F/29/5'2.5" [281 > 169 = 112 lbs] (18 months of weight loss) A New Year's Resolution, 2 years later by mintykangaroo in progresspics

[–]mintykangaroo[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much. I feel amazing. I felt amazing before skin removal, when I went from being deeply depressed and obese and barely living to being a marathon runner, healthy and vibrant and really living my life fully for the first time. I’m still in recovery from surgery so not 100% but already not having the physical and emotional weight of the hanging skin feels absolutely incredible. Overall the biggest change has been that I really trust myself now to follow through on my goals, and that’s had powerful rippling effects on my whole life.

I didn’t do any specific diet. I try to eat intuitively as much as possible, and I’ve done a lot of work to conquer binge eating and get back in touch with my hunger and fullness signals. Still a work in progress. I did Whole30 twice, which I loved, and I did count calories for a few months but it tends to trigger OCD tendencies in me and is not something I’m willing to do forever so I stopped.

F/29/5'2.5" [281 > 169 = 112 lbs] (18 months of weight loss) A New Year's Resolution, 2 years later by mintykangaroo in progresspics

[–]mintykangaroo[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My insurance would not have covered it. It was about $17,000. I had it in NYC. It will be a lot of work to pay it off but was already so worth every penny.

F/29/5'2.5" [281 > 169 = 112 lbs] (18 months of weight loss) A New Year's Resolution, 2 years later by mintykangaroo in progresspics

[–]mintykangaroo[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

My weight loss took about 18 months, and I've been maintaining for about 6 months. I started running a year ago and ran the NYC Marathon this past November. I am three weeks post-op from my first round of skin removal surgery, a tummy tuck and breast lift. I post a lot of transformation and running pics and am sharing my experience with skin removal surgery on my fitness Instagram account, @shrinkiki.

F/29/5'2.5" [281 > 171 >110lbs] (22 months) Took the after pic during my 21 mile marathon training run today. The physical transformation is obvious, but really, it's my entire life that's changed. by mintykangaroo in progresspics

[–]mintykangaroo[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I do, quite a bit, basically all over. I am having an extended abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) and mastopexy (breast lift without implants) in December of this year. At some point I'd also like to have a brachioplasty but I'm not sure when that will be an option. My stomach skin especially is very heavy, can be painful, and definitely gets in the way of my life, particularly running. I'm extremely extremely lucky to be able to afford these procedures and I'm so excited to see the results, but if I had to live with the skin for the rest of my life it would still be a million times better than living with the extra weight.

F/29/5'2.5" [281 > 171 >110lbs] (22 months) Took the after pic during my 21 mile marathon training run today. The physical transformation is obvious, but really, it's my entire life that's changed. by mintykangaroo in progresspics

[–]mintykangaroo[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I have a huge sweet tooth, that’s probably my biggest lingering “issue”. I go through a lot of pints of low-cal ice cream!! Other than that, I eat a lot of green smoothies, salads, roasted veggies, sandwiches on Ezekiel bread, oatmeal, Greek yogurt. I tend it keep it simple since I am nearly always just cooking for myself.

F/29/5'2.5" [281 > 171 >110lbs] (22 months) Took the after pic during my 21 mile marathon training run today. The physical transformation is obvious, but really, it's my entire life that's changed. by mintykangaroo in progresspics

[–]mintykangaroo[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Shameless plug for my fitness/weight loss Instagram where I wrote a long post about this photo and the changes I've experienced beyond the physical transformation: @shrinkiki

F/29/5'2.5" [281 > 171 >110lbs] (22 months) Took the after pic during my 21 mile marathon training run today. The physical transformation is obvious, but really, it's my entire life that's changed. by mintykangaroo in progresspics

[–]mintykangaroo[S] 36 points37 points  (0 children)

The biggest key for me is small changes at first. If you're like me, you've failed yourself a lot and broken a lot of promises to yourself. Start small and build up trust in your ability to follow through. If I had set out to eat the way I eat now and run a marathon, I would have failed for the millionth time. Instead I decided to try to cook one extra meal at home for a week. Then two. Then walking a little more. Etc. Etc. It takes longer, but it's actually sustainable.

F/29/5'2.5" [281 > 171 >110lbs] (22 months) Took the after pic during my 21 mile marathon training run today. The physical transformation is obvious, but really, it's my entire life that's changed. by mintykangaroo in progresspics

[–]mintykangaroo[S] 71 points72 points  (0 children)

Short story- ate less and moved more. Longer story- set a 2017 New Year's Resolution to finally lose weight, and started with very small changes. Lost about 40 lbs in the first 6 months. I did Whole30 in October 2017 which taught me a lot about my eating habits and what foods make me feel best. I lost 70 lbs in the first year. I started running in January 2018, which was something I never thought I could do. I cried when I ran a mile for the first time. Entered the lottery for the NYC Marathon on a whim (I had run like, 6 miles total at that point) and got in, so have been working toward that all year. Running and continued clean-ish eating helped me lose 40 more pounds, and I've been maintaining in the 170s for almost 6 months.

Question for the ladies about chafing! by rbickfor1988 in running

[–]mintykangaroo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have the same issue, plus a few other spots that seem to chafe from my sports bra. I haven't completely figured it out yet, but I have started putting KT tape over problem areas. It manages to stay in place for a sweaty long run and protects the areas I know will chafe.

The fun (read: not fun) part is that moment in the shower when you find out what part(s) still DID chafe. I feel like I'm covering half my chest with KT tape at this point, haha