Guest Post: Losing Brownies Weight Loss Story

Hey there! I’m Losing Brownies, and over at Losing the baby weight…one brownie at a time I often write about my life as a SAHM to The Boy and usually I include my husband, Gadget Guy, in these adventures, mishaps, and antics. Sometimes I write just about myself or things that are going on in my mind. You really don’t know what you’ll find there on any given day!
One of the things I write about pretty often is weight loss.

I have always struggled with weight. I was so chubby that in the fourth grade the boys called me “Butterball”, as in Butterball turkey. I would come home crying every day. Eventually the “baby fat” came off, but it was replaced with actual fat. It probably had a lot to do with the diet my parents provided, which was not laden with fruits and vegetables.

I wasn’t obese, but I was still over weight. That carried on into high school, where I was teased even more and by people I thought were my friends. That was when I decided I was going to do something about my weight.

Unfortunately, I didn’t do it in a smart way. I started taking ephedrine. I slimmed down to a size 9 and was feeling pretty proud of myself, even if my “friends” still picked on me for being chubby. I was addicted to those pills and recall having a panic attack when I got up to the University without them.

If it had not of been for some true friends who educated me on the dangers of those pills I don’t know what would have happened. However when I ditched those pills my weight went back up.

Three years of full time school with 18 credit hours a semester and cooking out of a dorm my weight went back up. I was a size 16 when I graduated from college. Two years after teaching full time my weight continued to rise and I was a daunting 210+ pounds and wearing plus size 18-20 clothing.

That is when I got sick of my weight and got on weight watchers. It took me 9 months to slim down to 130 pounds. Instead of maintaining that weight though it crept back up.

I’m an emotional eater and I let myself go and would “treat” myself with every joy and sorrow. These events included meeting my husband, my brother passing away, getting engaged, buying a house, getting married, and finishing a master’s degree.

After my degree, Gadget Guy and I decided to get serious about starting our family. I knew that 160+ pounds wouldn’t be a good place to start off a pregnancy, so while we tried I started working out more and shedding the pounds. I got down to 140 before we found out I was pregnant with The Boy.

In those 10 months I put on 55 pounds. I was slowly gaining the weight but the last few months are when I put on the most weight. I went from ½ - 1 pound a week to nearly 3 pounds a week. My midwife assured me that most of it was water weight and that I would lose it quickly.

The day The Boy was born I was 195 pounds.

He is seven months old now and I weigh 145 pounds.

In seven months I’ve dropped 50 pounds. Guaranteed, I lost about 20 in the first 6 weeks, but after that the weight loss stopped and I knew I had to do something, so it was back to the gym.

I have a love-hate relationship with the gym. I love the way I feel after a hard workout, but I hate going. I have to psyche myself up to get there. Once I’m there, it’s all good though.

I was having some success with the gym, but not a lot. I was still incredibly unhappy with my body image and found that if I went out at all, I had to be carrying my son. I figured if people saw me with my child they would know that I was still large because of the baby weight.

Not only did I gain a lot of weight, but so did Gadget Guy. He suggested doing Medifast after listening to some testimonials on his favorite radio station. I knew in order to stick to a plan I’d need him on one too, so we went and checked it out. Since he was so into it, I agreed to go alone with it. When we started the program I was 165 pounds.

We’ve been on the program for 12 weeks and I’ve lost 20 pounds. Their program says they average 2-5 pounds a week (it’s lower for people who have a little less to lose) and I’m just under that 2 pound average.

I’ll be honest though, I don’t follow it to a tee. You are allowed one lean and green meal a day and the rest of your meals are replacements from their company. Sometimes life gets in the way though and I don’t want to miss out on having a glass of wine, or eating at a party. I’m sure if I were diligent with it, I’d of lost a lot more.

As soon as I hit my goal of 125 pounds I’ll go on their maintenance program. I’m hoping it won’t take long to get there, but 1.6 pounds a week is nothing to frown at. If I keep that up then I can get to my goal by the first week of March.

I don’t want to discourage myself either, because I know some weeks will be harder (and some easier), so I’m making my goal date The Boy’s first birthday, which is in May. I’m pretty sure I can keep myself motivated enough to make it to that.

So here is to continued success on my weight loss journey.