Since last summer, I’ve lost 48 pounds. Sometimes I wear a 50 pound vest during my workouts to honor my loss.

https://imgur.com/a/jByaFSP

F | 23 | 5’7” | 178 pounds to 130 pounds

Sometimes when I look in the mirror, I forget I used to be 48 pounds heavier. I forget the hundreds of hours of dedication it took to shed the weight. When I notice myself fall back into old eating / lack of movement patterns, I throw on a 50 pound vest and I hit the stairclimber or incline treadmill and I walk an hour and a half. It’s enough time to realize I never want to carry that weight again full time.

How did I lose the weight?

I started small: tracking calories. I was eating 1,000 more per day than I realized. I still use MFP.

Walk 10,000 steps a day, even if I had to do laps around the house.

Then, once I mastered those two, I started changing my eating habits and giving my body filling and healthy foods instead of prepackaged junk and fast food. I started running. I started lifting weights. I started working standing instead of sitting.

Taking it slow has allowed me to lose the weight and most importantly, stick to it.

So, here’s to those 48 pounds: Goodbye. May I never see you outside of wearing a weighted vest again.