My Weight Loss Journey

I was fat. Yes, I admit it. As much as it hurts and as much as I tried to deny it, the rolls just don’t lie. But today marks an important milestone in my weight loss journey. Today I hit the 30-pounds lost mark. Additionally I have dropped 3 full sizes! While I am not at my ideal weight (probably another 20 pounds to go) I have lost enough to lose the status of straight up fat girl. I have done this in 4 months, losing an average of 1.87 pounds a week. Getting started was the hardest part. Once I got into a routine it became a great outlet with immediate health benefits.

I wasn’t always fat. There were "chubby periods" of my life, but I was a college basketball player and always in pretty good shape. I started playing basketball as soon as I could walk and by the time I hit 4th grade I played year round. I played on travelling teams, local teams, National All-Star teams, and Junior Olympic teams. This was during the off-season. Obviously, during season I played for my school teams. By the time I finished college I had been training and playing year round for a minimum of thirteen years. I wanted a break. So, I did nothing. I quit lifting weights, I quit doing anything for my cardiovascular health, and I quit playing basketball. I coached a Varsity High School basketball team my first two years out of college so I played once in a while with them, but nothing close to the level I was used to. Slowly my weight crept up.

Then I started having children. I lost the weight really quickly after my first child, but after I had my second I didn’t lose the weight. It just got redistributed. I had started many diets before and failed; I had also started working out many times before but would quit after a few weeks. I just couldn’t find the motivation.

Finally I figured out the key. You have to be really sick of being fat. If you are okay with it or refuse to acknowledge how fat you are you will never be motivated enough to lose it. I just got sick of having to buy bigger sizes of clothing, having things not fit right, and just carrying around extra weight was exhausting, not to mention hard on my back and knees. So, I started going to the gym everyday for the first month. I spent an hour there each time. I’d spend 30 minutes doing something cardio and then 30 minutes lifting weights. As I started losing weight I tapered down to 5-6 times a week. I alternated the type of cardio I did because after a while your body starts to acclimate and it quits working as hard, thus burning fewer calories. If I stopped losing weight for a week or two I knew I had to change up the routine to jump-start my metabolism again.

In addition, I also had to change the way I ate. I didn’t do anything revolutionary. I did get rid of candy and chips and any other processed food with sugar and starches. But basically I just ate less. I didn’t deprive myself, but I did have to sacrifice cravings. I am not dieting. I hate the word "diet" because they never work. It has to be a lifestyle change. You have to learn to eat differently and not feel like you are missing out on something.

I share all of this, not to brag, but to encourage. Anyone can do this. It is just small little changes that can add up to a lot of pounds over a relatively short amount of time. I have certainly worked hard and am proud of myself for all the work I have done day in and day out but I haven’t starved myself or deprived myself and as a result I will have an easier time keeping this weight off. I’ve conditioned myself to eat differently. I no longer even crave the "goodies" I used to eat on a daily basis. I don’t even think about what I’m missing. Going to the gym is routine now, something I just get up and do without ever really considering otherwise. I’m just glad to be in this new body where clothes fit better, I’m comfortable and I have so much more energy to play with my kids.