I didn't know anything about exercise at this point, and I thought in order to keep my weight off, that I needed to eat very very little. I cut back on calories to the point that I was barely eating 500 calories a day. My weight plummeted to an unhealthy 80lbs and I became pretty sick.
Getting sick was a wake-up call, and I decided that I needed to be healthy as well as thin. So I read up on exercise, bought a stair stepper and some free weights, and by the time I was 23, I was a slim, muscular girl of around 130lbs. I looked fabulous and more importantly, I felt fabulous.
Fast-forward to four years later. I was now working full time at a demanding job with an insurance company that I absolutely hated. There were always bagels and donuts in the office, and coupled with the fact that my exercise routine became erratic, I started putting on weight again. At first it was seven pounds, then seven became fifteen.
Three years later, my weight hovered between 140 and 145lbs. The only thing that was keeping my weight in check was the little exercise I was doing.
My exercising came to a halt when my older sister became very ill and passed away. I felt guilty about being able to exercise while she was dying. My weight edged up to 150lbs.
After that point, my weight hovered around 150-155lbs. I would exercise very erratically, lose 5-8 lbs and be jubilant only to stop and gain it back again.
It was around this time that I met my husband. He loved me just the way I was, and after we married, I ate what and when he ate, which was pretty much all the time. In the first six months of my marriage I put on a good 20lbs. I weighed around 174lbs, my highest weight ever!
In the next year or so, I started a modest exercise program, about 20 minutes a day, and I lost that 20lbs. I weighed 154lbs, still far to heavy for my 5'3" height, but I was fairly satisfied. I had planned to continue losing, but since I continued to eat like my husband ate (who is a skinny 145lbs and has never had a weight problem in his life) and as my exercise grew more erratic, I gained some weight back and hovered at between 160-163lbs for the next two years.
Last January, we purchased an elliptical trainer and a recumbent bike and put them in our bedroom. I started out doing 5 minutes on each machine and gradually worked up to 30 minutes on each machine. My weight started falling again, halting in early spring at that stubborn 154lbs. My exercise slacked off and there came back the few pounds I lost.
I don't really know what happened in August of 2005, but that is when things changed for me. I decided to take control of my weight once and for all, and I began an exercise regimen of an hour a day (30 minutes on each machine) and I have since lost about 25lbs. I have 5 lbs more to go before reaching my goal weight of 130...yay!
I can't tell you how good I feel right now! I look in the mirror and I can see my younger, fitter self again. I see my jawline, and my eyes look bigger and clearer. I fit into most of my old clothes once hidden in the back recesses of my closet.
Most importantly, I physically feel stronger and healthier than I have in a long time (well not right now because I have this stupid cold grrr...!
)Anyway, I've rambled on long enough. This looks like a wonderful site and I hope to lend support as I can, and get support as needed.
Cheers,
~Silvervixen
