I often say I have always been overweight, but that isn't strictly true. At least, what it implies isn't strictly true. I have always been "overweight", but have only been obese as an adult. All of my adulthood, in fact, except for a few months when I think I was just "overweight" by BMI.
I was a soft kid and a soft and chubby teen, at 5'6" and about 165-180. When I met the man I eventually married, he and I both slowly got fatter together. And then much faster got seriously overweight. When we were married, I was probably about 265, but avoided scales, so cannot be certain. About a year after we were married, I was anxious to start our family, and started losing weight. I joined Rosie's Chub Club and did the Nestle's Sweet Success meal replacement plan. I lost about 65 pounds, getting to my lowest adult weight of 199. After a month or so, realizing a baby wasn't being planned yet, I started gaining back. When we started trying for a baby a year or so later, I had gotten back up to about 275.
I lost weight during my pregnancy, and weighed less after she was born than I had before. Not much, though, and I felt no motivation to lose more. I was happy to hang out at 265-250. Pictured is me with that baby at Halloween, about 15 months after she was born.
With my next pregnancy, I again lost weight, and was at about 235 after he was born. Yay! Then some stuff came up in my life, and I got angry and ended up punishing myself by gaining weight. A ton of weight. It was the first time I approached 300 pounds. After several years, I finally decided to do something.
A calorie-restricted diet brought me down to 250, where I seemed stuck. I started doing taekwondo, which I loved, but it did not help with weightloss. Then I became pregnant with my third baby. I did not lose weight that pregnancy, and was about 265 after it.
Another two years, and I was pregnant again. I would have a 10 year old, an 8 year old, a 2 year old, and a newborn. Life got crazy. Weight crept back on.
My last baby is now 4. Breastfeeding was done, and my husband was getting antsy about his weight again. He wanted to start Metabolic Research Center's diet, knowing nothing about it except that it was effective for a few people we know. I said I would join him. I was flirting with 300 pounds again.
I went in and joined December 9th. He heard about the diet in detail and decided it was not for him, but it was perfect for me. I loved the structure and strictness. I lost a pound the first week, and gain half of it back the second week. I planned to be in this for a full year, though, and decided to just keep on it.
It has been almost 7 months now, and I am down 77 official pounds. I still have 23 to go to hit my MRC goal that I started with of 100 pounds, and from there, I plan to probably lose more weight, up to another 20 pounds. It is a long road, but this weight has been with me for a very long time. I am not giving up on myself.