“The thought of bigger future versions of me shook me awake.” (Photo on the left courtesy of Andie Mitchell; photo on the right taken by Aran Goyoaga) 

Name: Andie Mitchell
Age: 30        
Height: 5’9”
Weight Before: 268
Weight After: 133

Ten years ago, I began my weight-loss journey — one that lasted for 13 humbling months and concluded with me losing 135 pounds. It was the most transformative experience of my life — and not simply in the ways one might expect. Of course, I had changed my body dramatically. But once my body changed, the work wasn’t done; I had to transform my relationship with my body and eating. This past January, I published a New York Times bestselling memoir, It Was Me All Along, about growing up big and struggling to find peace and balance with food. Here is a glance at my journey. 

The Turning Point

I had always struggled with food and my weight. I was the one who was always teased, the one who wore a women’s size 12 dress to her first communion. But after my sophomore year of college, in the summer of 2005, I knew I was the biggest I’d ever been. The jeans I’d just bought in size 22 were already snug. I decided to join the YMCA with my best friend, just as we’d done for the past few summers. We walked into the locker room to put our bags down before working out, I stepped on the scale to weigh myself, and when 268 pounds stared back at me, it was the most terrifying moment. I couldn’t think of a time in my life when I hadn’t been overweight, when I hadn’t been aware of how big I was. I recognized that if I’d only ever gained weight, if I’d only ever climbed up and up and up on the scale, the scary part of weighing 268 pounds wasn’t being that particular weight, it was going beyond that weight. 300. 315…

The thought of bigger future versions of me shook me awake. 

The Changes

The day I reached my highest weight, I was set on fire with motivation to change my life. I started eating better: more fruits, more vegetables. I added salads to my life, swapped my usual snacks for a serving of nuts, and removed soda entirely. I committed to going to the gym five times a week and either doing group fitness classes, using the elliptical, or power walking. I joined Weight Watchers for a few months at one point, before eventually settling into a comfortable routine of calorie counting and keeping a journal of what I ate. Six months into my journey, I did the unthinkable: I started jogging — something I was sure I’d never be able to do. In time, I was able to run for four, or sometimes five, miles without stopping.

 

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THIS STORY IS QUITE MOTIVATING FOR ME, I HOPE IT IS FOR YOU AS WELL.