How I Lost 100 Pounds - And Actually Kept It Off
- Damien Twomey
- Sep 1
- 5 min read
Updated: Oct 18
As far back as I can remember, I was overweight. At 10 years old, I tried to lose weight for the first time. By 17, I gained so much so quickly that I ended up covered in stretch marks. And then, at 25, I lost 100 pounds, and I’ve kept it off for the last 10 years.
Here’s the full story of how I went from constantly struggling and failing to someone who (mostly) knows what they’re doing.
Always Hungry
One thing I remember about being a kid was always wanting more food. It took a ridiculous amount for me to feel full. Honestly, I’m still like that now - the difference is I’ve learned how to manage it.
At 10 years old, I decided I was sick of being fat and made my first attempt at losing weight. It didn’t last long, but it was the start of a 15-year pattern: try, lose a bit, then gain it all back.
I was so self-conscious about my weight I couldn’t even say the word fat out loud.
There were humiliating moments too, like breaking the bottom bunk of a friend’s bunk bed at a sleepover. I still shudder thinking about it.
And it wasn’t laziness causing the weight gain. I was incredibly active in my teens, swimming competitively for Limerick Swimming Club with training five days a week. But no matter how much I trained, I always wanted more food.
The College Disaster
At 17, I moved away to college. It was a disaster.
That summer I discovered drinking, and I loved it as much as I loved binge eating. Seven weeks later I dropped out, but not before gaining 15 pounds. That was when the stretch marks started.
Over the next six months, I gained another 20 pounds. My body was getting destroyed with stretch marks from the rapid weight gain. 19 years later, they’re still very visible.
The following summer I worked as a labourer on a construction site and decided to try Lipotrim. For anyone lucky enough not to know, Lipotrim was a pharmacy-only diet of two shakes per day, adding up to 520 calories. That’s it.
I was doing 10-hour labour shifts while eating 520 calories. Obviously, I lost weight - 35 pounds in a few months - but it was impossible to maintain. The second I stopped, I gained it all back.
Binge Eating Like a Science
From ages 19 to 21 I worked in a petrol station. Every shift was the same: resist junk food for six hours, then binge for the last two.
Between 17 and 24, I joined the gym a few times, but I was never consistent. My fitness knowledge was terrible too - I’d think 15 minutes on the treadmill meant I could eat whatever I wanted.
But even when I wasn’t “dieting,” food dominated my thoughts. My whole day revolved around: When do I get to eat again?
I had binge eating down to a military operation. I’d shop-hop to avoid embarrassment, buying junk food from multiple shops so it didn’t look like I was feeding an entire party.
Rock Bottom
Christmas 2013 was my lowest point.
I’d tried and failed yet again to lose weight. I was miserable, depressed, and decided it just wasn’t possible for me. I clearly didn’t have the strength to succeed.
That same Christmas, I’d dropped out of college for the sixth time. It felt like proof that I couldn’t stick to anything. (Sounds insane, I know. I’ve two degrees now, so it eventually worked out.)
The Turning Point
Then came January 2014.
After that miserable Christmas, I got an email from the local gym advertising a weight loss competition. For some reason, the “competition” part snapped me out of my self-pity. I’m competitive, so I thought maybe I could lose weight if it meant beating other people.
Even after the first week, something felt different. The usual voice saying, “You’ll just quit like always” was gone. I actually liked going to the gym.
After eight weeks, the competition ended. I’d lost 20 pounds and was obsessed.
Learning the Hard Way
After that first success, I stalled. For six months. I was in the gym five days a week, two hours at a time, but the scale didn’t budge.
That’s when I finally started studying nutrition. I learned about energy balance: calories in vs. calories out.
I tracked my “hangover Sunday” and realised I was eating around 8,000 calories in a single day. No wonder my weekly deficit was gone.
Once I cut back on drinking and tracked my calories daily, I started consistently losing 1-2 pounds a week until I hit a healthy BMI for the first time in my life.
From Student to Personal Trainer
In September 2014, that new obsession with health and fitness turned into something bigger. I enrolled in the University of Limerick to study Exercise & Health Fitness. After years of dropping out of courses and feeling like I couldn’t stick to anything, this was different. I loved learning about training, nutrition, and the science behind it all - and for once, I actually wanted to be in lectures. Four years later, I graduated with a BSc in Exercise & Health Fitness, finishing with first class honours.
Since then, fitness has gone from being the thing I could never figure out to being my full-time career. I now work as a personal trainer, running 1-to-1 sessions from my own home gym. Helping other people achieve what I once thought was impossible for me has been the most rewarding part of the whole journey.
10+ Years Later
It’s been over 10 years, and I’ve kept the weight off.
I still love food - especially junk food - so I track calories most of the time. I don’t bother on holidays or special occasions, but tracking is a tool I’ll probably use forever.
I haven’t fixed my desire to binge eat, it still pops up every now and again. I’ve just learned how to manage it (most of the time).
What I Learned
Weight loss doesn’t solve all your problems, but it changes your life.
You don’t need to be perfect, just consistent.
Systems matter more than motivation.
This is the story I wish I’d read when I was younger - not another “I cut out carbs and now I’m cured” post, but the truth about how messy, frustrating, and life-changing long-term weight loss really is.
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