Down 30 lbs, going for bonus!

PippiNe

If someone had told me back in May that I would look like this by fall, I'd have laughed in their face. But here I am! I started using My Fitness Pal and exercising 15 weeks ago (May 31st). My goal was to get back to where I was before I started having children and maybe lose a few extra pounds (as I was not satisfied with my weight back then either - lol.)

I'd have to say I'm a typical mom. First kid, I lost most of the baby weight and came within a couple of pounds of where I was pre-baby. Second kid, the weight didn't come off so fast and then suddenly we were pregnant again! After 5 kids (plus one 2nd trimester miscarriage), I found myself frumpy, overweight (154 lbs, 5' 4"), facing my 40s and not knowing how to get out of this funk. I tried several times over the past 3 years to follow my husband's P90X program to lose weight. But I just couldn't keep up with the long workouts on top of doing all the things I had to do as a mom.

Then I talked to a friend from work who had recently lost 17 lbs. She told me about MFP and Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred. I was so excited, I bought the dvd that night after work and started two days later. I wanted to lose weight as quickly as possible since summer was quickly approaching. After I plugged in 2lbs/week weight loss, MFP set my calories at 1200. I started out eating only the 1200 it allowed, but I soon realized that was not enough to keep me going. As many have advised and I now understand, I needed to eat back my workout calories too. So for the past 3 months I've eaten anywhere from 1400-1500 calories a day and burned off about 250-350 in exercise.

I wish now that I would have taken a picture this spring when I started, but I didn't. I did have one though from one of my failed attempts to do P90X a couple of years ago. I weighed about 10 lbs more in my "before" picture than I did this past May.



The jog bra is different, but the swim bottoms are the same. You can see how stretched they were by the "belt" and how loose it is today.







Here I am in the first bikini I have worn in 20+ years. Though I still have some toning to do, I'm pretty happy with how it fits )



Couldn't resist showing off the muscles I developed. Thanks to Jillian Michaels!!!! Can't say I've ever owned a set of biceps before - lol!

I've reached my goal of 30lbs and am now going for a few extra so that when I move to maintenance I'll still be at or around 123. To all the moms out there, it really is possible )

luisalg14

Awesome! You look hot!

echofm1

I'm not seeing the images

PippiNe

OK my pics didn't work, they cut off all the "after" ones, I'll keep trying )

PippiNe

(OK, trying this again! Sorry, my first time trying to load pics)


If someone had told me back in May that I would look like this by fall, I'd have laughed in their face. But here I am! I started using My Fitness Pal and exercising 15 weeks ago (May 31st). My goal was to get back to where I was before I started having children and maybe lose a few extra pounds (as I was not satisfied with my weight back then either - lol.)

I'd have to say I'm a typical mom. First kid, I lost most of the baby weight and came within a couple of pounds of where I was pre-baby. Second kid, the weight didn't come off so fast and then suddenly we were pregnant again! After 5 kids (plus one 2nd trimester miscarriage), I found myself frumpy, overweight (154 lbs, 5' 4"), facing my 40s and not knowing how to get out of this funk. I tried several times over the past 3 years to follow my husband's P90X program to lose weight. But I just couldn't keep up with the long workouts on top of doing all the things I had to do as a mom.

Then I talked to a friend from work who had recently lost 17 lbs. She told me about MFP and Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred. I was so excited, I bought the dvd that night after work and started two days later. I wanted to lose weight as quickly as possible since summer was quickly approaching. After I plugged in 2lbs/week weight loss, MFP set my calories at 1200. I started out eating only the 1200 it allowed, but I soon realized that was not enough to keep me going. As many have advised and I now understand, I needed to eat back my workout calories too. So for the past 3 months I've eaten anywhere from 1400-1500 calories a day and burned off about 250-350 in exercise.

I wish now that I would have taken a "before" picture this spring when I started, but I didn't. I did have one though from one of my failed attempts to do P90X a couple of years ago. I weighed about 10 lbs more in this picture than I did this past May when I started.



The jog bra is different, but the swim bottoms are the same. You can see how stretched they were by the "belt" and how loose it is today.







Here I am in the first bikini I have worn in 20+ years. Though I still have some toning to do, I'm pretty happy with how it fits )



Couldn't resist showing off the muscles I developed. Thanks to Jillian Michaels!!!! Can't say I've ever owned a set of biceps before - lol!

I've reached my goal of 30lbs and am now going for a few extra so that when I move to maintenance I'll still be at or around 123. To all the moms out there, it really is possible )

PhoenixEve

Wow, great job. And after 5 kids... seriously amazing. You must feel wonderful!

Donald_Dozier_50

Wow, you look fantastic. Your transformation is amazing and you are absolutely beautiful.

eahill4

Way to go sexy lady. You look fantastic.

lilliann7877

wow! you look so good! your waist is so tiny... very inspirational!

Cortneyrenee04

Wow!!!!!!! You look sooo great and so happy I love your beautiful curly hair!!

Imcharmed

You look amazing, well done.

funkim55

Congratulations!!! You look fantastic!!!

Keep up the good work!!

Any diet tips?

PippiNe

My best diet advice is to remember that you are human. You will have bad (binge) days, your weight will fluctuate, there will be days you don't have energy to workout, and there will be days where life just happens and you don't have time to think about diet or exercise. Just don't let those occasional days throw you off your game!! Wake up the next morning and start anew. I used to think that one screw-up would just completely blow my diet and so I'd give up whenever I had a day that was less than perfect. Then, thanks to a friend, I discovered MFP and learned what dieting was all about. I realized that you can lose weight and still have human failings. It is how you handle those failings that makes you stronger the next time )

olehcat

You look really fantastic! Congratulations!

losingw8now

Congrats - I even see a little of the "6-pack" around the mid abs. Good work - and good for you for losing before you got older when it is harder!!

stuzzie

You look great, well done :-)

Unknown

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Naaer

Way to go...You can really tell the difference...


Reaan:bigsmile:

mournemaid

Did you really bring about that much change since may. Such an inspiration. Well done and thanks for sharing

floop1207

such a transformation in a short time! you look amazing

Care76

Congrats you look amazing!

Can I ask how many times you did the 30ds? If a few times, did you break in between? Did you do it every day or like 5 x per week? I have thought about buying it but I go away once a month and I know I will have days I just can't fit it in with being a mom and having two jobs.

Contrarian

Very well done. You must feel great!

sydneyplainjane

You look amazing! And, thanks, also, for your open diary. I always like to peek and see what people in the Success Stories thread were eating to get them where they are now.

AnitraSoto

Congrats on an amazing job well done - you look fabulous!

DarthMom280

Wow! Well done!

PippiNe

Thank you all, it feels great to have your hard work validated )

Mournemaid: Yes, this pretty much all happened since the end of May. As I mentioned, when I started, I was about 10 lbs lighter than my "before" picture, but I hadn't exercised in over 2 years. So you can basically envision the same flabby body just slightly smaller ("the girls" were probably the most changed since this pic was taken as I was still nursing my daughter then). These were my measurements the day I started and now:

Hips: 42.5"

---

> 36.5"
Waist: 34"

---

> 29"
Bust: 36.25"

---

> 32.25"
Thigh 24.25"

---

> 20"
Calf 15"

---

> 13.75"
Arm 12.75"

---

> 11"

Can I ask how many times you did the 30ds? If a few times, did you break in between? Did you do it every day or like 5 x per week? I have thought about buying it but I go away once a month and I know I will have days I just can't fit it in with being a mom and having two jobs.

I did 30DS just once. (Will be starting again when my mom is through borrowing it!) I started it May 31st and I finished it on July 23. So I averaged about 4 or 5 days each week doing the video. The 30DS video is broke down into 3 sections (Levels 1,2 & 3). I did each Level for 10 days before I moved on the next Level. I also power walked about once a week for 45 minutes (with my mom) while I was doing that video because I was trying to get her to start working out too ) I didn't take any set break between each Level, because I was not doing them for 10 days straight.

I did my best to follow Jillian's "advanced" example, but if I couldn't, I did the beginner move for the first 5 days then pushed myself to do the advanced for the last 5 days. I also found that this workout travels well. We took a week long family vacation and I took the dvd with me. I used the kids' portable dvd player and took my 5 lb and 8 lb hand weights with me. That's all the equipment you really need. I used the motel's exercise room to do the workout so as not to disturb the room below with my jumping up and down.

The most wonderful thing about that video is how much Jillian accomplishes in such a short workout. Every exercise works multiple body parts (working triceps while in a squat position to work the glutes, etc.) I can totally understand having a tough time fitting it all in a day, but with 30DS, you really can. It literally takes 25 minutes from start to finish and that includes both a warmup and cool down.

After 30DS, I did Jillians' Ripped in 30 and am now doing her No More Trouble Zones workout.

Good luck to you all on your weight loss journeys!

MyJourney1960

you look great! and gave me the motivation i needed to do the 30Ds (i wasn't sure it was for me)

Melai17

you look amazing! I want to be like you. I am up to 147 lbs. I used to weigh at 120-125 lbs. I am new here and would like to know if brisk walking will help me achieve my desired weight goal of 120lbs. I cannot jog as my head aches whenever I run. I can only do brisk walking. But honestly i am lazy exercising. May I know what were you eating to achieve this look or you are just following the 1200 daily calorie? Thanks in advance.

lin7604

you look amazing! congrats... how tall are you

PippiNe

I'm 5' 4". My hubby swears I look taller now that I am thinner, so that's a good thing ) As for what I was eating, I love my breakfast cereal, so I usually ate a very large bowl of Cheerios each morning. Lunch and supper varied depending on what I was feeding the family. I usually ate the same meals they did, just smaller portions. However, some meals we'd have that were processed (like frozen pizza, hot dogs or burritos) I'd eat leftovers of something healthier or a chef salad. I tried to keep hardboiled eggs on hand at all times as well as some grilled chicken or roasted turkey. I eliminated most bread from my diet, I ate hamburger patties with no bun, wraps instead of sandwiches. Or if I had to have a sandwich, I'd eat only half of one. I kept a loaf of whole wheat in the freezer and just took it out a slice at a time when I needed one. The calories in bread were just not worth it to me to eat. I usually did not eat potatoes if I served them unless they were baked (no scalloped or mashed).

Melai17: I'm sure brisk walking could help you reach your goal. The biggest thing is eating at a calorie deficit. The exercise will help speed up the process and help make sure you like the way your body looks when you reach your goal, but exercise alone will not usually burn enough calories for you to lose weight without cutting back your calories.

jrfit79

Thank you for your post!!!! You are absolutely inspiring and make me want t keep going with Jillian's DVDs....going to order No More Trouble zones....I have already been doing the other two. I need to just keep going like you did!!! Thank you!!!!