I Lost To Gain

*Updated November 2016 to make it a bit more concise.*

I wasn’t excessively heavy grown up, but I was definitely on the chunky side.  I didn’t really put on the weight until I was in my 20s.

I was young, newly married, and has a husband who worked a lot, which left me plenty of time to eat–so I did!

I was 28 years old when a succession of events occurred to make me realize I needed to lose the weight.  Mostly, it revolved around buying new clothes because my old ones didn’t fit, and being shocked to discover I had to buy pants in size 22!  I also bought a new bathing suit for our trip to Italy, and when I saw the pictures of myself in it, I was horrified.

I joined Weight Watchers (not the first time in my life) and was really committed.  I lost 50 pounds in about 14 months, from May 2000 to July 2001.  Then I got pregnant! 😮  I gained 60 pounds in pregnancy, and struggling with getting all that weight back off.  Having a new baby made it very difficult to get to Weight Watchers meetings, but in January 2004, I discovered that they had an online program.  I joined and was able to lose the remaining weight.

I got pregnant again in summer 2005, but this time, I didn’t gain as much weight.  For the next 5 years, however, I struggled with trying to maintain my original weight loss.

It wasn’t until November 2011 that something finally clicked for me. That month, I saw my friend Katie (whom many people know from her blog, Runs for Cookies) on the Dr. Oz show, celebrating her 125 pound weight loss.  I knew she’d done it strictly through diet and exercise, because I’d watched her through the entire process.  I decided if she could lose 125 pounds that way, I could certainly lose 10 or 15 pounds using the same method.

The key for me this time was exercise.  I started walking daily, and then I transitioned to running.  That is a story in and of itself.  But after 7 months, I’d lost 25 pounds and was finally at (actually, below!) goal weight at Weight Watchers.  In June 2012, I earned Lifetime Member status.  My lowest weight (at home) was 113, but that turned out to be unsustainable for me, and I have readjusted my goal to 120, which is a good, healthy weight for a 5’2″ woman in her 40s.

Although I have struggled with some weight gain in the years since I originally made Lifetime (anywhere from 5-8 pounds above my “new” goal weight), I am still under the Weight Watchers goal for my age and height, and I have successfully maintained Lifetime status every month since June 2012, current through the writing of this post in November 2016.  Although I do still weigh-in monthly, I do not currently follow the Weight Watchers program.  In September 2015, I switched from Weight Watchers to counting calories, which worked out well, because when they came out with the “new” Weight Watchers program in November 2015, I did not like it at all. I feel like calorie-counting is more flexible, and it works better for my lifestyle at this time.

I once thought that I would get to a point where I would just be “in maintenance” and would never have to worry about “losing weight” again.  After nearly 5 years of doing this, I’ve discovered that’s not the case.  There seem to be only a few times in the year when I’m “at” goal (typically in the dead of winter; why, I don’t know).  The remainder of the year, I find myself struggling to lose 5-8 pounds.  But that’s just my new reality, and although it’s not exactly fun, I do know that’s it a far, far better situation than the way I used to live!

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Thanks so much for reading my blog!

If you would like to see a table of all my weekly weigh-ins, go to the Weigh In link on the menu above.

 

13 thoughts on “I Lost To Gain

  1. Betsy

    OK – here it goes – I’m on my own quest to walk for at oleast 30 minutes a day for 100 days. Today is day 1 – I’m going to channel your energy! You, my dear, are an inspiration!

    Reply
    1. steph Post author

      You can do it, Betsy!!! It’s going to be great and you’re going to feel awesome when you’re done!

      Reply
  2. Kate

    Just so you know, when I’m having an off day or am really tempted to hit the fridge when I should be finishing things up so I can head to bed … I come here. I reread your story. I have it bookmarked. Because your persistence is so very motivating, and I love that your story ends with a smile.

    You should be so proud of yourself. You should be so proud of the lives you’re changing with your story … and you should really, really consider sharing it with the world. 😉

    Reply
    1. steph Post author

      Wow. I was on my way to bed, and I read this, and it just totally made me speechless and humbled. Thank you, Kate!!

      Reply
  3. Carrie Masserant-Roberts

    OMG Steph, what an amazing story! It’s crazy to think that the two of us coincided at our children’s school for years before we meet; and then to find out that we both have been on incredible weight-loss journeys to boot…I do believe that God has definitely led us to each other. Together we are going to make a difference! There are so many people out there facing the exact same struggles we have…united we will shine!

    Reply
  4. Rocio

    Hi Steph, I read your story and could relate. In 2009 I thought I had reached my highest weight, I was wrong. I started dieting with herbalife and it worked very well for me. I lost 20 pounds and I felt very happy. I had been good at maintaining my weight but in 2012 I gained 25 pounds back :(. I can’t really explain what happened, I guess I had maintained it for so long I got carried away and thought I knew what I was doing. I started dieting since October or so and have lost 0 pounds. I am struggling a lot but keep faith. I haven’t been excercising, 2012 was a different year for my body and I haven’t been able to get myself to excercise. 2 weeks ago I started drinking herbalife again and it has worked good for me. Reading your blog has really inspired me and I want to start the 100 days of walking. Oh I also could relate because I’m 27 right now and turning 28 in March, haha.

    Reply

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