My Ashtray Heart

In 2009, I started on medication that caused water retention and also caused weight gain by making me feel lethargic and hungry all the time. In about two years time, I went from a size 9 to a size 20; from 140 lbs to 230+ lbs. I was miserable. I really understand now why obese people find it so hard to exercise - you can barely move underneath all that insulation just to tie your shoes! Around September of 2012, I got off the medication and thus began my journey back to a skinnier, healthier life. This is my journey....

That was me in June 2012. I can't remember my exact weight, but I do know I weighed well over 230 lbs and wore a size 20. OMG, I was so miserable back then. I felt like I couldn't move. I was on medication that not only caused me to feel hungry almost 24/7, but also caused bloating. Ugh, awful stuff, I hated it.


This picture was taken around the end of September of 2012. I was down to a size 16 and I weighed somewhere around 210 lbs I think. That was actually the most difficult weight to shed.


Early January of this year. I'm in a size 14 in this pic, and at around 180 lbs. I actually would have lost a lot more than that if I hadn't gained over the holidays, heh. But either way, I'm feeling good. :)


Beginning of February this year. I'm a size 12 now and in the 170 range. I'm optimistic about the spring and summer and its tendency to make me slim down to adapt to the heat, and I expect that by the end of summer I will have at the very least reached my next target weight of 150, which should put me in a size 10. Then I will be just 10 lbs away from my final goal of 140, which places me squarely in the top half of a normal BMI.

If you do the math, that will mean that I will have lost at least 70 lbs in a year.

02/2013

People keep asking how I did it. I did a lot of stuff, but overall, I just didn't crash diet. I slowly cut down my calories and slowly increased my exercise instead of trying to jump right on to the perfect diet and perfect exercise regimen. This way I gave my body time to adjust so I didn't have any cravings for the old lifestyle (or tummy rumbles from a stretched out stomach accustomed to too much food). Some other things I did was cut back on sugary drinks, cut out processed foods, make about half my protein intake low fat dairy (this helped me increase my calcium intake which is important for ANY woman, and it also helps with my sensitive stomach), make almost all my grain intake whole grain, only eat high quality lean meats and fish/seafood for protein intake from meat (you'd be surprised how much fat you take in from low quality meat), frozen or fresh veggies steamed crisp (preserves the highest concentration of nutrients), traded in ice cream for italian ice (Philly Swirl is my fave... their flavors are crazy good and spot on, so they make excellent substitutes for ice cream and are only 100 cal. if I remember correctly), and, as always, I gorge the heck out on whatever fruit is in season like a true Florida girl. ;) Only I do it in style - lucky me lives in an area that has a local/organic produce that delivers, and they seem to specialize in exotic and rare fruits and veggies, like Kale or Persimmons or Starfruit (the great thing about local produce is you can grow just about anything here). When I start having issues with my weight loss slowing down, first I detox for two weeks, and if I see no improvements, I pig out on food for about a week and gain a pound or two to shock my metabolism, and that gets the ball rolling again.