I Journaled My Way to a 70-Pound Weight Loss  

Before: 250

After: 180

The Lifestyle
My mom was a personal trainer and fitness instructor, so I grew up eating my vegetables and exercising. (My twin brother and I were always the guinea pigs for new moves she wanted to teach her class.)

I always had a lot of muscle, but my weight stayed steady until my senior year of college. When senioritis set in, I started partying a lot and stopped paying attention to the food I ate. I went to McDonald’s every morning before class for this sausage, egg, and cheese bagel breakfast. I was in denial, but the number on the scale kept creeping up.

After graduating, I started working and snacked all day at my desk. I didn’t realize at the time that I was bored, not hungry. When I got home at night, I’d hit the couch with chips or crackers and munched mindlessly.

The Change
At a routine checkup, my doctor told me that I was in the obese category for my height, I had hypertension, and I was borderline diabetic. Hearing all those words horrified me. I was 23!

I decided to cut out soda and fast food, and tried to follow the Paleo diet. I wanted to change immediately. I ate super healthy for a few days—chicken, vegetables—but eventually I crashed and ate everything in sight. I tried to follow workout DVDs at home, but I quit when I didn’t see any results.

"The number on the scale kept creeping up."

One night, after four frustrating months, I came across something called fitbook on Instagram. It was basically a journal that helps you plan your entire week of meals and workouts. Keeping track of all my food and workouts made me feel accountable for getting to the gym and eating healthy. I even logged my servings of veggies, fruit, water, and protein on a chart in the book.

I also stopped telling myself I would start eating healthy and work out on Monday to justify having a lazy, junk-filled weekend. I realized that if I wanted to make a change, I had to start that day.

I began meal prepping on Sundays, ditched the strict rules of Paleo, and went for healthy snacks like celery and hummus. I got back to the gym and did workouts that I used to do for softball in college. I lifted weights and did intervals on the treadmill. What began as two or three gym sessions a week became five. I even started swimming for extra cardio.

"I stopped telling myself I would start eating healthy and work out on Monday."

After a year, I’d lost almost 50 pounds. I went back for my checkup, excited about the progress I’d made. But my doctor was concerned about my fluttering heart rate, which was something I’d brushed off. After three months of doctors and tests, I was diagnosed with supraventricular tachycardia, which means that my heartbeat was irregular because of an extra nerve passageway in my heart. I was a ticking time bomb for a heart attack.

After surgery to zap the extra nerve, I had to rest for six months. I gained 25 pounds back, but stayed active by doing yoga and swimming.

 

A photo posted by Megan Wade (@mlwade11) on Oct 10, 2015 at 10:04am PDT

The Reward
When I got the green-light to exercise like I did pre-surgery, I ordered another Fitbook and got right back on my healthy eating and exercise grind. It’s crazy how much getting organized helped me stay on track with my meals and gym time.

I used to have acne and oily skin, but since eating better, exercising, and drinking more water, it’s improved so much! I love that I can go on a date and have dessert without spiraling out of control. I also enjoy shopping without stressing in the dressing room.

I use a fitness tracker to keep an eye on my heart rate, but it feels great to be back in my gym routine. Even though I still have progress to make, I feel so much happier and less stressed than I was when I didn’t care how I treated my body. After my huge heart-health scare, I’m just grateful that I’m back in good health and I want to keep it that way!

 

A photo posted by Megan Wade (@mlwade11) on Feb 10, 2016 at 7:01pm PST

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