As a quick recap – April 15th (one day after my 40th birthday) I decided it was time for a healthier me. I wanted to help limit some of the issues I have with MS, and I was hoping that losing weight would give me some quality of life changes by putting less overall pressure on my body. I started at 250lbs, and today I’m at 213lbs.
I’ve lost 37lbs – but I don’t actually see it when I look in the mirror, and I don’t actually feel like I’ve lost that much. I think I’m probably just always going to see myself as a bigger girl for a long time, the mental battle that comes with weight loss is just as difficult as the physical one. I’ve been doing a mixture of keto and just eating less food, I ended up losing quite a bit while we were evacuated just due to stress which is NOT something I suggest to anyone. Each month I give myself a budget of $100 for keto friendly foods that I can find, and this month that meant some amazing tortilla wraps, some bbq sauce, ketchup, some chocolate milk shake mix, and some konjac noodle rice stuff that I’m hoping to use to make keto friendly sushi. Turns out seaweed is perfectly good to eat on a low carb diet.
Long term my first major goal is getting below 200lbs. Once there, I plan on dropping keto and working on portion sizes and learning sustainability when it comes to proper meals, even in my unique location where pretty much the only grocery options are frozen carbs. I also plan on incorporating exercise into the equation once I’m below 200lbs. Due to my MS, I have to be careful about how I go about this. Some days I can’t walk or make use of my hands, and I don’t want to injure myself. I’m not exactly proud of the progress I’ve made, but I’m glad I’m getting somewhere. It’s a mixed bag, honestly. I’m also not seeing any changes in my MS symptoms yet, but I’m sure my body is thankful not to have so much weight to carry around, even if I can’t feel any difference.
You should be proud; don’t discount the progress you’ve made. Losing 37 lbs in three months is a big deal. In addition, losing weight is difficult even under normal circumstances, and you have health challenges that most people don’t. Let yourself feel good about it – this is real progress! Congratulations!