A reflection on the first 30ish pounds
 

I'm not a frequent poster in this forum, but I figured I'd put this post here since I figured most of you lovely 300+ Club 3fc'ers would understand this the most.

After a little over 10 months of calorie counting (including a 6-month-long plateau/maintainence hiatus, heh) I've managed to lose from my starting weight of 287lbs down to 255lbs, a total of 32 pounds. When I first started my journey, I really didn't think that I would see or feel any difference until I made it about 50lbs down, but boy was I wrong. Even though I don't feel as though I look very different when I look at myself in the mirror and in pictures, I feel different.

Those 32 pounds have made it so much easier for me to do so much more. I don't get winded quite as easily (making it much easier for me to get in exercise by walking more), I've dropped from a size 26 jean to a loose size 24 and I should be in a size 22 within the next 5-10lbs, my belly has shrunk considerably, photos show me with less back fat, and I can feel and see my collarbones reemerging! In a lot of ways, I really don't feel like I'm still morbidly obese, simply because losing the first chunk of weight has made that much of a difference to me in terms of my energy levels.

More importantly, I've realized that I am in fact capable of changing my body through my efforts, and despite having what I viewed as a very high starting weight, even a relatively "small" weight loss has done me a lot of good, something I really didn't expect. It feels amazing knowing that that my efforts have already brought me great changes and I won't have to wait until I reach goal for my health and my relationship with my body to begin strengthening.

That said, I am still quite focused on goal. I haven't set any sort of timeline to get there because I've found that time-based goals just don't work well for me, but, I did buy a pair of size 14 (the size I'm guessing I'll be at my goal weight of 175lbs based on the rate weight has been coming off my pear-shaped-self and my size the last time I weighed around there) NY&Company jeans at Goodwill today for $5.99! They definitely look really little to me right now, but they look achievable, nonetheless. I can definitely see myself getting my body to that size and I look forward to it!

Even though I've got a long way to go , I definitely feel a lot closer to where I want to be (and a lot more capable of getting there) and it's amazing. I hope this help at least one person realize that even though we're starting a higher weights than some, our milestones along the way can be really significant! Big changes happen even before losing 50 or 100 or more pounds; every pound is a step in the right direction!

Thanks for reading! :hug:

Keep it up!

Congrats!

Love what you wrote about every pound a step in the right direction. Congrats!

Thanks for the feedback and encouragement! :D

Thank you for a truly inspirational post.

You're welcome! I'm glad it inspired you! =)

I've been getting caught up in how much weight and how long its going to take and you're post was a wonderful reminder to enjoy the milestones alone the way and while we want the numbers to go down there are plenty of other really good things to revel in.

Congrats! It wonderful to hear something so inspiring (:

Congrats, I'm sure I'll feel that way when I'm your weight. Use that feeling to keep you motivated :)

Thanks for writing this. I weighed 288.6 this morning, and wear size 26 jeans, so knowing that you've noticed a lot of improved between 30-35lbs off is very helpful to me.

I can't wait to notice some improvements myself. Thanks for sharing!

Glad I could be of help! Those 30ish pounds made a HUGE difference for me, and I'm sure they will for you, too! =)

I thought it would take at least 50 pounds for other people to notice, but the weight loss was pretty evident (at least in my face!) after I dropped 20 pounds. And I celebrated my 20 pounds loss, and then my 30, 40 and 50. Now I'm at almost 60 pounds gone, and I no longer feel like the fattest woman on the planet! I fit in movie seats, I can exercise more, and even though I still have a long journey ahead of me, for the first time in my life I believe I can get there. I just take it pound by pound and celebrate each mini-goal... only not with food like I would have in the past! :)