Almost a year and 120lbs lost into this fun adventure.

lyrics09

lynder64 wrote: »

Has anyone told you that you've got great legs? Oh... and smile :-) Wonderful transformation... you must be feeling pretty darn amazing!!! Great job!!!

thanks Which is hilarious my weight at 304 wasn't on my legs much. I still had pretty nice legs from playing soccer for so long. It was all in my middle/upper body. And just because you use your legs to run and do cardio etc they just got better and better, even still. And I hear it quite a bit and it cracks me up because to me they're just legs.

My smile on the other hand- I just got short term braces back in November since I couldn't get them growing up because being a musician I couldn't mess with my mouth. I have put up with these annoying things since then and the pain, and am SO excited I can be proud to be the smiley person and not feel ashamed or want to hide my smile. They come off May/June so I'm pumped to not have to take 40 min to pick food out of my wire like a weirdo lol. I literally love taking pictures of places I go and with friends and I skipped all that forever because I hated everything about myself. So its nice to not miss moments over stuff like that.

My mom actually started the same time as me doing the same kind of lifestyle changes. She wanted to do this with me. She is 68 and started at 243-244, she has lost over 65 lbs and has not quit either. She eats even more of a relaxed type meal planning than I do. She is slower and only loses about 3-4 lbs a month ish but she hasn't quit. Her key was getting enough fiber in her diet and switching up exercises more. I was happy to see and help my mom be happy with herself more and more and the hope that she can be healthy and be around for as long as possible to harass me :P

lyrics09

and yeah feel free to add me if you want to creep/be buddies/look at diaries etc. I keep everything open for friends even when I have some weird *kitten* choices in there I just show what I do flat out. I'm finishing up finals coming up so I'm not as super social on peoples walls like normal but usually my friends and I are all silly and fun.

I made it a point that I wasn't going to quit and I wasn't going to be miserable doing this back when I started. I figured you can't live on shakes or pills or juices or things like nutrisystem forever- at least me, maybe other people are way cooler and badass than me lol. I would get so bored or even if it worked for me the moment I lost all my weight I'd go back to eating poorly in large amounts. This way since its a long journey anyways I could train myself how to eat the foods I like but eat them in the right amounts. So like re-learning how to eat. I wouldn't feel bad about missing foods or wanting to sneak things then feel guilty. If I wanted ice cream or candy I'd work it in, or work in a huge starbucks with amazing whipped cream lol. I know the give-and-take so to speak that if I want these good things that are high in calories you have to sacrifice other things to keep it into perspective. But I wouldn't be unhappy and at the end I know how to keep eating right for me.

If i did go over due to accident, bad day, family dinner party etc, what also helped was keeping in mind it takes 3000+ calories to make one pound. You didn't gain all that weight in 1 day it happened slowly over time. So yeah you might have went over but more than likely you just ate at or near "maintenance" so you really don't have to feel terrible or want to sabotage all the rest of your days of hard work.

amandammmq

You have worked so hard, and it shows! What really struck me about your story is that you have been steady and steadfast the whole time. You just kept plugging away through the good weeks and the bad weeks.

A lot of it is a mental game, keeping a good attitude, getting back on track if you briefly lose your way. I know this intellectually but it doesn't always sink in, as revealed by my weight and fitness yo-yoing up and down over the years. One of these days, I'll finally get it! ;-)

lyrics09

jamie_lee80 wrote: »

You look awesome!! I bet you are having a blast buying new cute clothes!

lol yes getting smaller definitely costs me more money than I had planned. I love heels. I had some but never wore them when I was heavy. I didn't really feel comfortable or want to draw attention to myself. I hated being tall and etc. Now lol I think I have and entire wall of heels in my closet and I even wear them to the grocery store- Yeah I'm that *kitten* girl. I love being tall now and I love dressing up. I used to hate to try stuff on now I feel like I'm at some magic show, trying on like a size 8-10 and thinking it won't fit and POOF it does. Or smalls being actually perfectly fitting. A silly goal I'll admit was back when I started I wanted to fit into a pair of lululemon yoga pants just to finally say Hey I did this and can look like one of those cute people who work out. It was so weird not only fitting into them but I wasn't even stuck in the biggest size. - PS Calvin Klein yoga pants and underarmor pants are still way cooler to me hah.

And with the shoe addiction I love colorful running shoes even more now. I have like every color variation of asics triathlon shoe I think now. haha

lyrics09

xesixb wrote: »

I read the whole story and thought that you were in your twenties, but then I saw your first before pic and thought 'nope she's in her late thirties' ->(not to be rude). Your after pictures amazed me. You look so much younger than before (like a teenager). You have beautiful features and killer legs. Keep up the good work and hopefully you reach your final goal soon. You are an MFP inspiration.

Yeah definitely don't take offense no worries, I know I looked old and felt old lol. From about 18 yrs onward everyone always assumed I was 4-6 yrs older than I was. I just felt like eh whatever I wanted to be older anyways hah. But I do even see that myself that I look (and feel) so much younger now at 28 than I did even at 18. I honestly can't answer how old I am if people ask me on the spot, I forget/don't think about it. To me I feel 23-24 yrs old, or how I think I should have felt. When I compared pictures from HS senior year when I was 190 and to my recent 190 10 years later the distribution of weight is totally different too, and I looked better at now 190 than the younger 190 version. Could be the more mature features or now i'm more toned in places I wasn't before but its neat to see how the weight number really doesn't matter sometimes.

The only regret is that I wish I had the courage to try doing this journey earlier. I was scared to fail and didn't know this is all it took really. I would syke myself up to try and chicken out. I didn't want to draw attention that I was not only 'fat' but I failed at trying not to be fat sort of thing. And I hate failing/being bad at things too. But the important thing is I finally did it no matter what age so whatever 28 is cooler than 18 anyways haha :P Jk (love you youngins )

sabrina0024

Everything you've said here is spot on. You have done wonderful! - Look at those mile long legs!!! Stunning! And you're right - it really isn't hard once you get the mental patience for it!!! I dropped 50 lbs and it was easy - I just ate right and exercised, but then I gained 12 back...not a big deal...it's just 12....but what's stopping me from succeeding is all in my mind. It's not that we can't do it....we just have to tell ourselves that yes we can. Very good blog. Good for you.

lyrics09

amandammmq wrote: »

You have worked so hard, and it shows! What really struck me about your story is that you have been steady and steadfast the whole time. You just kept plugging away through the good weeks and the bad weeks.

A lot of it is a mental game, keeping a good attitude, getting back on track if you briefly lose your way. I know this intellectually but it doesn't always sink in, as revealed by my weight and fitness yo-yoing up and down over the years. One of these days, I'll finally get it! ;-)

Yeah thats definitely the hardest part, to me. Was keeping myself enthused about this. Not feeling depressed that it was taking forever. Not being able to see a difference. No one noticing they saw a difference. Seeing gains for no reason. Seeing 8-14 days go by seeing no scale change and thinking I wasted more time. That stuff is whats hard. Even almost 120lbs in and I don't always see a difference, I still feel 'fat' or huge, I still feel like it takes forever occasionally. We all have bad days, especially having hormones as a woman haha Just gotta remind yourself that you will have more good days than bad as you get closer.

Going to the gym, eating the right calories each day, drinking water, that *kitten* was all the easy stuff. hah.

lyrics09

sabrina0024 wrote: »

Everything you've said here is spot on. You have done wonderful! - Look at those mile long legs!!! Stunning! And you're right - it really isn't hard once you get the mental patience for it!!! I dropped 50 lbs and it was easy - I just ate right and exercised, but then I gained 12 back...not a big deal...it's just 12....but what's stopping me from succeeding is all in my mind. It's not that we can't do it....we just have to tell ourselves that yes we can. Very good blog. Good for you.

Hah thanks! Yeah my mom and friends tell me how long my legs are all the time now. When I sat there and thought jesus christ i have 150-160 lbs to lose back at the begining I wanted to quit right then. So to make it feel less intimdating I just broke it down into mile stones. Every 20lbs, or special BMI category changes etc. So it felt like I had mini wins along the way. I still have:

TBD 6th Goal: 184 BMI 28
TBD 7th Mile Stone *Finish Line In Sight*: 167 BMI 26 (Normal)
TBD GW: 140-150 BMI 21

-to go on my page type thing. I put these things on stick notes in my school planner to just let me stay excited. A tool I did find helpful was on slimfast's website surprisingly. it is their weight calculator you can put how much you weigh and when you want to be done and it will estimate how much you can lose in that time, based on 2 lbs a week losses etc. Its not totally accurate but helps see down the road what you can look forward to. I like using it.

tinaslim

Really liked your story and "process". You also did a great job with the pics...it really says it all...that you stuck with it and it worked. Great job and really inspiring

beamer0821

wonderful! congrats! thanks for sharing!

cbills65

Great story and great before and after pics. What a beautiful lady in both sets of pics though. That transformation will undoubtedly inspire many. You were right to share your success!

jennlaw89

Such amazing progress and such an inspiration! I have to lose a little over 100lbs and I feel better, stronger, and more confident each day.. you must feel amazing!

Lshona

That's my girl! Wonderful progress!

khill5555

Wow....your story is just what I needed today! Thank you for caring enough to make a difference in others struggles! I hope that someday I can make a difference in someone's day like you made in mine! Keep up the good work!!!

sombrefawn

Congrats on your success! I wish I had your foxy tanned legs!!!

_QueenE_

Congrats!

lyrics09

Thank you everyone for your kind messages I certainly felt a lot like it was impossible or never going to happen at the end, so its refreshing to share that it DOES give results.

WyldcatGirl

Great job!

jatdh1753

Wow, such an amazing transformation! I especially love your advice about staying motivated when the finish line isn't in sight, or when you feel like you're not seeing results. This is what has stopped me from finishing my journey in the past; I'd always give up because I didn't have the mental fortitude to keep going when I wasn't seeing immediate results. Such great advice, and your success is a huge inspiration!

raman2011

Very inspirational. Thank you for sharing, I was feeling a bit down cuz I can't seem to lose weight. It is just so hard to break this relationship with bad food choices, and no excersice. After reading your story, I feel like I can do it.