It Took Me 20 Years to Lose 100 Pounds—But I Did It!

Before: 249 pounds
After: 147 pounds

The Lifestyle:
My entire life has been a roller coaster of my weight just going up and down. In elementary school, I was a little on the heavy side. I'd always go for the cheesy and fatty food when I could. I'll admit it—I was chunky as a kid. But I guess I started to eat better and move more as I phased through junior high and high school because I was "normal"—meaning I looked like everyone else. Growing up, my parents controlled which foods I had access to; they were the ones buying and cooking (usually) healthy food for my family. Then I graduated and started working right away. And that's where everything snowballed. I'd venture to In-N-Out for some burgers—one time I ordered two double-doubles at one meal—or I'd grab a slice of cheesecake somewhere for dessert (I loved the sweet stuff). I made really poor eating choices. Mind you, I was in my early twenties when I gained 100 pounds. For 20 years, I tried to lose weight, but nothing ever stuck—especially not gimmicky fad diets. It wasn't until my forties when I finally started to see my weight shift.

The Change
During a free training session at my gym, I hopped on a scale (I was 27 at this time) and was appalled at the number I saw. How could I be in my twenties and weigh more than 200 pounds? And on top of that, my doctors started telling me that my cholesterol and blood pressure was getting too high—so they made me take medicine. I knew I needed to lose weight but never found a regimen that I could maintain. I'd diet to slim down for an event or party—maybe with the lemonade cleanse or the cabbage soup diet—and then gain the weight right back. It was like a never-ending cycle of my weight fluctuating. Everything seemed too hard—working out, eating healthy—so I pretty much convinced myself that I had to live with my body; this lasted for almost 20 years. When I turned 41, I looked in the mirror, stared at my face and body, and couldn't recognize myself. It was like my true self was hidden by this large exterior. I did not want to be this unhealthy person in this body.

From that moment on, I told myself to just try living a healthier lifestyle—no crash dieting or anything super drastic. Simple, manageable, and doable tweaks. I researched blogs and Web sites for proper eating tips and set mini-goals for myself—like losing 10 pounds instead of 100 (which seemed impossible to me at the time). Once I reached that first goal, my friend convinced me to keep going, so I did. It was all thanks to my food. I ate real, whole food like nuts and berries—not that processed stuff. Sometimes I'll go for tasty (but still healthy) snacks like KIND bars. My family cooks a lot of Cajun cuisine, so I made sure to go over each recipe, swap certain ingredients for leaner options, and really measure what I put into every dish. I allow myself to eat everything, but a healthier version of each. It was like I retaught myself how to eat well. 

As for my exercise, I didn't do much except walk before. I was so out of shape that if I tried to do anything else, it felt like my heart would pop out of my chest. Physicians said it was because my endurance was low, so all I could do was walk. So I trained my body to do interval-type things: basically switching between walking and light jogging. Now, I can walk for a couple hours—easy.

The Reward
I've been buying large-sized clothes ever since I was in my twenties—I could never shop at the regular stores in the mall except for department stores with my bigger sizes. When I look at myself in these new clothes, I realize just how much I've transformed myself. A lot of people don't recognize me! But even better, my doctors took me off of my medicines because I lost so much weight.

Pamela's Tips
You're going to fail, but keep going. Don't give up or think you can't do it. It doesn't matter how you felt about yourself in the past. You can find the time to start over whenever you'd like.
Go as slow as you need to. Count your milestones, and find a pace that's comfortable for you—not what's comfortable for someone else.
Stay positive. You're always beautiful—what's important is to get healthy and feel better about yourself.

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Pamela Jackson, 44, stands at 5'4" and works as an administrative recruiting specialist in Los Angeles.

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