-165 lb. Weight Loss, 39 lb. Weight Gain, 5% Winter 2025 Challenge To Get Back To Goal

I have been obese my entire adult life. If you can relate, this story is for you.
Looking at the pictures I selected to use to tell my story, I realized it took me 30 years to achieve my goal. 30 years is a long darn time to stay focused and true to who you want to become.

In 2020 I started an ‘Annual Progression’ capturing pictures of me through the years. Look at how my weight has trended. This method allows for reflection, it’s like an important meeting with yourself where you face the reality you created through your actions. It also provides an opportunity to see how LIFE CAN ADD SO MUCH TO YOUR PLATE THAT IT WHOPS YOU OUT OF ROUTINELY FOCUSING ON YOU.


2021 - I achieved my goal! I was 170 when I took the picture on 7/15/2021, 165 on 12/31/21
2022 - No matter how hard I tried to maintain my weight loss, I gained 22 lbs. What happened? I became a caregiver to my husband. I don’t think any of us knows how to do this, but we learn by doing, right?
2023 - I kept my weight relatively stable, but there was no loss.
2024 - DH’s health crisis raged on, followed by several hospital stays, additionally my senior dog was diagnosed with a stage 3 sarcoma that required surgery to remove the mass, radiation and chemo.


I am happy to report Doggo is thriving, cancer free, and Hubby is giving 100% better effort to improving his health. Faced with managing both DH, Doggo, Treatments for both, it was a full time job! I gained an additional 17 lbs in 2024 and ended up losing my ONEDERLAND card. I was crushed. Falling out of ONEDERLAND made me do a FULL STOP. I had to say it out loud – You gained 39 pounds back! At first I felt like a failure, I was embarrassed, I got depressed, I wanted to hide, to isolate, sound familiar?

FORGIVE YOURSELF, Give yourself a HUG, IT IS GONNA BE OKAY! Realize that weight loss is NOT LINEAR.You will gain some weight back over time. We often believe once we get to goal the weight is gone forever. No, sorry. The reality is that achieving your goal weight places you in Maintenance Mode and Maintenance Mode is HARD. Everyone gains weight back in Maintenance to varying degrees. What we must realize in Maintenance is that we have to continue to do all the healthy practices that got us our weight loss. We can never really stop, this is a life journey. If we do stop, the weight will slowly creep back on and we find ourselves starting once again.

It is at this very moment that we have a CHOICE TO MAKE:
1. Give Up, OR
2. Pick Yourself Up. Dust Off. SMILE and say “ I OWN THIS, LIFE WAS REAL HARD THE PAST 3 YEARS, AND YOU DID YOUR BEST.

I hope you are ready to select Choice 2! Are You?

CONGRATULATION! I knew you wouldn’t select option #1. You’ve come too far!
Now, take the next step….
Find YOUR Community! Find YOUR PEOPLE. Isolating is the fastest way for misery and doom to find you. Instead, joining a community and putting yourself out there, championing your change will exponentially increase your joy while you lose weight.
Here’s My Community and it could be YOURS as well:

2025 Winter 5% Community Challenge

We are in week 4 of the Winter 2025 Program. You can join NOW. Please join, so we can learn and do it together:

Week 4: Am I Hungry Snack Pack and Sleep
Week 5: Me Time and Am I Hungry Snack Pack
Week 6: Take Time to Breathe and Me Time
Week 7: NSV (Non Scale Victory) and Take Time to Breathe
Week 8: Dance and NSV (Non Scale Victory)

Below is the link to join the 2025 Winter 5% Community team.

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/147322-2025-winter-5-challenge-community-please-join-us

Click the link, Click the JOIN Button
Select A Team (Choose one, there are 8 teams)
New Members are added throughout the 8-week challenge, so join us!

Staying True To Your Healthy Vision Means WE KEEP GOING!