Monday, March 11, 2013

Beginnings

In College - 2002
I wasn't always large.  As a child, I was pretty average (and also pretty dang adorable. )  Around middle school, I started putting on the weight.  I can't give you any psychological reasons for it. I just did.  I like to eat, I liked to eat unhealthy food, and I did NOT like to be active. By the time I graduated college I was probably around 220 lbs. I tended to avoid scales, so I can't say for sure. For Christmas 2006, my family went on a cruise. It was an amazing trip, but I remember looking at the pictures afterward and thinking how big I looked. I'd wanted to lose weight for years, but it wasn't until that cruise that I really got to the point where I was serious about it. I wanted a change, and I knew I was the only one who could make it happen.
Me at the end of 2006

January 2, 2007, I started my journey to a smaller me. I began to count my calories and cut my portions. I was a super picky eater at the time, so I just did my best with the foods I was already eating. Instead of an entire platter of chicken tenders and fries, I would limit myself to two chicken tenders and half of my fries. At home I would make myself half of a PB&J and eat fruit instead of chips. I measured my peanut butter, my cereal, my blueberries, and my 1/2 cup of frozen yogurt.
Summer 2007 after I started losing weight

Honestly, once I got started, it was easy. That initial weight quickly dropping off, and it was exciting. After a while I decided to start branching out with my foods. I started small with things like grilled chicken instead of fried. Slowly I started to make my meals healthier instead of just smaller. The weight came off and I felt amazing. People were noticing. I was getting compliments everywhere. 

By the end of the year I was down to about 160 lbs. When we went up to Michigan for Christmas, my relatives were amazed at the change. After Christmas I continued to count calories and got myself down to about 145-150. I felt pretty good about myself and stopped the constant counting. I tried to just keep my portions down and continue eating healthy. 
Spring of 2008

I did really well for 2008 and 2009.  I kept the weight off and I felt awesome. Somewhere around 2010 it started to get a little harder.  I was changing my picky eating ways, and food was becoming more and more interesting.  I wanted to try more things and experience more foods.  I was getting out of the habit of being careful about portions.  The past few years I've struggled with a lot of ups and downs with my weight.  I've never gained back a lot of the weight, but I've gained back enough that I'm uncomfortable with myself.  My clothes don't fit right, and I feel sluggish.  I want to get back to being happy and feeling good in my own body.

I'm going to try to keep track of my process here with this blog.  Maybe it will keep me accountable.  Maybe it will make it fun. We'll see what happens.  Tomorrow morning I'm going to go back to counting calories, and I'm going to try to use my super long lunch breaks to get in a good work out.  Wish me luck!  Actually, wish me stick-to-itivness!

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