One Year on MyFitnessPal (female, 5'8, 82lbs dow, pics)

One year ago I no longer felt comfortable in my own skin. I felt huge, I wasn’t eating as well as I could have, I was avoiding to walk, and sitting still for prolonged amounts of time was very uncomfortable. I was out of breath more often than not, and all my clothes resembled different-coloured shapeless sacks of fabric. I wasn’t unhappy, my social life wasn’t suffering - I simply wasn’t feeling well. Now, it’s worth noting that I live in France, land of the fashionable and beautiful. I’d love to say that this is just a stereotype, but like all stereotypes, there is a lot of truth to it. I presume I must have stuck out, even though I wasn’t paying much attention to it, but I suppose subconsciously I felt it.

In October 2016 I looked back and determined that my weight, as it had been in June and July was by far my heaviest, and I had to make a change now. I knew what I had to do:

• Join MyFitnessPal
• Do what MyFitnessPal tells me to do
• Pick a workout program
• Take one day at a time

The first time I lost weight I was on a 1200 calorie diet, but I never weighted my foods, nor did I log alcohol - I’m not surprised I regained all the weight that time round. This time I invested in a compact food scale and logged drinks. I started at 1200 calories and chose to do C25K, a program I had previously done, but never actually completed. I refused to pay for a gym membership.

Initially, weight loss was easy - I was so overweight (BMI 37+) that the weight dropped at a rate of 1kg per week. It wasn’t always perfect, I didn’t always stick to my calories, but I did my best. Over Christmas 2016 I dropped under 100kg which was a huge deal for me. I also remember going out for runs in the deep of winter, once at -4°, but I did it. In February 2017 I completed C25K for the first time.

It was these mini-goals that made it work, I think. In March I entered ONEderland and also was no longer obese by BMI standards. By April I had officially lost 25% of my original bodyweight. In June & July of this year I could mark off having lost 10 points on the BMI scale, and as I write this I have, for the first time since May 2011, dropped beneath 25 points on the BMI scale, so officially entered “healthy weight” territory. I am so, so proud of myself.

Here’s what I've learned:

1. Food is 80% of your weight loss: Don’t stress too much about working out, the core of weight loss is calories in, calories out - working out is good for you, of course, but not mandatory to lose weight. I started out easy, just running a few times per week, later I started cycling in the countryside, and now I’m doing Kayla Itsines body weight program which I enjoy, but overall I’m not doing much sports at all. Food on the other hand is everything. Make good choices. Figure out how many calories you need, and then get creative. For me it’s working out how to get the most volume without spending many calories. Food prep makes life easier. Slow cookers make life easier. Having a go-to meal makes life easier (mine is spaghetti). Find the healthy “dupe” for your comfort food.
2. If you cut out anything, it’ll come back with a vengeance: Every time I would determine not to have something because it was “bad” for me, I would end up binging on it. So I stopped cutting out food. Someone said “if you include it in your food planning it’s a treat, not a failure” and there is so much truth in that. Yes, I don’t bring things into my home that are “danger foods” for me, but if I want chocolate or pizza or McDonalds, then I go for it, and make sure it fits into my day.
3. Watch your water and nutrients: Drinking enough water and making sure I have enough nutrients has been surprisingly significant. I have this bottle (I know, they should start paying me for advertising) that’s been a game changer for my water intake, and on MFP you can see your nutrients based on the food you log. I noticed that I wasn’t even consuming half as much iron as I should, I now have a supplement and I feel so much better! It’s also good to have an eye on your vitamin C levels, especially in the cold seasons.
4. Finishing a program isn’t the most important thing, it’s actually doing it: I started doing C25K three times? Maybe four? I finished it once. I started Kayla 4-5 times at this point and have yet to complete the 12-week program. I started C210K twice, and have never finished it. BUT I keep at it, I re-start as I have to, even if I take week-long breaks, I always come back to it. I don’t give up. And that’s OK.
5. The hardest part is getting out of the door: Maybe it’s become clear by now, but I really don’t like working out. I keep at it though, especially now since I’m no longer losing 1kg per week, it’s all become harder. Getting on the workout gear, leaving the house to do sports is the hardest part of working out. Once I’ve started, once I’m doing it, I feel GREAT. And I have never regretted working out - have you? Have you ever finished doing sports and thought “Urgh, this was pointless?”. I never have, so I remind myself of this every single day.
6. The “inside me” is now visible on the “outside me”. What this means is that I can wear the clothes I want to, so for the first time those around me are seeing my personal style rather than me wearing the only clothes in the shop that would fit me. I’m sure a lot of you can relate to this. They say “you look so elegant, I really like your new style” and I want to shout that this has always been my preference, but these clothes weren’t made for fat women. I can actually pick something from a website, and it’ll fit, AND it’ll look good.
7. The impact on your life is a lot bigger than just your appearance: I bring this up a lot on the forums: people treat you differently. I’m fortunate enough to not have lost friends, but I know a lot of people do. It’s from people actually making eye contact to people holding the door for you, making space when you enter, noticing you, not dismissing you. It’s incredibly upsetting because this is just the way the world works right now, but fat person = subhuman in our society, and I will do my utmost to change this, starting with myself and pointing out to others when they are behaving this way, (un)consciously.
8. The people on MyFitnessPal are incredible. They are the support system you may not find in your immediate circle. They are wonderful, encouraging, honest, and they have walked the walk. They are genuine, and they are your best weight loss buddy. Yes, a lot of people don’t stick around, but those who do are probably a very big part of the reason I keep logging on every single day. So thank you!

I’m not finished yet. I have another 22lbs to go, my goal weight is the middle of the BMI for my height, and then I’ll reevaluate if I need to change any further. I’m going to focus more on strength training than the number on the scale, especially since now I’m actually healthy weight. I am out of the red zone, so I don’t have to stress about it too much. I need to create new mini-goals. Patience is a virtue, another mantra I tell myself every day. I need to mentally prepare myself for maintenance, especially since I think that’ll be the hardest part.

To finish, here are a few before and afters, I love seeing these of other people!