I think that going through your past is quite important when losing weight. It kinda helps you recognise where it had gone too far, why all this had happened and so on. So here's a small collection of pictures from 2011 to now.

2011

The first two pictures are from February 2011. I was in the middle of college, I think this is the time where I started gaining a lot of weight and fast. I spent the February half term in Finland, I remember getting one of those "You've gained a bit of weight" comments from my mum during this trip. In my eyes I had stayed the same I always had been, but people who don't see you every day pick up on these things so easily.

College was definitely bad for my weight. I'd never take my own lunch to college but instead I'd just buy something from the shop every day. It was never a healthy option, instead I'd go for the white bread and fatty fillings. And crisps. And cookies. And soda. You get the picture.

And this is what it had done to me by Christmas 2011. My weight was around 82kg when these pictures were taken. This is also when I realised that I really need to lose weight. In a way I'm glad that these pictures were taken, otherwise I never would've seen it. It gave me the push I had always needed. I've always been a bit bigger than I should but I never really had the motivation to do something about it.


 2012

By July 2012 I had dropped down to about 73kg. I had a very physical job as a cleaner, I was on my feet 8 hours a day and also cycled to and from work. This paired up with WeightWatchers meant that I was dropping the weight quite fast. I know I wasn't eating enough but I never really was hungry. I'd start my day at 6am, have breakfast at 9.30am and then go through the rest of the workday without eating. Dinner would be between 6pm and 7pm. It did work though and I felt really good about it.


Unfortunately hitting my back at work soon after this picture was taken meant that I had to quit my job. As I was in a lot of pain most of the time I did very little exercise and started eating out of pure boredom. I'd spend most of my days indoors, just sitting on the computer or watching TV. My good eating habits flew out of the window and not working meant that I could no longer subscribe to WeightWatchers either. And so the weight started coming back... The picture below is from August 2012, you can see it so clearly that the fat was making it's way back to my body. 


December 2012. I had hit 84kg at this point. I felt incredibly miserable about losing control over my weight loss. It had been an incredibly difficult year. Going from finishing college, getting a job and losing a lot of weight to losing it all in such a short period of time just crushed my confidence. I just wasn't happy in my body. At all. I was gaining so much weight that some of my favourite clothes didn't fit me anymore. This was the point where I thought that I can't keep living like this, if I gain more weight I will get more and more back issues and the thought of diabetes running in the family just made me stop eating all those Christmas treats. I started losing weight the same day my mum and brother flew back to Finland.

This time I just simply used all the knowledge I had about losing weight instead of signing up for any weight loss programs. And it really worked. I bought Body Revolution mid January, started walking, went swimming.. I also stopped eating all of the junk that we have in the house (crisps, cakes, ice cream and so on). Since then I have allowed myself that occasional treat, as I see little point in depriving myself from all the good stuff.



2013

This picture was taken in April 2013. I was feeling more confident than ever, I had lost quite a bit of weight by April and I dared to wear more skin hugging clothing. Sure, I still had extra weight but I just felt amazing. It was so good to see my friends notice the change.