50+ lbs gone - before/after
bee_bee8
Posts: 96 Member
Stats:
Height: 5'3.5"
SW: ~171.8 lbs(I was too afraid of the scale to weigh myself at the very beginning)
CW: 120.0 lbs
GW: 120 lbs
Today, I reached my goal weight. Right on the dot.
It's been a long road and there have been more than a few bumps, but in many ways it's been easier than I thought. Healthy food can be delicious and satiating. Working out can be a thing to look forward to (but let's face it, not always). Before last January, I was totally sedentary, overeating most days, and borderline obese. I won't lie and say I've been 100% committed to my lifestyle change since I made the decision to live differently over a year ago, but learning to take setbacks in stride was one of many important lessons I learned. I'll share a few things that helped me. Scroll to the end if you just wanna see the before/after ;-)
* It's true you don't need to exercise to lose weight, but I found it immensely helpful. It curbed my cravings almost right away when I started doing cardio daily. Not to mention, time spent working out is time that can't be spent eating ;-)
* Preparing your own food and using a food scale is truly the only way to log accurately. You can make all kinds of assumptions about what's in your meal when you dine out, but odds are you're probably underestimating. Dining out is killer when it comes to staying within a calorie goal (not that it can't be done), and it's just so much easier to make low-calorie, healthy meals at home.
* Healthy meals don't have to be bland or unappetizing! I was not a cook at ALL when I started out; I'd never made anything more advanced than mac n cheese. I still don't make anything fancy, but I did make an effort to find some recipes using healthy ingredients I knew I liked. I'm a picky eater which makes it more difficult, but it's still totally doable.
* You don't need to cut out any one thing to lose weight, or eat anything you don't want to eat. Personally, I hate leafy greens. I know they're good for me. I know they have almost no calories. I hate them. Salads are only good to me if they're drenched in dressing, and that completely defeats the purpose ;-) If I had to describe my diet in terms of macros I'd say it was roughly 60% carbs, 30% fat and 20% protein, but I didn't really pay attention to that. I ate what I liked, which meant a lot of bread, pasta, fish, and avocados. I heckin' love avocados.
* Small, incremental changes can make all the difference. Snack on strawberries instead of chips. Throw some extra vegetables in that stir fry. Walk a little farther with your dog this evening (maybe even jog for a short bit!). These changes can build on each other and before you know it, you're getting stronger, faster, healthier, and likely experiencing that delightful side effect of shedding pounds.
* Your mistakes do not define your journey. This is probably my most important takeaway from my experience over the last year. For months at the beginning, I was diligent. Never had a cheat meal, never skipped a workout. I remember distinctly the first time I broke from my routine and went on a weekend-long binge, eating everything I had missed from the past several months. It snowballed; it was one of those things where we tell ourselves "Well I already had a greasy burger, might as well EAT EVERYTHING I CAN THINK OF BECAUSE WHAT'S THE POINT?!" These slip-ups will happen. Very few people can be perfect all the time (especially people who love food as much as I do). As I've started to accept that, I've gotten better about bouncing back.
I hope some of this is helpful to others; I have found this community to be incredibly valuable as I tried to navigate the overly-noisy and seemingly complicated (but not really) world of weight loss and health. Having hit my goal weight, I'm excited for the next step. I really want to get even more physically fit, and work on my strength for recomp. Good luck, all my fitness pals!
Photos:
Height: 5'3.5"
SW: ~171.8 lbs(I was too afraid of the scale to weigh myself at the very beginning)
CW: 120.0 lbs
GW: 120 lbs
Today, I reached my goal weight. Right on the dot.
It's been a long road and there have been more than a few bumps, but in many ways it's been easier than I thought. Healthy food can be delicious and satiating. Working out can be a thing to look forward to (but let's face it, not always). Before last January, I was totally sedentary, overeating most days, and borderline obese. I won't lie and say I've been 100% committed to my lifestyle change since I made the decision to live differently over a year ago, but learning to take setbacks in stride was one of many important lessons I learned. I'll share a few things that helped me. Scroll to the end if you just wanna see the before/after ;-)
* It's true you don't need to exercise to lose weight, but I found it immensely helpful. It curbed my cravings almost right away when I started doing cardio daily. Not to mention, time spent working out is time that can't be spent eating ;-)
* Preparing your own food and using a food scale is truly the only way to log accurately. You can make all kinds of assumptions about what's in your meal when you dine out, but odds are you're probably underestimating. Dining out is killer when it comes to staying within a calorie goal (not that it can't be done), and it's just so much easier to make low-calorie, healthy meals at home.
* Healthy meals don't have to be bland or unappetizing! I was not a cook at ALL when I started out; I'd never made anything more advanced than mac n cheese. I still don't make anything fancy, but I did make an effort to find some recipes using healthy ingredients I knew I liked. I'm a picky eater which makes it more difficult, but it's still totally doable.
* You don't need to cut out any one thing to lose weight, or eat anything you don't want to eat. Personally, I hate leafy greens. I know they're good for me. I know they have almost no calories. I hate them. Salads are only good to me if they're drenched in dressing, and that completely defeats the purpose ;-) If I had to describe my diet in terms of macros I'd say it was roughly 60% carbs, 30% fat and 20% protein, but I didn't really pay attention to that. I ate what I liked, which meant a lot of bread, pasta, fish, and avocados. I heckin' love avocados.
* Small, incremental changes can make all the difference. Snack on strawberries instead of chips. Throw some extra vegetables in that stir fry. Walk a little farther with your dog this evening (maybe even jog for a short bit!). These changes can build on each other and before you know it, you're getting stronger, faster, healthier, and likely experiencing that delightful side effect of shedding pounds.
* Your mistakes do not define your journey. This is probably my most important takeaway from my experience over the last year. For months at the beginning, I was diligent. Never had a cheat meal, never skipped a workout. I remember distinctly the first time I broke from my routine and went on a weekend-long binge, eating everything I had missed from the past several months. It snowballed; it was one of those things where we tell ourselves "Well I already had a greasy burger, might as well EAT EVERYTHING I CAN THINK OF BECAUSE WHAT'S THE POINT?!" These slip-ups will happen. Very few people can be perfect all the time (especially people who love food as much as I do). As I've started to accept that, I've gotten better about bouncing back.
I hope some of this is helpful to others; I have found this community to be incredibly valuable as I tried to navigate the overly-noisy and seemingly complicated (but not really) world of weight loss and health. Having hit my goal weight, I'm excited for the next step. I really want to get even more physically fit, and work on my strength for recomp. Good luck, all my fitness pals!
Photos:
146
Replies
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Waaaao just waaao
I’m very close to your stats a bit more maybe and same goal as yours
Plz share some details if u don’t mind
Anyway complete awesomeness2 -
I’m soooo sory
I went straight to pic and sent the masg right away2 -
Thanks for sharing all of that2
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awesome!!!1
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Congratulations!2
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Wow just wow!!1
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Amazing transformation! Very well done
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Congrats
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Brilliant job be proud of what you have achieved,you look amazing
I'm nearly lost a stone since Jan 2 2018 and hoping to lose another 2 by Aug wish me luck3 -
Awesome job!!3
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Wow! girl you're looking fab - well done 1
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Wow.... lol..... so that's what 120 lbs looks like?
Fantastic job!2 -
Amazing job and even better message. Well done and thanks so much for taking the time to share!1
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Wow, super awesome! You're an inspiration! Keep it up!1
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Congrats! I have similar stats to you. I’m 5’3”. I weigh 178.8lbs. It’s the heaviest I have ever been. My current goal weight is 135-140. I was in my best shape at that weight. So I’m crossing my fingers that with some hard work I can be there soon!3
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Wowzers girl!!! Great job!1
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Congratulations on hitting your goal! You look wonderful!2
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Looking Great!! I am 5'3 and i started at 186. i am down over 40lbs but losing the last 15lbs seem so hard. So thanks for the motivational speech. Your right on many of your points!3
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Looking Great!! I am 5'3 and i started at 186. i am down over 40lbs but losing the last 15lbs seem so hard. So thanks for the motivational speech. Your right on many of your points!
Oh honey, I feel that!! I lost the first ~40 lbs relatively quickly but it seriously took FOREVER to get rid of that last 10-15. I wanted to put my weight loss graph with the original post but I forgot... here you go. Keep in mind I usually didn’t update it if I had gained weight (so all those plateaus basically mean I was bouncing back and forth between the same 5 lbs)
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Thank you for the graph! It's so helpful to see and realize it's not easy for anyone. 4
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Awesome job young lady!1
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Congrats!! Your story is inspiring. I'm curious, how long do you do cardio for every day?1
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You look amazing! Well done. Just wondering, what was your exercise routine? Would you mind sharing what you did?1
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Congrats!! Your story is inspiring. I'm curious, how long do you do cardio for every day?You look amazing! Well done. Just wondering, what was your exercise routine? Would you mind sharing what you did?
Thank you both! As far as my exercise routine: I usually use a stationary bike to get my cardio in, or an elliptical on rare occasions. The length/intensity of my workouts has changed over time. When I very first started and wasn't fit at all, I just did as much as I could (which was usually about 20 minutes of low-intensity cycling daily). I slowly increased the resistance and length of time according to how my body was feeling.
At my very-most dedicated, and when I was losing weight the fastest, I would generally do 2 cardio workouts on the bike per day. One would be higher-intensity, where I tried to keep my heart rate between 140-150 bpm (which is about 75-80% of my max HR). I would do that for at least 45-60 minutes per day, and then do a light-intensity workout (heart rate between 115-130 bpm) for an additional 30 minutes or so. Generally I spaced them out (one in the morning, one in the evening) but not always. According to my fitness tracker, which calculates calories burned based on exercise duration and heart rate, I would burn roughly 350-400 calories on the first workout and 150-200 calories on the second. I did that pretty much every day, including weekends.
After I got into a healthy weight range, I cut back a bit and started only doing the high-intensity workout. I often skip it on the weekends, but I try to do it for at least an hour per day during the week. On the weekends, I still try to be active but it's more low-key. For the last several months, my weekend routine has been to just to walk a couple miles with the dogs.
Hope that helps! There are some weeks where I'm less dedicated than others, but even on a slump I try not to let more than a few days go by without getting a good workout in. Good luck!1 -
You are totally inspiring!!1
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WOW! You look amazing! Congratulations, YOU DID IT!!2
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Wow! You inspired me to throw another cardio session a day in there. You did awesome!1
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Way to go, tanks for posting, very inspiring. Thanks also for graph, I’m at the slow down point, frustrating but calling it recomp! You have done amazing!1
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This was an excellent write up in your success and how to be successful. I am so grateful you shared this!1
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Bee, AMAZING JOB!!! Way to go! Losing weight is not an easy feat, but you did it! You should be so proud of yourself!1
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