Breakin' Legs and Losin' Weight

I remember it like it was yesterday... January of 2011 rolled around and I stood there looking in the mirror and thought to myself, “I can’t live like this anymore. It’s time to change.”
I was 19 and had been overweight as long as I could remember. My weight became a serious issue in my last year of high school through my first year of college when I was going through some rough times in my personal life. I turned to food and locked myself away in my room. I would binge and binge. I was so ashamed I would hide food from my parents, my family, and my friends. In my free time I would go through the McDonald’s drive thru and sit in the parking lot and eat my Big Mac and fries followed by an M&M McFlurry with extra M&Ms. Then I would feel so bad about myself, I’d go home and eat some more while I sat in front of my computer or TV. It doesn’t even make sense… I felt bad about myself for eating so much so I would go home and eat more. At the time, that was all I knew to do. My emotions would get the best of me and food was one of the only things that would make me feel better.
But then reality finally hit me. I was fat. No, I wasn’t just fat… I was obese and I needed to change. My health was being greatly affected by my weight. I was borderline diabetic, on medications to help balance my hormones which were completely out of whack, and to top it off I was depressed because of all of these things and more. I needed to change.
And so I did.
I joined a gym and started doing my research. Eating well and working out were two things I already knew the basics of- it was just a matter of actually doing them and developing my knowledge even further to maximize my weight loss. I cut my caloric intake probably in half and started going to the gym regularly. Before I knew it I was down 10… 30… 60 pounds! That’s when I started falling in love with my new lifestyle
Over the years I turned into a classic yo-yo dieter. When I was on track I could lose weight almost easily, but when I fell off track I would put it all right back on. It wasn’t until May of 2014 at 23 years old that my true transformation began. At that point I was 30 pounds away from my heaviest weight. Since I started my journey in 2011 I had run two half marathons, something that I never thought I could do, and I was doing my first Tough Mudder, something I had always wanted to do. Three miles into the ten and a half mile course, everything was going well… until I fell off the Funky Monkey bars and broke my leg. Now when I say I broke my leg, I really broke my leg. Complete fractures of the tibia and fibula. I was a waitress at that point. How could I work? I had just moved out of my parents and into my apartment. How could I pay rent? How could I exercise? How could I lose weight? What was I going to do?
The way I saw it was that I had two options… I could sit around, watch TV, eat, and feel sorry for myself or I could take advantage of whatever I could do and work towards my goals. I chose the latter. Two weeks after having my metal plate and five screws installed in my leg I started exercising- any upper body and core I could think of or find online. As soon as I could start walking I took my crutches and did laps around my apartment complex. Most importantly, however, I gave my nutrition a full makeover. I started tracking all of my calories, everything that I ate. Nothing could get in the way of my commitment and dedication towards reaching my goal. As my recovery continued so did my weight loss. I got a new job as a Weight Loss Consultant, my dream job, so now I could help people have the same successes that I’ve had.
It’s now November of 2014. I’ve lost 38 pounds since the accident and 68 pounds from my heaviest weight. My leg recovery was going smoothly until I went to my orthopedic doctor for my monthly follow up and the X-ray showed that I’ve actually broken one of the screws in my leg and have to have surgery again. I was heartbroken. Just when I thought I could get back to everything I wanted to do, I had to start all over again. It was almost like my weight loss journey. When I would gain weight again after losing it, having to start all over again would be the most frustrating thing in the world. However, I knew immediately I was never going to start my weight loss journey ever again. With surgery set for December, just because I am back on crutches for at least the next 4 months doesn’t mean I’m going to give up on my weight loss. I’m 30 pounds away from my goal. I’m not stopping now.
So why am I telling you all of this? Why does my weight loss journey matter? I want to share my story because frankly, if I can do it, anyone can. If I can overcome my addiction to food, anyone can. If I can break out of my relationship with emotional eating, anyone can. If I can lose weight with a broken leg, anyone can. Life without an extra 70 pounds on me is incredible. I can do things now I never thought I’d be able to do. I feel great, I look great, but most importantly I feel healthy and I’m happy. I took control of my health and my life and I won the battle I was fighting against myself. There is no journey more rewarding than working so hard for something, seeing results, changing your life, taking charge of your health, and living well.

Join me on myfitnesspal! Or my journey is also documented on my Instagram account @michelle_inprogress.