I had a very hard time with weight loss until I began working retail, which made me a lot more active than I had been before.
It was grueling at first, but it got easier, and eventually, I became active enough to go from 335 lbs to 300 over about a year, even without changing my eating habits.
That was a big deal to me, because until that point I had felt like my weight was totally out of my control.
I'd wanted to lose weight since I was maybe 8 years old, and until I was 22, it never became a reality.
I tried dieting and going to the gym on and off throughout my life but never consistently enough to see significant weight loss.
Having a job that kept me on my feet all day and had me lifting things made the exercise routine, which really helped.
After that point, I felt more in control of my weight and wondered if I could lose more.
I started with small things, like replacing a snack with a slightly healthier one.
When that became normal, I cut back on snacking alltogether.
These changes helped me lose a bit more weight, but then I’d plateau.
I'd think of another way I could improve my eating and incorporate that into my routine too.
Of course, there are slip-ups and days when you feel like it doesn't matter and you just want to eat.
What matters is getting up the next day and choosing to make better choices, not being perfect all the time.
This sort of pattern continued, and I lost more and more weight.
In the past year, I've started exercising a lot more too.
I never enjoyed the gym all that much, but hikes allow me to explore, which makes them much more rewarding than running on a treadmill or lifting weights for an hour in one spot.
Now, I regularly walk 10 miles on my days off, going a little further each time. I love taking pictures along the way.
It's something I look forward to all week now.
For me, it wasn't about making a decision to eat only the right things and exercise all the time.
It was about finding real ways I could improve my habits and pushing myself to do better when I knew it was possible.
I also needed the confidence of that first weight loss before I realized that it was really within my power to control and make lasting changes.
Once I saw proof that I could lose weight and keep it off, I never seriously wanted to stop or give up.
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There was never really a point when I was okay with returning to how my body used to be.
I just wish that I had known to take things slowly and that the changes I made would really add up over time.
Can you share with us your top 3 tools that worked for you the best?
1. Quitting antidepressants turned out to be the right choice for me and accelerated my weight loss a lot. I strongly recommend anyone considering doing that discuss it with their doctor and do it safely, though. They can cause weight gain in a lot of people, but there are also other options which don't.
2. I also found keeping myself busy helped a lot to avoid "boredom eating". Whenever I had the urge to go get a snack, I would think of some task I had procrastinated or some chore that needed to be done and do that instead.
3. I like to keep a list of reasons why I want to lose weight and and track my progress to look back on. If I'm having food cravings, I can return to those things and go over them one by one. Reminders that eating won't actually satisfy me in the way I'm hoping it will. I just have to keep reminding myself when my eating seems to be getting out of control again
Occasionally the list is revised. This is a strategy I learned from talking to a former drug addict who has a list of reasons to stay sober. I think it can help with weight loss too.
Sometimes you need a reminder because very real reasons can slip your mind in the heat of the moment.
My family has a history of type 2 diabetes, so avoiding that is one of the things on my list.
Another one is that if I lose more weight, I 'll feel more comfortable in public and not like an inconvenience to others.
Ultimately, I really want to lose weight.
It's always been something I have struggled with and I don't want to go back.
My motivational mantras that I repeat every day:
🙌🏼 It gets easier as you keep going and see proof of your progress.
🙌🏼 Small, gradual changes are the most sustainable.
🙌🏼 You won't find your willpower until you believe you have it.
🙌🏼 You will have bad days; that’s no reason to give up. If you keep trying, you will see results.
Start small but start TODAY.
Frank K. ❤️
