Done with the Excess Weight and Moving Forward!*

By , SparkPeople Blogger
This blog is a featured "SparkStory", one of the classic posts from our members that provides support, encouragement and inspiration to the SparkPeople Community. 

POSTER: PORITA

I found SparkPeople in 2011 after weighing in at the doctor's office and realizing how out of control my weight had become. After lots of reading and finding encouragement here, I started to take steps to improve my life. By tracking everything I ate and starting with baby amounts of exercise, I lost 20 pounds. I was excited. I finally took a picture of myself to start tracking the progress. I'm DONE with excess weight and all the problems it causes. 

There were other things in my life contributing to problems. For one, I was an alcoholic. It took me another 2 years to get the courage to find help for this problem. I was also in a very troubling marriage situation and didn't know how to get out. In the fall of 2012, I left my husband. My weight loss continued some, but came to an abrupt halt once my alcohol consumption went up. In the fall of 2013, I finally realized that it was time to get help. I went to rehab, and am almost 2 years sober. 

In the fall of 2014, I realized it was time to start focusing on my weight again. Although I had kept most of my initial 70 pounds off, I still wasn't eating as well as I should and I wasn't getting much exercise aside from my work (I'm a server, so I walk a ton). I started making lifestyle changes again, and the weight started coming off. 

It's now 2015. I'm down over 90 pounds, I'm active, I quit smoking so I could run faster, and I'm sober. I have SparkPeople and the great resources here to thank for my success, along with my friends and family. When people ask me how I did it, my biggest advice is to "eat less, move more", but more importantly, to never give up, no matter what life throws at you. You're gonna mess up a lot. It's ok, just keep stepping forward. And take pictures! I wish I had started before that first 20 pounds were gone. 

The weight off my shoulders is not only literal, but figurative as well. I might be 30, but my life is just beginning. 

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*Weight loss results will vary from person to person. No individual result should be seen as a typical result of following the SparkPeople program.