before and during - 5'6, 200-150

thanks so much, y'all!! i haven't seen too many pics of people at similar height/weight to me so i figured it wouldn't hurt to post some! i've been working at it since last december, albeit with some hiccups along the way.

i've struggled with binge eating for all my life, but i went from 145-200 in really a period of less than a year (in 2011-12) during a bad relationship, the awful breakup that followed, and some improperly prescribed medications. in a way i guess i was kind of lucky i'd gained the weight so quickly because i feel like it's maybe made it easier to lose it? i don't know.

the big difference for me, honestly, was just becoming aware of how much i was eating every day. logging on mfp and seeing "3500" or "5000" at the end of the day really hit it home that if i didn't change how i ate, the weight would just keep coming on. after i adjusted how much i was eating on a daily basis, i started adding more exercise. i don't have a car, but instead of taking the bus shorter distances i started walking them. the mall's about three miles away, so now when i go, as long as it's not raining, i walk there and only take the bus home. i do some cardio in my apartment's gym and i know i need to add in strength exercises, but i haven't done that yet... but any exercise is progress! i was so sedentary before.

i've also been working really hard to break that mindset of "oh, already screwed up today, guess i can just overeat for the rest of the week too." i know that's really sabotaged me in the past so now i'm really trying to see each day on its own and be realistic about how much one day can ACTUALLY set me back in the long run, as long as i hop right back on it tomorrow.

i'm not entirely sure how friends work on here (i've been logging on mfp for like nine months but i haven't really used any of the other features, haha), but feel free to friend me if you'd like!