Ragey's Weight-Loss Journey

When I finished my undergraduate degree I probably weighed 150 pounds. For my height and frame, that was just about right. As the years passed I steadily gained weight. I started out as a teacher on the elementary level in a big city. I was very much involved in my work and I had an active social life. Those two entities left little time for a healthy lifestyle. I didn’t think much of it, as I was always a big girl. I just chalked it up to that is how I was supposed to look.

In 1999 I entered graduate school part-time working toward my Masters degree. I worked a full day teaching the kiddos then I would trek across town (45-minute drive) to class at night twice a week. The other nights I spent working on assignments either at home or at my school building. There was no time to work out (or better yet, I didn’t make time).

The fall of 2002 found me moving across country to go to school full time to work on a PhD. My first year was a time of trying to find my way, eating out, drinking, and having fun. I paid no attention to what was going on with my body. I basically just accepted that I was a big girl.

During the fall of my second year (2003) a friend of mine convinced me to sign-up with a personal trainer. Me? A Personal trainer? Was she trying to tell me something? Not really, she just wanted a workout partner. I avoided the scale like the plague! But, I decided to see where I was. 206 lbs. Okay, not as bad as I thought. I decided to try this working out thing.

It turns out I really liked it. I also liked eating and I compensated. I figured, well, I’m working out 2-3 days per week. I don’t really have to worry about what I’m eating. NOT! Yeah, that kind of thinking doesn’t work. I was steadily gaining weight.

It was time for a change. Plain and simple. One of the instructors in my program is a leader in the Weight Watchers (WW) program. She decided to hold a WW at Work meeting. I was really skeptical about doing WW. You see, I’m a picky eater. She explained that WW focused on changing HOW you eat, not what you eat. I decided to give it a try. What could it hurt?

I weighed in on April 4, 2005 at 235.2 pounds. I’m 5’7” in height and I was wearing a 20W. I was very faithful to the program and I began to see progress. I lost, on average, 1-2 pounds a week in the beginning. By the end of the summer, I had lost 25 pounds and my clothes were getting looser. I was feeling good. I went to a convention and saw some of my friends (I had seen them since Dec. '04) and they were all quite impressed.

I continued my quest during the fall of 2005 and by the last day of 2005 I was down 39 pounds and wearing a size 16 (minus the W!). I began collecting data in earnest for my dissertation during the spring of 2006. I was determined to not let that disturb my weight loss. I continued to follow WW, workout, and by mid-February I hit a 50 lb loss!

I was feeling really good about the loss and knew I only wanted to lose 15 to 20 more pounds. Well, those last 15-20 pounds have been a battle.

I hit a plateau beginning in March up until the present. I’ve been gaining and losing the same 3-4 pounds. A week ago, I finally made it to 55 pounds. Then this week I was up 2 pounds.

Currently, I’m at 181.4 pounds. I’m wearing a size 14 and I basically have a brand new wardrobe. I kept one pair of pants from my previous self so that I can see how far I’ve come and to remind me of what I don’t want to go back to.

My goal is to get down in the range of 165-170 pounds. I think that is comfortable weight for me and a weight that I can maintain. I hope that through this story (and blog) you will find some inspiration. My posting on this blog will focus a lot on how I changed my eating and what I did to lose weight. If you want to see some before & after photos shoot me an e-mail (rageyone @ gmail dot com) I’m happy to share.

Tags: obstacles, goals