Finally did it!
Glowiie1
Posts: 85 Member
I didn't have an epic weight loss story like many of the inspirational posts I've seen on here, but I'm proud of what I accomplished, so I wanted to share.
Most of my life I'd been about 155 lb, a size 10, and I'd been pretty happy with that at 5'10". I didn't have a picture perfect body, but who does, ya know? Anyway, work, life, and a little bit of depression later, and I gained about 30 lb. I got on MFP to get myself back on track before it got waaaay out of hand.
I'd tried to lose the weight numerous times as I slowly put on all 30 lb, and I just kept gaining, albeit slowly. There were several key factors that finally lead to my success...
1. Diet: I read an article that someone posted here on MFP about how to fuel your body based on your activity level. I followed the guidelines for what percentage of my diet should be made up of fat, carbs, and protein based on how active I was each day. If I was on a rest day, sitting at my desk at work doing nothing, I ate differently than I did when I spent an hour riding a bike and swimming 1000 yds. I swear it was like a miracle. Once I got the macros figured out, I was never hungry, and frankly, I occasionally struggled to eat all the calories I planned to eat that day because I felt so satiated. I started letting my body tell me when it was hungry, so some days I ate more calories than I thought I burned, and then other days I was in a deficit, but I was never hungry, and the weight melted right off!
2. Activity: I started training for a race to motivate me to work out more, and I signed up for an app called Pact. With the race hanging over my head and the threat of paying money for not working out, I became far more active than I ever had before. I also started swimming. I always HATED swimming, but I decided to take lessons from a friend, and I discovered that I really enjoy it! Since I was training for a triathlon, I mostly use my arms and minimize swimming with my legs, so I discovered that my legs were always fresh! I could swim every day and then alternate running and biking! With that kind of variety, I never got bored!
3. Weight lifting: I started Stronglifts 5x5 about a year ago, and the results are incredible. I feel stronger, more powerful, and you can definitely see the difference in my back and legs (the pics really don't do it justice
). I definitely recommend lifting heavy!
At the end of the day, I dropped 18lb, I fit back in my size 10 pants, lost over 2inches around my waist, and my cholesterol dropped 30 points! My weight loss journey is over, but my weight lifting journey is going to continue.
Like I said, it's not an epic story like many of you have, but it was all of you who inspired me to get back into shape. As a thank you, I wanted to share my story too
184lb on the left May 2016, and 166lb on the right Sept 2016.
Most of my life I'd been about 155 lb, a size 10, and I'd been pretty happy with that at 5'10". I didn't have a picture perfect body, but who does, ya know? Anyway, work, life, and a little bit of depression later, and I gained about 30 lb. I got on MFP to get myself back on track before it got waaaay out of hand.
I'd tried to lose the weight numerous times as I slowly put on all 30 lb, and I just kept gaining, albeit slowly. There were several key factors that finally lead to my success...
1. Diet: I read an article that someone posted here on MFP about how to fuel your body based on your activity level. I followed the guidelines for what percentage of my diet should be made up of fat, carbs, and protein based on how active I was each day. If I was on a rest day, sitting at my desk at work doing nothing, I ate differently than I did when I spent an hour riding a bike and swimming 1000 yds. I swear it was like a miracle. Once I got the macros figured out, I was never hungry, and frankly, I occasionally struggled to eat all the calories I planned to eat that day because I felt so satiated. I started letting my body tell me when it was hungry, so some days I ate more calories than I thought I burned, and then other days I was in a deficit, but I was never hungry, and the weight melted right off!
2. Activity: I started training for a race to motivate me to work out more, and I signed up for an app called Pact. With the race hanging over my head and the threat of paying money for not working out, I became far more active than I ever had before. I also started swimming. I always HATED swimming, but I decided to take lessons from a friend, and I discovered that I really enjoy it! Since I was training for a triathlon, I mostly use my arms and minimize swimming with my legs, so I discovered that my legs were always fresh! I could swim every day and then alternate running and biking! With that kind of variety, I never got bored!
3. Weight lifting: I started Stronglifts 5x5 about a year ago, and the results are incredible. I feel stronger, more powerful, and you can definitely see the difference in my back and legs (the pics really don't do it justice
). I definitely recommend lifting heavy!At the end of the day, I dropped 18lb, I fit back in my size 10 pants, lost over 2inches around my waist, and my cholesterol dropped 30 points! My weight loss journey is over, but my weight lifting journey is going to continue.
Like I said, it's not an epic story like many of you have, but it was all of you who inspired me to get back into shape. As a thank you, I wanted to share my story too
184lb on the left May 2016, and 166lb on the right Sept 2016.
22
Replies
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Congratulations on your success!!!1
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Great job!!1
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Awesome job!1
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Glad to hear that you are enjoying being active! That is one of my main motivators, wanting to enjoy what my body can do, to feel good about it and to feel great when I do it. Thanks for sharing your story!1
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well it may not be a huge weightloss but it sounds like the difference was pretty life changing for you....congratulations!! a triathlon is pretty huge!. good for you for catching it at 3lbs and not needing to loose a huge amount of weight( I waited till it was way out of hand)1
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Great job!1
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