How It All Began
It all begins with an idea.
July 26, 2025
It’s been almost exactly two years since I first I first began my weight loss journey. I wish I would have weighed myself the day I began, but I told myself it was really just about feeling better and having more energy. I knew that if I ate better and exercised that I would lose weight, and that was just going to be a side effect of my new lifestyle. But all of my years in sales and marketing got the better of me, as I live by metrics.
I remember my highest weight ever recorded was 289. After having my son, and chasing after him so much, it did go down a little. I began my journey about this time in 2023, but I didn’t weigh myself until August 16th of 2023. When I did, I was at 252. I know that I’d lost close to 10 pounds that first few weeks when I didn’t weigh myself because my clothes were fitting more loosely.
On August 1st I will be celebrating being at my goal for six months!! I’m at 150 now. That’s 139 pounds down! I went from a size 24/26 or 3/4X to an 8 or small/medium. That means I’ve lost HALF of myself.
The first thing that I did was purge my house of junk. I grabbed the trash can and pitched the donuts, candy bars, and anything unhealthy or sugary.
The next thing I did was make a list of the healthier foods I liked. Luckily, I’m a huge fan of hummus. That makes raw vegetables much more satisfying.
Then I started walking. The first few times, I couldn’t go quite a mile, but I was moving!
I felt better immediately. And boy, did I have a lot of water to lose!
At first, I didn’t track what I was eating. I thought, “Anything is an improvement!” That’s true, but even making healthier choices, those calories can add up before you know it. I finally got the free version of the MyNetDiary app and found it easy to use.
The first day I used it was August 15th, 2023, about three weeks into my journey. I can still access that day and see what I had. This was the day after my birthday, so I can see I allowed myself a piece of cake. Tiramisu, to be exact! So, I’ll allow myself that day of being a little off.
As I look through those other days, I’m seeing a pattern. I was eating my carbs way too late in the day, not allowing myself time to burn them off before bed. And I wasn’t getting nearly enough protein or fat. No wonder I was hungry all the time! I wish I would have had my Lumen from the beginning.
All in all, I was off to a decent start. In summary, these are the things I wish I would have done differently:
Taken measurements – while I can gauge my size loss through clothing sizes, it would have been nice to say, “I’ve lost ____ off my waist...”.
Weighed myself on day 1 – because now I am trying to explain, “Well, I didn’t weight myself at first, and I know my clothes were looser once I finally did, soooo....”.
Tracked my food – I didn’t start tracking my food until a few weeks into it when I started weighing myself.
Gotten a Lumen – After a year of calorie deficit and exercise, not only was I hungry most of the time, but I plateaued. I lost about 100 pounds from my highest (73 pounds from this 2023 starting point and from the time I weighed myself) I just wasn’t losing any more. Lumen helped me understand what I was doing wrong and improve my metabolism.
Whether you’re just beginning your journey, thinking about making changes, halfway there and getting frustrated, or maintaining your own accomplishments, I wish you the best!
Until next time – be kind to yourself, be kind to others, and always keep a growth mindset.
Much love,
Amy