I met my first major goal today!!

G30Grrl

After this morning's workout and weigh-in, I left the gym in tears.

Well, first I high-fived a stranger and explained to her that the reason for my funny squealing noises on the scale was because I am now officially no longer obese. Then I had to practically run to the truck, because I was crying from the relief.

I have never been a petite girl, although back when I was in the Air Force (half my life ago), I was down to a size 6, which I also was again in 2008. Other than that, for most of my life I have been slightly plump, though in possession of some curves nice enough that I still got plenty of second glances and compliments, so I wasn't terribly concerned. But then, a few years ago, the weight started slowly packing on. First, I got a desk job. Then I got laid off. Then I quit drinking (and started eating). Then I got another desk job. And quit smoking (started eating even more). Then I got laid off for five months. That was when I packed on the most weight.

You see, I had gone back to school in my mid-thirties to get a degree in science, thinking I'd never be poor again. I was tired of working my butt off in the mental health field and barely being able to make ends meet. But it didn't work out how I planned. Although I got hired by a great company right after I finished school, I got laid off nine months later, when the recession hit full force. Nevada's unemployment rate is the highest in the nation, and I live in the county with the worst unemployment in Nevada. Knowing how many others were suffering did not help me cope. I found myself sobbing and signing up for food bank just a little over 2 years ago. My inability to meet my financial obligations felt like total failure to me. I became horribly depressed, and since I could no longer smoke or drink my feelings away, I proceeded to eat them. Five months after my layoff, I got a wonderful job that took me back to Reno, and shortly after that, my car died, so I began riding my bike everywhere. Thank goodness I was living in town where everything I needed was within a 2-mile radius, because I was so out of shape that I often had to walk my bike for parts of each ride. While several months on the bike helped get me a little toned, I failed to lose any weight at all. Eventually, I was offered my old job back, so I returned to my tiny little town, where I bought a house (2 months ago) and moved in with my boyfriend. We began carpooling to work, so I didn't even ride my bike anymore.

I haven't owned a scale in years, so I am not sure when I officially crossed the line into obesity. In fact, until I joined this site, I didn't even know I fit the criteria. All I knew was that I was fatter than I've ever been, my back and knees hurt, I got winded very easily, and even running across the street was painful. Then my boyfriend and I went to Vegas to meet my sister (Jasperpup, who just joined this site herself a couple of days ago). We had a great time. But on our last night in town, we went to ride the zipline down Fremont Street. Prior to getting in, we each had to be weighed. When I got on the scale, I almost threw up in my mouth. 193 pounds. When did that happen? How could I have gotten so big and not noticed it? When I answered honestly, I had to admit I HAD noticed, but had ignored it. I took great comfort in food (especially ice cream and giant bowls of sugary cereals), and my boyfriend thought I was beautiful no matter what, so it seemed irrelevant. Until Vegas.

After we rode the zipline, we bought a copy of the pictures they took of us riding down over the street. The picture shows me from behind, looking over my shoulder at the camera. When I look at it, all I can see is one big giant rear-end, topped by some rolls of back-fat. It was like a bucket of cold water in the face. I could no longer ignore what I had done to my body.

I joined the gym, starting with 3 days of cardio (on the bikes, because I could only do 2 minutes on the elliptical, and I can't run without pain) plus strength training. Now I'm up to four days weekly. And all of my cardio (a minimum of 60 minutes each work-out day) is done on the elliptical. After some research on healthy eating and nutrition, I cut out 80% of my processed foods. I began paying attention to portion size. I started logging in to MFP every day and logging everything I ate, learning in the process how many calories, fats, sugars, etc. are in everything I was eating.

It's only been a few weeks, but I have lost 13 lbs. I feel stronger. My clothes fit better. And I am no longer obese. Granted, I'm still overweight, and want to lose at least 40 more pounds. But I have met my first goal, which shows me that my efforts are paying off, and I CAN do this. Now the next goal is to weigh less than my boyfriend. I intend to meet that one by the end of the year, holidays and all!!

Thanks for listening,
Tracey

BarbiNay

Good for you Tracey! Mega ^5s for you! Keep it up and you will be back at that size 6 in no time!!! You have a lot to be proud of right now!!

GreenLifeGirl

Wow, despite everything you have chosen to get serious and diligent about your health and it is paying off!!! So glad you had this victory! Keep it up!!

tashajayne2011

WOW seriously WOW

I am in absolute awe of effing brilliant you are!!! I was in tears reading parts of your post, well done for reaching your goal. You really deserve it!!

Vcaser

Tracey, I'm so happy for you! It sounds like you're well on the way in your journey to better health. I'm sorry to hear about all your trials and tribulations. I didn't realize things were so bad in Nevada after the housing boom they had had for awhile. It sounds like you have a wonderful man in your life who supports and appreciates you, which will help a lot.

I, too, let my weight creep up on me some years ago and actually hit the exact same number on the scale that you did before I woke up! I got most of the weight off with WW and now I'm just trying to tweak my body fat percentage down. I wish my husband would join me on MY journey, but I'm not going to let him hold me back.

Keep up the good work and best of luck to you.

HeatherR930

Congratulations! That's fantastic! I remember being excited to not be obese anymore early on in the journey, & even though I had a long way to go, it felt good to not be obese any more for sure! Keep up the great work!