The journey of the 300+ pound woman...

snowsflake

I was a 300+ pound girl. It was a hard pill to swallow, not that I had a hard time swallowing all the food that got me there, but it was my nightmarish reality. However, I still couldn't see what I had become, because I was so used to feeling sluggish and depressed all the time. I seriously LIVED on fast food. I mean sometimes every meal was fast food, and ALWAYS super-sized with a shake or pint of ice cream for dessert. Sometimes I would crave food from different fast food places and I would drive from one to the next getting what I wanted. I would hide the bags in my backseat so the person at the window couldn't see that I already had food in the car because that would be embarrassing! I remember one day I had pizza buffet for lunch AND dinner. It was crazy!

I drank and smoked and could hardly walk up my flight of stairs to get to my apartment without almost dying, but somehow I always seemed to be able to go and get food and go drinking. Plus when I drank I smoked about a pack of cigarettes. My feet and knees ached so much from how heavy I was that they would pulsate from pain when I sat down. I was so swollen that if I touched my feet it would leave an indention.

Not that the physical pain wasn’t bad enough…my self-esteem was non-existent and it totally showed on my body, my face and in my eyes. I was super sad and I hated the way that I felt, but I couldn’t snap myself out of it. I tried diet after diet after diet…with small successes (happy) and HUGE failures (depression) followed with a weight gain of more than what I started at. This only added to my depression, but I ate to make it all go away. Until the day that I reached my point…or so I thought.

I started working out with a personal trainer and had success…I actually lost about 44 pounds and even made it all the way up to 61 pounds. Only to be side tracked by my emotions again and gain back most of the weight that I had lost. And here we go again!!!

I had finally “accepted” my fate…that I would be overweight for the rest of my life but still waiting for that “miracle” diet or pill to come along and save my sad *kitten*…but it never came…and I kept sinking deeper and deeper…

Then one day I had had enough! And I decided that I was going to figure out what in the hell was really going on and get this taken care of. I mean the peeps on The Biggest Loser had lost all of this weight and why couldn’t I? Well, I didn’t have Jillian or Bob, but I set out to make a change…and by change I mean a lifestyle change.

I slowly started changing my eating habits and if I wanted to eat something “bad” I would try and figure out why I wanted it. It took a lot of me searching inside myself and I started to discover that I had the desire to make the lasting lifestyle changes, so in August 2009 I quit drinking and smoking and started eating healthier. Yes, I still had cheat meals and splurged more than I should have, but now about 90% of my meals were healthy and well balanced. By default I stopped eating fast food and probably haven’t had fast food in about the same time. My fast food is now Subway…not a meatball sub! Then I started working out…walking, doing some workout videos and some gym work. Then I moved up to spin classes Thanksgiving weekend and was addicted to those classes for a while. I started to drop pounds really fast. Then I worked my way up to boot camp workouts…and here I am today doing things that I NEVER thought I would be doing and kicking *kitten* at it too!!!

I’m here to say that this CAN be done. I didn’t need a fancy diet or celebrity trainer to get me here. All I needed was to discover that I was WORTH it!!! And that small glimmer of hope has transformed into where I am today. 99 pounds lighter…smaller clothes AND shoes, even my feet got smaller…and from someone that could barely walk 1 mile in 20 minutes…to someone who ran 1 mile this morning in 10:52. I’m still on my journey…and I will get to where I want to be. I feel so much better and I’m so much happier. Yes, things get me down, but I do try and figure out what it is…I thank GOD that I’m finally here…

borgi77

Well done that is great work, you should be so proud of yourself and thank you so much for sharing and trying to make a positive impact on others

studentRN

Thanks for sharing your story, it is truly inspiring!

WAY TO GO!! :drinker:

Keep up the great work!

melodyg

I needed this today. Right now I'm that person who is doing well to walk that mile. I've changed a lot of default habits and I so hope to be writing a success post some day. Thanks for some hope... and congratulations on all your victories, weight loss and otherwise!

chocolitt

I'm happy for you! You give me inspiration!

Heather75

You're amazing. Thanks for posting.

ittybittybadonkadonk

what an awesome story ..... great job on getting on board instead of doing nothing about it ...... your an inspiration to many ... keep up the awesome job :flowerforyou:

onmywaytoskinny155

I too know what it is like to be the 300 pound girl. Keep up the good work!

candicecumbie

Great Job! You are an inspiration!!!:flowerforyou:

FocusPlease

FANTASTIC! Exactly what I needed to hear--such an inspiration, thank you! And CONGRATULATIONS!! Keep going!!

msbanana

FAB!!!!
An inspiration for sure!! Thank you!!

:drinker:

Phatpatty

Thanks for sharing, that was truly an inspirational story which relates to many of us... I am kind of in the same situation right now...I need to know that I am worth it and to know that I deserve to do this for myself. I often get bogged down in all the duties I have taken on and take care of those/them verse myself. I recently lost my father at a very young age of 50. Obviously, this was unexpected. I have been stuggeling daily with it-- he was my hero. I have recently had an apiphany(however you spell that) and have decided to take the time to do whats best for me. I have decided to do it "right" this time.. it's amazing how everyone believes in you except yourself! I have been training for a 5k and am strong enough to complete it, but I just can't manage to break the processed, sugary, fried nasty food addiction. Now at 245....its TIME! Anywho-- thank you for sharing

FitnessChefJime

You are amazing.. Awesome

NaturalMom

Way to go!!!! Congratulations!!!
And thank you for posting your story for us all! You are an inspiration!

xtina11179

Awesome!! You are truly inspirational!! Congratualtions on all of your success so far, and I wish you the best in your continued journey!! :flowerforyou:

will4change

What an inspiration you are to me!! Often times it is quite hard to accept that the person in the mirror is really the person one is looking at. God bless and congratulations to you!!!:flowerforyou: :happy:

finallyproud

That's awesome keep up the great work

KatieM7

Thank you for the post! That is an amazing journey. Congrats on the victories.

youngs

Thanks for sharing your story!! Congrats to you on all of the progress that you have achived so far on your journey..but I must say that as I read your story I keep thinking to myself ..Oh my is she writting about me..your story sounded so much like me..except for the smoking and drinking..but all the heart aches and the physical aches and pains..Wow.. I have not lost as much as you but I have to say that I feel so much diffrent with what I have lost..Your story and your achivments are such a great insperation to me..

Thank You so much!!

snowsflake

Thanks everyone for your kind words...you help me too! We are all in this together and we can do it! BELIEVE in YOURSELF! You are all amazing!

snowsflake

Thanks for sharing, that was truly an inspirational story which relates to many of us... I am kind of in the same situation right now...I need to know that I am worth it and to know that I deserve to do this for myself. I often get bogged down in all the duties I have taken on and take care of those/them verse myself. I recently lost my father at a very young age of 50. Obviously, this was unexpected. I have been stuggeling daily with it-- he was my hero. I have recently had an apiphany(however you spell that) and have decided to take the time to do whats best for me. I have decided to do it "right" this time.. it's amazing how everyone believes in you except yourself! I have been training for a 5k and am strong enough to complete it, but I just can't manage to break the processed, sugary, fried nasty food addiction. Now at 245....its TIME! Anywho-- thank you for sharing

I'm so sorry to hear about your dad. You will get there and break the cycle that you want to break...all in your own time. Keep your head up because you will get there!