Progress Pictures - 25 lbs. lost, muscle (and speed) gained!

emilyjobson7 · December 2013

I have been taking periodic progress photos through the last (almost) year, and though I've 'only' lost about 25 lbs., it is good to look back at where I was and where I am.

In January of this year, I weighed in at 179 lbs. at 5'7". I have been up and down over the years, and have a history of eating disorders, but often end up around 170 lbs. or so if I don't pay attention and stop exercising enough. Over the last three years, I changed jobs and moved in to a higher stress (but very rewarding) career, and also started my Masters program. As well, my husband and I have fertility issues, and with the hormones of IUI's and IVF, I gained a bit more than usual. I stayed away from the scale, but my workplace offered health check in's and this is where I saw what my weight had hit.

After losing four lbs. on my own, I joined MFP in February, 2013 with the aim to slowly lose so as not to trigger my ED tendancies. I took a few months off during field work for my thesis, and in October for my final residency (I finished my Masters about a month ago), but stayed aware of my food and continued to exercise somewhat regularly. During those times, I never lost, but I also never gained.

I used to be a very athletic person, and actually still was. But my body struggled with my cycling and runs, and I never really progressed because I wasn't consistent with my training or nutrition. I am currently training for a half marathon in February (I've done 4 others in previous years) and today ran my 14 km long run sub-six minute kilometre (not counting when I had to stop for a stomach cramp caused by a too-tight water belt, ugh, lesson learned!), which is really good for me. I'm getting faster. I cycle with a team, and took my first step in to racing this past summer as a CAT 5 cyclist. I didn't do well, but always finished. This winter I'm training with the team indoors and am pushing almost 200 watts during my FTP (functional threshold power) tests. For those that don't know, this demonstrates the power I am putting in to the wheels, and 200 for a novice female is pretty good, and better then when I tested years ago as a regular indoor 'spinner' at 170-ish watts.

I am now 150 lbs., which was my first goal. I'm faster, stronger and feel better about myself. I'm in Hawaii for Christmas and New Years and shopping for a bathing suit was not painful. In fact, after seeing how good I looked, I bought four, three of them bikini's.

My next steps are to drop more fat, but gain muscle. I downloaded the New Rules For Weightlifting for Women and will start up when I get back from Hawaii mid-January.

I don't post often, but read your success stories and they inspire me, so I wanted to share my own. :-)