1 year of ups down and turn arounds...

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I finally figured out how to post pictures :) So I wanted to post my story. I have about 20 lbs give or take to go, but if it takes me another year I will get there...

Last August I was unable to run, playing any sport was out of the question. Stairs winded me. I was not healthy, not happy and headed down a path of medical issues.. although i didn't know it at that point..

This is me in August 2012
[img]http://i1288.photobucket.com/albums/b496/JPeterson52899/Facebook/The Incredible Shrinking Woman/f09ae295-45f6-474d-981a-c9e0cb0932e8_zpsabd982d6.jpg[/img]

I was 250ish.. and probably closer to 260 if not over it.. I have very few pictures of myself at that time.. I never stepped on a scale. I had myself convinced that I was not *that* overweight.. This picture changed my mind. I saw this picture and was floored. I couldn't believe what i looked like. So I started on my half-assed journey. I didn't do anything drastic, just changed how I cooked, added more veggies and less junk. Ate out less. etc..

This is me in October. I was weighed by a doctor and was none to happy to find myself just about 240. Although I was happy to see that I had clearly lost a few pounds since August...

[img]http://i1288.photobucket.com/albums/b496/JPeterson52899/Facebook/The Incredible Shrinking Woman/562736_10151486398924455_793227082_n.jpg[/img]
Although I still wasn't all in on the healthy living journey. I still didn't feel well.

I met a guy and started eating out again and drinking more often.. I still ate more healthy then I was before, but I started eating a lot less and by alot I mean a lot less and increasing my alcohol consumption triple. I had beer and wine and hard liquor for diner and often times skipped breakfast and lunch. I didn't feel bad. I was never hungry, I didn't have much energy, but that didn't matter.. My new guy was picking me up taking me to all these really amazing places. He had started bugging me to join him at the gym (which i was stubbornly refusing to do). We liked to cook together so we did and nothing healthy. I was euphoric. I was in love. I was so happy that people in other states would smile when I talked.

This is me in November a week before my entire life changed..I was still around 230/235
[img]http://i1288.photobucket.com/albums/b496/JPeterson52899/Facebook/The Incredible Shrinking Woman/228207_10151486394434455_472734184_n.jpg[/img]

A week after this photo was Thanksgiving. My guy and I drank a ton of wine and beer. I did cook a dinner but didn't eat anything the entire day, and only picked at the dinner.. i was too full of alcohol. I didn't realize how little I ate until afterwards when my guy and I were going over the weekends event. Black Friday I woke up not feeling great. A little dizzy, but not bad. Headache, but not too bad, tired, lethargic. The mere thought of food turned my stomach. Chalked it up to a bad hangover and went to the moves and chilled out.

The next day I woke up and my world blew up. I couldn't walk. The room was spinning. My head felt like it was going to explode. I tried to get up and couldn't I fell out of bed. I couldn't get myself off the floor. My 13 year old son had to come and pick me up and put me back to bed. It was all I could do not to throw up. My son tried to give me water, but I missed my mouth and spilled it all over the bed. My words were coming out in slurs and jumbled and I had trouble forming sentences. I thought it would pass, but an hour later I was still unable to walk, see or get out of bed. My guy came and got me and carried me to the car and to urgent care. They hooked me up and my blood pressure was dropping and spiking all over the place. My heat rate was in the high 30s and low 40s while I was being held in a standing position. They had me lay down and sit up and when I tried to sit up I went sideways and the aides had to catch me. They could find no reasoning behind it They sent me to the ER. I was there all day. They did every test. Took tons of blood, did MRI, cat scan, ex rays, more blood work, swabs in my ears, nose and throat, tests for things I never heard of. Everything came back normal. I was perfectly healthy except I couldn't walk straight, couldn't see straight, couldn't stand up and couldn't talk straight. After hours of being there.. they got my heart rate to stabilize and my blood pressure to stabilize and they gave me a cracker which I managed to keep down. I was able to talk and get up and walk slowly.. although the world was still not straight. I begged to be allowed to go home. They reluctantly allowed me to leave after I swore I'd return if anything started getting worse again. I have no diagnosis. Just vertigo of unknown origin.

It took 4 weeks for the vertigo to completely go away.. Despite more tests to rule out other things, there is nothing the can find wrong me with me.

2 days afterwards I was talking to my guy and we were looking stuff up online. We started rehashing everything we did over the weekend. Nothing out of the ordinary. Until we started talking about food and read an article about what happens when you slowly starve your body. It made us both wonder and we talked about what i had been eating and that was the first time I realized I wasn't eating a lot. I found this site. I logged my weeks worth of food just for fun and discovered that unless I was severely underestimating what I ate, I was eating less then 800 calories per day. Not including beer , wine or alcohol. Could this be the problem?? Undernourishing your body causes all kind of problems. I read on.. and saw many accounts of people who do not eat enough or well have similar issues. All neurological based. It scared me.

I decided to fix myself. My life had just changed forever.
December 5th I joined this site for real and started tracking my food. I joined the gym I started paying attention to my body. Here I am end of December right before Christmas at 214. I already look healthier although I was still barely able to manage to eat over 1,00 calories without eating take out or going out to dinner.
[img]http://i1288.photobucket.com/albums/b496/JPeterson52899/Facebook/The Incredible Shrinking Woman/544153_10151486410929455_1025406334_n.jpg[/img]

I was still struggling to find myself. I was going to the gym, but half-assing it. Tracking my food, but not really changing anything. I wasn't liking what I was doing and I was lost. I read everything I could find about proper eating and exercise. by January I had lost another 5 pounds, but still wasn't doing it right.. I still couldn't walk far, or hike or clmb stairs. I was still only eating healthy half the time

This is me in January at 212

[img]http://i1288.photobucket.com/albums/b496/JPeterson52899/Facebook/The Incredible Shrinking Woman/392829_10151486412254455_1468445077_n.jpg[/img]

In February and March I started getting my feet under the eating thing. I started paying attention to proper techniques at the gym and started going to classes. I started to have fun there and started to understand when to eat and why.

This is me in Feburary at 209
[img]http://i1288.photobucket.com/albums/b496/JPeterson52899/Facebook/The Incredible Shrinking Woman/599824_10151486392724455_1602367932_n.jpg[/img]

And in March at 204
[img]http://i1288.photobucket.com/albums/b496/JPeterson52899/Facebook/The Incredible Shrinking Woman/601394_10151486392729455_1510107050_n.jpg[/img]

In April I as able to ice skate for 2 hours straight.. something i hadn't done in years, because it was too strenuous and I couldn't handle it.. I was down to 199. The first time under 200 in over 10 years..

[img]http://i1288.photobucket.com/albums/b496/JPeterson52899/Facebook/The Incredible Shrinking Woman/902695_10151521751504455_429159859_o.jpg[/img]

I was so excited.. that I got serious at the gym.. I learned what lifting heavy meant and how to apply it. I got serious about healthy eating and had figured out how to eat a healthy amount in a healthy manner.. Here i am on Mothers day at 197. 2 pounds in weight.. but the difference was so obvious even I was stunned..

[img]http://i1288.photobucket.com/albums/b496/JPeterson52899/Facebook/The Incredible Shrinking Woman/462551_10151568570159455_1138407545_o.jpg[/img]

June and July I broke up with my boyfriend. I moved on with my life and have been super happy all around.
June
[img]http://i1288.photobucket.com/albums/b496/JPeterson52899/Facebook/The Incredible Shrinking Woman/1006121_10151646738159455_532613124_n.jpg[/img]


July
[img]http://i1288.photobucket.com/albums/b496/JPeterson52899/Facebook/The Incredible Shrinking Woman/19ebd80e-27bf-4ece-9847-1787569b35b8_zpsbbb979da.jpg[/img]

August
[img]http://i1288.photobucket.com/albums/b496/JPeterson52899/Facebook/The Incredible Shrinking Woman/892507_10151735433774455_590537124_o.jpg[/img]

This is me now at 191 pounds. I eat normal foods and super healthy. I lift and have fun at the gym and I love it.
here is me September 1st. Not the best picture but I think it shows where I'm at accurately.

[img]http://i1288.photobucket.com/albums/b496/JPeterson52899/Facebook/The Incredible Shrinking Woman/1266685_10151801614169455_2065210251_o.jpg[/img]

So to all those struggling to eat enough or figure it out or going through stuff.. Just keep at it.. If I can do it.. So can you.

Replies

  • haunstar
    haunstar Posts: 40 Member
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    awesome. you go girl!! Way to get after it, for you!! :)
  • learnerdriver
    learnerdriver Posts: 298 Member
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    awesome - thanks for being so honest about the swings and roundabouts. best wishes for your journey
  • Gr8ChangesAhead
    Gr8ChangesAhead Posts: 836 Member
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    Thanks for the honesty, and great job getting your life back on track
  • chanda77
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    Wow!! That's awesome!!! Great job! Thanks for sharing this. I needed some motivation. I have done the whole Yo-Yo dieting and am trying to get it together. I started on Monday and seeing stories like yours motivate me!
  • Mad_Dog_Muscle
    Mad_Dog_Muscle Posts: 1,251 Member
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    Wow, congrats to you! Nice changes youve made!
  • deevonmeow
    deevonmeow Posts: 4 Member
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    this is the most honest and inspiring story i have read to date thank you my motivation has shot through the roof! congratulations on your achievement :)
  • connie_messina
    connie_messina Posts: 495 Member
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    sexy mama! i am so freakin happy for you!!! good job! u look awesome!!
  • Confuzzled4ever
    Confuzzled4ever Posts: 2,860 Member
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    thank you :)

    It's really less about how I look and more about how I feel and what i can do.

    It never really was about weight for me. It was always about health.

    It's a complete bonus that weight loss makes you look so much better. I wish I could put into pictures the difference in attitude.. All the things that have improved in the last year.

    I play ultimate frisbee every week, do combat classes and Zumba and Insanity, I hike for hours and play volleyball and tennis and I can run A year ago just walking up the stairs felt like an accomplishment. My resting heart rate used to be 80 now it's 50. My blood pressure is great. My headaches went away. I can lift.. when a year ago 5lbs weight would have been a struggle..

    I love the feeling after a good workout. I love the feeling of the stress just melting off my body at t he gym and food tastes so much better now!

    Honestly is the only way to get to your goals. Be honest to yourself and those who love you and enlist the help of someone who cares. It's amazing the difference it makes.
  • Confuzzled4ever
    Confuzzled4ever Posts: 2,860 Member
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    And my complexion is much better. i'm not wearing makeup in any picture. It's amazing what a little health can do for ya.
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