Fitness journey. What happened after my breakup and depression 😱😱😱😱

Story:

*if you're not up to read the before story of how I lost track of myself, feel free to skip ahead*

Hey guys, I'm Marty! I recently got out of a 2 years relationship about 2-3 months ago. Over the past year I didn't realize how much weight I gained weight! I gain about 25-26lbs from my senior year of high school, to now my sophomore year in college. I went from 149-150ish lbs within a blank of an eye. I am 5'2, and I noticed that I gained a couple of pounds but I didn't think it was that much until my family started commenting on my weight. I always thought it was the stress from school and work. Look, I am a neuroscience major and some of the classes required a lot of studying. When I wasn't studying, I would work or spend time with my bf. I didn't even track my sleep or the food that I ate. I didn't really care about anything.... until my boyfriend of 2 years left me. I'm not saying that he left me because of my weight but, he kind of didn't give me a reason of why he left. He just said he needed space to mentally think.

After he left me, I fell into a stage of depression and really started eating bad. Our breakup felt like I was getting stabbed in the heart with a rock and someone was slowly grinding my heart into smaller pieces. I loved him so much!!!! I felt like my last 2 years with him were phenomenal! He was the only serious relationship I had. He was the only one who gave me an electric spark feeling when he touched me slightly ( plus he reported the same). Even after 2 years our puppy phase never ended, as we grew to know each other and build our friendship. I really thought we were like soul mates😬. Note, that my ex never body shamed me, but for the past weeks he's been messaging me saying " wow you lost weight, you look sexy and amazing. You never sent me pics like that etc ...."

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Anyways I always thought that I was a fit and active person. I joined team sports in high school and worked sometimes at the beginning of my college years. I didn't really watch what I was eating but, I know for sure that I would cut out sodas and avoid sugary products.... When I stepped on a scale in May, I seen that I was at my highest at 176.4lbs! To me the weight didn't matter because I have a high muscle mass. I thought it was the athletic affect of being like 150lbs, but looking 120lbs because of muscle. What mattered were the pictures... I noticed that I did gained weight. Plus my clothes no longer fitted :(, I had to buy a completely new wardrobe because my pants wouldn't fit. Also, I always felt tired and my skin was extremely greasy. I knew that this weight gain had an mental and physical ( obviously affect on my body). After my break up , I started researching about how to get over a breakup. Apparently exercising and focusing on myself was a few of those tips. I did that every single day. Of course I started off slowly by just adjusting a few changes in my diet and exercising 3 times per week. Now I exercise 3-5 per week. I eat clean ( I have a couple of cheat meals). I finds foods that are healthy so that'll gain energy from them. I'm not a tracker. I don't track calories 😬. Even though I should, right ?? I just make sure I'm having veggies for every meal. I don't eat past certain times mainly...

* if you skipped ahead booo 😂*

I'm not a big tracker, and that is why I'm here today for advise on how to stay strong through this. I went from 176.4lbs , to my last recorded weight of 160.2lbs. I don't really keep track of the weight; I weight in every like month of or so. Not bad right ? It's crazy how after a relationship I lost that much weight.

I did take some before and after pictures.

The before pictures are on the left and the after pictures are on the right :)

Before my weight gain and after my weight gain: The beginning of freshman year in college to about 4 months ago😱:

Beginning of this journey to about 1-1.5 months into the journey :):

Before and after : 4 months to about 2-3 weeks ago. I fit into my pants from senior year in HS! Although they seem tight in the pic they're looser today. Before, they wouldn't even get past my hips 😩😩😩.

This week: I took this after I ate. Ive never looked so good after eating. I would always have a good bell that stuck out!

I want to keep going :)

Please give me some advise on how to keep going strong. What worked for you?? I don't really aim for a goal weight, as long as I have energy, I feel positive and I am healthier.

For the first time in a long time, I am starting to love myself. I notice that I smile more since Ive lost weight. I'm starting to glow 😏😏😏.

-16.2lbs and a toxic relationship.