My Weight Loss Story

I have been on A LOT of diet and/or fitness plans. I have lost and re-lost (but mostly re-gained) a lot of weight over the last 10 years. I have always thought of being healthy as "I'm not supposed to be a
 healthy build, so I'll suffer through a tortuous fad diet faithlessly praying for a miracle and when it

doesn't happen I really won't be that upset about it because I never actually thought anything would happen anyway". I thought and still think sometimes I'm just not meant to get to be athletic or active or an outdoorswoman or a firefighter or skinny or comfortable in a bikini or not gasping for breath when I walk up stairs or out of risk for polycystic ovaries and diabetes an am just stuck with migraines, an irregular menstrual cycle, PSVT (heart palpitations), constipation, and heart burn.


I am wrong, but am learning how to be right.


At the peak of my weight, I was 17 years old and 201 lbs. It was a really unhappy time. I found solice and escapism in eating, and while living between 2 houses, I lived off of drive-thru and eating out for every meal everyday. I never ate breakfast and never EVER drank water. I walked a 20 minute mile in PE and socialized my way through the rest. And wouldn't be caught dead at a gym.


The first time I really lost weight, was that summer. I started working out Curves. Curves is a small fitness franchise for women only (typically located right by an ice cream shop, go figure). I was really comfortable there, not only was it all women, but it was mostly all senior-citizen women. It's a circuit with air resistance machines and then pads (for running in place/cardio). You just jump in and do the exact same thing every time. It's a fantastic place to start working out. The nutrition part was a lot more complicated though. The classes were very expensive and the counting of carbs and calories left me weighing and measuring out a day's meal and carrying them around in a cooler. It was unrealistic and really difficult to stick to. I did, though, lose around 40 lbs.


Flash forward to college, and the dreaded freshman fifteen. By the time I arrived in Omaha, I'd already regained a good portion of the weight I lost with Curves, but at least I had a pretty good idea of the importance of eating breakfast, drinking enough water, and how amazing it feels to workout. The dorm food, that everyone despises, actually was a great tool for me. Going to the dining hall and eating from the salad bar and the grill was a great way for me NOT to gain weight!


But sophomore year when I started dating the dreaded ex, my weight went crazy again. He drank, I ate. We tried to work out together and that's the first time I tried a 24 Hour Fitness Trainer and their diet plan. But, once I was nearly bankrupted and realized I didn't have 5 hours everyday to commit to working out, it was time to move on. And then the dreaded post break-up days: my weight shot right back up. That whole time is kind of dark and I can't even recall what my day to day was like. But, it involved a lot of sadness, a lot of apathy, a lot of sleeping, and a lot of eating. I don't know if this is the case for other people, but my weight is directly related to what's going on in the rest of my life. That's when I read Dr Phil's Weight Loss Solution. A pretty slow, long read but really challenges you to think about your mental state, mood,and environment as factors in why you do the things you do. I still take a lot of his good points with me (of course I love Dr Phil, unlike a lot of people).

Then the biggest nightmare in eating and nutrition. Slim-4-Life. It's a eating franchise store that has "counseling" and over-priced supplements and snacks. One of the many in the outburst of prepackaged dieting. It involves eating hardly anything, eating disguisting extremely expensive snacks, and taking a handful of supplements everday. You can't actually work-out while you're on this because your energy is zero thanks to near starvation. You probably couldn't even get out of bed you're body's so malnourished, but one of the supplements is pure Vitamin B and then twice a day you drink energy boosting drink mix (kind of like a 5 hour energy). And yes, it worked. It worked for my dad (minus the time he completely passed out from being so malnourished) and it worked for me. But we both gained every ounce back. And now, he thinks that's what it takes to lose weight. Which is just not the case. He thinks you have to be utterly miserable and starving to death. If I could completely remove that experience from both of our minds, I would.


Lets see, then I tried low carb, p90x, a BUNCH of websites...


And then one diet plan changed everything.


When I started reading the Body- for -Life book, I was 100% in the same messed up state of mind. I thought "I'll get all the foods on the list together, do exactly what it says, I know the scale will go down and... whatever". But this one is different. You don't weigh your food, you don't measure your food, you don't eat stuff that tastes like roasted cardboard. It's just food, real food, normal real grocery store, already in my pantry food. And then you cook, and you eat. And the workouts are just as straight forward. And it's something that you can do even when you're not trying! It's a way of thinking. It's about being balanced.


And it worked! Even though actual weight in numbers really really has nothing to do with my goals besides simply quantifying progress, I went from 179 to 148 and look and feel great.


After spending the time I have spent in emergency medicine, now all I want in the world is be a good example to my friends and family so they can feel as great as I do and hopefully find some balance in their diets to live long happy, healthy lives.


Thanks for reading!