Slow and Steady and a long way left to go

I thought I'd post what I've done so far because it's a slow journey for me and I am sure it is for others.

I started my weight loss journey in September of last year. This is the photo that did it.


This didn't help much either.



I had gained about 55-60 lbs over the course of 6 years. I had been in a car accident and chronic back pain has made it nearly impossible to be active. Though never an athlete, and at the time I needed to lose about 10-15 lbs, I was fairly active; rode my horse, walked in the field with my dogs, and did work around the property. At the time that photo was taken I had surpassed 190 and my efforts to not eat much were not enough. I had previously tried MFP under the advice of a nutritionist but she also gave me many restrictions and I just couldn't handle it.

I gave myself three goals and three criteria for my journey. My goals were a 65 lb weight loss (putting me at 125 which is the middle of normal for my height of 5' 5" and a weight I had been under for most of my teens and early 20's), improve my quality of life, and ride a bike again. The three criteria were accept I would never be pain-free, know the weight loss was going to take a year or more, and if I wanted to eat a cupcake... eat the damn cupcake! I have a wicked sweet tooth and to deny myself things I loved would only serve to make me quit.

I lost the majority of my current weight loss by the end of January, roughly a pound a week. I never stopped eating well but I did stop logging and I do think even though I didn't gain anything back, my perceived ability to know if I was over my calorie limit or not isn't as as good as I thought! The weight loss crawled, nearly to a complete stop. But by Feb/Mar I was able to fit into a size 12! That was down from a size 16 and I finally felt I looked pretty good!



I have to admit, I wasn't being very good. I had a few more bad days than previously. But the point is you can pick yourself up again and not to despair! I started logging again fairly recently, and I do still feel like I'm stuck in the same 5lb "block" (I give myself a reward every 5 lbs, easier than looking at the whole goal!) but I finally hit 165! 25 lbs meant New Jeans Day! My old ones just were ridiculous on me by now. All my dress pants had to be thrown out as no belt could hold them on and my current wardrobe consists of a lot of dresses because they are more forgiving on the wallet as you lose weight (and it's SUMMER!)



4 days after New Jeans Day was July 4th and I was very anxious about how to get to the beach to meet friends for the fireworks. I haven't seen them in over 10 years as I am usually busy that weekend. A mile walk from where I could park to where we planned on watching was going to be difficult for me. Could I possibly ride a bike? Dragging a old and beat up bike out it turns out I can and with less pain in my back than I thought possible. I took one of my dogs and we had a wonderful time. I purchased a new inexpensive bike 2 days later and though my legs are killing me and my bad knee is sore, I am managing about 2-2.5 miles right now and I know that will get better as I get more fit. Biking isn't about the calories burned for me, 70 calories for my little ride isn't much and I'm very slow, but it's all part of having a better quality of life. And, I hit one of my goals! The weight loss one will take the longest, but I am already feeling better on a day to day basis. Reading stories on here has been inspirational, and having a few friends who are also on their own journeys means there's a wonderful support system.