One of the most eye opening weight loss stories ever.
I was always the chubby kid. I had a difficult childhood and I only learned to use food in ways that were unrelated to hunger. I ate for fun, for comfort or out of boredom.
When I turned 20 and realised that I weighed 121 kilos, I decided I had to change. I was prepared for a big number, but 121 kilos was startling because it was so heavy. Having known that I’d only ever gained weight up until that point, I could just see that I would eventually be 150 kilos and it would never stop.
I just knew at that moment that it was now or never.
I set a dream weight loss of 63 kilos. At first, I just started trying to eat healthier on my own. I cut way, way back on all the sweets, I stopped drinking soft drink, I made a real effort to eat a lot more fruits and vegetables. I joined Weight Watchers for about five months and really enjoyed the way it helped me to get a handle on serving sizes and portions and taught me about nutrition.
It was hard, but I achieved my dream weight loss.
I finished the rest of the weight loss on my own. I just kept the calorie counting, which I really liked. I’m a numbers person and I also really liked that sometimes a calorie is just a calorie.
I jogged probably six days a week. Running was something that I never thought I’d be able to do because it was always such torture, but it was something that I really got into.
It took 13 months. I thought there was a finish line at some point, but there’s no finish line. It’s been almost 10 years now since I’ve lost the weight and learning to maintain is its own journey.
I thought problems that had existed in my life would be better once I lost weight, but I was still the same person. I had the same fears, the same hang-ups about myself, and life was still coming with its own challenges. Now I couldn’t turn back to food, which had always been my comfort.
I had to recognise I won’t be able to emotionally eat for the rest of my life if I want to maintain a healthy body. Coming to terms with that was kind of like grieving and that was really hard. I had to find ways to fill my time or things to do, like going out with friends more, in order to feel OK without food. Writing became a big thing for me.
It felt nice to receive attention and to be thought of as attractive. But at the same time, I realised I’ve only changed this one part of my physical being and that’s getting me all of this praise. That’s very sad; it’s a sad truth of our society.
