I have recently committed myself to losing weight and change my life and health for the better. It has been 4 years since I was at my heaviest weight, I am still not at my goal weight. I have to remind myself that I am not doing this just for losing weight, I'm changing my life, so this is not the quick solution and will take time, patience and perseverance. Four years ago, I was 19 years old weighing over 400 pounds.
(Photo below was taken at my heaviest weight)
At one point, I had to sit sideways at the movie theatres because the seats were too small. I was even pulled over by the police one time for not wearing a seat belt while driving. At that time the seat belt was too small and wouldn't fit. I could not walk up a flight of stair without wanting to stop after a few steps to catch my breathe. I looked for any excuse to walk as little as possible. I ate anything and everything I wanted. I was even a closet eater, meaning I would hid my excess eating from my family and friends. I was hiding my eating from everyone, with the thought that nobody would know. I knew I was only fooling myself. I ate fast food whenever I wanted to, even in between my regular 3 meals. I ate large qualities of food without thinking twice. I became a regular yo-yo dieter. I would try a fad diet for a day or so, maybe a week, then I would go right back to my "bad" habits. I changed the way I looked at dieting and realized that if I wanted to lose weight and keep it off, I need to change my lifestyle rather than simply follow the latest fad diet. Losing weight is not all about eating healthier and exercising more, you have to change your mentality. It wasn't until I changed my mentality that I realized I was making a lifestyle change. I still have difficult days where I sabotage myself and end up easily regaining some weight that I worked so hard to lose.
Since my heaviest weight in 2009, I have lost 165 pounds and still have about 80 until I reach my ideal weight.
Hopefully, this blog will be a place where people can find encouragement, tips and advice on losing weight. I hope to post picture of myself along the way, share the ups and the downs while still continuing to improve myself in order to be a healthier version of me that I know I can be. I, by no means, consider myself an expert, but I do know what had worked for me. Since I am still continuing on my journey, you will not find any "after" pictures, only "before" and "during".
(Photo below was taken almost 2 weeks after running my first 10K race)
Hopefully we can inspire and encourage each other along the way!
Thanks for reading my first blog post!
Love and Success,
Laura
