My 60 pound journey with many pics along the way

one question: HOW DID YOU DO IT??????

Simple question and I'm wondering whether to give the long or short answer! The short answer is healthy diet and exercise.

Queue long-windedness for those still reading...

When I got started, I sat individually and in small groups with my family and friends and told them exactly how being overweight was making me feel and harming my life and my self worth. Many were shocked and very sad to hear that I was carrying a pain like that around. I needed them to understand though that being overweight was detrimental to my being and that if there was any enablement to come, that it would need to be them enabling me to stay committed. My family and friends agreed and made this commitment with me.

I started working with a nutritionist at my doctor's office. I love, love, love her. It is free for me to see her as much or as little as I need to. I used to go see her and weigh in weekly, now I go maybe every 6 weeks. If I start to struggle I call her and go in sooner. If I am doing great and nothing new is going on then sometimes I reschedule. My healthy insurance pays for 100% of it and I am so lucky that a nutritionist is available to me in this way.

Nutrition is huge and so is the exercise. January through July when I was in active weight loss mode, I was generally working out at least 6 days a week, sometimes 7. When I did 7 days, two of those days were yoga and I considered them off/rest days. During those months I spent 2 days a week personal training, and on the opposite days I'd take classes like spin, cardio kick, total body sculpt, yoga, or I'd go running.

In July I got down to 158 and I stayed that weight for months. I'm losing weight but gaining muscle still so it doesn't always show on the scale. I had changed my routine to 4-5 days a week which is more maintenance-mode for me, and it is a comfortable pace and lifestyle for me to keep up with. Today I weigh 152 and am *kind of* working on reaching my goal of 150. That was initially my goal weight but I am just at a point where I see that I have a good, healthy and strong body and I accept it the way it is. In the end I remind myself that my goal was not about a number on the scale, it was about living a life of vitality and vibrance. I love my life and now that I am not hiding myself from the world I see everything around me more clearly and take joy in every day experiences. I am very happy to be an active participant in life and not just watch everyone else enjoying themselves around me.

Also - I cannot tell you how reclusive I had gotten when I was overweight. I just truly believed that I had lost my value to everyone. The truth is that I was only lost to myself. It was really a shame that I stayed away from my friends like that for so long, everyone really missed me. It is nice to be a part of the party again!