Six months, 47 pounds and a bit of a brain change (pics)

I have no excuse for my weight gain. It arrived via 20 years of sneaky, bingey, and sometimes emotional eating. I've always been bothered by my weight, before my teenage years even, but this represents only the second time I've actually done anything about it. The first time, about 5 or 6 years ago, I dropped to 90 kilos / 198 pounds, getting "in shape" to run a half marathon. I never put my running shoes back on.

In October 2012, I found that I had put myself in for another half-marathon. The idea had obviously been to motivate myself to get into shape again, but it didn't work. I pulled myself around, walking most of the way. It was an ordeal that I blotted out of my mind, the horrible diet continued, and the running shoes went back in the rack.

It took until June of this year, with me at 101 kilos / 222 pounds (and 35 years old), in the worst shape of my life, before I finally listened to my partner, and we started on a diet plan together. We ate the same things, carefully shopping for 42 meals a week, preparing 6 meals a day, making everything fresh and saving a lot of money in the process (through not going to restaurants, mostly).

I joined a very friendly gym, and went at least three days a week. We started playing badminton at the weekends. I now really enjoy exercise, I see a personal trainer weekly, and try to swim weekly as well. I even ran on Christmas day and Boxing day.

When my partner's and my goals began to differ (I was the only one trying to eat at a deficit) I started to log here at mfp, and to enjoy the friendly camaraderie that comes through the site. I joined a group (Autumn Weight-loss Challenge), set *and met* a reasonable weight-loss target for myself.

I recently picked up a suitcase weighing 47 pounds. It was so heavy I had to laugh. The idea of carrying that around for 13 miles...

So the obligatory pictures. I'd like to take this opportunity to apologise for all of the pictures of me in pants. At least they're not high resolution. The clothed picture dates from May 2013. The first unclothed picture comes from September, and then we work rightwards, towards the two pictures where I rediscovered trousers, which come from a couple of days ago. I am now at 79.5 kilos / 175 pounds, with a little wobble over Christmas.



I have no clue where my weight will settle, but I certainly haven't finished yet. I would be very lean at 70 kilos / 154 pounds, but that seems a way off just now. Hopefully through this post I'll pick up some more friends who are interested in following the next phase of my "weight-loss journey" though.

A message to anyone just starting out: I used to be wilfully ignorant of what constitutes a good diet. I am now mindful of good eating habits. I prepare all fresh food, and I enjoy cooking and eating it. When it comes to exercise, I used to basically avoid being out of breath at all costs. I wouldn't now describe myself as an exercise junkie, but my goodness it doesn't feel too bad to have aching muscles. It is a lifestyle change, and for me it has been entirely positive. All that is required is mindfulness, self-respect, and the occasional nudge and kind word from others. The latter reason is why I'm staying here on mfp.

Thanks everyone. Anyone can feel free to add me.