I started to gain weight when I was in junior high and puberty hit me. I LOVE sugar… and no one was telling me not to eat it so I went all in! My family lived a Southern cooking life style so dinner was always heavy carbs: Bread, Fried Chicken, Mac & Cheese etc and we NEVER drank water!
NAME : Tess
BEFORE WEIGHT : 263
AFTER WEIGHT : 205
POUNDS LOST : 58
HOW DID YOUR WEIGHT AFFECT ANY ASPECT(S) OF YOUR LIFE? My weight made it hard for me to be my full self. I was told by my mother I was “too fat… no one will ever want to be your boyfriend” or I went to the mall and got your sister some clothes but they didn’t have your size so I didn’t get you anything. It was hard to hear those things and I became very depressed and down on myself. I began cutting myself, having inappropriate relationships with older men, and just overall hated myself.
WHAT WAS THE “TURNING POINT” THAT GOT YOU STARTED ON YOUR WEIGHT LOSS JOURNEY? The turning point for me in my journey was I was thinking about marriage and children with my boyfriend at the time. I wanted to see an OBGYN to makes sure I was okay and ready to go. I told her I always had pains during that time of the month and she told me to schedule an exploratory surgery where they could take a look at what was going on. Low and behold my doctor found 30 cysts on my ovaries. She also diagnosed me with PCOS and told me I was insulin resistant. From that point on.. I knew I needed to make a change.
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED? To begin my journey, I cut out ALL sugar and went low carb. I was exercising 4 times a week but never ever able to loose any weight. When I cut out the sugar and carbs the weight started falling off!
HOW LONG AFTER YOU STARTED DID YOU BEGIN TO SEE RESULTS OF YOUR WEIGHT LOSS EFFORTS? After I started meal prepping and following the Keto diet I lost weight instantly. I just kept dropping weight 2-3 lbs per week.
WHAT WAS THE HARDEST PART? I have personally overcome having PCOS, being insulin resistant and suffering emotional abuse as a child.
DID YOU EVER WANT TO GIVE UP? WHAT KEPT YOU GOING? I didn’t want to give up. Once I started to see the weight come off I was really inspired to keep going. Social Media fans have become by biggest support. I will post progress and get over 300 likes on my posts. Everyone has encouraged me to do my best! I love it!
DID YOU HIT ANY WEIGHT LOSS PLATEAUS? HOW DID YOU OVERCOME THEM? I hit a plateau around 50 lbs lost. It was difficult because I had lost so rapidly before I tried different ways to continue. I tried intermittent fasting for 7 months and vegetarian life for 1 month. I did lose an additional 6 lbs fasting.
HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO LOSE MOST OF THE WEIGHT? It took me 10 months to lost 50 lbs and I have slowly been losing the rest.
DID YOU HAVE ANY NON-SCALE VICTORIES? I had always said I wanted to fit into a size medium t-shirt and I accomplished that goal! I also said I wanted to be able to shop at a regular clothing store and not have to only buy from the plus size stores. I now can do that!!!
WHAT DOES YOUR DAILY DIET LOOK LIKE COMPARED TO WHEN YOU WERE HEAVIER? When I was heavier I would emotionally eat. I had a bad day…. Let’s go have a cheeseburger. I didn’t get the job I wanted… let’s go drink way to much alcohol. I would always try to help the pain by using food and alcohol to make me feel better. I had veggies but only the carb kind 🙂
HOW DOES YOUR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY COMPARE TO WHEN YOU WERE HEAVIER? I have always liked to work out the issue was I would workout like a crazy person and NEVER lose any weight. I was stressful and frustrating but I did not give up.
MY WEIGHT LOSS TIPS & TRICKS
- Always go prepared.
There would be times that people would ask me out to eat or drink and I would accept but I would eat my meals at home beforehand so I didn’t get put in a position that I would regret later. - Create a goal and stay focused.
I would have a cheat day once a month for 10 months. With this plan it was easy to stay on track knowing the end was near and I could celebrate my success. - Forgive yourself and just keep going.
I know people get down on themselves when they have bad days or cheat. This is part of life.. the difference is how you handle yourself when you do cheat. We are the hardest on ourselves… just be gentle and start over tomorrow. - Never forget where you came from.
It’s easy to get wrapped up in the weight loss drama of losing just 1 more pound or striving to get to a certain body type. I just created a general goal and evolve it as I evolve. - Pick a day and start…
not someday… not next year. Now. and just do it! You only get 1 life and 1 body!
