Success! The road to a healthier me.

erojoy

HELL YES! You look beyond amazing. WOW. I wish I could give you a standing ovation. And you didn't make excuses you just did it. I'm so proud of you and I don't even know you. haha

Crawfie16

I am so glad I read your extremely inspiring post today. This morning on wakening I decided I must really stop having a little nibble of cheese or a few nuts, which then mean I dont lose weight. That little monster is not going to tempt me again. Summer is here and my lovely blue capris which I wore last summer are waiting for me to lose 7 lbs before they look good on me again. Your transformation was incredible and so motivating, so thank you for your post - a lesson on how to do it for all of us who want to lose weight, but just don't make the right decisions.

smotheredincheese

ssanford77 wrote: »

I have heard it said whether you do or not your body will keep an accurate log of what you eat.

Very inspiring, and I LOVE this quote, it's couldn't be more true

trisha1298

Congratulations! I was wondering how many calories per day you eat. I'm so impressed that you stayed under for so long!

leecha2014

Now that is how's it's done!!! Congrats! Love your post, I too have a tiny monster, I could so relate. You look fabulous and healthy! Congrats too on quitting smoking

sunflowerbff

ssanford77 wrote: »

In February of 2012 I was at the doctor’s and my blood pressure kept setting of the alarm on the machine, they put me on a scale and I found out I weighed 207lbs. This shocked me, I knew I was overweight but I did not know I had gotten that heavy. They put me on blood pressure medication at that time. I was 35 years old and thought I was too young to need blood pressure medication, this scared me. I stopped drinking alcohol hoping this would help my situation and I started trying to cut back on what I was eating. September of 2012 I stopped smoking as well. I had difficulty doing any physical task for any length of time; my blood pressure would just go up and up while I was trying to. I couldn’t mow the lawn or shovel the walk. In September of 2013 I found out my cholesterol was borderline; they told me I didn’t need medication yet but I needed to watch my diet and start exercising. I signed up with a gym and discovered I was down to 180lbs. I attended the gym regularly until I started a new job and started having trouble fitting it into my schedule. My husband signed up with MFP in May of 2014 and lost quite a bit of weight that month so I signed on in June. Since then I have logged everyday with the exception of a cruise we took in August. I have only been over calories one day and that was Thanksgiving, I was over by 36 calories and it still annoys me. In August of 2014 I was able to come of my blood pressure medication. In December I hit a plateau and had to start exercising so I started going to my local recreation facility and using their fitness center. I try to go down there four times a week but sometimes I only make it three times. In January I got a Fitbit and started tracking steps. It is now April and I have hit my goal weight of 120lbs.
When people ask how I did it I tell them the following things. First I have honestly tracked everything that has gone into my mouth. If it goes into my mouth it goes into my diary. I weigh and measure everything; I am no good at guessing about portions, I need to be certain. I allowed MFP to set my diet goals, I don’t know enough about these things to figure it out for myself. MFP never steered me wrong, I consistently lost weight aiming for their goals. I don’t have cheat days; I stay under calories every single day. I do allow myself little treats just about every day so I don’t need to cheat. I have found lower calorie options. I do not believe in fad diets (sorry beachbody people), I don’t believe they are sustainable. I believe this has to be a lifestyle change that I can commit to for the rest of my life. I eat normal everyday food. I do not eat back my work out calories. I believe we all underestimate the calories in our food and overestimate the calories we burn. I want to leave myself room for error. Workout calories are just bonus calories towards my weekly deficit. I walk a lot; I make sure I get a minimum of 10000 steps every day. When I started I had my goal as 7000 because I work a desk job so I wasn’t sure if I could achieve 10000. I found if I committed 10000 wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. I walk for half an hour every morning, half an hour over my lunch break and half an hour after supper. That gives me about 9000 right there so I only need to make up another 1000. These are some of the things I did to get healthy, I am sure there are others but they are many and this covers the basics of it.
I am not perfect, none of us are. My overeating is like a tiny monster that lives inside of me, it is an obsession that always cries for more. I have not had the luxury of giving myself any leeway. If I do, that little monster gets bigger and stronger and cries for more. I had to commit 100% to my program in order to keep the monster under control. That meant not playing games and tricking myself into believing I could play the games to eat more. I kept things very black and white with no grey areas. I had to keep it simple so the monster stayed at bay. I believe I will be a life-long member of MFP because I don’t think the monster will ever leave me completely.
If you are starting out I suggest that you find friends who are successful, the ones that have lost substantial amounts of weight. Get a fitness tracker and get active. I’m not saying you need to go to the gym every day, I am saying get moving. Be honest with yourself, log everything accurately. I have heard it said whether you do or not your body will keep an accurate log of what you eat. There is no easy answer, it is work. For me it was calories in versus calories out. I had to burn more calories than I consumed and sometimes that meant I was hungry. However being hungry was worth it! I am strong, healthy and I look great! Know it is possible and you can do it!

sunflowerbff

Love your story. Thank you for sharing.

elisa123gal

You are so small now..you look like a different person. In your before photo.. i would think you were just bigger boned. Just amazing how weight makes a person look that way. Here you are a tiny little thing. Thanks for sharing your detailed account of how you reached your goal.

alltheweigh170

You look great! Your wisdom was just what I needed today. :-)

ssanford77

trisha1298 wrote: »

Congratulations! I was wondering how many calories per day you eat. I'm so impressed that you stayed under for so long!

Sorry I didn't respond sooner. I used the calorie goals that MFP assigned me. I never played with them myself. At the end I was at 1200. Now that I am at maintenance I am at 1590.

missanne11

Wow. You're awesome! Look so young now too! Very inspirational!

BaharEeh

How many calories did you consume a day and did you count tour macros?

BleuBerryS

Great job, You look amazing

ssanford77

BaharEeh wrote: »

How many calories did you consume a day and did you count tour macros?

I consumed whatever MFP told me to consume. At the end I was down to 1200. I just put in that I wanted to lose one pound a week and let MFP set my goals. I watched my macros but I wasn't obsessive about them.

klkarlen

Congratulations on a job well done!

cherrie_mcburney

Way to go! Awesome!

sexybug6

Amazing weight loss story feel free to add me need friends who can support each other

kmg3614

Amazing job!

rph2t

I love your description of overeating as a monster. It's so true. Once you go over one day, it's so hard to shut that *kitten* up. Very inspiring story, though. Your dedication is impressive, to say the least.

clouise110

Wow you look amazing well done !!

vrojapu

Terrific post, thank you for sharing - congratulations!!!

evesmom2

Congratulations...awesome job! You look wonderful

SeeJaneRunSlow

Wow! This is an amazing transformation. You inspire me.

1hotmommamfp

Thanks for your time in sharing your success story...you look great!!! Could you please share more of what a typical day of eating is for you? Heard so many different ways of eating and not sure where to start

Wendyanneroberts

1hotmommamfp wrote: »

Thanks for your time in sharing your success story...you look great!!! Could you please share more of what a typical day of eating is for you? Heard so many different ways of eating and not sure where to start

This is a great sucess story, but is also an older thread. OP hasn't been on mfp since Dec 2016, so is unlikely to see your question.

lovefrenchies

Your transformation is amazing. I got a lot of tips from your post.

kickingitup

Congratulations on your success. Thank you for sharing it with all of us. Also, thanks for all the tips and secrets to your success.

DrBenja

Your story is incredibly inspiring!
Your dedication and commitment to making a lifestyle change are admirable. Tracking everything, staying active and being honest with yourself have truly paid off.
Congratulations on your success and reaching your goal weight!

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