What It’s Like to Lose 100 Pounds

What It's Really Like to Lose 100 Pounds | WIRL Project

Today I was at the post office. Handing my I.D. to the clerk, she examined it, looked at me, and looked at the photo again.

“Wow, you look really different!”

I get that response often so wasn’t too surprised. I’ve considered ordering a new driver’s license since I’m slightly worried I’ll get stopped at the airport for not being the actual Sara M. Borgstede. (I’m really me, I promise.)

Sara's driver's license photo

My “before” driver’s license.

“Thanks! I’ve lost a lot of weight,” was my response.

Before picture

“Before” picture

How did you DO it?

The next question I hear is usually, “How did you do it?!”

I have a variety of possible responses:

Short answer #1: I’m still doing it.

Short answer #2: Therapy, prayer, exercise, life-style change.

Slightly long answer #1: Therapy, more therapy, sweat, tears, food and calorie obsession, slow progress and back sliding then progress, prayer and railing at God and more prayer and trust, triathlon, exercise I hated, exercise I loved, support from my husband, time alone with my thoughts, emails with a dear friend who “gets it.”

Weight issues are so public yet so private. We wear our addiction for the whole world to see in the form of unwanted pounds.

I see the longing in the eyes of people who ask me this question. I know the desire I felt when I asked that question myself when I was at my heaviest. What was the secret that would get me out of the prison of food and weight obsession in which I was trapped? My struggle with my weight was the heaviest of coats I wore no matter the weather, the burden I carried and from which I never got a vacation.

Sara "After"

My “After” photo

Sara biking

“After” weight loss. Distance cycling.

On my blog, The Holy Mess, I share in the 100 lbs lost series the outside tools I used to lose weight — which diet plan, which exercise methods and which foods I ate. None of those really matter all that much, though. I had tried and used those methods at least 50 times before, when I lost the weight and then regained every pound.

Nothing on the outside will fix what is broken on the inside. Changing my thinking, my core beliefs about who I am, and my deepest realizations about the way God loves and accepts me, are what turned my life around. I’ve done it and it’s absolutely possible you can do it too!

 

The 5 Keys to My Weight Loss

The main keys to my 100 pound weight loss:

  1. Therapy. Not just with any therapist, but with one who knew about eating issues. All the diets and programs in the world didn’t work for me until I got my head on straight.
  2. An Accountability Program. For me that was Weight Watchers. For you it might be something different, but I had to have something to keep me on the rails. I started Weight Watchers online program about 6 months after I was going to therapy regularly.
  3. Faith. I’ve been a Christian all my life, believing in Jesus as my Savior. Through this journey I needed to rely on God in new ways. I also had to have faith that losing weight and overcoming my eating issues was really possible. At times it was just a tiny speck of light, but I held on to it.
  4. Support. Binge eating tends to be a solitary activity. Losing weight needs to be done with support. I couldn’t do it alone. I am here for you! Other people in your life will be too when you reach out for it.
  5. Exercise — later. Eventually exercise became a huge component to my weight loss journey, but I didn’t start with it.

 

Do you struggle with your weight and fitness? Leave a comment below and join in the discussion.

 

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Website: http://www.saraborgstede.com/100-lb-weight-loss-how-did-you-do-it/

 

1 Comment

  1. Profile photo of Sara Brennan

    This is absolutely incredible, Sara! I am so proud of what you’ve accomplished and so appreciative that you were willing to share your story on WIRL project. You’ve definitely inspired me and many others I’m sure!

    Reply Report comment

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