Here we are, back for another edition of #TransformationTuesday.
When we left off, I was leaving for a summer in DC. DC was wonderful. We all know how I fell in love with the city. I also fell in love with the fitness community. I joined a running group, found a great Crossfit box, had a blast with November Project, and trained for another half marathon. (I’m currently having major DC nostalgia so finding pictures from this is bringing it all back!)
I cooked for myself, and was able to make healthier meals. Between that and running, I dropped about 10 lbs.
I returned from DC sad to go, but feeling happy and fitter.
So if you’re keeping track, we’re probably +15ish from entering college, but pretty fit.
That fall, I felt like I was finally finding balance. It was easier for me to stay sane and eat healthy foods, but I still had the desire to go try and get back to “the project” and cut out sugar/processed foods. When I did that, I felt great, but at the same time, I felt like I was always on the edge of failing and going back to eating lots of junk food. 
During the holidays, I gained a few pounds, like one does. It didn’t completely tear me up, but I felt like I was slowing down in my workouts. I just assumed the higher weight was where I would always be. 
At the same time, I still didn’t feel like myself.
Come January, I briefly started to get healthier. I was busy with classes I enjoyed, and had a decent social life along with that, so food was less of a focus and it got easier to eat healthier. At the same time, I also got really sick. This was the start of a long journey with what I now know to be gastroparesis, but also probably some type of ulcer type of deal. I felt dizzy and nauseated a lot of the time. I didn’t understand it, and felt helpless because I felt like it was linked to what I was eating but I didn’t know how to control it.
Between eating healthier before being sick and being sick, I lost the weight I had gained over the holidays and despite feeling sick all the time, I did feel better with my body.
About halfway through spring quarter, s*** sort of hit the fan. My body was going crazy with the illness, I had such a feeling of helplessness, and I had some additional life stressors. Suddenly, my eating was out of control. I would eat rice cake after rice cake; I couldn’t stop from overeating at the dining hall; I ate large amounts of homemade granola bars (oats+earth balance+maple syrup or brown rice syrup. It’s actually crazy delicious, FYI).
I managed to gain 10 lbs in 4 weeks, putting gem at my all time heaviest.
(But how adorable is baby Chloe???)
(Note that this is entirely an excuse for baby Chloe.)
I was so desperate, I even met with a nutritionist for some guidance. I actually didn’t stick with her advice for more than a few weeks, but in retrospect her advice was probably the worst thing for my then-undiagnosed stomach condition, which she couldn’t have known.
The summer was a bit of a grind with my job. I loved it, but it was a difficult adjustment getting used to working irregular hours and long days. I gained a few more pounds, putting me at my highest weight ever, and well into an overweight BMI. 
Over the course of 3 years, I was now 30 pounds heavier than when I entered college. That summer, my eating wasn’t as crazy out of control as the last month of spring, but I was probably chronically overeating, enough to put on a few pounds.
Right before IDEAWorld in July, things started to shift. I started eating a little healthier, and had a blast at IDEA. Plus 3 workouts a day didn’t hurt! I felt like myself again at that conference. The exercise, the passion for fitness. By the end of the summer, I had lost about 5 of those pounds.
And we’ll leave off there. Next week, the big changes will come, starting with a trip to Hawaii, and taking us through to today.