Weight Loss Wednesday....My Story

I wanted to start dedicating one day a week to weight loss here on my blog so I came up with the idea of Weight Loss Wednesdays. Every Wednesday from here on out I will either post a favorite healthy recipe of mine, a new work out I am doing, diet tips, product reviews, weight loss updates, yada yada yada. I'm not a personal trainer or a nutritionist or a dietitian, I'm just a person who has been struggling with her weight for almost 12 years now (the last 3 years being the hardest) and I hope I can help motivate others with my story of struggles and successes. So for my first Weight Loss Wednesday post I thought that I would share my story with you. 

    Growing up I was always super thin but I didn't realize just how thin I was until about my junior year of high school when people started calling me anorexic. I was 5'9 and weighted 115 pounds.

    I didn't like the way I looked, I thought I looked unhealthy, and I desperately wanted to gain weight. I pretty much ate whatever I wanted when ever I wanted but my metabolism was go high that I never gained a pound. It wasn't until my senior year of high school when my doctor put me on Depo Provera, a form of birth control, that I started to gain some weight. I gained 10 pounds not long after I got my first shot and I loved it! Soon I noticed I had put on even more weight and I was so happy with my new body, unfortunately my happiness didn't last long. I ended up gaining another 48 pounds, I had gained a total of 65 pounds in just 9 months, and I was now 180 pounds. I was devastated and my family was in shock! Needless to say I stopped getting the Depo shots.

    I felt very self conscious and depressed, I didn't feel like myself anymore. I started wearing super baggy clothes and sweatshirts had become my best friend, summer was now my worst enemy. I was clueless about weight loss but I knew I had to do something. I joined a gym and started working out a couple times a week but for some reason I didn't change my eating habits that much....like I said clueless! I did lose a bit of weight and for the next 7 years I constantly fluctuated between 160 and 170 pounds. I wasn't totally happy with my weight but I was comfortable in my own skin once again.

    I weighted 165 pounds when I got pregnant with my son and I really didnt put on that much weight until I hit my last trimester, I weighted 215 pounds when I went into labor.

    After I had my son I weighed 199 pounds and this is when I really started to struggle with weight loss.

I started watching what I was eating and worked out at home when I could but nothing was happening and since I really knew nothing about nutrition and weight loss I decided that it was time for help and after a fair amount of research I signed up for Slimgenics. Slimgenics was great! The diet was super easy to follow, I wasn't starving myself, counselors where there if I needed any help and the weight just started falling off! I started Slimgenics in November when I weighed 199 pounds and by April I weighed 165 pounds and was over the moon!

199 pounds
<----------





                     165 pounds
                           ---------->

I really don't know what happened after I finished my time at Slimgenics, I think it was because I was on such a strict diet that did not allow any cheat days for so long that I ended up binge eating everything I had craved and missed, but I pretty much put nutrition on the back burner and started eating like I used to before Slimgenics and the pounds came back in record time. I was SO mad at myself and once again I was depressed and self conscious. I really felt like there was no hope and I totally gave up on myself. I hated being seen by anyone so I pretty much became a recluse and lived in sweat pants and my husbands old shirts, I avoided all mirrors always. It wasn't until March of last year when my very best friend came to me and said "Lindsey, you need to lose weight. I am worried about your health and your mental wellness." At this time I weighed 208 pounds.

    Hearing this was a shock, it was a reality slap right to the face....it was the wake up call I needed. The next day I threw out all the crap junk food we had in the house and replaced it with an array of vegetables, proteins and whole wheat products. I stopped going out to eat and started making all my meals at home. I stopped drinking any kind of soda and started caring a water bottle around with me always. I went out and bought Wii Zumba and started exercising 5 days a week. My husband bought me a bike and my son and I started going on regular bike rides. I downloaded the My Fitness App and started counting calories and keeping track of everything I was eating. I started teaching myself about nutrition and exercise and I started doing things my own way and even though it has been a slow process with a lot of ups and downs my way seems to be working. Today, almost a year later, I weigh 175 pounds and I am so proud of myself for sticking to it. I now see my goal of weighing 155 pounds as a reality apposed to a dream!