200lbs+ to 135lbs - from obese to healthy (with pics)

btwinkles

Awesome!! I enjoyed reading your story and thanks for sharing!!!

NewLIFEstyle4ME

Weight kinda creeps up on you... or at least it did for me. One day you're 'you'. The next moment you're 'you but plus sized and then some'. That was me.

I hadn't had a set of scales for years but knew from my clothes that I was getting bigger... and more uncomfortable with how I looked. I was ill all the time. Exhausted most of the time. And hated the way I looked to the point where I couldn't even look in a mirror. As 2012 ticked into 2013, I'd just had my 4th chest infection in three months and I'd had enough. Next year I turn 40 - I thought 'if I'm this ill now, it's not going to get any better unless i start to look after myself'... so I did. I created an account on MFP and started to log what I was eating.

O. M. G. How many calories are there in stuff?!?!?!?! And how small are *real* portion sizes meant to be anyway?!?!?!

What a wake up call!

My New Year's resolution was to cut the junk from my diet and to get fitter. With the junk, I know some people can exercise moderation, but I can't. One bar of chocolate turns into two. A multipack turns into a single serving. I'm much better off without it and the cravings have completely gone, replaced by healthy stuff I know I won't binge on.

As part of my getting fitter thing, I decided to start the Couch to 5K program. The first time I tried to run I managed 45 seconds, thought my lungs were on fire and that my eyeballs were going to pop with the exertion. I'd picked a quiet lake to run around so that no-one would see my hauling my backside around painfully slowly and it took months before I felt confident enough to run on the streets. And though I could happily have stopped running, miraculously I increased the time I could run from 45 seconds to a minute... to 3... 5... 8... 20... and when the C25K podcast I was listening to said 'you can now call yourself a runner', I could have cried with pride and happiness! Now I can run for miles. Me? The overweight, pushing 40, mother-of-two-who'd-let-herself-go. Or rather, the formerly overweight me. I'm still pushing 40!

It wasn't just fitness though, even with the junk cut from my diet, I still felt like my throat had been cut with hunger a lot of the time during those first few weeks. So, because I knew that a few friends had tried the 5:2 fasting diet and it had worked for them, I decided to have a go. 500 calories two days a week, and 'normal' for the rest of the week. Sounds doable, right? Those first two 500 calorie days were sooooooo ha-a-a-a-a-a-rd! I ended up in bed by 7pm just so I wouldn't eat the furniture in hunger! But gradually it got easier and the weight started to disappear. My chins became 'chin'. My waist stopped being the wobbly bit between other wobbly bits and I remembered that once upon a time I'd had an hourglass figure as my waistline reappeared.

I don't know how much I weighed on January 1st... I know it was more than when I got a set of weighing scales at the end of January. I also know that I'd estimated that I was 30 lbs less than the 200 lbs which appeared on the scales when I stepped on them first of all. I'd been kidding myself that it was bad but not *that* bad. But 200 lbs for someone who's 5'7" makes you obese. Not overweight but obese. How did I end up at 200 lbs+?!?!?!? How I ended up at 135 lbs, I know about. Consistency. Caring enough about myself to get back in control. And getting myself off the couch!

Now I exercise just about every day. I run several times a week. I swim. Cycle. Skate. Walk. I have fun with my kids and have LOADS of energy. My skin is better. My health is better. And I haven't had a single chest infection all year.

Come on 40... do your worst. I'm ready for ya!! :happy:

January 2013 - 200+ lbs (UK size 18 / US size 14)



200 lbs (and starting Couch to 5K)



March 2013 - 183 lbs



May 2013 (the day when my BMI went into the 'healthy weight' area for the first time in years!) - 158 lbs



July 2013 (the day I reached my goal weight!) - 140 lbs



August 2013 (me today) - 135 lbs (UK size 8 - 10 / US size 4 - 6)

I just started doing the 5:2 program and this is my 2nd week in and I haven't been following it as prescribed (I'm not quite eating the 2122 cals on feast days, but kinda close to it AND I'm counting cals on my feast days, even though the programs says not too--did you follow the program exactly? A couple more questions, if you please--I'd soooo appreciate your input....

Did you NOT count calories on your "feasting"/non-fast days and only count your cals on your fasting days?

Which days did you do your fast days? Did you switch them up after a while?

How did you follow the program? What types of foods/drinks did you eat on your fasting days?

Did you eat back your cals on feasting/non-fast days?

Are you still doing 5:2? Do you plan on making this a lifestyle?

:flowerforyou: Thank you ever so much in advance for your reply. Your post is a God Send to me---soooooo encouraging and inspirational!:drinker:

Papillon22

Great job! You look amazing! :flowerforyou:

sklarbodds

Ah-maze-ing! Welcome to your new life!

sarahhorrigan

I just started doing the 5:2 program and this is my 2nd week in and I haven't been following it as prescribed (I'm not quite eating the 2122 cals on feast days, but kinda close to it AND I'm counting cals on my feast days, even though the programs says not too--did you follow the program exactly? A couple more questions, if you please--I'd soooo appreciate your input....

Did you NOT count calories on your "feasting"/non-fast days and only count your cals on your fasting days?

I counted calories every day. I really needed help with knowing how much I was eating and counting calories with MFP is easy and so I just did that out of habit.

Which days did you do your fast days? Did you switch them up after a while?

My fast days are Monday and Wednesday. My weird logic is that Monday is rubbish anyway - coz it's Monday! - so fasting then doesn't make the day any worse. And Wednesday because by the time it's done, I'm more than halfway through the week and not too far from the weekend (which makes me happy! I'm all about Saturday and Sunday!!!)

How did you follow the program? What types of foods/drinks did you eat on your fasting days?

I never exceed the 500 calories on my fast days. I find that drinking plenty of water / herbal teas / black tea keeps me going and then I have three small meals. Breakfast might be melon or strawberries. Lunch a green salad with a few olives and lemon / chilli to dress it or a vegetable soup. Dinner is something like a big vegetable stir-fry or a bowl of chilli / curry. If I'm really hungry in the evening, I've enough calories left for a rice cake or something to take the edge off. The tricky is to stick to watery fruits and vegetables, minimize the carbs and have something protein-based along the way. And remember that you only have to last until the next day and it's more than survivable!!

Did you eat back your cals on feasting/non-fast days?

No. I don't trust the calories-burned estimates MFP gives and I'm sure I probably under-estimate what I'm entering foodwise, so between the two of them it evens out-ish! I also exercise on fasting days - though I couldn't at first. But now I can and it's no problem - so today, for example, it's a fast day and I've been for an 8 mile walk... and I'm absolutely fine.

Are you still doing 5:2? Do you plan on making this a lifestyle?

Yes, I am. But I am thinking about going with 6:1 rather than 5:2, i.e. only fasting one day a week and eating normally the other 6. Or alternatively carrying on with 5:2 but eating a bit more on the other five days. Who knows! The fasting is really for the health benefits that come with it rather than for weight loss, so I'm playing it by ear!

Sarah

NavyKnightAh13

Amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AbbyCar

Bump.

love2lift_85

Fabulous work! You look great and you've earned it!!

SimplyDenyse

amazing, you look great!! thanks for sharing.

SkinnyMsFitness

Great, amazing journey! Thanks for sharing!! Congrats!

Brittanyjoy89

youre amazing and gorgeous!!! so inspiring!

bbgillian

This article is exactly what I needed! I started C25K one week ago and I'm proud to say that I have been a faithful '3 times a week' runner so far....(today is week 2, day 2) but I was telling my co-workers TODAY that it seems completely unfathomable to think that I might be A RUNNER in a couple of months! I'm actually very excited and already look forward to my run. That 25 or 30 minutes is all about ME, and it's a great feeling to know that I'm taking steps to make sure my son has his mother around for a loooong time.

Congratulations to you on your transformation and thank you for this message! It's an inspiration. I hope to be posting pics of myself some day

Angila

You look amazing!! Way to go!! :happy:

jjgirl76

Fabulous!!

Cjando

AMAZING! I am just starting the journey abd the same height as you and about the same SW and same GW. You are an inspiration! I am training for a half marathon to help motivate. Keep it up!

rhondaec

you really look awesome and your such an inspiration!!!

How many calories are you suppose to eat on your non fasting days?

Meghann218

Congrats!!! Thanks for sharing.....great journey!

holliebevineau

You look stunning!!!

haylsquish

This is so inspiring, I can't wait to post my before/during/after pics!


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clairegogogo

wow, you look just gorgeous, great job!

preciousme150

so happy for you, you look great, job well done...

sarahhorrigan

How many calories are you suppose to eat on your non fasting days?

You just eat normally - so 2000 calories for a woman, 2400 (I think!) for a man. If you don't want to eat as much as that on your non fasting days, then that's fine too. I found my appetite reduced generally and I wasn't craving snacks plus my portions were just smaller. It's changed the way I think about food and I now know when I'm really properly hungry and what's just boredom / something else instead. Basically it's dead easy. Fast two days a week - stick to the 500 calories in whatever way you think (but stuff high in fibre / protein and nutritious as possible is your best bet) and eat sensibly the rest of the time. Nothing's off limits, just stick to the calorie limit on the fast days.

drechiz

Incredible work! GREAT JOB!!!

Kalee34

Congratulations! You look fabulous!!!!

sarahhorrigan

This article is exactly what I needed! I started C25K one week ago and I'm proud to say that I have been a faithful '3 times a week' runner so far....(today is week 2, day 2) but I was telling my co-workers TODAY that it seems completely unfathomable to think that I might be A RUNNER in a couple of months! I'm actually very excited and already look forward to my run. That 25 or 30 minutes is all about ME, and it's a great feeling to know that I'm taking steps to make sure my son has his mother around for a loooong time.

You *can* be a runner!! It's amazing how quickly you go from the first few weeks to running 20 minutes plus by week 6. And I would never have thought I could be a runner. I was hopeless at running when I was at school. And had never run as an adult at all. I love that I know I can run. It amazes me every time I run that I'm running. It amazes me more that I want to run and that I enjoy it. Who knew?!?! :happy:

USLJH10

Good for you !
Pat yourself on the back, you did it!

somerville52

Very well done you look great.

Sea_Witch

Did I read it right that you started all of this in January of 2003? If so that is awesome for such a short time. Either way it's awesome because you look like a new woman!

mwhite0578

Thank you for sharing! I so needed to read this! You are truly an inspiration for someone like me with 77 pounds to go. Thanks again!

Shleesme87

Congratulations! We are the same height, and started at the same weight. I just reached my halfway mark and so excited to get the last part of my journey over with so I can finally be myself again. Way to go! You are truly an inspiration.