First Blog Post Regarding My Weight Loss (60 Pounds Down)

Hello, friends. After having done the #introduceyourself tag, I thought I'd present one of my long-term goals, seeing as I plan to use this blog to hold myself accountable within my decision-making. For several years I've steadily lost a total of 60 pounds, and my "journey" (ugh, what a corny word) is far from over. I think I can do better than an average of losing 20 pounds a year, but even if I don't, the weight loss in the the healthiest ways for the healthiest reasons is what matters most. I have little doubt I'll meet my goals, but I suppose I'd like to challenge myself to stay on track for longer durations of time.

So without further ado, this is my little story:

I remember my first wakeup call regarding my weight gain. I was a senior in high school, and completely delusional.

The students' height and weight were to be recorded, for whatever school-official reasons I didn't care to know. I padded over in my socks to the scale. The woman kindly whispered “one-ninety” before ushering the next girl forward and sending me off to measure my height.

Standing in that next line, I was scoffing to myself, certain the scale must have been wrong. I cringe now, remembering how I asked the girl in front of me, “Do I look like I weigh 190 to you?” My classmate raised her brows and turned down the corners of her mouth as she slowly shook her head as if to innocently say, “Noooo, no, not at allllI,” while fully meaning, “I mean. . . kind of? Yes?”

My face fell, and after my height was recorded (I hadn't grown a smidge from my 5 feet 4 inches), I dejectedly made may way to the band hall to call my boyfriend and cry. Instead of, you know, actually resolving to change my habits and lose the excess weight. But at the time, I was just overwhelmed, really. I'd had no idea I'd gained so much. The last time I'd been weighed before this I was around 130-ish pounds, and I'd only ever memorized sizes long enough to know if I needed a bigger or small pair of pants while in the dressing room. I was not a fashionista, as my only clothing option had been a local Walmart, so a change in size wasn't something I noticed whatsoever when it came to clothes.

Several years passed, and I only grew larger. Unemployed and uneducated, I rarely left my bed. By the summer of 2015, two years after I graduated high school, I weighed in at 248 pounds:

I wasn't gigantic, but you should have seen the faces of people in my hometown when I would go and visit my father, the way they'd have to recompose their shocked expressions after taking in just how much I'd blown up. I'd gradually gained weight while in school, but it had now gone too far.

By early 2016, I'd settled into a new apartment, one with a gym. It was the first time I'd ever stepped foot inside a gym, but in the end, it made little difference seeing as I was still mostly eating fast food and had never even heard of calorie restriction.

However, by the end of that year, I began again. I used MyFitnessPal, and bought a recumbent bike. I did an hour a day of cardio, and stayed within 1200-1500 calories a day.

Finally, I saw results:

I was in the 220s by this point, I believe. I got off track again soon after, though. I got cocky, complacent. I started yet again, and before my next plateau I'd settled into the 210s, hovering around 213-215 for several frustrating/lazy months. But just a couple of months ago, I finally made it out of the 200s club:

And today, I weighed in at 188. (Forgot to take a picture this morning, but I did snap some more body shots.)

So this is where I am today. I am officially smaller than I'd been my senior year of high school. It's been a long, long road, and I'm still a little less than halfway finished. My last 15 pounds or so have come off more rapidly due to being on the ketogenic diet, which I've found to be highly effective for my body type. Water has been my best friend as well, and only a few days ago I was able to fully quit Coke Zero. These little milestones are everything.

If you read my previous (my first) blog post, you'll know I mentioned that I'll soon be converting a van to live out of, and I plan on showering at my local gym - which means I'll have no excuse not to work out everyday I can.

The "journey" (ugh) continues.

Thank you for reading.