One year ago today...(long post w/ pics)

I started on MFP one year ago today and this is the (long) story of my success. This is MY story. The weight I started at is some people’s goal weight. Please don’t be offended by my saying I felt fat and out of shape at that weight. Body image is a very personal thing and everybody is different!

I had steadily been putting on a few pounds a year as middle age set in. I thought I looked pretty darn good for a 47 year old mother of 2! Then I looked at some vacation pictures. The first one was from a cruise I took with my son and a friend and her daughter in March. I vividly remember getting ready for dinner that night and thinking “I look GOOD!”. Then I saw the picture. Holy cow. I looked FAT!



Then I started looking at pictures from our family trip that summer. We go on adventure vacations and I have a set of what I call vacation clothes-zip off pants, cargo shorts, wicking t-shirts and polos. When we were in Yosemite, some of the pants that had always fit so well were a little snug. Some of them downright didn’t fit!






Well, I worked out often and thought I ate pretty healthy. Every time I would read an article about losing weight I would think “well, I already eat whole wheat bread, rarely eat pasta or white rice, don't drink soda, I eat plenty of vegetables and fruit” so none of the tips for easy weight loss applied to me. I was absolutely convinced that the weight gain was due to an underactive thyroid (I had half of it removed 14 years ago) and that I needed to go on medication. I decided to call my doctor and have my thyroid tested but I knew the first thing she would ask was “have you been keeping a food diary?” which of course I hadn’t. So I got on my phone looking for a food diary app with the absolute certainty that I would show her that I ate great! I found MFP and it seemed perfect. The problem with food diaries that I have always tried to keep in the past was looking up all the data for everything I ate. The database on MFP was so huge that wasn’t an issue. I made my doctor’s appointment and started logging. The day I started, I was 5’9” and weighed 157.7 lb.s Almost 160! I wore a size 12 pants or a tight size 10 and medium to large tops. I hadn’t weighed that much since right after giving birth.

Well, what do you know? I wasn’t eating quite as healthy as I thought! Not so much the quality of what I ate but the quantity! Wow. Talk about eye-opening. I was basically trying to keep up with my 6’3” husband and teenage boys. Not a good thing. My husband also likes his “fun food”. So we had doughnuts once a week, had to have “fun food” for dinner every Friday night. I would be really good about planning meals but at the drop of a hat could be convinced to get take-out. I was shocked when I calculated what some of my usual take-out meals went for!

By the time I went to my doctor, I had been keeping a food diary for 4 weeks and had lost 7 lbs.! She was almost more excited than I was. I changed my goal from 142 which had always been my previous happy weight (but truly I always felt like I needed to lose another 7-10 lbs.) to 135. I reached 135.2 lbs. in March. I have been increasing my strength training and trying to figure out the right amount to eat and my weight has fluctuated up and down by about 5 lbs. since then. This is the new me!





I have to say if I can do this YOU CAN TOO! I am now 48 and in the best shape of my life. I DO have an underactive thyroid (now taking medication for it) and a husband who still wants “fun food”, doughnuts and take-out. I’ve learned that you can’t make others eat healthy and it’s up to me what I put in my mouth. I have also learned what my trigger foods are. I absolutely cannot have cookies or cookie dough in my house. I do not have the control to just eat one. I lost my weight by eating in moderation. I have tried every diet under the sun over the years and have lost weight. Then I would gain it right back. This is the first time I feel like I can maintain the loss because I haven’t been so restrictive and this approach works for me.

For the first time in my life I am HAPPY with my body. I will tell anybody who asks how much I weigh. I have accepted my body style and know its shortcomings. I’ll never have washboard abs because I don’t wish to eat the way you need to for that. I have wide hip bones and don’t feel comfortable in skinny jeans. I’M O.K. WITH ALL OF THAT! I wear a size 6 in pants, shorts and dresses (and some 4’s!) and a small in tops. I can do boy pushups! My cardio endurance is pretty amazing. My new goals are to work on are increased strength, toning and flexibility. I also need to change my mindset. I still think of myself as needing to lose weight. I’ll hear a weight watchers commercial or some other diet aid and think “oh, I should try that” before I remember that I don’t want to lose any more weight!

What I can say to anybody else trying to do this is first of all take before pictures and measurements. Play with your calories until you know what works for YOU. Everybody is different and what works for me may not work for you. I will be on MFP for life because I know it will be very easy for me to start eating too much-I saw it on vacation so this is something I have to fight. But it is a habit for me now and no big deal to log. Thanks to all my MFP friends and thanks MFP!