50% less
I made it! I can hardly believe it’s my turn to post. When I first started reading these subs I was so encouraged by all the success stories, but I had my doubts I’d get there myself. I think at the 100lbs down milestone I really felt like I could do this, and now here I am.
I was a chubby kid, but not obese. I was very active but I can remember struggling with bingeing from a very young age. Food was tightly regulated in our household and I remember as far back as 5 or 6 years old sneaking orange flavoured vitamin C tablets because they tasted good and I just wanted more, more, more.
My weight was up and down throughout the years, depending on circumstances. I got interested in weightlifting in my early 20s and stayed fit for awhile, but the bingeing tendencies were still there and really won out as I got older.
I gained a lot of weight in my late 20s, lost 100lbs, then gained it all back plus some. I’ve lost 40-60lbs more times in my life than I can count, always gaining it back quickly once I reached goal. I drank heavily, and mostly very high sugar vodka coolers, which added to the weight gain.
In October of 2024 I started on Wegovy. At this point I was around 345lbs, hadn’t exercised in many years and I was in bad shape - my back hurt constantly, my left ankle was always sore from an injury, I was just physically miserable. I started out walking in place, in my basement, for 6 minutes. I did that 6 days a week, adding a minute every other day or so.
I held steady for a bit at 25 minutes of walking in place, because I was still pretty sore physically. Gradually I made it up to 40 minutes, and by that time I’d lost significant weight and it was becoming easier to move and less painful.
5 months into my Wegovy journey I added in weightlifting. I was fortunate to have had that background in lifting from decades before, and still had dumbbells, a bench, and a cable machine. I started low and slow and gradually worked my way up to some pretty intense lifting. My weight loss really took off once I added in the lifting.
These days I walk outside 10-20km a week, bike 20-50km, lift weights 3-4x a week. I like trying new things (snowshoeing this past winter, plan to try rock climbing soon) and I prioritize workouts I enjoy. For me it’s just not sustainable to go on a treadmill. I’ve found activities I like, and I’m able to stick with them.
As for food and alcohol - I lost all desire to drink and that made a huge difference in my caloric intake. The bingeing urges also went away and I was able to stick with sensible eating. Some of those urges are back, more than a year and a half on this medicine, but it’s controllable. I’m still on 2.4 Wegovy every week.
I’ve now lost 50% of my starting weight. I think I’d like to lose another 10-15lbs, but I’m not set on that. I do have loose skin and it bothers me a bit, but I don’t have the money for surgery so I try not to dwell on it too much. Even if I could get some skin removal covered by insurance, I can’t afford to take the time off for recovery. I’m ok with that. I’m just so happy to be healthy and active and mostly pain-free.
My life is incredibly different these days. I’m not embarrassed to be out in public. I don’t have to plan every outing far in advance, to make sure there’s going to be safe seating for me, or worry about being a sweaty mess if I have to walk somewhere. I don’t have to carefully plan my same three crappy outfits, so the people who I see regularly don’t see me wearing the same clothes every single time. I was able to go back to full-time work. I am happier, and look forward to my physical activities, and don’t stress too much about food.
I do worry a bit about the future, since as I mentioned the medicine is less and less effective for me. I hope that if I keep on my path of prioritizing physical activity, that will keep me in a healthy place.
Thanks for reading! I hope someone reads this and is encouraged, the same way I was back in the early days. Thanks to all who share their stories - you are inspiring.