Excited to jump in! Come meet me! (long intro w/ pics)

becs_91

Hey everyone! My name is Rebecca, and I've been lurking around these boards (maybe a little obsessively... lol) for 3 weeks now. I guess it's time to step out of the shadows and make some friends.

So, here's my backstory. I'm originally from the DC area, and currently living in the amazing city of Chicago.

Looking back, I used to be pretty damn thin (relatively speaking), although I never really thought so at the time. Over the past 3 years (college), I've gained a whopping 60ish pounds. Not good. (Why couldn't I have just gotten the "freshman 15" like everyone else?!) I'm 5'8, and at my thinnest, I was maybe 140-145. That may not sound like very low, but on me, 140 is SKINNY. I knew, during my sophomore/junior year of college, that I was creeping up to the 170s, then 180s, then 190ish... stepping on the scale was VERY rare, so who knows. Kind of a gray area there. Even stepping on the scale at the doctor's, I would avert my eyes and hope they didn't mention it. I knew I was approaching 200 pretty fast but didn't want to think about it.

You'd think getting engaged over a year ago would have snapped me out of it and inspired me to take action (you know how brides-to-be sometimes get... OMG! WEDDING DRESS! I'M NEVER EATING AGAIN UNTIL AFTER THE WEDDING!)... nope. Our long engagement (almost 2 years) gave me the luxury of continuing to not give a s*** about what I was eating (which was pretty much everything).

I spent 4 months (May-August) in Montana, where my fiance is stationed (USAF), during which time I (you guessed it) continued to do a really good job of not giving a s*** what I ate. LOTS of cooking delicious, enormous meals for the two of us. I'm guessing I probably put on another 5 or 10 pounds in that time alone.

Coming back to Chicago after my 4 (very happy!) months in la-la land was kind of a reset for me. I don't know what it was, maybe the shock of so many adjustments being back here and on my own, but all of a sudden I just snapped out of it. After 3 years, finally, I snapped out of it. I acknowledged the fact that I was VERY unhappy with the way things were going, and I decided to take action.

I bought a scale. (LOL, finally.) I braced myself for the big scary "2" that I knew I was bound to see. Lo and behold, I clocked in at 211.6 pounds. By far the most I have ever weighed. I discovered MFP and started tracking. Within a day, I could not BELIEVE what I had been eating before. It really is a shocking wake-up call, once you start paying attention to what you put into your body, to realize just how out of control things had gotten. As if my personal tracking wasn't enough of a wake-up call, I'm taking a nutrition class this semester. LOL. It's already given me more confirmation that I was, in fact, eating garbage, for many years, and lots of it.

I've been tracking for 3 weeks now, and I'm happy to report I've lost 8.8 pounds so far! I know the weight loss will definitely SLOOOOW down, so I won't get used to the 2+ lb per week loss. But it was definitely enough to remind me that I'm doing the right thing, and inspire me to keep going. I haven't added any major exercise yet - living in the city, I walk (a LOT) on a daily basis just to get around and live life. But we'll see what the future holds!

Oh yeah, and on top of that, our wedding is on July 5 - less than 10 months from now. I'm not viewing it as an "omg-serious-deadline-where-200-people-will-be-looking-at-me-in-a-white-lace-gown-i-have-to-look-perfect" kind of thing, but more of an optimistic goal. By that time, I'd like to be happy and healthy, and ready to enjoy our new life together (not to mention look bangin' in a bikini on our honeymoon)!

Anyway, here are some pics to give you an idea of what I'm workin' with.

Probably close to my lowest weight, my senior prom:





Another "before," a good representative of how much I weighed through my teenage years:



And now, for the scary truth of the present......

At our engagement party almost a year ago - probably around 200-205, and the closest thing I can find to a current full-body shot:



This was a year or 2 ago - I swear that extra chin came out of NOWHERE!:



Anywho, if you made it through reading all that, thank you and I applaud you for having the patience of a saint. And if you skipped through to look at the pics... that's cool too! Haha.

FiercelyBeautiful

happy to be your friend!

becs_91

happy to be your friend!

Same to you!

toughlovexx3

i liked your story. its kind of similar to mine, as in the not caring and was eating what i wanted till i finally got a wake up call! i wish you luck on your journey and you will make it to your goal weight!

best wishes

skolvikes5

i liked your story. its kind of similar to mine

Yeah, me too. I also wore a red dress to prom.

Sprmc47

You got this!!!

becs_91

i liked your story. its kind of similar to mine, as in the not caring and was eating what i wanted till i finally got a wake up call! i wish you luck on your journey and you will make it to your goal weight!

best wishes

Thanks so much! I'm glad we all got our wake up calls and ended up here!

becs_91

i liked your story. its kind of similar to mine

Yeah, me too. I also wore a red dress to prom.

LOL. Bet it looked gorgeous.

becs_91

You got this!!!

Thanks! I'm excited!! glad to be friends!

Ash2712

I loved reading your story, thank you for being so honest. I was in a similar situation, I am 5'6 and my lowest was 135, I met my husband and he encouraged me to stop smoking finally and then getting engaged was a lot for me I guess, I started creeping up to 185, I was able to lose 15 pounds before the wedding but I put it on very fast afterward!
7 months later I was pregnant (my second child, third pregnancy) I was not ready for the weight from that! By the time my little angel was here I was at a 235! I was so depressed all the time, (honestly considered smoking again because I ate less then, that's how low my self esteem was). My hubby was super supportive in wanting me to be happy again, so we started working out together, I was down to 212 and that is where I normally stayed. I creeped up to 214 and that's when I finally got busy with MFP, I am now doing a lower carb plan and slim in 6 from beach body to try and get myself feeling good again!
So...I would love to be friends, we can motivate one another!
I am looking for more friends always. I love that it has helped the last few weeks!
I have been going strong for about 3 weeks and I am down to 203!! It works!!!

VemmaMom

Welcome and you ll be amazed at the support and friends you meet on here! I just glt back kn today after long time and still rem some of the peeps and visa versa its aWesome:-)

becs_91

I loved reading your story, thank you for being so honest. I was in a similar situation, I am 5'6 and my lowest was 135, I met my husband and he encouraged me to stop smoking finally and then getting engaged was a lot for me I guess, I started creeping up to 185, I was able to lose 15 pounds before the wedding but I put it on very fast afterward!
7 months later I was pregnant (my second child, third pregnancy) I was not ready for the weight from that! By the time my little angel was here I was at a 235! I was so depressed all the time, (honestly considered smoking again because I ate less then, that's how low my self esteem was). My hubby was super supportive in wanting me to be happy again, so we started working out together, I was down to 212 and that is where I normally stayed. I creeped up to 214 and that's when I finally got busy with MFP, I am now doing a lower carb plan and slim in 6 from beach body to try and get myself feeling good again!
So...I would love to be friends, we can motivate one another!
I am looking for more friends always. I love that it has helped the last few weeks!
I have been going strong for about 3 weeks and I am down to 203!! It works!!!

I can totally relate! Towards the end of the summer when I was thinking about transitioning back into my Chicago life, I honestly considered voluntarily taking up smoking again so that maybe I could start losing some weight. Then I realized that was horrible reasoning and a really sad, unhealthy way of thinking. So here I am! We are in the right place and on the right track to becoming actually healthy, not just losing some weight and gaining it back! It's awesome that your husband is so supportive and working out with you. Congrats on your loss so far!

becs_91

Welcome and you ll be amazed at the support and friends you meet on here! I just glt back kn today after long time and still rem some of the peeps and visa versa its aWesome:-)

I can tell already! I'm really excited thank you!

becs_91

Selfish bump for the daytime crowd

QueenofScott

Congrats on your progress so far toward your goal...and for getting it under control while you are still so young! I'm sure oh will have great success:)

PS - this has nothing to do with weightl loss, but I noticed that your fiancé is in the USAF. It caught my eye, because my 22 year old son is in the USAF also. I am partial to that branch of the service;)

jheilala63

Feel free to add me!

becs_91

Congrats on your progress so far toward your goal...and for getting it under control while you are still so young! I'm sure oh will have great success:)

PS - this has nothing to do with weightl loss, but I noticed that your fiancé is in the USAF. It caught my eye, because my 22 year old son is in the USAF also. I am partial to that branch of the service;)

Thank you! USAF is where it's at You must be so proud of your son. It is really amazing what they do. Going to my fiance's graduation from basic a few years back is still one of my proudest moments - I can only imagine what you felt!

lcooke24

Welcome aboard!! Fell free to add me and let's get this done!

Lauzenger99

I really enjoyed reading your story. I unfortunatly have never been skinny but I definatly know what you mean about not really caring although you know the scales creeping up and then having that wake up moment where it hits you. I hope you continue to do really well

Laura

becs_91

I really enjoyed reading your story. I unfortunatly have never been skinny but I definatly know what you mean about not really caring although you know the scales creeping up and then having that wake up moment where it hits you. I hope you continue to do really well

Laura

It really hits like a ton of bricks! But I'm glad it did, because here we are thanks so much!

kmwinter79

I can kind of relate to your story. I was skinny when I was a teenager, then I had my daughter, lost most of my pregnancy weight, then ended up somehow putting it all back on and then some. I also quit smoking which didn't help with the weight at all. When I hit almost 200 lbs, I had a serious wake-up call and decided I needed to get back in shape if I wanted to be a good role model for my daughter. I lost a little over 50 lbs and am working on my last 10. MFP was my kick in the butt to finish it off right. Feel free to add me as a friend!