Me: Morbidly Obese -> Obesity Class II -> Obesity Class I

I may not be a traditional success story but I feel successful.

My hope is that someone will see this and realize how much better his or her life can be in 30 weeks. My PLAN and my PHILOSOPHY come from a few sources. Included are my personal trial and error from prior weight loss attempts, my lack of knowledge regarding being successful in maintenance, my husband’s personal success story and his first hand knowledge of obesity, the MFP forums and posts by very well-spoken advocates for fitness, advice from successful MFP friends, and just plain common sense.

I started my “ME” project in March when I weighed 275 pounds. I’m 5’9”.

http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/bmi-calculator.html
Using the calculator above, I check my Body Mass Index (BMI).

At week 1, I was in a class called “Morbidly Obese”

At week 10, I was in “Obesity Class II”

At week 20, I was still in “Obesity Class II”

At week 30, I am now in “Obesity Class I”
(see profile picture for a Week 1/Week 30 comparison)

In 30 weeks, I have lost 40 pounds and 43.75 inches (from 12 points on my body). I am on the road to losing 100 pounds along with reaching other fitness and health goals.

MY PLAN
*I have been eating no less than 1900 calories a day and I pre-log. I pre-pack my breakfast, lunch and snacks. I do make substitutions sometimes during the course of the day. As I lose more weight, my plan is to continue eating like an athlete does of my size.
*I know what my Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) and Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) estimates are. I keep my caloric intake between those two numbers.
*I don’t eat exercise calories back because I do not know what I burn. I just workout and make it a part of my life. It doesn’t matter to me if I burn 600 calories an hour or 200 calories an hour. What matters is that I am pushing myself and breaking a sweat.
*Protein constitutes 30% of my daily intake. I eat whatever I want but it does have to fit into my caloric/protein goals for the day. When I keep these two numbers at the front of my mind, I seem to be satisfied with where my other macros land. (In the rare time I don't get 100% calcium, I take a Citracal + Vitamin D).
*I am more active. I stand more, I walk more, I don’t mind the errands that require going up and down stairs anymore….things like that.
*I formally exercise 5 hours a week.
*Three of those hours are weightlifting. I started off in the women’s area of my gym for the first 20 weeks and “outgrew” it. I needed heavier weights and different tools to challenge me. I am now in the much larger free weights room. I’ve made friends there. Even though I have a minimum of 60 more pounds to lose, I can see and feel muscles underneath the layers. I have spent 30 weeks of lifting to failure and I’m very strong now. I get stronger each week and I use a free iPhone app called JEFIT to track my progress.
*The other two hours are cardio. Right now I go to a boxing circuit which is 30 minutes of HIIT 4 times a week but I’ve done swimming, dancing, biking and running. I did an International Distance Triathlon last month which did require more cardio during training. I know I will try many other things in my future. On the weeks that I can only commit 3 hours of gym time, I use those for weightlifting and I take a 2 hour hike with my family on the weekend. There are many ways to get cardio in and enjoy it too.
*I don’t worry with the scale. I don’t rationalize gains with “oh too much sodium”, “oh time of the month”, “oh this, oh that”. Believe me, I used to….when I had to weigh-in with someone I was paying to help me lose weight. Forget that! MFP is free and you are only held accountable to you. So, weigh yourself. Or don’t.

For me to have gotten this far and to get even farther, it has taken (and will take):

MY PHILOSOPHY:
PATIENCE
PRIORITY
PLANNING
PRACTICE
PERSERVERANCE
PERSPECTIVE
POSITIVITY

When I keep these at the forefront of my mind each morning, each meal, each decision, I can honestly say, being more fit has not been hard. Not at all. Most of this just takes time and practice. It was very hard at the beginning but because these are habits now, it is very easy for me.

* Whatever your fitness goals are, you will achieve them if you can practice PATIENCE. It will take time. In most cases, it will take longer than you want to admit. Go ahead and settle into the saddle because who knows how long you are going to be there. It will be fun though, if you can stay patient. While you are there, take time to notice and appreciate your NSVs (Non-scale victories). They will become innumerable.

*Only you can determine where your PRIORITY to get fit will lie. In my opinion, you don’t have to make this your number one priority but it does have to rank pretty high otherwise it becomes less of a priority. If you are not ready to rank it high, excuses will take over. This is how I manage my life but it may be different for you: 1) My husband and kids come first. Their schedules, their sporting events and school events come first. I find that when I give to them, I get even more in return. My family wants me to be successful and are cheerleaders for me. 2) My full-time job comes second. I have predictable schedule for the most part. 3) My “ME” project comes third. My food logging, cooking meals for the week, my lunch packing, my workout clothes prep, my exercising, my sleep and my fitness/nutrition research are all included in that. Once those are accounted for, there are still hours upon hours in the week to do other things that I enjoy. My priorities were not always this way. I had to figure out what were non-negotiables for me.

*Without PLANNING, you cause unnecessary stress upon yourself which leads to negative thinking about yourself. In all actuality, losing weight and getting fit has nothing to do with who you are as a person. You don’t have a character flaw, you just need to be a better planner and this takes practice, in my opinion.

*PRACTICE small things day in and day out. The menu planning, the logging, the water drinking, the saying “No, thank you’s”. Everything takes time and practice. Practice until you don’t have to think about it. Then keep it up.

*Without PERSERVERANCE, you can’t see your changes at longer term intervals. You will quit. You will switch up your plan because “it’s not working”, etc. You need to settle into YOUR plan and stick with it. Tweak your plan after each month or so if you need to.

*Maintain PERSPECTIVE. Get yourself out of your mess the way you got into it….one step at a time. Remember that someone out there is doing more with less than you have. Less “ME” time, less money, less strength, less support…… That there are worse things in life than the way you feel about your body. Maintaining perspective also means acknowledging that you don’t have to be perfect. That there will be terrible days in your future and you will need to prepare for them…and plan your strategy for overcoming them.

*Without POSITIVITY and positive thinking, you will be miserable. Being positive is a daily mental workout to remember where you came from and where you are going….and to find joy in the things that used to be so difficult. Positive thinking includes smiling and being thankful for the beautiful things that are uniquely you! Being positive means talking kindly to yourself. Being positive means removing drama from your life.

Just know that the weeks are going to pass anyways. Imagine where you can be in 30 weeks (which will be the end of April 2013---I know because I have my fitness map planned out). I know where I am going to be. I am going to be in the “Overweight” category and twice as fit as I am now. I will have completed my Mud Run. Just believe in yourself and trust me….. My Week 1 was just a few blinks ago. March 7th really does seem like yesterday.

You are going to love what you discover about yourself! Just be patient, define your priorities, plan and strategize your life, practice new habits, don’t quit, keep your goals in perspective and be happy! It’s not always easy but at the same time, it’s not that hard.

So go on and enjoy your day and I am going to enjoy my 48 BPM resting heart rate! “Obesity Class I” has nothing on me!

Melissa
We are all athletes. Some of us are just in training.
120weeks.wordpress.com


http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/120weeks/view/me-morbidly-obese-obesity-class-ii-obesity-class-i-429019


Add:
It might surprise you to know that my goal weight is in the Overweight category. Once I get there, I will strive for an overall look. It's very possible I will stay overweight just as it is very possible I will lose more and be a normal weight. The BMI scales don't mean much to me. I am obese by BMI standards now but I can do things with my body that most normal weight women cannot. It's not the end all be all. I am just proud to make progress.