Delaney Lost 131 Pounds

Age: 33
Height: 5′ 3″
Start Weight: 320 lbs
Current Weight: 189 lbs
Total Loss: 131 lbs  (1st 40 lbs with Atkins)
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Hello Beautiful People!
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My name is Delaney. I used to be a bit private about my actual weight and diet, but I’ve found it really does help me to share my experiences with others. I hope that my story will give some hope to even just one person struggling in a position similar to what I have come from.
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A little background information here. I’m 33 years old and a college graduate (Theatre and Music). I love anything that gives me a creative/ artistic outlet, whether be it singing, painting, writing … along with the social aspects of working with others in productions.
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I am single and do not have children, but am a very proud aunty and am hoping my new found weight loss will give me more confidence and opportunities when it comes to dipping my feet into the dating world again.
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I first discovered and did Atkins in Jan 2001. At the time I had hit the 200 pound mark and wanted to make a change. I was working in a pharmacy as a clerk (while going to college) and saw lots of customers buying ketone strips and grabbing the Atkins book off the rack. I picked up a copy during a break one day, ended up buying it and started the diet shortly there after. Over the course of four months I lost some decent weight … and I have to say looked pretty darned cute. I felt good and loved it! People seemed to treat me different, smile at me a lot, open doors — it is weird how many areas that were affected positively for me.
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Winter 2004 I developed a mysterious sinus problem that turned into an infection, then moved to my chest and gave me pneumonia. At the time I was pushing myself to finish school/credits. I think not taking time to rest hurt me greatly, but the end result was that I did not really get better. For the next year and a half or so my sinuses remained over-active and nothing helped. I developed chronic pneumonia. I became pretty much a lump because just making it outside to the mail box was hard to do with my breathing difficulties. Needless to say, it was a difficult time for me.
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I had just graduated and should have been out performing, seeking grad school, something, but instead was stuck in a tiny apartment sick without end, unable to sing, and unable to actually hold a regular job as well (I sat through interviews with my nose running and hacking up stuff).
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As it turned out, my illness was caused by toxic mold that was hiding inside the walls, under the carpet, etc. of my apartment. The place had been flooded several times from various sources (a bit of a story), and never had been properly cleaned/restored. So, what made me sick was breathing in all those spores, having an allergic response to them, and having them actually form a little resort colony in my lungs!
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I moved out of the rot hole in Sept 2005, and then focused on getting better. It took quite a while to recover. It was really summer 2006 until I started to feel healthy and able to breathe clear again, because even with the removal of the mold I had a lot of healing to do … especially in my lungs. Not only was my respiratory system hit, but after being physically inactive for so long (after being someone who used to bike and walk everywhere), and being on steroids I had put on a startling amount of weight.
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I think, to be honest, at one point I was around the 320 mark. I am not fully positive because I did not have a scale for a while that could weigh that high, and I put off getting one because I just did not want to see it. Late spring 2006 I started Atkins again and put off maybe 25 pounds or so (not sure what my start weight was). Then a friend and her young daughter moved in with me and I was bad and went off plan which resulted in regaining the initial loss.
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You all most likely know how it goes, you keep telling yourself you are going to start soon … next week, after this day, etc. Well, I finally did start again in November 2006 (at approx 314 — that was the first solid number I could get a scale to produce for me after about two weeks of dieting). By March 2007 I had managed to put off about 40 pounds with Atkins, but it was slow going and I hit a long stall in my loss.
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I was participating on another diet message board community where I discovered many people were having amazing success following the Kimkins plan. I switched over from Atkins, and soon saw the weight coming off again, and at a much faster rate then I had experienced before. Something that was very encouraging given how much I weighed. I was told that Kimkins had its own website, and joined with the discovery of a community with positive, specialized support for the plan.
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I no longer had to feel ashamed or struggle with my weight loss in silence. I found a place where people were welcoming and understood what I was going through. The combination of both the diet and the community support were priceless to me when I saw the resulting loss.
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There were no extra fees, no pills, no expensive pre-packaged tasteless foods. Before discovering Kimkins I had been fearing the need for a weight loss surgery, which scared me due to all the risks … not to mention the cost. I personally knew someone who had died from a blood clot to her lungs after having the gastric bypass procedure done.
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It is now a year after joining Kimkins, and I am under 200 pounds and enjoying life in a way I had worried I never would again. The last year was a difficult one for me personally having experienced family death and situations that sometimes interrupted my diet plans … thus my weight loss was slower then if I had been able to stick to things completely. BUT, despite everything that has happened, I still have seen amazing weight loss that has continued to come off. If I have managed to do it through everything that has transpired this last year, most anyone else could manage it around their life schedules as well.
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I have never had to go hungry. I eat and make tasty meals with fresh meat and produce from local stores, and I did not have to exhaust myself with hard-core exercise (though I now I hit a treadmill now and then more for toning than weight loss).
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So much has changed for me in the course of the last year. I can move freely without struggle or lack of breath, run (well, not that I like to!), fit into theatre and airplane seats, have a wide variety of fun clothing options and am no longer held back by my size from the things that I enjoy.
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It is so true though, that people treat you differently when you are obese. I have seen the full scope of it. When I was at my lowest weight a few years ago, complete strangers were always so quick to smile, chat, be helpful, compliment me … both male and female.
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However, when I almost doubled my size it was like I had become invisible in comparison. I am sure some of you will know what I mean. It’s like people shift their eyes off or around you, shove past you for things like you’re not there … without bothering to say anything. Doors are rarely held open and sales clerks practically ignore you. I often was treated as if I was of lower intelligence or uneducated simply because of my size — the rudeness and behavior was both a frustrating and heartbreaking experience.
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I am still a work in progress with my loss, but now I have nothing but positive thoughts and prospects for the future. I owe that to Kimkins and the amazing people in the community here. I have also enjoyed the opportunity to help others starting out, answer their questions and encourage them in my role as a forum moderator for Kimkins.
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I know full well how overwhelming it can be when you take those first steps on a weight loss journey, especially when you have a lot to lose. It used to seem hopeless to me, that I would not be able to achieve so much … but here I am a year later, healthy and happy.
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I am a real person and story, one that is a work in progress. I also am present on the site in a helping capacity, so if you are new to the site and Kimkins diet plan, please feel free to contact me in the forums or via private message (PM) with any questions.
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Thanks for reading,
Delaney