Two years and counting...

This was me two years ago...


I had been heavy all of my adult life... for example, here is a college picture from 20 years ago for comparison


Notice that I said all of my adult life yes, I did this to myself when I left home at 15 which is why I was plus sized by college - there are some psychological reasons behind it, but ultimately this was all my doing

Two years ago I made a serious decision to finally take off (and keep off) the weight. I was in poor health with diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, heart conditions and at 340 lbs or so, I had finally hit my breaking point. At his point I was having constant back pain and unable to walk a block down the street without feeling as if I had just finished a marathon. I went to my GP who of course said it was all weight related (as all of my health conditions were) and passed me the name of another doctor who had success with helping people lose weight again. I say again because she had previously suggested I go see this doctor and of course I didn't listen. But this time I was ready.

So I called and made the appointment and had a consultation with this new doctor. She promised fantastic results and I was extremely skeptical, but at this point, what did I have to lose? It would either work or not work, in which case I would just be where I already was. So after waiting for all of the medical tests and all of my other doctors approval, at the end of March 2013, I was finally ready to start the program.

I got the diet plan and was immediately taken aback - the diet was so strict that my brain went WTF? but still determined to give it a shot I plodded along. I will tell you that I had the most fantastic food fantasies involving mountains of bagels those first couple of months. But the weight came off and I started to learn how to cook (yes, I was never the cook in the house)
And I started actually enjoying cooking and enjoying the end results

It took about 13 months to lose 170lbs when I decided to come off the diet as I had far exceeded any of my hopes (initially I just wanted to be out of plus size clothing, not a real actual weight goal)

I then started maintenance, and lost about another 20lbs and settled around the 140-150lb mark. Now I eat pretty much everything as long as it fits into my 1800 calorie diet and into the goals I follow for proteins and carbs.

Along the way, I stopped taking insulin and metformin for the diabetes and just watch it with what I eat. I got retested for the sleep apnea and lost that diagnosis, my blood pressure is normal now. I walk between 1-3 miles daily, no back pain at all

This is what I look like now for comparison with losing about 200lbs total



I guess this rather long winded post has to come to an end so I will get to the point

things I learned along the way
1) it is never too late to make a change (I started at 42)
2) who knew, losing weight actually does have a positive influence on your body
3) any kind of exercise works - you do not need to spend hours at a gym - or run at full speed - just move and do something you like and will do again
4) IMO, I eat better and more than I did when I weighed 200 lbs more
5) MFP is a great resource and community for support and tracking - thanks to everyone out there



Thanks for reading my long winded post and I hope everyone has a great day