F/5'6'' - 198 to 182, a 4-year story of ups & downs. Slightly NSFW, lady in underwear! ;)

The "before" photos are from January of 2012, my last semester of undergrad. At nearly 200 pounds, I was tired, depressed, lacked motivation, and had a strong taste for beer & pizza. The after photos are from yesterday morning.

In spring of that year 2012, I found Keto, and later on, I ventured into Paleo. I lost approximately 30 pounds through low carb dieting alone. It was fantastic.

In May 2013, I got married. I weighed in just under 165lbs on my wedding day and was so ecstatic. Unfortunately, I didn't have quite as much motivation after the honeymoon to keep up with my exercise & paleo routine. I started having a few too many margaritas after work each day. Work got stressful. I tried on and off to keep up with my routine, and did just enough to keep a big weight-gain at bay. But then...

In July 2014, my then-husband (now EX) told me he didn't love me anymore and wanted to divorce. What?! After just over a year of being married, I was faced with being single and also recently unemployed.

I moved in with my parents shortly after and just wallowed. I wallowed and wallowed and wallowed. I ate a lot and drank a lot of high-calorie, high-alcohol beer without much care, and slowly packed the pounds back on.

Fast-forward to early January 2016. I was finally in a good, healthy mental spot. I was dating someone great (still am!) and had just been accepted to graduate school. I decided it was time, once again, to jump back on the wagon and get myself under control.

Since then, I've started lifting weights 3-4x a week, and have been training to run a sub-30 minute 5k. I haven't actually lost a bunch of weight according to the scale, by my clothes are getting looser and looser, and I feel stronger every single day. I drink way less, track my calories, and love the feeling of being much more in control of myself than I have been in a long time. Working out and eating well is starting to feel more & more like a natural part of my lifestyle, rather than a big change I've made to get to some end point. Especially with weight lifting - I love it, and I don't think I'll ever stop!

It's been a heck of a journey but there's no slowing me down I definitely have these community posts to help keep me motivated and inspired to push forward, as well, so cheers to all of you on here. Stay amazing!