Down 84lbs in 365 days. If you know me based on who I was a year ago, you don't know me at all.

rosepeppercreek wrote: »

"If you know me based on who I was a year ago, you don't know me at all. My growth game is strong. Allow me to reintroduce myself." (I read that on a fitspiration Pinterest board last week and loved it.) I'm posting this in hope that someone would read it and decide to start or keep going on the hard days. I've been there!! But the struggles are worth every pound lost. I'm always looking for new supportive friends! So, feel free to add me! I'm also pretty active on Instagram: allisonrose88

My name is Allie. I'm a born and raised California girl who just started the last year of her PhD. Hopefully I'll be Dr. Allie by May. My story is similar to a lot of stories I've read before. As a kid, I was the first to be tall, the first to get boobs, the first to start her period. I developed faster, and this always made me the "big kid". I was almost half a foot taller than most of the kids I knew. I'd already started developing, and I looked more adult. I lived my life with the assumption that I would always be the fat girl, eternally uncomfortable in her own skin. A father with a serious narcissistic personality disorder did little to help build my self-esteem and self worth, which made the weight gain worse. I was a size 18-20 by the time I was 21. And soon after that I was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). I learned that the hormonal imbalances in my body would make it very hard for me to loose the weight I needed to loose in order for the PCOS to go away (such a stupid double edged sword). It would also be very difficult for me to have children. These were two things I desperately wanted more than anything; to loose weight and to be a mother... So I kinda gave up. I stopped looking around for guys to date, I stopped caring about what I wore, or what I looked like. During most of college and graduate school, the scale climbed, and I reached my heaviest at 297 and a size 24.

The "spark" that threw me into weight loss is so typical that it makes me smile now to think about it. i was wronged by a boy. Last September, my first love broke up with me. One day he decided to stop returning my calls and messages, and completely disappeared from my life. I got no closure, and I was totally heartbroken. As if that wasn't bad enough I found out that he was married, and I had actually been the mistress. Oh, and he had a child I didn't know about. I was angry, sad, anxious, but all of that forced me to really reconsider how I'd been living my life. The fact that I consistently put everyone and everything in front of my health and mental well-being could not be disputed anymore. And so I changed. Just like that. One day at a time, a little bit more each day... But I changed. And am still changing, ever evolving into the girl I always dreamed I could be. Sexy, confident, funny, smart... I wanted to be the whole package for someone someday... And more importantly, I wanted to be the whole package for myself. I wanted to have the confidence to believe that I'm finally becoming the best version of myself. I'm not done yet, I still have about 60lbs to go. But I'm a whole lot closer then when I had 140lbs to loose. I'm very happy, and very proud. And I just keep thinking to myself, what a difference a year can make.

So much has changed in the last year, I decided to make a list of some of them: I rarely suffer from "chub rub", I'm freezing all the time, my car uses less gas, I need less air conditioning, I have a ton of amazing fit friends (and I'm not embarrassed to say that I can hang with them and be an active girl), moving from the floor is easy, crossing my legs is no problem, my feet have shrunk a whole size, I sit in new weird positions on the couch, the "recovery" part of my workout comes easier, my lighter body means more spontaneous movement bouncing up and down, there is no panic moment as a picture is being taken, I don't hide behind the nearest available object, all seat belts are comfortable (even plane ones), I regularly get told that I have the "glow" of healthy eating on my skin (and I don't use cover up), I actually have a reason to wear yoga clothes, normal sized towels work just fine, I paint my toenails easily, I slip past the car parked next to me, I move quickly up and down stairs, two of my three favorite rings have fallen off (and the last one is getting really close), after struggling with asthma all my life... my lung function is better then ever, I never need an inhaler. And lastly, all my blood work is normal and healthy.

This journey hasn't been easy. I worry about my skin. I've experienced more then one plateau. Some weeks I work out a ton, eat perfect, and gain 2lbs. Other weeks I have a crazy binge and am down three. The key is to keep going, keep pushing. Know that every day, every decision leads you closer and closer to your goal. (Even if it doesn't get reflected on the scale that week.)

SW: 297, size 24 (September 1, 2014; 7lbs and 20 days before MFP)
CW: 213, size 14 (September 20, 2015)
GW: 150 (What it says on my driver's license. But this may be too light for the amount of curve I want to keep. Haha.)
Total Lost: 84lbs
Days on MFP: 365

And of course, the pictures. I'm taking a brave leap posting these. Haha.


Some things I've learned along the way...

1. Make friends in the MFP community: People in my life understand my journey, but my MFP family understands it the best. I have so many amazing friends here, who have been supportive and helpful on days where I feel like giving up. I'm always looking for more, because I've realized how important social support is. Even from people you don't know in real life. People will loose weight weeks you loose nothing. Support them! Encourage them! They will do the same for you.
2. Ask for help: From the MFP community, from a dietician, from a trainer, someone!! If you are struggling. Please PLEASE don't give up. There are so many resources out there, and the best thing you can do is stick with it. I've suffered through 3-ish plateaus, where I worked out like crazy, ate right, and lost no weight. I know now how to handle it. I started seeing a dietician, I change up my workouts, I work at maintenance for a week. Something. And I also keep in mind that sometimes my body just needs to rest. You can't just expect the weight to fall off. Your body is a complex system, and it is not JUST a calorie in calorie out mentality. You have to take into account how much sleep you've gotten, how much water you are drinking, what kind of exercises you do, what your hormones are doing. (Like my PCOS, for example.) This is a lifestyle change. It has to be in order for the weight to stay off. You have to treat it like a marathon, and not a sprint. Did I think I could loose 140lbs in a year? Absolutely. Was that possible for me? Absolutely not. Weight loss goals have to be realistic and sustainable, and sometimes a professional (or someone who has been through this) can help you see that.
3. Put good food in your body: I know this is an unpopular thing to say. But I believe fast food, bad food, is addictive. I've experienced that "withdrawal" sensation for myself. Just like drugs, just like alcohol, food can be an addiction. Except, unlike drugs or alcohol... You can't just stop eating and expect to live. I'm a serious foodie (I have a tattoo of a whisk for god's sake), I LOVE to cook and eat out... But I try to be choosy on what I decide to indulge in. 80/20 has really worked for me. I never feel deprived, and my body always feels fueled for my workouts. You need ALL macronutrients (carbs included) to make your body work right. Our bodies just work better processing whole nutritious food. You want to loose weight faster? Eat better. Want to gain muscle? Eat better. That will immediately change the game. You won't be bloated from sodium. You'll drastically lower your cholesterol. And you won't be as addicted to sugar. In terms of calorie goals, my dietician recommends to eat up to 500-1000 under my daily burn, and this has worked the best recently.
4. Find workouts that make you happy, and schedule them like they are important meetings with yourself: I'm obsessed with SoulCycle. NEVER in my life have I been into working out... But now, I need it in order to keep my head in check. It makes me happy. Cardio has done amazing things on days when I feel especially anxious or depressed. It's a real mood lifter. My recommendation is to try a whole bunch of new things until you find something that works for you. I've also added C25K to my workout routine, and I'm on Week 6. With my first 5K scheduled for Halloween. Don't be afraid to lift weights!! The fat burn stays with you all day. When you loose weight your skin gets looser, your body changes shape. Give your skin the best chance of returning to normal. Give yourself a shape underneath the fat. It's really amazing to see it start to appear. There is definitely muscle under there that gets stronger and stronger everyday. And the muscle helps burn the fat away too.
5. Get an accurate count of what you burn: The easiest way to do this is with a heart rate monitor. I've used three different fitness bands since I started (UP24, UP2, and now the FitBit Charge HR). I love my Fitbit Charge HR. Mostly because it tells me how much I'm actually burning via the heart rate monitor feature. It gives me such piece of mind, because I know I am never, ever guessing. It's seriously the best $150 I ever spent... And no, I don't work for Fitbit. Haha.
6. Reward yourself when you meet miniature goals: I've never focused on loosing 140lbs. I've been working 10-15lbs at a time. Right now, I'm focused on getting to ONEderland, about 14lbs to go. I have a goal structure listed in my "About Me" on my profile if want to see how I've layer it out.
7. Be Inspired: There are days I hate this. When the scale goes up, when I'm too tired to get out and exercise, and the best way I've learned to combat this is to look throw my feed and see the successes of my friends. I have Pinterest boards of the clothes I want to buy when I get to my goal weight and fitspiration quotes. I have a quote wall where I track my progress and keep myself motivated. I try to surround myself with things that inspire me in order to keep my motivation up.

I posted a similar post a few months ago here in success threads (http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10181788/256-days-73lbs-halfway-goal-and-my-advice-to-newbies-with-pictures), and also in the newbies thread many months ago (http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10025184/60-days-and-27lbs-in-advice-for-newbies). But for my one year anniversary, thought it might be nice to update my advice after (another) plateau. And be brave and post some pictures.