WHEN DID YOU START DEVELOPING A WEIGHT PROBLEM When I was 15 or so. I was a very active as a young girl all the way through junior high (14 years old). When I started high school (15 yrs old) I didn’t continue all of the activities I was doing and I no longer walked to school because it was too far away. Weight piled on and so my yo-yo dieting weight gain journey began.
NAME : Sally
BEFORE WEIGHT : 180
AFTER WEIGHT : 140
POUNDS LOST : 40
HOW DID YOUR WEIGHT AFFECT ANY ASPECT(S) OF YOUR LIFE? I was very insecure. Still have insecurities about my stomach (I’m 36 now). I luckily had my twin sister along for the ride so I wasn’t alone but I was still struggling.
WHAT WAS THE “TURNING POINT” THAT GOT YOU STARTED ON YOUR WEIGHT LOSS JOURNEY? I found a new “lifestyle” on youtube I wanted to try and it promised me permanent weight loss….in the long term…but not before I would gain some “necessary” weight.
Well, permanent weight loss never happened and all the “necessary” weight stuck with me for 4 years. So THEN I decided to forget about the new “lifestyle” I thought I would be on forever, and GET REAL with myself! I took action and started REALLY losing weight.
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED? I knew I had to eat less than I was eating, so I started by listening to my body and eating intuitively. I also started sit jumping on a rebounder (cause I had an ankle injury) and my muscles started growing so I took it from there!
HOW LONG AFTER YOU STARTED DID YOU BEGIN TO SEE RESULTS OF YOUR WEIGHT LOSS EFFORTS? Unfortunately for me it took me WAY TOO LONG to lose weight. I lost about 10 lbs a year for 4 years.
WHAT WAS THE HARDEST PART? I had an ankle injury for 7 years because I left it untreated in the beginning. Boy did I learn my lesson. To this day I have to take really good care of it with extra stretches and exercises.
DID YOU EVER WANT TO GIVE UP? WHAT KEPT YOU GOING? I never wanted to give up because I new that I could be slim again because I was slim during my yo-yo dieting years (my 20’s). There was no way I was going to let that new “lifestyle” ruin me forever!
DID YOU HIT ANY WEIGHT LOSS PLATEAUS? HOW DID YOU OVERCOME THEM? My whole weight loss journey felt like a plateau. I was very brainwashed to believe I needed to eat WAY more than I needed too. I somehow believed deep down inside that I would figure it out, someway, somehow.
HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO LOSE MOST OF THE WEIGHT? 4 years
DID YOU HAVE ANY NON-SCALE VICTORIES? Flattering pictures were always victories in my book! And when my family would comment that I looked like I lost weight that was a plus! Rebounding changed my body like I couldn’t believe. All of a sudden I had muscle!
WHAT DOES YOUR DAILY DIET LOOK LIKE COMPARED TO WHEN YOU WERE HEAVIER? I ate WAY TOO MUCH! I was told by the youtube Gods that “the more I eat the more I lose.” I ate 3000+ calories a day. It was all plant based and high fruit so I thought I was being good but it was WAY too much.
HOW DOES YOUR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY COMPARE TO WHEN YOU WERE HEAVIER? I was very active when I was heavy because I was so desperate to lose weight. I am still very active now but probably less active to be honest! Now I feel like less is more when it comes to exercise!
MY WEIGHT LOSS TIPS & TRICKS
- Jumping on a Cellerciser
- Eating half my plate of fruit for breakfast and half my plate of veggies for lunch and dinner
- Drinking 2-3 cups of water before meals
- Making sure my pee is light in color
- Getting to bed earlier
