One year and this is all I have to show for it...

Here’s the Story.

Starting point June 3rd 2012: 219 pounds, size 16 pants, 1x tops, but not comfortable.

I started losing weight about 4 years ago when I started exercising with my dogs – walking and doing dog sports. I don’t know how much weight I lost because I was afraid of the scale. It was enough that people were starting to notice, and I dropped down to a size 14.
Unfortunately, I lacked much of any knowledge about nutrition and I rationalized a lot of bad choices.
“This is ok, I have to work late.”
“I deserve this treat.”
“It’s a birthday/holiday/event, so it’s ok.”
“I’m stressed so I will eat this to make me feel better.”

We had a biggest loser style contest at work in 2011 and I watched a lot of co-workers lose weight and put it right back on. A lot of them were using a website called myfitnesspal.com but for some reason I did not want to count calories, no way. That just “wasn’t me”.

In June of 2011, I was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis, a condition that made it painful to walk. The physical therapist told me weight loss would help, but I brushed it off.

Meanwhile, I was slowly putting on weight and getting more unhappy and unhealthy. I had a lot of back and neck pain that was hard to deal with some days.
In April of 2012 I learned that the iron levels in my blood were low (for the second time) and I would have to get treatments (again) to put iron directly in my blood. One of the nurses who did the treatments told me she had lost 90 pounds using MFP and it got me thinking about what my goals might be.

My husband and I took our dogs with us on vacation to a bed & breakfast in Colorado at the end of May, 2012. The food was amazing, but, I said to him that I was going to start my “diet” when we got back from vacation. When I make a decision, I stick with it. I rarely quit anything and when I do, it makes me unhappy and dissatisfied.

Sunday June 3rd, I created a profile on MFP and logged my food for the day. I used the default settings (sedentary) the website gave me and off I went. My goal was to lose 89 pounds.

The first week was really difficult. I had no idea what I had been eating or how much. But I decided that I wanted to give it a chance, so I kept logging. The only number I watched was calories. I logged my dog walking and ate back my exercise calories. It wasn’t long before I started to see weight loss. Sometimes I logged on the weekends, sometimes not.

As I started seeing the number on the scale go down, it fueled my desired to stick with the program. I made small changes.
-Cooking better food.
-Eating more veggies and less carbs.
-Looking at the back of packages at the grocery store before they went in my cart.
-Trying new foods because they were lower in calories.
-Using the crock pot more often to make hearty, low-cal meals
-Donated the high-calorie packaged foods from our pantry and didn’t replace them.
Although I don’t know if it truly helps or not, I started some supplements: One a day women’s vitamin, Metamucil fiber and Garden of Life Raw green super food capsules.

I figured out that it was more fun to eat a lot of a good food rather than a little bit of a junk food.
As I lost more pounds, MFP adjusted my calorie goal and kept following the recommended amounts.
When I had lost about 30 pounds, the calorie count MFP gave me was just too low. I was hungry and unhappy. I discovered a group on MFP that used a method called “In Place of a Road Map”. The group leader showed how to calculate your body fat and TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) which is the amount you need to maintain your current weight. He recommended eating at 20% below TDEE.

I switched to the customized settings, which gave me more calories each day, and I stopped logging exercise and eating back the exercise calories. I was happier and the loss continued. The new method recommended setting goals for Macros (protein, fat & carbs). I set the numbers but still just paid attention to calories primarily.

I noticed a lot of hair falling out and that really worried me. Apparently it is common with weight loss, but according to the internet, increasing protein and good fats (avocado, fish oil, etc) could help. I started trying to hit my protein goals and bought a Hair, skin & nails vitamin. I stopped taking the fiber supplement because as I was making better choices, my diet had plenty of fiber.

After 25-30 pounds, a few co-workers started noticing. I had a hard time seeing it, but I did notice my clothes were starting to fall off.
I had some unexpected surprises.
-My feet were in-between sizes and I couldn’t find any dress shoes that fit.
-My bra band size dropped but not a cup size so I had to buy bras at a specialty store.
-My back pain had decreased dramatically.
-It was easier to run while doing my dog sports.

Here at 151ish pounds, I am a size 8-10 in pants, tops are medium. I dropped from a size 9 sneaker to an 8.5. My bra size went from 38DD to 34DD. According to the military body fat % calculator on Fat2Fit, I've gone from 48.6% BF to 32.9% BF.

A lot of people are noticing and commenting. Sometimes the comments aren’t very well thought-out, but I try to take them all politely. People gasp when I say I’m still losing. I was even told I had been “brainwashed”, lol.

I’m trying to hit my daily protein goal in addition to my calorie goal. Protein tends to make me feel fuller and frankly, I love meat, nuts and edamame. It doesn’t happen every day, though.

There are simple things I do each day to ensure a “good” day.
-The night before, I try to log what I know I’m going to eat the next day. Having a plan leads to success.
-I pack my lunch each day for work. Eating out responsibly can be done, but sometimes removing temptation is the best choice.
-If there is food setting out at work, I just don’t walk by it.
-If I am offered food, I say no thanks, or “maybe later” just to be polite.

Not too long after I started, I realized it wasn’t a diet. I was changing the way I looked at food. It was no longer a tempting indulgence that had control of my life. I was in charge of what went in my mouth and I logged all of it, good and bad.
A lifestyle change does not have to be a massive overhaul, little steps, increasing knowledge and trying new things has made the journey easy. Everyone looks for a “quick fix” and there simply isn’t a better method than eating less than your body burns. Yes, it’s been slow but, it’s been about more than just losing weight.
I feel like a better version of myself. I feel empowered and that making good choices is easier. Also, my Labradoodle and I are excelling in our dog sports, which was a big reward for me.

Some tips and observations:
-No one controls what you put in your mouth but you. You are the boss.
-It took about 40 pounds to drop from 16 to 14 pants. Then only 10-12 pounds for 14 to 12. Don’t be discouraged if your size doesn’t change linearly.
-The first few weeks, (and even sometimes after that) I was obsessed with food. Even more so than when I was eating out of control. Do not worry, it will pass. You learn how to make good choices and they get easier.
-When eating out at non-chain restaurants, you might not find an exact match in the MFP database. Better to add something close than nothing at all.
-You don’t have to eat the same things as your family. I often will cook something slightly different for myself, or I will only have one serving. This is a little more work, but isn’t it worth it?
-There was a change in my grocery cart. I spent more time in the produce section, and less in the prepackaged aisles.
-I started measuring food. A digital scale is an easy way to make sure you’re not “cheating”. Pasta was a big one for me that I had to measure to get the correct portion. That being said, I usually eat 1.5 servings, so long as it fits in my goals.
-Drinking a lot of water is not optional. This is one that I would say is invariable from person to person. Water helps with so many body functions I could fill a whole page. I drink at least 8 16oz glasses a day – but I worked up to this number. When I don’t get enough, my body feels it. Water keeps you fuller, longer and aids in proper digestion. My co-workers tease me that I have a “drinking problem” and then I ask “how much weight have you lost?” 
-So often you hear about the “Battle of the Bulge”. Losing weight is not a battle. You and your body should live in harmony and if you are willing to truly stop and listen, it will tell you the truth, every time. Being full is not the same as being stuffed. 95% of the time, I am plenty satisfied within my calorie goals and I just stop eating when I reach them.
-I have had stalls. Weeks at a time when the number on the scale didn’t move or even seemed to go up. These things come to an end. Be patient and persist.
-As a rule, I don’t condone eating in the car, but if you’re out and about, it would be better to have a small snack on hand then to get an ice cream cone at McDonald’s. I keep almonds and 100 calorie packs of animal crackers in my car.
- Even though it might seem boring, I eat the same breakfast every morning and the same two lunches every week day.
Breakfast: Thomas light English muffin, 1 egg, 1oz cooked turkey sausage, cup of coffee with fat free half and half and C&H light.
Lunch: Sara lee multigrain roll with Oscar Meyer deli select turkey & mustard. 8oz carrots with 2oz hummus. 1 strawberry Jell-O. Every other week I sub edamame for the carrots & hummus.
-Do I have “cheat” days? Sure. At least a couple days a month I don’t count or worry. One meal here and there won’t de-rail a month of quality meals and correct portions.

If it was easy, everyone would be doing it. If it was hard, I wouldn’t be doing it.