MizFit is truly one of the stars of the blogging world, even if she is too modest to admit it. Every time I read her blog I am inspired to stay on track with my strength training and be a better person. Honestly.
I am so honored to share a tiny bit of my 150 pound weight loss experience on her blog today because like MizFit, I believe that when we share our struggles and our victories with each other, we become stronger people.
I gained over 100 pounds between year one and year four of my marriage. The first 50 were just from eating too much and being sedentary, and the other 75 were from a pregnancy. There I was, 25 years old and morbidly obese. It wasn’t a good place to be either physically or emotionally.
I struggled with morbid obesity for 10 years, finally hitting my highest recorded weight of 305 pounds. Although I had a great life externally, internally I struggled with feelings of inadequacy, failure, and frustration with myself. I tried every diet that came along – except for ones that were absolutely ridiculous or recommended using supplements. Nothing worked for long.
Finally, after the birth of my third child, I got to the point where I realized it was now or never for me. I did not want to leave my children early because of my food choices. I was tired of feeling exhausted, and I had the sense that the time was now.
I started on a 14 month journey that saw me go from a size 28 to a size 6 or 8. I moved from sitting on the couch as much as possible to running a 5K. But best of all, I was finally able to be present in a new and vital way to my family. And I did it on my own, without joining a group or eating weird food. Just healthy eating, reasonable exercise, and a commitment to dealing with the emotions I had surrounding food. This is what my book 150 Pounds Gone Forever is about – getting in control of your weight for life.
It has been 14 years since I got to my healthy weight and during that time I’ve had four more kids and experienced a lot of life’s challenges.
I encourage you to never give up on yourself and your goals. Whether you are striving to reach a healthy weight, want to compete in an upcoming event, or just be able to climb the stairs without getting out of breath, take that first step today. You never know where you will be 14 months or 14 years later.
Stan Portrait Photographer says
September 21, 2012 at 5:09 pmYou made the decision, you put in the determination, work and sweat, now you want to have a visual record that will last many lifetimes… I’m a portrait photographer and I know the value of Family Portraits. I’ve noticed in the last 12 years that a lot of people are buying nice pro DSLRs and offering photography services for hire, but most don’t know what they’re doing, and as a result a lot of folks who just don’t know the questions to ask when hiring a photographer are being taken for a ride! So I wrote a book to help people separate the Pros from the Pretenders, and to guide you to getting YOUR Perfect Portrait! You can check it out at http://yourperfectportrait.net. ALOHA!
Deb says
September 21, 2012 at 7:50 pmDiane, I sometimes worry that I’ve left it too late to become who/what I want to be! (And not just on the weightloss front!)
But you’re right, all I can do is put one foot in front of the other and keep going!
Congratulations on your achievements!
Deb
Jody - Fit at 54 says
September 21, 2012 at 9:22 pmI love you Diane – such a wonderful & kind person & a great inspiration!!!!!!
Lance says
September 22, 2012 at 10:56 amYou’re story has always been so inspiring!! And now it’s in book format – how cool is that!!
Amanda says
September 22, 2012 at 5:06 pmYour story is very inspiring, but it was quite disheartening to read all of the self-deprecating comments that you have attached to the before pictures on your website. As a young woman who has wobbled between being overweight and obese for most of my life, it is hard to not feel hopeless when reading comments like that written by such an inspiring woman.
In my opinion, the woman in those before pictures may have been struggling, but she is the one who made the choice to change. You are strong and beautiful now, but you were strong and beautiful then too.
Fitness Wayne | Strength Training, Weight Loss and Paleo Health Blog says
September 23, 2012 at 10:58 pmThat is an amazing story. I am impressed you were able to drop 150 pounds and keep it off. What diet or strategy did you use? It really makes my 35 pound weight loss seem like nothing. I do think that the paleo diet is the one and only diet a person should use for staying healthy and losing weight though.
Krebstherapie says
September 24, 2012 at 9:36 pmI will immediately seize your rss feed as I can’t in finding your email subscription link or newsletter service. Do you have any? Kindly allow me recognise in order that I may just subscribe. Thanks.
Cherie Goodwin says
September 27, 2012 at 9:28 amAfter having my 1st youngster I tried several type of weight loss diets with low results, nonetheless, with working out I have dropped weight a lot faster.