385 days - my progress

Today is day 385 of my streak on MFP.
I’m a 37-year-old woman from Belgium, 166cm/5’5”, and I had been gaining weight steadily ever since my early twenties.
Last year, something finally ‘clicked’ in my head: I started a free trial on Noom and then quickly switched to MFP.

So here’s my journey so far, in numbers:
- 385 days of logging everything I eat on MFP
- I’ve lost 20.5 kg (45 lbs) from a starting weight of 94.2 kg (207.6 lbs) to my current weight of 73.7 kg (162.5 lbs),
- I’ve lost 22 % of my original bodyweight
- I’m down from a BMI of 34.2 to my current BMI of 26.75
- I’ve logged a daily deficit of 336 calories on average: I chose a weight loss rate of 0.25kg (0.5lbs) per week, but occasionally stayed slightly below my calorie goal.

My strategy?
Calories in (MFP) versus calories out (my fitness tracker)
+ slow and steady wins the race
+ no foods are off limits

Behind the numbers:
- For all of my life, I have heard my mother say weight loss is impossible, I’ve heard her complain how she gains weight after every family dinner party, etc. Her favorite motto: “A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips”. I thought I was doomed to follow in her footsteps, gaining weight gradually through the years. But after discovering MFP, what a revelation: I had no idea weight loss could be so easy. If I had known 10-15 years ago, I never would have ballooned to 90+ kg and I would have saved myself a lot of stretchmarks.
- I’m not at my (first) goal yet, a normal BMI, but I am no longer (by far) the fattest person in the room in most of my social circles. I can look in the mirror (clothed) and feel quite happy with my figure. I no longer need to shop ‘plus size’. A lot of my wardrobe is no longer wearable, and the clothes that are still wearable (because they were too small ) look a lot better on me.
- I feel a lot fitter. I haven’t been hiking in proper mountains yet (the real test) but I can hike a lot further and faster on flat terrain and moderate inclines than before. I can also jog for 1h30 non-stop (although there is still lots of room for improvement where my speed is concerned ). Only now do I fully realize how unfit I was and how my weight was holding me back and making simple things, like tying my shoelaces, harder than necessary.
- I feel much better about myself. I have lots of self-discipline and concentration issues, but this success has shown me that there is a disciplined person hidden deep within me

Some images to illustrate my journey:

1) August 6th 2019 – July 31st 2020:




2) August 22nd 2020:



3) My weight loss graph:



4) My step count, which has increased dramatically since last year:




And now? I’m slowing down my weight loss rate a bit, to give my skin some time to recover, and focusing more on strength training while continuing to jog/run. Still 6kg/13.25lbs to go to get to a normal BMI, but I’m in no rush, I’ll get there when I get there.