Belated intro - I'm Kristy, I am 41 from Auckland, New Zealand. I'm a Technical Writer so I sit at a desk all day, but I am also a qualified Personal Trainer.

Once upon a time I was super morbidly obese, weighing in at 330 lbs. I am 5' 7". I have always been overweight/obese, then, one day in 2011 something just clicked in my brain. I was 32 with 4 young kids, I didn't want to be in my 40s and disabled from eating myself into an early grave. I turned down the offer of Weight Loss Surgery (twice), joined Weight Watchers, and then at the start of 2013 after moving to Australia, I found MFP. By early 2014 I had lost over 160 lbs and gone from a NZ size 26 to a size 8. I had also injured my shoulder, developed Thoracic Outlet Syndrome and started getting severe migraines. I maintained my weight loss until mid 2016, but it all got too much. I was diagnosed with chronic pain, had to stop exercising altogether, was suffering from depression and anxiety, and on top of that was diagnosed not only with Binge Eating Disorder, which wasn't a shock, but with anorexia, which was.

BED won. In 2017 we moved back to NZ and I started gaining weight back. It was a rough few years, I had a lot of therapy, was banned from losing weight or tracking calories for quite a while. Now I am in recovery, have pain levels mostly under control (although I still have bad days/weeks, and suffer severe migraines) and have finally managed to start lifting weights again. My weight got back to 280 ish (I actually think in kg, but I translate because most of this group is American). Right now it's around 250 and I'm doing okay. My goal is to get healthy again - I feel like "me" when I am active, exercising and lifting weights and I haven't been able to do much of that for a few years. It's slow progress but I am on the right track. 🙂

I'm going to be away from my computer all of today for work, so I'd like to postpone my weigh-in until tomorrow.

(Also, I saw my weight this morning and know it's almost entirely water weight, and would like to give it more of a chance to disappear before my official weigh-in)

08/04 steps 20324

So many tasty treats you guys shared! Y'all are awesome!

@debbiewsharpe Hubs and I are researching this fall and winter so we can transform our backyard into a raised vegetable garden next year, but I kind of want some blackberry brambles too.

@Freeglerock ooooh I love veggies and hummus too. Cucumbers are awesome!


Yesterday was a fun day. Played golf with the Hubs and a couple of his coworkers who are hilarious. Drive, chipping, and putting were all improved, but my fairway game needed a lot of help.

Today, my dears, is "Water Wednesday!" All that means is that you try to keep track of your water and post what you drank when you check in.

I am woefully behind, but am about to go for a walk on a greenway nearby, and I'm taking about 40 oz with me.

Stay hydrated!!!!

tryingagain5
Wednesday
Week 1
PW: 200.8
CW: 202.4
+1.6
My own fault. Dinner out the night before weigh in day isn't a good idea, neither is going to get donuts after work (for breakfast or dinner, depending on what you call the meal 3rd shifters eat after work.😊

I think I need to be put on the cheer squad for the month of August. Need some time to work on getting back on track (again).

I'll still check in to keep myself accountable, just don't want to worry about the number on the scale.

15160 step total - August 5

I am SO glad I postponed my weigh-in to today.

Yesterday, my scale said I was over 168lbs, and I knew that was entirely due to my return to weight training on Monday evening (I'm still sore, thank you for asking). Water retention and I have a love-hate relationship. I know it's just trying to repair my muscles so I can be even more of a badass, but seeing those higher numbers makes me more self conscious, and thereby more likely to stress eat. So, a 0.2lb gain that's basically equivalent to maintaining for a week? I'll take it.

This Past Week:

• 1 weight training intervals class, 8 spin classes, 13 miles walked, 14 minutes of planks, 12 floors worth of ladders in full industrial safety gear
• Over a gallon of water every day
• Eating was mostly on track - any splurges were not necessarily planned, but executed without going down the rabbit hole of eating chocolate chips straight out of the bag
• 1 garbage bag filled with clothes that are just too big to wear without alteration - may attempt to modify some old t-shirts into new tanks for spin class
• Asked by my landlord if I lived with my larger sister (I don't think he and I have had an in-person conversation since I moved in three years ago, when I was a good 220 lbs)

Other Notes:
I think I mentioned in a previous post that I was debating trying out to be a spin instructor, as the open auditions at my spin studio are on the 29th. If I didn't mention it and I'm only dreaming I did so: I'm debating going to the audition. Last night, after a particularly energetic class, one of the current instructors told me that she really hoped I would. That little nugget of positivity was probably the one thing that I needed to really give myself a chance.

Often times, I feel we don't try things because the fear of failure overcomes our self-confidence. But if I've learned anything from trying to be healthier, it's that one failure does not define you, and you can't change anything for the better unless you purposely try to. So, in summary, spread some positivity today. You never know who may need it.

@JillyBT - From what I understand of intermittent fasting, you can do it every day as long as you're consuming all of your nutrients and your body is okay with it. I know that I personally cannot intermittent fast, just from how my body reacts to not having food in it. But it's 100% safe to do and a lot easier to do regularly if you make it a habit.

@GingerPwr - Water Wednesday - While I didn't check in yesterday, I still want to mention my 140 oz of water from yesterday. I'm super proud of myself for drinking that much. Hydration is always a focus of mine, and yet I come up short more often than I'd like.