20lbs down in 3 months, this is just the beginning!

Like many others, I have struggled with my weight for most of my life. I have lost weight before but never quite got to my goal weight and always ended up gaining it all back and then some. I realized I needed to do something this winter when I reached my highest weight ever. I had already gained quarantine weight, then I broke my ankle in September and gained even more since I was sitting around all day. That ended up being a blessing in disguise because I realized how much I missed moving, hiking in particular. I decided I was tired of feeling tired and out of shape and I needed to do something about it.

At the end of December I got the OK from my orthopedic doctor to start walking  more and start physical therapy. I decided what better time to take my life back than a fresh start at the beginning of the year. I started tracking my calories and drinking 100oz of water per day. As my ankle felt better, I slowly added in more exercise. I am now lifting heavy (Stronglifts 5x5) 3 days per week and taking at least 1 hour walks 3-4 days per week. The heavy lifting has transformed my body already and I feel so much better and stronger. I went from barely being able to walk around the block to squatting 150 pounds! My lifts aren't very impressive but they're improving. Right now I'm at squat - 150lbs, bench - 67, barbell row - 76, overhead press - 50, deadlift - 130.

Here are my stats:
27 year old female
5'1" tall
SW 213.6
CW: 193.2
GW 130

Tomorrow will be 90 days in a row of logging my food! I think that is a huge part of my success this time around. In the past I would take weekends off or just give up after a few days, but this time I have really been sticking to my plan. I have MFP set to lose .5 pounds per week, which right now is giving me about 1700 calories per day. That is plenty for me most days, sometimes I eat the 1700 and sometimes more in the 1400 range depending on how hungry I am. I do not eat my exercise calories back which partially explains why I've been losing at a much faster rate than .5 pounds per week. I do expect my loss to slow down as I lose more, but I am happy with how far I have come and motivated to continue! I'm most looking forward to hiking this summer being much easier than last year. Another benefit I wasn't expecting is that I have Crohn's Disease and logging my food has given me more insight into which foods cause problems for me so I can avoid them.

I always get so much motivation from reading these success stories and I hope my story will help motivate someone else!