I have debated with myself for months now about whether or not I would share the details of my most current weight loss milestone. But, I saw this quote on Facebook recently (below) and was reminded that my journey can, and likely will, encourage someone else and I should share it even if it's embarrassing and requires me to be vulnerable at times.
With that being said, here goes probably my most vulnerable post to date. As of yesterday, September 30th, I officially entered ONDERLAND!! Now what is that I'm sure you're wondering??? Onderland is the lovingly wonderful (pun intended) term our weight loss surgery support group uses when someone finally gets under 200 pounds and is back in the 100s.
Get it, ONEderland?!
That's right, I'm finally under 200 pounds!!!
I'm sure some, maybe even most, of you reading this will think "199.5 lbs is nothing to be excited about". Or you'll think something like, "ok cool, but that's still pretty high, Allyson." Or, you're doing the math in your head and realizing that I just admitted to the world that I weighed well over 300 pounds a mere 10 months ago. Like I said, admitting this was not an easy choice, and it's taking a LOT of courage to do so. And honestly, those thoughts you may be having are not wrong - I do still have a little bit more to go to be "healthy" according to medical BMI charts.
BUT!
And hear me out here. I literally cannot ever remember seeing a one in front of the scale. EVER! The last time I might have seen a one start out the scale was middle school, (yeah, almost 20 years ago 😳), and even then I was overweight for my age and it was not a positive experience.
When I started this journey my medical team asked me what my minimum weight loss goal to be satisfied with my results would be. Without hesitation I answered "anything under 200 and this will have been beyond successful!". That still holds true today. In just 8-10 months I have lost just over 122 pounds! That is no small feat and I am SO stinking proud of myself. Proud enough to post a photo of my weight for the world to see!
You see, this journey has been so much more than just decreasing a number on a scale, or fitting into smaller size jeans. While those aspects are great, there is literally nothing that can compare to the best part of this journey: Learning to love myself again, and to be proud of myself exactly the way I am! That my friends, is a gift I will never be able to repay my medical team for. It's a gift I didn't even realize I needed until I found myself for the first time in my life proud to look in a mirror. Proud to tell someone my weight. Proud of all I've accomplished. And proud to truly love myself again.
I share all of this today to hopefully encourage someone else on their weight loss journey. Weight loss is not a competition. It's not a sprint to a finish line, but rather a marathon requiring you to pace yourself to achieve your goals. Weight loss is not easy and it takes a lot of continuous hard work. You will have to re-learn your relationship with food, and even when you think you've got it down pat you have to adjust and learn even better habits. Maintaining the loss is something you will have to work at for the rest of your life. There's no quick or easy fix. But, if you're committed to the journey and willing to put in the work, you can and WILL achieve the results you're after. Choosing to have weight loss surgery was the best decision I've ever made, and I hope it can encourage at least one, or 100s of people to take their first step to becoming healthy as well. I promise you won't regret it!
🎉So, cheers to Onederland!! 🎉
