Weight loss
At Cherry Blossom festivities in Washington, D.C., April 2005
There was no big, dramatic event that was a catalyst to my lifestyle change. At the end of my junior year of college, in May 2005, I simply decided that I was tired of being fat and wearing plus-size clothes, so I returned to my hometown for the summer and got a gym membership. I started working out when time allowed, as I was balancing an internship and a part-time job. Most days that summer, I’d log 20 to 30 minutes on the elliptical machine, and it felt great. I don’t like the scale (I gauge my progress by how my clothes fit) but I did weigh myself after about a week of working out and the number was just over 300 pounds. I wore a size 24W. I am 5 feet, 8 inches tall.
Halloween 2005
Changing the way you’d lived for 20 years doesn’t happen overnight, though, and I continued to lose weight and learn about fitness and nutrition throughout my senior year of college. It was tough, given the fried foods, late-night pizza runs and delicious beer everywhere in a college town, but losing weight as a college student taught me the fine art of moderation.
July 2006
May 2007
My weight loss has taken longer than most because I have the strain of polycystic ovarian syndrome that causes insulin resistance. This was not diagnosed until September 2008, after hitting a six-month weight loss plateau. I take metformin, which is a generic version of glucophage, to correct this and have had no issues since.
Christmas 2008
February 2009
Christmas 2009
March 2010
March 2011
You can e-mail me at fashionablyfitashley@gmail.com
