I’ve pretty much always been big. It started when I hit puberty. I grew up and out and, well, not in a good way. I got picked on because I was more “advanced” than the other girls my age and was accused (more than once) of adding to my attributes. That was when I started emotional eating. The more I ate, the more weight I put on. The bigger I got, the more I got picked on and the more I ate to make the hurt go away. It was a vicious cycle. Don’t get me wrong though, I did try to be active (sort of). I played softball for about 6 years. But, that was only during the Spring/Summer and, my eating habits didn’t change. I still over ate, sat on the couch whenever possible and, I became a closet eater. I would go to the kitchen, pretend to do something else, grab 4 or 5 cookies, put them in my pocket and go back to my room like nothing happened. Terrible! By the time I got to high school I was over 200lbs and wearing a size 16/18. I was so self-conscious and shy in high school, that I only had 3 boyfriends during those 4 years. The first two were during my freshman year and each only lasted a week. The last was during my junior year and that lasted 9 months (it only ended because he graduated and moved away).  At the end of high school I was close to 300lb and wearing a 22/24.  The cycle continued after high school, and I ballooned up to my highest weight ever in 2006 of 326lbs and wearing a size 28 (NOT comfortably!). At this point I was married (how I’m still not sure, but luckily for me I found a man that loved me for me no matter what size I was) and hoping to start a family. I was on the verge of type 2 diabetes,  I had high blood pressure, high cholesterol and sleep apnea (I snore and stop breathing when I sleep). None of this is very conducive to trying to get pregnant, to say nothing of just trying to live!

 

Like all overweight people, I had tried just about every diet, pill and gimmick out there to lose weight. I tried drinking the shakes, but that lasted about a day. Those things are SO disgusting!!! Ugh! Chocolate chalk? No thanks! I took the Stacker 2 pills but I stopped because they were making me feel sick and my heart race. Let’s see, what else? Oh, I tried the Carbohydrate Addict’s diet. For that one, you eat whatever veggies and protein you want for 2 meals and snacks, but for 1 hour of the day (basically 1 meal) you can eat whatever you want. Most fruits were only allowed during your hour because they have too many natural carbs. Um, yeah that didn’t work. I tried Weight Watchers on my own, but I did the flex points which means that you get your point allotment for the day, but you also get extra points you can use for the week. I would end up going over, use the flex points and would go way over. At this point I would just give up and say “well, I blew it for today” and pig out. Not good! I would try and try, but I couldn’t ever seem to stay motivated long enough to see any results.

 

It wasn’t until February 2009 that I found my saving grace. By this time I had managed to lose 24lbs and was at 305lbs, but still wearing a size 28. I was also in a really bad place mentally and emotionally. I had all these health problems, I felt horrible about myself, I didn’t like myself or my body and I still hadn’t been able to get pregnant. Lucky for me, my local radio station, Moo92, was teaming up with a trainer named Ben Warstler of Ben’s Bootcamps to run a weight loss contest like the tv show Biggest Loser, except they were calling it The Biggest Mooser. Out of 55 people that applied, 5 were chosen to participate. We were given (free!!) 16 weeks of workouts with Ben, his Metabolism Makeover eating program and really, a daily ass kicking! No seriously. That first week, I went from sitting on the couch doing nothing to working out 6 days a week!! Let me tell you, my butt was dragging! But, after the first week, the soreness wasn’t as bad and I started really feeling the energy boost from our workouts. It was awesome! I don’t think I’ll ever be able to say that the workouts got easier, but honestly, that’s a good thing!! The workouts themselves change as well as the exercises that we do during the workouts so it keeps it very fresh and challenging! The biggest challenge for me during Mooser (and even now), was nutrition. I am the pickiest person you will ever know. No seriously, there are so many things that I won’t eat, it’s easier to list the things that I will eat!! I will eat: strawberries, bananas, peaches, pears, any melon, cucumbers, celery, baby spinach and the following only if it’s cooked: onions, peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes. See what I mean? Let’s see, what else? Oh I like pork, chicken (white breast only), beef, and turkey (white meat only and only occasionally),eggs and dairy. The hardest thing for me was trying to find different things to eat or a different way to make the things I like so that I don’t get bored. I still struggle with that a bit. The best thing for me is to try to change things up. For example, I’ll have breakfast for lunch one day (so scrambled eggs with cheese on top and 1/2 a cucumber).  So trying to do the required lean protein and fibrous carbohydrate for the Metabolism Makevoer was a little trickier for me. I basically just stuck to what I like and even tried new things! I had some new things I tried like asparagus that I actually didn’t mind, and others like broccoli (that I already knew I didn’t like but tried anyway) that I found out I still hated.

 

When I started, I thought it was going to be really hard to give up breads and starches. I’m a serious breadaholic, I was like, oh man this is gonna suck!! But, it was actually easier than I thought. I started eating 5-6 meals a day and getting enough carbs from the fibrous carbs that I was eating that it didn’t bother me. And, eating that often, I never got so hungry that I turned to bad choices.

 

The main thing was changing my mindset. You have to do that. Like I said, I’m an emotional eater so a big thing for me was recognizing that that was why I was headed to the kitchen and stop myself. I had to think “am I really hungry or am I just going to the kitchen because I’m upset?”. Then I would go do something else. I like to write so I would go do that instead. I wrote poems, or wrote in my journal and it really helped. Sometimes I even use Bootcamp as an outlet. I put everything into my workout and it definitely helps.

   

 

At the end of Mooser (16 weeks) I lost 60lbs, 10.3% bodyfat and 20 inches. By December of 2009 (4 months after Mooser ended) I lost 101lbs, 15.3% bodyfat and 34 inches. I went from wearing a size 28 (barely) and am now comfortably in a size 16. And now, 8 months later, I am still maintaining. I did gain a little bit back (about 8lbs) but that’s ok. I can still wear a 16, and sometimes even a 14! As long as I stay in that size then I am very happy! I couldn’t have made this journey without Ben or Ben’s Bootcamp and I will be forever grateful to him for that. I was the girl that never thought she could lose 100lbs, sitting on the couch wishing and hoping for some kind of miracle and I found it. I found it in Ben’s Bootcamp and within myself. You have it in you to make the changes, you just have to take the first step and finally do it. Like I always say, suck it up and DO it!!