Hiding Under Chairs

The active phase didn’t last long, though. Over 8 months, I gained just under 30 lbs, nearly hitting 270, and my body started to complain about the weight, even though my brain was happy about it. It started to cost me for trips to the chiropractor because my hip kept popping out of alignment. Then my knees started getting so bad I needed a cane. I could no longer climb a flight of stairs without being in pain and losing my breath.

When my therapist told me I seemed to be “shopping for an eating disorder,” I bristled but did take a sober second look at myself. I looked at the results. I loved my squishy body, but my body was not dealing well with the extra weight. So I stopped consuming the delicious, rich, gainer shakes that were 20 oz of pure decadence that I was sucking back 3 or 4 nights a week and circled back to more sensible portions of sweets and high fat foods.

At the same time, I had started to bring more plant based meals into my diet, and the combo of that, plus just a slight shift toward more activity, dropped most of the weight. I’ve been stable at 240 lbs for a bunch of years now, and while I do occasionally binge, it’s not a significant part of my diet. I haven’t cut anything out. I just adjusted the portion sizes.