weighed 178 pounds, down 26 pounds from my weigh-in that shocked me into taking action.

After my daughter was born, I started gaining weight again. I am blessed to have the privilege of carrying my children and feeling them dance in my belly. However I throw up every day from the moment the test is positive to the moment I arrive in the delivery room. Eating during pregnancy is a necessity, not a joy. Eating after pregnancy is catch up time.

I went back to work teaching two classes a week two weeks after my daughter was born. At the 6 week mark in my daughter's life I started to log on MFP. I downloaded the app to my phone. I just wrote down everything I put in my mouth and every calorie of exercise. Then the numbers started to drop.

What changed that made it work? I like results, numbers, concrete things, black and white, yes and no. Being able to see how many calories are in a cup of Nanny's casserole or a glass of milk has made me aware of my caloric intake. Seeing how many calories I burn in 2 hours of downhill skiing has made me aware of what it takes to shed a pound of fat from my body (and it has rekindled my inner ski bum).

Now i have a concrete goal (6 pounds, 16% body fat to go) and i am motivate by that little line that keeps going down on the graph.

Do I have bad days? Do I slip? I am I perfect? Yes, yes and far from it. I was hiding the Easter eggs for the kids and helped myself to 2 Cadbury cream eggs and about 12 mini caramel eggs. I was at my sister in law's baby shower and ate constantly for about 4 hours.

I take a spoon full of my own medicine. I often say to my clients 'don't worry if you miss a class or eat junk food. Tomorrow is another day. You can start fresh'. That's what I do. When I eat way too much or don't get in a workout, I don't get hung up about it. I just start fresh tomorrow.

The math of weight loss is pretty straight forward, it's the psychology of the endeavour that is the challenge for me.

This morning i got in the scales. 153 pounds, 35% body fat. Wow. That's 51 pounds and 15% body fat from the day 3years, 3 months and 12 days ago when I decided I needed to change.

Wow.

Amy_B

Wonderful job and story!

WiiFitFan

Fantastic! Congratulations on making a goal, sticking with it and having success! Good job!

Goal_Seeker_1988

Congratulations what an inspirational story!:drinker:

fat2fab4life

That is totally Awesome ! Congrats

Dinob661

I just recently hit 50lbs lost too. Welcome to the club you've done a great job and I'm sure there is a tone more great things you will do!

JJHudgens

Awareness is all it takes sometimes....good for you! Great loss, in a great way!

nursenicole

Wow what a wonderful and inspirational story. I hope to have as much success as you. I would like to add your as a friend! I think i can learn alot from you. Hope to talk to you soon.
Nicole

krystlenicole

Enjoyed reading your story! Great job!

34again

Wow! You are quite the inspiration! Thank you for your story and congratulations!