Success story! Went from obese to healthy BMI.

Hey guys!

I've been on this website for years and never thought I'd write a success story. Here goes.

I have been overweight my entire teenage and adult life. I would go on fitness "binges" that last about 3 months until I'd give up. A year and a half ago I was considered obese according to my BMI which really shocked me. My body fat percentage was around 43%, I was almost half fat.

In 2014 I was depressed and stressed. I also had a medical diagnosis that would worsen if I kept the weight. I do a lot of work sitting down. I was gifted a Fitbit for Christmas 2014, I had also joined yet another gym and my friend was getting married 10 months away and asked me to be a bridesmaid.

In the last week I've finally hit a healthy BMI, and lost nearly 10% body fat. I know BMI isn't accurate, etc etc, but the number alone was just a goal for me and I finally hit it.

I have to thank Fitbit for this. Without it I would have given up like the three or four times I've tried losing weight before. In my previous attempts I counted calories and hated it, I would get so obsessed and addicted to the numbers. I'd lose about 10 kilos (22 pounds) and put it back on, and put more back on each time. Not this time.

For the first several months alone just casually walking and hitting 10k steps a day melted the first 5 kilos for me. Then I introduced simple weight routines approx 5 days a week on top of the walking, on and off. Then slowly started running more and incrementing stairs/hill routines. I never counted my calories the entire time. I found obsessing with numbers brought me down in the past, so having a tracker guiding me was so important so I never had to make mental calcualtions all the time. It finally brought a healthy routine and lifestyle change for me. I now enjoy eating healthy food, I stopped binge eating just cos I didn't feel like it anymore. I still eat junk food, still drink alcohol, just now in moderation (I'll never give up burgers and milkshakes).

I barely fit into the largest size of dress in the store when looking at bridesmaids dresses. Since then I dropped two sizes for the wedding (from a 16 to a 12), and have lost more since then, now I'm a 10. I'm now the lightest I've been since high school.

I slowly increased my effort, I began doing challenges with friends only a year after I joined, I began jogging/running more when I felt like it, I upgraded my Fitbit to measure heart rate and flights of stairs and I'm aiming for 180 floors a day on the stair climber currently. I don't have a strict routine, some days I just casually walk the 10k steps, some days I go on a big hike, some days I run and aim for 20k steps. The only days I don't hit my step goal are when a) I'm sick, b) I'm on a plane, c) When I spend time with family on Christmas Day. That's it.

I honestly don't notice any significant difference in the mirror, only side by side images. I never had a major problem with my body in the before photos which is why it took a huge lifestyle change for me to do it.
I hated not fitting the largest size in the store, I suffer from anxiety and it was a lot worse when I was unhealthier. Now I've donated or sold all my bigger clothes, I had to part with a lot of my favourite clothes, cos I'm not turning back.

I still want to drop maybe another 5kg and then I'll focus on maintaining. Thanks for reading my story