Determination and Effort Can Take You Far! 40+ lbs gone with pics!

blinknik04

Wow! What a transformation! You look awesome, congrats!

Pastela

minniemickey wrote: »

Hi @Pastela‌ Congratulations!! I'm pretty much around the same weight as when you started. Can you please tell us more about your workout routine that helped you lose the weight? Did you follow any
Program and what was your calorie intake each day? Thanks again for inspiring me.

Thank you @minniemickey! I'm glad my story inspired you!

I didn't follow any specific program. I kinda just did a lot of research on exercise/nutrition and used MFP to figure out a lot of things. In college I had a lot of free time, so I would spend around 40-60 min in the gym doing cardio (elliptical/treadmill) Monday-Friday then I would also allocate time for using the weight machines. It wasn't any type of special plan. I would just pop in my ear buds and jam to my music while going at it on the elliptical.

I tried to stay within a 1200 calorie limit with exercise initially which was a bad idea. I lost a lot of weight quickly at first, but I became irritable and tired doing that, and it wasn't healthy calorie level for me to be at. Please be sure to eat enough calories based on your activity level! I did more research and used a calculator to make a better estimate of my calorie consumption. For my measurements and activity level it was better for me to eat between 1600-1700 calories, so I had to adjust. I would recommend using the IIFYM calculator (iifym.com/tdee-calculator/) to help you find an estimate of how many calories you should be consuming for your height, weight, and activity level.

I also changed my diet and attitude towards food which is what I think really helped me the most. I used to eat a lot of junky processed fast food, salty chips, and sugary snacks. I then started focusing on eating more protein in the form of grilled fish/chicken along with eating lots of veggies. I cut out eating stuff like pasta, white bread, fried food, and processed snack crackers. Fortunately, my taste preferences also changed over time. I began to crave eating snacks like broccoli w/hummus instead of eating greasy fries with honey mustard. I now vastly prefer grilled meats over fried meats.

Portion control was also a huge help for me. I began following serving sizes on labels. For example, I would portion one of my favorite snacks like plantain chips (serving size is 14 chips) into sandwich baggies and keep the the actual bag of chips out of my sight. I used to be really bad about grazing on food out of boredom. Now I understand serving sizes and calorie counts for food a lot better. I now don't waste calories needlessly on handfuls of sugary cereal!

I also made substitutes for foods I liked. This was actually a lot of fun!

Examples:

-Switched sugary fruit flavored yogurt with plain Greek yogurt with real berries.
-Switched regular milk with unsweetened almond milk
-Switched regular onion dip with Greek yogurt
-Use carrots, broccoli, cucumbers and other veggies for dipping instead of chips
-Shred zucchini into pasta-like strands to use in place of regular spaghetti
-Ditched soda completely for water

Anyway, that just a quick overview what I done. I hope this information is helpful to you! It's all about making healthy, sustainable lifestyle choices.

anacd

That's really inspiring! I'm exactly at the point you were when you started (200lbs) and trying to get where you are now (150lbs), so it's a real encouragement to hear your story You look great!

haydiz70

You look absolutely amazing, so healthy and fit. Thanks for all the tips. I had to increase my calories from 1200 too. I felt dizzy, tired, and forgetful at that level and I'm only 5'2". Upped it to 1350 and I'm doing much better and losing weight faster! Anyway, great job!

emartins1975

You look awesome! Not that you didn't before but now you look healthier and happier. Great job!

mariamathsgeek

Well done! You are a really pretty girl (both before & after the weight loss) but you look much slimmer and healthier now. Brilliant stuff!

CandyMonster160

Wow! Fantastic transformation, congrats!!

Lyn1424

Awesome work!

1DEF

Loved your post and thanks for the pep talk. Very motivating. You look great--like others have said you have saved yourself years of yo-yo dieting misery by learning about nutrition and fitness now.

SERmom3

Well done!

Liftng4Lis

Amazing work! Wow!

YourIrishFriend

Such inspiration! And what a cutie

mg_adina

Great job!

TnZMom

Love how strong you look!

EachDayDoesCount

Wow! you look amazing. what a story...so inspiring

HeartyHealthy

That is a great transformation, you were a pretty lady in the before pics you are a healthy amazing looking one in the now pics. Just sensational. Thank you for sharing

tjcuts339

emartins1975 wrote: »

You look awesome! Not that you didn't before but now you look healthier and happier. Great job!

Pastela

Thanks again everyone! I wish MFP had a 'like' function similar to Facebook for forum posts, because I really do appreciate all of your comments. I used to lurk this forum while going through my weight loss journey for inspiration, so it's really cool that my story has inspired others.

You all rock!

lyrics09

Amazingggggg Inspirational thats for sure! Look gorgeous.

qstneverything

Woohoo! Way to go. Your story is awesome, we're similar ages, and your "before" photo is similar to me now (which is a before phase) so how about I make our "after" the same too?

lizalmp1234

great job

FedGirlUSA

You look fantastic! Way to go!

jlmed

Wow you look amazing!! Congrats.

cmsu64113

Amazing job!

oncem0re

Wow you are gorgeous then and now... you just defined yourself a lot more! Congrats! We have an almost starting weight! I'm really hoping to drop to 150 by July, I started this month and lost 11lbs so far hopefully lost the 35lbs more in 5 months. Well done so envy and proud of you! what an inspiration!

My_Fitness_Journey2020

Amazing job!! Congrats!

luisalg14

Amazingly done!

msbengbeng

You look amazing! Healthy and happy! Thank you for sharing your story! You really gave me a huge source of motivation!

Pastela

Wow, wow, wow! Thanks so much for the kind comments and friend requests! I'm really glad my journey has helped inspire others! You are all so very kind!

tjcuts339

You did this. Made up mind. and planned and mapped your journey to road of success. You have helped others to see it can be done !! Mind that is focused. can acheive. Any goal. Many need to see this. You can show them. Great job!!!