Weight Loss Before and After: Lauren Shed 109 Pounds With Weight Watchers

I’ve battled my weight my entire life, starting back when I was a teenager. When I hit college the weight slowly came on month after month with all the junk food, late nights, inactivity and more junk food. Several years and 2 kids later I found myself at 264 pounds.

NAME : Lauren
BEFORE WEIGHT : 264
AFTER WEIGHT : 155
POUNDS LOST : 109

HOW DID YOUR WEIGHT AFFECT ANY ASPECT(S) OF YOUR LIFE?  I stayed away from any event where I thought there would be pictures taken. I was so ashamed of my weight and myself I didn’t want anyone to document how big I was. I hated all pictures of myself, but didn’t think I could ever lose weight because of the high amount I would have to lose.

WHAT WAS THE “TURNING POINT” THAT GOT YOU STARTED ON YOUR WEIGHT LOSS JOURNEY?  Being winded after coming up the stairs with my kids was a big realization moment for me. Other parents at my kids school whispering and judging. I never wanted to be a source of teasing my kids would have to endure. Having been the “overweight” one when I was in school, I remember how brutal kids can be.

HOW DID YOU GET STARTED?  I joined Weight Watchers 3 years ago and slowly started “relearning” how to eat. I documented everything I put into my mouth and tracked points for all of it. I learned through trial and error that I couldn’t sneak food anymore, because it AFFECTED the scale (duh). But for the first time, I was weighing regularly.

HOW LONG AFTER YOU STARTED DID YOU BEGIN TO SEE RESULTS OF YOUR WEIGHT LOSS EFFORTS?  I didn’t really see changes for several months into my weight loss journey. My weight loss has been slow and steady and there were weeks that I failed, gained weight but I always came back around and got back on the wagon.

WHAT WAS THE HARDEST PART?  I hated exercising when I was 100lbs heavier. I’m so lucky that I never developed any significant health risks from being morbidly obese for so long and I don’t plan on ever abusing my body like that again.

DID YOU EVER WANT TO GIVE UP? WHAT KEPT YOU GOING?  I “gave up” multiple times throughout the last 3 years. When you have a bad week or bad month it’s much easier to give up then it is to keep going. But after my temper tantrum I always came back around and started tracking again. Because I knew my only battle was with the scale and I was the only one fighting to win.

DID YOU HIT ANY WEIGHT LOSS PLATEAUS? HOW DID YOU OVERCOME THEM?  Yes! My journey took me 3 years to lose the weight and there were any weeks or even months that my weight loss stalled or the scale didn’t reflect what I felt I deserved. But at the end of the day, it’s MY life and only me who is going to take care of this body. So I had to keep going and not give up.

HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO LOSE MOST OF THE WEIGHT?  About 3 years total, 60 of those pounds lost this year.

DID YOU HAVE ANY NON-SCALE VICTORIES?  New clothes are ALWAYS the best NSV’S!

WHAT DOES YOUR DAILY DIET LOOK LIKE COMPARED TO WHEN YOU WERE HEAVIER?  When I was bigger I was for sure an Emotional eater and boredom eater. I ate ALL junk food, fast food, multiple servings at a time and dessert every day.

HOW DOES YOUR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY COMPARE TO WHEN YOU WERE HEAVIER?  I used to hate working out and never ever got any exercise. It was to hard and I didn’t have any motivation because I had Soooo much to lose. About halfway through my weight loss journey I introduced running to my body. Mostly because my weight loss through just diet had kind of stalled. I started with Couch to 5k and slowly started running farther and farther.
Now I try to hit between 5k-10k steps per day. This past summer I RAN several 5ks in my town and I genuinely enjoy the high running gives me.

MY WEIGHT LOSS TIPS & TRICKS

1. Water! Always drink your water! I drink 75-100oz per day and I notice when I don’t get it in.
2. Fail to prepare, prepare to fail! This has been one of my mantras through this journey. I bring ALL of my snacks to work so I don’t need to buy food out of any vending machine or drive thru. I avoid “potlucks” and work parties where I know there will be trigger foods. People give me a hard time, but hey, I lost over 100 lbs. I didn’t do it for anyone but me.
3. Be honest with yourself. If you fall off the wagon, get back on the following day. Don’t punish yourself for a week because you messed up for a day.