my weight loss journey & how I've done it

I have had dozens and dozens of people ask me, "how did you lose the weight?" since I first dropped 35 lbs plus my pregnancy weight after my first son was born. I made a pretty long Facebook post about it once, and I direct friends to that post when they have questions, but I thought I would make a blog post about it for those of you who have questions but aren't my Facebook friend! 

Here we go.

Let's start with a little bit of lot of background info.

In middle and high school, I would say I was of average weight, but I was tall (I'm currently 5'7 1/2", probably about 5'6" in middle school), so I technically weighed more than my friends. I do remember thinking that back in 7th grade, weighing in at a whopping 114 pounds, that I might be getting fat. It was never a real concern of mine but I was a typical preteenage girl, so I guess those thoughts were normal. Moving into high school, I was at a healthy weight. I had a lot of doctor visits throughout high school and all my records are online so I have been able to look back and see what I weighed throughout high school. I started sophomore year in 2008 and in September of 2008, I was 143 pounds. 

(Please ignore my outfit, I was dressed for a Homecoming event!)

My weight only went up from there. By November, I was 147 lbs and in March 2009 I was 148 lbs, all of which was in the healthy range for my age and height. 

March 2009 - 147 lbs

In August of 2009, right before the start of junior year, I was 156 lbs. I don't remembering paying much attention to my weight at any of these appointments, or the fact that it was only going up. Just three months later, in November of 2009, I was 167 pounds, slipping into the "overweight" category without even realizing or caring.

 The start of my Junior year of high school, around 158 lbs, September 2009. Please, oh, PLEASE just ignore the bright pink streak in my hair (yes, that was my real hair) and my duck lips and my awkward pose. I was a lost soul back in 2009 and, well, I was 16.

Notice that this "selfie" was taken back when you had to use a digital camera and then upload the picture to your computer and then put it on Facebook. Yikes. Anyway..

I met my husband in February of 2010 (who knows why he fell for me when I looked like the above picture!) and I don't have any record of what I weighed at that time. 

My 17th birthday, March 2010

I had my senior pictures that summer, and I assume I was close to 170 lbs. I loved my pictures and felt beautiful (and skinny) in them. 

Summer of 2010 at some point, less than 170 lbs

I started my senior year of high school in September and we got engaged in October of 2010 and at that time, I was 172 pounds.

Our engagement party, November 2010, 172+ lbs

I got my wedding dress in November. In December of 2010, I was up to 184 lbs. I don't know how or why I gained weight so quickly and easily, but I've always had a sneaking suspicion that I have a hormonal imbalance that causes me to gain quickly if I'm not careful, which I wasn't being. 

February of 2011, around 185 lbs

In May of 2011, I was down in weight for the first time - 178 pounds. It was only 3 months until my wedding and I was actively trying to lose weight at this point so that I looked better in my wedding dress... and also fit into it! I assume 178-ish is what I weighed when I bought my dress back in November, so I was on track. 

June of 2011

I still wanted to lose weight to look my best, so I counted calories and didn't eat junk food at night (which was a habit of mine - oh hey, maybe that's why I was gaining weight so quickly in high school!) and right before the wedding, my mom and I did this 10 day diet that consisted of flavorless chicken breasts, rice, fiber cereals and baked potatoes. It guaranteed you could lose weight and it worked! In August of 2011 for our wedding day, I was 166 lbs. Still technically "overweight" but I felt great in my dress and loved how all my pictures turned out. I weighed at our wedding what I did in November of 2009, so, probably around what I weighed when we met in early 2010. 

Off to our honeymoon! August 2011 - 166 lbs

Now comes even more weight gain. Hooray! We went on our honeymoon and I wore a bikini and didn't feel fat in it, so there's that. I didn't even realize that I was considered overweight. Just a few weeks into married life, we decided we wanted to try to get pregnant, and on November 1 we found out we were expecting our first baby!

November 2011

 I went to the doctor on November 14 and weighed 199 lbs - my highest weight, but still under the 200 mark by just a few ounces. I don't even remember batting an eye at the number on the scale. Sure I had a pudgy tummy and had to buy bigger clothes recently, and I would occasionally comment to my husband that I felt "fat", which he of course denied immediately - bless his heart - but it wasn't an eye opening moment of any sort. Especially since I was now pregnant, I didn't worry about gaining weight or what I was putting into my mouth. In fact, I was excited that I could "eat for two" now! I gained over 30 pounds in just the first 3 months of our marriage.

Just two weeks later, we got the horrible news that our baby was in Heaven. I was having a miscarriage. I was 201 pounds. Looking back, I can't help but think that being overweight - actually, now obese - was the cause for our miscarriage. We decided to start trying for another baby as soon as we physically could and in March of 2012, we found out we were pregnant again! I was now up to 213 lbs in that short 4 month period of time. My OB didn't seem to mind but told me I probably wouldn't gain much in pregnancy. She was right, I only gained 26 lbs by the time I gave birth on November 28, 2012, making me 239 lbs. 

February 2012, right before we got pregnant for the second time - 210 pounds

November 2012, just 3 days postpartum

Just three weeks after Ezra was born, I stepped on the scale and was 215, proud that I was almost back to my pre-pregnancy weight without any effort. I was breastfeeding but in all honesty, I was still eating like I was pregnant. Breastfeeding cravings are real, folks! Oreos and Taco Bell were my weaknesses. I told myself that I'd love to lose even more in the new year and that was my goal for 2013. I didn't really get active on that goal until April. I was 218 lbs (I had gained some weight back) and ready to make a change. I cut out all soda and switched to drinking a gallon of water a day, and I started researching weight loss and counting calories. 

February 2013 - 218-ish pounds

This is where my journey begins! 

From April 2013 to August 2013, I set weight loss goals for myself and surprisingly met them all! On May 14, I hit 199 lbs and I told myself I wouldn't ever be over 200 lbs again unless I was pregnant. I watched movies like Hungry for Change and I took little walks with Ezra since it was nice out. I was making lifestyle changes with my mom and my husband as my accountability partners. I switched to salads at restaurants and stopped buying Oreos (*gasp!*). 

May 2013 - 199 lbs

May 2013 - 199 lbs 

My next goal was to be 188 lbs by the time Marcus, Ezra & I went to a Brewers/Cubs game with my parents in late June, putting me at 25 lbs down total since April 10. I hit that goal just in time - the morning of the game! I rewarded myself by eating delicious food at the buffet at the game. I was feeling skinny and proud, even though I was still well overweight. People had started telling me that they could tell I had lost weight which only motivated me more to keep going. A couple people said I looked like I was back at the weight I was at our wedding day (even though I wasn't, but they didn't know that!)

June 25, 2013 - 188 lbs

By July 20th I was 181 lbs which was 32 pounds total from my pre-pregnancy weight and including my pregnancy weight, 58 lbs down. Throughout the rest of July and August, I didn't try quite as hard at weight loss, meaning I had a few more cheat meals that usual but still counted calories. In mid-August I made the Facebook post that I previously mentioned where I explained how I had lost the weight so far. 

July 2013

August 2013 - 180ish

In late September, we found out we were pregnant again! I was 178 lbs, and obviously the weight loss had to temporarily stop. 

4 weeks pregnant, September 2013 - 178 lbs

The first 20 weeks of my pregnancy, I was still nursing Ezra and hadn't gained any weight. At 22 weeks pregnant, Ezra weaned from nursing (long story - but I think my milk changed due to pregnancy and he didn't like it) and then I started gaining weight. 

14 weeks pregnant with Ezra on the left, 14 weeks with Selah on the right

By the time I gave birth in June 2014, I was up 50 lbs! So obviously, I passed the 200 mark again, but it was due to pregnancy so it was fine. ;) ha. 

35 weeks pregnant with Selah

The day I had Selah, I was 228 lbs. I didn't start counting calories after she was born for a couple weeks because I didn't want my milk supply to be affected. Once I started counting calories again, the weight started falling off. Before she was even 3 months old, I was down all 50 lbs and back to my pre-pregnancy weight of 178 lbs. I was feeling amazing!

July 2014 - 182 lbs

August 27, 2014 - 177.8 lbs (less than prepregnancy by .2 lbs!)

It felt like a fresh start to eat healthier and lose more weight that wasn't from pregnancy. It fell off quickly at first, which is how weight loss usually goes. When she was 4 months old, I was 165 lbs, which is one pound less than I weighed on our wedding day. I was thrilled! I was now skinnier than I was in my senior pictures. Every time I looked at those pictures while I was pregnant, I hoped I would be that skinny again some day and wished that that could happen, even though I doubted it would. I finally was at that weight again! I was so proud of myself. 

 Left: Selah, 4 months old, 18 lbs // Right: 165 lbs

My next goal was to be 160 lbs because that would mean my BMI was finally in the "healthy" range, which hadn't been the case since 2009. I hit that goal just a week after hitting 165 lbs: on October 13, 2014, I was 159.8 pounds. 

October 24, 2014 - 159 lbs

I kept doing what I had always been doing since it seemed to be working. There were times when I would gain a pound without changing anything and then it took forever to lose that pound again. There were even more times when my weight loss would plateau and I wouldn't lose anything for a couple weeks. Those were agonizing weeks of counting calories and drinking lots of water without seeing the scale budge. I'm one of those people who weighs myself every single morning. I know that's not the way some people like to do it, but that's what calmed my anxiety the best, believe it or not. By November 13, I was 153 lbs. I sort of stopped setting weight loss goals for myself except that I wanted to keep losing weight. I didn't want to pressure myself with hitting a specific weight by a specific date anymore since I was technically at a healthy weight and so the pressure was off a little bit. I kept on going, though! I tried on the jeans from my senior pictures, by the way, and they were about 3 sizes too big on me! 

Thanksgiving 2014 - 152 lbs

Left: December 9, 2012 with Ezra // Right: December 9, 2014 148 lbs

Left: February 2012 // Right: December 2014 in the same sweatshirt

Left: December 2012 with my best friend Amanda // Right: December 2014

Left: December 2012 // Right: December 2014

December 2014 in size 27x33 jeans from Vanity

Now, here we are, January 9 of 2015. 

After looking at all of these before-and-after photos, I often ask my husband, "why did you still love me when I looked like that? Why didn't you tell me I had gotten so fat?" (I'm very hard on myself - something I'm working on!) and he always replies, "all I ever saw was beauty." Man, I love him.

I am currently 141.0 lbs, I am 5 feet 7 1/2 inches tall and my BMI is 21.8, which is actually a big deal because just one week ago, I was 145 lbs. Over Christmas and New Years I wasn't very strict on my calorie counting due to the holidays. I thought I deserved a few cheat meals/days since I had been working so hard and was at a healthy weight. So this recent weight loss is a pleasant surprise! I think it's because I started getting strict with counting calories again this past week and my body is thanking me by shedding 4 pounds. So now I am down 87 lbs from the day I had Selah 7 months ago!

**EDIT: (June 2015) Back on March 12, I reached my goal of 100 lbs lost! I hit 128 lbs.

That was 3 months ago. It is now June and I am maintaining under 131 lbs which is exactly what I would like to do! *END EDIT*

So... drumroll please... here's the part you've all been waiting for: how I did it! 

**Here's my disclaimer: I am not a doctor. I am not a nutritionist. I have not gone to medical school, except for the training I did to become a Certified Nursing Assistant. The following information is simply the things I have researched and learned along the way. This is what worked for me but it doesn't mean it will work for everyone. If you don't agree with any of the things you read, then don't do them, simple as that! This is my personal opinion and story.**

Here we go!

I am NOT doing any diet or exercise programs. Diet programs tend to be short term, meaning as soon as you stop doing them, you gain all the weight back plus additional weight. Eating healthy is a lifestyle change that you can live with your whole life to help yourself lose weight and stay healthy and maintain that weight! If programs like Body by Vi and Atkins work for you, great! They just aren't for me.

We all know the jist of it: burn more calories than you eat and you will lose weight. There are 3,500 calories in a pound, so once you burn 3,500 calories more than you eat, you will lose 1 pound. Yes that seems like a lot of calories but it can be done! Think of it this way: if you cut out 500 calories a day from your diet (for some that can mean one Starbucks frappuccino) that adds up to 3,500 calories a week, resulting in 1 lb lost.

What I did first is found out my BMR (different than BMI). BMR is Basal Metabolic Rate which means how many calories you would burn if you were in a coma. For example, my current BMR is 1486. That means if I just laid in bed all day, my body would burn 1468 calories just by breathing, digesting and living. Go here to calculate yours.

NEVER EAT LESS THAN THIS NUMBER!

Many people eat too little calories in an effort to lose weight and find themselves stuck or "plateaued". Eating less than your BMR means you aren't taking in enough calories to even EXIST which causes fatigue, headaches, possible weight gain (starvation mode) and many other symptoms. I'll say it again: ALWAYS EAT AT LEAST YOUR BMR IN CALORIES DAILY.

The next step is to find your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). Your TDEE is how many calories YOU personally burn each day. Obviously you are not in a coma and everything you do during the day burns calories, walking, eating, brushing your teeth, etc., so you burn more than your BMR in calories a day. Your TDEE takes your BMR and uses the Harris Benedict Equation to calculate how many calories you burn by inputting your activity level. To find out your TDEE, go here.

You have to decide for yourself how active you think you are. If you have a desk job and never exercise, you probably are "sedentary." If you have a job where you are doing physical labor and also exercise 3-4 times a week, you're probably "extra active." If you think you're in between two levels, like "sedentary" and "lightly active" for example, you can use 1.3 instead of 1.2 or 1.375 for your equation.

Here's where the weight loss comes in. Once you find out your TDEE, decide how much weight you want to lose. If you want to lose a pound a week, you need to subtract 500 from this number daily, like I mentioned above. 500 a day x 7 days a week equals 3,500 calories (1 lb). If you want to lose 2 lbs a week, subtract 1000 calories from your TDEE. (2 lbs a week is the most recommended to lose per week healthily unless you're extremely overweight or obese). Keep in mind that you should never eat less than your BMR! If you subtract 1000 or even 500 from your TDEE and it's LESS than your BMR, that doesn't mean to eat that amount. For example, if your TDEE is 2800 and you want to lose 2 lbs a week, but your BMR is 1950, don't eat 1800 calories a day. Eat at least 1950.

YOU WILL LOSE WEIGHT IF YOU EAT LESS THAN YOUR TDEE. The more under your TDEE you eat, the more weight you will lose more quickly. But remember not to eat less than your BMR. I know I've said this multiple times but that is so important! Eating 1200 calories a day is NOT okay (unless your BMR is less than this for some reason)! You will be hungry and out of energy and your weight loss will likely stall. Keep in mind that just because you eat 500 less calories a day doesn't mean you will always lose exactly 1 pound each week. How many calories you burn daily varies as well as your metabolism and digestive system. As the saying goes, results may vary! ;)

Your BMR and TDEE will change as you lose weight because your weight is factored into them, so make sure you recalculate as you lose weight. The more overweight you are, the higher your BMR is likely to be because you burn more calories just by weighing more. So it may seem counterproductive to eat more than you think you should, but your BMR will go down as you lose weight and then your calorie intake can go down.

Now, if you exercise, you don't necessarily need to replace those calories you burned with food because your exercise is calculated into your TDEE. I've heard both sides of the "argument" - eat back the calories you burn and don't eat them back. I don't really have an opinion on that because I don't exercise due to knee/back issues. You are welcome to do your own research on this!

There it is. That's the "science" of it and it's just that simple. When people ask me how I've lost weight, my answer is calorie counting! It may seem like a lot of work, but using the app MyFitnessPal makes it so easy. You can enter everything you eat including recipes and foods at restaurants to keep you on track. You can also track your exercises as well as your weight loss progress! This app has been a life saver for me.

More weight loss tips:

Drink more water! I aim to drink half my body weight in ounces of water a day. For me, that means 70ish ounces. I only have milk, almond milk, water & coffee (plus creamer) for drinks unless I'm having a "cheat meal".

Eat clean! Just because you eat less calories doesn't necessarily mean you are "healthier." For example, white bread has less calories than wheat bread but it's much more unhealthy because it's processed and full of sugar. I try to remind myself to eat healthier even if it has more calories. More calories doesn't mean unhealthy and less calories doesn't mean healthy. Read your labels and know what you're putting in your body. You'll feel so much better. Aim for whole foods from nature and try to eat clean. Many people I've talked to that are on a health journey try to eat 80% clean (fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, etc) and only 20% other foods. I personally have cut out aspartame (meaning no sugar substitutes including diet soda) and I eat real butter instead of margarine, as well as full-fat items instead of foods that claim to be "fat free", because they're stuffed with fillers that are so, so unhealthy for you!

Cut yourself some slack! You don't have to say goodbye to chocolate forever just because you want to lose weight. It's about portion control sometimes. One cookie won't make you fat just like one salad won't make you skinny. You still need to enjoy life and you don't necessarily have to have a salad each and every meal to lose weight! One thing that a lot of people are surprised to hear is that I eat ice cream almost every day! (Hey, I never claimed to be a health nut.) I've found that allowing myself to have 1 cup of ice cream (measured out - not an entire bowl full or a pint of Ben & Jerry's!) almost every day actually helps me stay on track. I calculate this cup of ice cream into my calories for the day. Having this snack at night prevents me from chowing down on a whole package of Oreos at the end of the week when I've been staying on track and doing so well. It's a controlled portion and I get my sweet tooth fix while remaining in my calorie goal for the day without going overboard and ruining all the progress I've made. It's very easy to backtrack, and eating 20 cookies in one sitting can put a big damper on your weight loss! I don't think it's realistic to cut out sugar for the rest of my life. If sugar is something that's a huge stumbling block for you, then maybe you do need to cut it out. For me, allowing myself a little bit helps me be successful because I know that without sugar for a while, I'll cave and eat way too much in one sitting. Do what works best for you! You know your own self.

Get an accountability partner! Putting it out there that I'm on a weight loss journey and sharing my goals with my family is a huge part of my success. My husband knows that I'm counting calories so he encourages me and keeps me on track. If he ever brings me a snack or makes me lunch, he knows to tell me how many calories are in it so I can track it! My mom and I use MyFitnessPal together so she can see everything I track that I'm eating. I am less likely to get off track or even gain weight back knowing that so many people are watching me and cheering me on.

When you start to eat healthier and lose weight, the weight will come off quicker in the beginning because it's a lot of water weight and your body is reacting to the sudden decrease in calories. Don't get discouraged when your weight loss starts to slow down! Your body will adjust and start to "even out" but if you're still eating less than your TDEE (but more than your BMR) you will be burning more calories than you eat and will lose weight!

There will be times your weight loss will plateau. It's happened to me and has made me want to just give up, but I hung in there and I'm so glad I did. Don't give up when this happens! I have cheat meals and even cheat days occasionally, but honestly, eating less over time and having control over what I eat has made me want to have less cheat meals and even when I allow myself one, I find that I can't eat as much as I used to - I start to feel dragged down and gross because my body is no longer used to me eating until I'm stuffed to the brim. Your body will surprise and amaze you at what it can do and what changes it can make! 

The biggest thing I want you to take away from this extremely long post is that God made you in His image and He loves you! You are beautiful no matter what you weigh. I personally chose to lose weight not only to feel better about myself but to be healthier. I want to have a long, fulfilling life.

If you have any questions, please leave a comment. Thank you for taking the time to get through this post and I hope you learned something valuable or could relate to my story in some way. Have a healthy day!