Women 200lb+, Let's Find A Way This May!!!

ReStarting weight: 225 (May 2024)
Goal weight: 175
Final Goal Weight:145

Weigh-in Fridays
5/3 224
5/10 225.8
5/17 222.4
5/24 221.8
5/31

Goals for May:
-Log every day
-Close all of my rings 5 days a week
-Walk or exercise at least 30 min a day
- May goal weight: 213

Started logging my water this week and realized that I do not drink enough. I was averaging only 48 or so ounces of hydration a day. I'm trying to double that, but it's not been easy. On the bright side, I haven't had a Dr. Pepper in over a week and my sweets cravings are slowly decreasing as well. While I may not hit my intended goal weight by the end of the month, I'm happy with the progress I'm making and the habits I'm building!

I’m looking to be more accountable of myself. I started my journey way over 10yrs ago 250lbs and took me years to get to 210lbs I was extremely proud of myself and all the very hard work I put in I suffer with PCOS.

I then had an emergency spinal injury which resulted in surgery that set me back massively, I had low mobility and was home alone all day everyday. I did manage to keep my weight steady for a few weeks but it began to keep back up. Eventually I was able to get back into movement and was advised to take up swimming. It started very slowly and the weight still creeping up.

After a few months of swimming and starting to build up my strength and stamina COVID hit, no swimming for over a year and again mostly stuck at home by this time the weight was piling back on. As soon as the pool reopened I was back there but again it took some time to build the stamina back up. I was maintaining my weight yet again but not losing.

A year later I’d lost a few lbs but nothing major I was swimming regularly and still trying to keep my diet healthy.

3 years after my first spinal surgery the injury reoccurred I was back off work and had minimal movement in the weight piled again. Took some time to recover again I was lightly swimming and really trying to not let my circumstances stop me or get me down.

Then the pool I was going to had to shut for 6months for maintenance no movement at all and I gain all my weight back up to 250lbs.

I am back swimming again now and I’m now focussing on my diet but here I am today starting from the beginning at 250lbs.



Age: 33
Current weight: 250lbs
Short term goal weight: 239lbs
Mid term goal weight: 210lbs
Healthy weight: 153 lbs

Current intention:

Portion control
Snack on fruit/veg
Cutting down on eating crisps/chips

Good morning everyone!

Saturday weigh in days (It's Sunday now, lol)
Christina
35 years old
5'4"

SW: 220ish
Re-SW (Feb 2022): 200.4
UGW: 150
2024 goal weight: 165
SW 2024: 182.7

🌻 May Goals!🌻
🌻 May GW: 178

🟡May SW: 181.4
5/4: 183.2
5/18: something ridiculous, ew
5/25: 182.8

🟡Practice for performance at least 3 days a week✅ PERFORMANCE WENT GREAT
🟡Stick to weight loss calories 7! days! a week!✅
🟡Log everything in grams ✅

PERFORMANCE WENT GREAT LAST NIGHTTTTT I'm so happy! Everyone was cheering for me, yelling and screaming. I got like 6 bear hugs from my fellow gym goers and one girl said that she was so proud and inspired that she had tears in her eyes, which is just the greatest feeling. One new girl I talked to said she was going to try chair acro class because she thought it looked so cool from my performance, so 😊

Here's a still shot from part of my routine (taken by one of my fellow gym-goers as a surprise, I had no idea she was looking to take pictures my gym makes me feel so loved):


Now that that's done with, it's time to focus on weight loss for beach and Hawaii vacation time in a couple weeks!

Alright, we're going to try to do a giant tag party, haha:
@itladyee talking about making a system and thinking I can get around it- 🙋 it's me, I'm the problem, too, haha.

@danikat15 ooh, route 66! Iconic! Feeling different in your clothes is a great marker of progress!

@readgal89 yeah, day to day swings are not real, as I sometimes need reminding of, myself. Love it when the husband notices, you know it's dramatic then, I know my husband never notices when I change my hair and stuff, lol.

@bugout69 your daughter getting married is so exciting! Welcome!

@nebslp boring routine is really the key for weight loss consistency! it sucks lol

@sarah12277 I'm glad that things are taking shape for you!

@jenbroussard71 fajitas are my go-to when going to a mexican restaurant as well, love that. You graduated PT, way to go! Wearing wedding rings again is HUGE!

@roz0810 HI ROZ WELCOME BACK!

@jenhuey01 you are killing it! 6k steps daily, cleanish house, kid graduating! Way to go! I am also really bad about drinking water, it's something I really have to think about doing.

@girlinkaz744 You DESERVE to admire yourself and feel amazing about your accomplishment! Way to go, you're living all of our dream.

@krabuck it's definitely a different experience day to day, weight loss.

@mmatcha_latte yesss I'm so glad you treated yourself on your birthday! I tried the 30 fruit/veg challenge a while back, it was definitely a lot of prep work, but it felt great. Way to go new low!

@katrose1985 ABSOLUTELY that's a great motivator. My kid likes to jump up to hug me where I'm holding her. She's 8, lol. I gotta get stronger to keep up!

@kaferine69 I definitely feel like I'm burying feelings with food a lot. It's pretty comon. Welcome!

@sharon81 it is hard to see consistent loss when the day to day is so different circumstances. But you are still here, and that means a lot! Progress! Hooray!

@KeriA you've got a great plan going, and I'm so glad you've got the time to dedicate to long walks and aquafit, living the dream! A trip to France would be amazing!

@lisakatz2 way to go! maintaining is progress! it may not feel like it, but maintaining means you can start losing again no further from your goal than you were. Downward is downward! Back fat disappearing yes MA'AM

@TonyaL1783 Welcome! You can do it, I know those programs are hard but you got this!

@kiteflyer105 Yesss, appreciating your body for what it is and what it can do is so important. I'm so glad your ICD went well.

@fir_91 it's so inspiring how you're not letting spinal injury keep you from doing what you can. Welcome, you are exactly our kind of people.

Happy memorial day weekend in the US, and have a great day!

Katie
42, 5’10
Evolving snack queen

HW: 269
SW: 266.8
CW: 256.8
GW: 170s

Switching to Sunday weigh-ins

5/05: 255.8
5/12: 253.0
5/19: 249.8
5/26: 250.2
5/31:

I knew I would have an increase today. Last night we had a few friends over for a cookout and I had a generous amount of pasta salad and several adult beverages. Giving grace because I need to have normal nights every once in a while. And I will weigh again on 5/31 and should be back down to a loss again.

CupcakeCrusoe-Your routine looks really cool. Proud of you for putting yourself out there.

danikat15-Conrats on massive weight loss! Fantastic!

krabuck-The excess pounds fall off naturally. Life is meant to be enjoyed. Keep on keeping on.

girlinkaz744-I enjoyed reading your post and all the good things you are doing for yourself.


It has been 7 days since my last binge or pop. I will finish May strong!

Weekly Check In • 5/27

SW: 237
LW: 236.8
CW: 236.8
GW: 165

One thing I want to improve from last week:

Sticking to weight loss calories. I’ve had a bad b***e cycle the last 2 weeks. Happy to see I’ve gained nothing but need to break this “bad habit”. Therapy today to discuss how to move forward and break this cycle.

One thing I enjoyed from last week:

Last week was that time of the month so I didn’t enjoy much. Chocolate chip muffins from Costco, delicious.

NSV:

✨My face is slimming down
✨Water intake has been decent.
✨I woke up and did a work out this morning

-
Carnaval was this week, and it was so cold I wasn’t leaving the house. But there’s another smaller festival this upcoming weekend so hopefully it warms up so I can dance in the street!

Sorry, that I havent put anything in here the last couple weeks. I plateaued. Not happy about it. I did amazing on my walk on Saturday. I did 4 miles in 54.50. I seen some pictures that were taken of me and I am now focusing on certain areas of my body. I will finish this month out strong!

had a really good day food and energy wise today. Food wise is not surprising because I am feeding my body what it wants. I made my porridge, which is so important to a good start. And I made the soup, so I had plenty of healthy food to eat. When I feed myself, I don’t get desperate and eat so that I am not starving. I have 191 calories left today, so I am motivated to do my walk and get another few calories. My kid is grabbing me a nice tomato, so I can have the wedge salad I am craving. And I should be about ready for my bedtime routine after that.

I got the tomato plants in yesterday, but have one more waterwall to complete - I’ll try for that tomorrow. I didn’t get the living room clean though. Maybe I’ll try to work that in tomorrow as its my work from home day and I get back an hour and 40 minutes of commute time.

I kept trying to build in a little stretch time at work today and it just didn’t happen. I need so little. 30 seconds, but I could only get 10 and then I’d be interrupted. I did my first set, finally, right before coming on here. So thanks for the motivation! Working with the tomatoes, hauling bags of mulch, and pulling Ivey did a number on my back yesterday - which meant a throbbing knee. I had to take advil to sleep! This is why the stretching is so important.

Good news! I found my watch, in my purse (so silly). It’s a small purse, but the watch band is a dark color. Now I can time my stretches better.

I am going to add in the goal of gettting more sleep. I need it.

@jenbroussard71 - Hi from another Jennifer - I go by Jenn though. I need to find a masseuse. Stress is getting in my left shoulder right now. But my back and hip are always off. I see eating well as self-care- so I am working on that. And I really need more sleep. I average about 6 hours a night, which isn’t good. I am going to go for my walk in a hot minute, do some clean up and then get in bed. I’ve started crocheting - which is a new activity for me. I always knit before, but I want to do some projects with my kid and crochet will be easier for his hands.

*** Previous***

I’m starting in today even though it isn’t a beginning of a month because there is no time like now! I was at a really stressful job and bad habits made me gain a lot of weight. I am now at a new job, and the weight was coming off, but then it stopped. I tried to actively lose weight alone, but seemed to be treading water, so now am reaching out for community.

I went back to tracking today. Non-weight goals are to make my porridge every day and have standardized meals, with a different salad or soup added in. Exercise goals are to stretch 2x a day and walk 5 days a week, minimum a mile. Get more sleep.

05/26 216.8
05/27 215.2
05/28 215.0 - getting closer to my low weight for this round of 212.5



SW: 216.8
CW: 215.0
GW: 199 hold for 6 months
Greater Seattle Metro Area, WA

((Long post)) From the beginning of the Eating Disorder Clinic, I was told, “This is not a weight loss program”. If I treated this as such, I would never recover. I needed to focus on Weight Maintenance. After that, I did whatever they would tell me to do. I've had 11 days without bingeing or drinking Coke. I have seen many mind shift changes within myself. I know recovery is possible. This is seriously doable. It is simple not easy. They take a person with BED and make them eat 6 times a day with full nutrition. Even for me, this was too much eating. Then they incorporate desserts and *trigger* binge foods into your food plan. They call them Sparkle foods. You can get support while eating those. I ate my favorite desserts and never wanted to see them again.

They recommend exposure therapy, which is eating food in public. Graded exposure: Your therapist asks you to list your feared objects, activities and situations in order of intensity. You start with mild to moderately difficult exposures and progress to more difficult ones over time. I had to eat shrimp fettuccini alfredo, which I was super stressed over. This was a high anxiety item. I did it.

This all happens rather slowly. I cried; I had high anxiety over eating cookies in front of my group. The nutritionist and Behavioral Health technician ate with us. You had to show all your food to the dietician (before) and your empty dishes after. For the drinks, you had to turn them upside down to prove you drank them. At first eating in front of strangers stressed me out. Over time, I did not care. You stated your level of anxiety, 1-100, how hungry or not hungry you were and what specific tool you would use during your meal. Then afterwards, you would check out. They would ask your hunger and fullness and document that data. We were told repeatedly, everything is data.

This is the only time I let anyone have control over what I ate for the first time in my life. It is/was scary, yet worth it. I don’t stuff down

Most people I encountered with all eating disorders were perfectionistic, had major food rules, and were very rigid. All of us had poor core concepts.

You first deal with your core concepts of yourself. Like, “I am not worthy”. Or, “I am ugly.” You use Cognitive Behavior Therapy to reconstruct your false messages about yourself. Those are lies. Then you substitute new, positive more helpful messages. Repetition is key.
Over time you get used to your hunger and fullness cues at every meal. You use the tools and skills that they teach you like “do the opposite”, mindfulness, radical acceptance, self-compassion”, etc. I would say the “The Serenity Prayer” at each meal. You asked yourself, “What do I really want?” Sometimes it is not food. Overall, I feel more control of my eating. They aim for success 80% of the time. I don’t eat fast anymore.

I want to taste the food instead of inhaling it. During a binge, I didn’t even enjoy the food. I pause in between bites now, have a conversation, or just take a time out. I really don’t like massive amounts of food anymore. I stopped my fast-food compulsion; that is the only good thing about the prices going up. I am buying a wok to make Chinese meals. I also use copycat recipes too. This is certainly a more enjoyable way of life without all the stress. The most important thing is we eat a wide variety of foods. This eliminates boredom, and it won’t get stagnant.

I want to eat just enough. I don’t like to be super full anymore. This is rather unpleasant. Many of the rituals I used to have are nonexistent now. It didn’t happen overnight. In total, it will be 3.5 months of recovery then outpatient care. I am glad I stuck to this Every. Single. Day. My eating was never perfect. The first 2 weeks in both inpatient and outpatient were super rough. Yes, I binged. It doesn’t go away overnight. I've had 37 years of practice. If a person wants it bad enough, you can change. It is a lot of work. My insurance footed the bill. Otherwise, this facility is $16,000 a month or $56,000. This is a case by case basis. Some people stay more or less depending on their situation.

I will never chronically diet again. I will never severely restrict again. I don’t have to… Most weight loss programs don’t work. Only 5% of the population keep the weight off. The diet industry is a $71 billion industry, yet according to studies— 95% of diets fail.

My therapist reports,” They make us find 71,000 ways to hate ourselves.” This has been a part of my life experience. At first, I hated to be away from here, but honestly, I was relieved. I didn’t focus on calories anymore, just my hunger and fullness cues. I am moving towards Intuitive Eating and focusing on nutrition and figuring out what my body needs. I learned that food is just food. There are no bad/ good foods. This is a part of the diet industry mentality.

In all, I am very pleased of the progress I have made. Before, I didn’t think it was possible. The clinical staff said, “Trust the process.” I did and it has made all the difference. When I first started, my BED had 95% of me—the true me was only 5%.

Now, I am 85% the true me and 15% of eating disorder. Given that I continue to work at it, my goal is to be 95% of my true self. I chose to live and consciously choose recovery daily, or I will die. It feels great to finally take care and love myself. I owe a big thanks to God. I prayed at the beginning I couldn’t do this without him. HE didn’t let me down. Realistically, I could have died last year. I am very thankful to be living. Don’t waste your life. Do it now. You are worth it.

I remember thinking in the beginning I didn’t have this in me. I am glad to prove myself wrong.
This is what my recovery has looked like for my Binge Eating Disorder.

Katie
42, 5’10
Evolving snack queen

HW: 269
SW: 266.8
CW: 256.8
GW: 170s

Switching to Sunday weigh-ins

5/05: 255.8
5/12: 253.0
5/19: 249.8
5/26: 250.2
5/31: 247.4


Personal May Goals:
249 on the scale… even just a flicker
✅ woohooooo this was so exciting to see!!!
Complete C25K
❌ did not complete, I’m still in week 6, but I have been repeating some of the days that have been difficult
Log every day
✅ logged EVERYTHING good and bad

Looking forward to June! 🤩

officially plateaued. coming up with a plan for june.

I stepped on something a while ago that is stuck in the bottom of my foot. Long story short, the doctor couldn’t get it out. I had an x-ray and we are waiting to see what is in my foot. I knew I was going to the doctor today, so I did my walking earlier in the week. I preplanned my off day. And I stayed on point with food logging. I did give myself a treat today of 3 little chocolate and a fried egg sandwich. I figure I deserve something nice since it’s Friday and I had to have my stupid tetanus shot. Ugh. Plus, a blood draw, because good things just keep on coming!

Ugh, I just walked into the kitchen and it hurts really bad. I won’t be walking until it’s out.


*** Goals***


I went back to tracking today. Non-weight goals are to make my porridge every day and have standardized meals, with a different salad or soup added in. Exercise goals are to stretch 2x a day and walk 5 days a week, minimum a mile. Get more sleep.

05/26 216.8
05/27 215.2
05/28 215.0 - getting closer to my low weight for this round of 212.5
05/29 213.6 - getting closer!
05/30 214.0 - oops got a little further away.
05/31 214.4 - wah
Lost for the week - 2.4


SW: 216.8
CW: 214.4
GW: 199 hold for 6 months
Greater Seattle Metro Area, WA