Lost Half of my Body Weight and almost there (With Pics)

bobbijodmb

I have lost 175 lbs and I have 20 lbs left to lose. It is so exciting and overwhelming at the same time. So I thought I would share some motivation for this holiday weekend

Some background info- I have always struggled with my weight. But in 2008 I had hit my lowest-- I had gained a lot of weight and I weight well over 300 lbs. I didn't realize how bad it gotten- i had stopped weighing myself for years and I honestly didn't see the person on the left of the picture. I believe that I have always had a distorted self image. I never see what is there. Even now sometimes- I dont see how much weight I have lost.

So here are some things I have learned and things that have worked with me. I have done all of this weight loss through diet and exercise. And when I say diet- I mean watching what I eat.
**Make small changes- I didn't change everything over night. I didn't start out by giving up all of the bad foods. I started by slowly cutting back on things that were holding me back. And then eventually I cut some of those things out. The things that I have cut out I don't miss. Examples- fast food, soda, juice, bagels- these are things that I would waste calories on and things that I have given up over time. I dont miss any of them
**I used to believe that exercise was the most important part of weight loss. What I have learned is that what I eat is the most important part to losing weight, exercise will help me keep it off.
**Find exercise that you love--- I used to hate working out, now I hate when I can't work out. I used to hate running and now its one of my passions. Sometimes I just needed to get out of my comfort zone.
**This was not an easy journey. It is one that caused me frustration, produced tears and at some points lots of self doubt.. But in the end, every single one of those horrible moments were worth it. It was worth all of that to get where I am today.
**Give yourself credit. I just remember at one point meeting someone and talking to them about my weightloss. I remember being embarrassed that I had lost 50 lbs, 75 lbs, etc. And I remember them saying to me, wow that i was the strongest person that they knew. I remember thinking that day- that I had to be strong to endure this journey, to keep pushing through when i wanted to stop and when I didn't always have the support. It was at that moment, that i cherished my weight loss.
**I don't give myself 'cheat' days- I look at if I want to eat something, I eat it. In moderation, not to excess and i work it into my calories or I add in an extra workout. Life is about balance, not excess-- just the philosophy that I took.
**Be ok with shopping at consignment stores At the beginning I didn't and I wasted so much money on clothes. None of my clothes from last summer fit me so I had to replace them all. Last summer I really started looking at consignment shops and I love them.
**Take lots of photos- its awesome to see the changes in photos when you can't see them in yourself.
**Enjoy the journey. If I treated it as a destination and only enjoyed that I would have missed so many life opportunities and lessons.

I didn't have any idea or I would have never been able to predict how far I come. This was not in my wildest dream. I have never been this small as an adult. so to me, you just never know where you can go until you push yourself to get there. I would have laughed if someone would have told me that I would have run two half marathons in 28 days recently. I never thought I would do one. I would have laughed at someone had they told me that I would be wearing the size I am now. Just keep believing that anything is possible if you work hard enough and stay focused.

If you need some motivation or what not, feel free to add me.


bobbi jo

mfp2014mfp

Awesome, thanks for sharing you are really inspiring. You look so healthy now, you must be so proud :flowerforyou:

MaroneLotz

Holy cow! You have done an extraordinary job. You look simply amazing. I have about 180lb to lose, but when I look at that huge number, my throat starts to close up. So I prefer to look at how much I have lost already in one short month. Thank you for sharing and being a huge inspiration to me.

mikemsu

Congratulations on your amazing new life. You look great. It's not an easy journey but one well worth it.

katya_be

You look amazing! Keep doing what you are doing

Fat_Bride93

Wow that's amazing! Well done you! You've really made me think that my goal of 6st in 3 years (before my wedding) is doable! Thank you for sharing your story

gaelicstorm26

You look amazing! Congratulations!

jfauci

You look fantastic!!! Congratulations!

JayPeazy

Amazing! Request sent!

JoelleAnn78

Amazng job! Persistent and dedication pays off

Nix143

So awesome, really well done!

Topsking2010

WOW!!!!

rosehips60

WOW!

geminside

Wow, what an inspiration... You are amazing!!!

steve0820

Amazing results! Congrats!

sarahjanescobie

amazing! well done. you look absolute fabulous :-)

elghee123

Sure doesn't look the same in the picture. Big change.

COngratulations!

Nature_Lover1552

You look amazing!!! Congrats on your success... your hard work definitely paid off!!

ilizzyd

Rock on with your bad self!!!!

pdawnfloyd

Very inspirational! Great job and thanks for sharing your insights along your journey.

1HappyRedhead

AWESOME!! :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

aarnwine2013

You look wonderful and what a story you have to share! Thank you for posting. Friend request sent.

KnitOrMiss

So much of this I feel like I could have written myself. It is wacky. I'm not there yet, but much like you I have that out of body experience of, "No, that's not me" when people congratulate me on the 80-some pounds I've lost. I feel like I've lost 20, because the me that started on 2/19/14 again for goals of health, not weight, is who I identify with the most. I don't identify with the me between 335-350 from 2008 or so who lost 35-50 pounds so slowly over a few years I didn't even notice from a medication change that hard originally packed on 40-60 pounds in about 4 months. I don' t identify with the me from early 2012 when I woke up one day and realized that I did deserve to be happy, and healthy, and to do it all for myself.

I lost 50 pounds then (I joke that I jumpstarted my weight loss by losing the 260 pound weight off my back that was my ex), and I lost the bulk of it in three months (April to June), but over 6 months (January to June) - and actually while eating Girl Scout cookies...I jokingly called it my GS Cookie Diet. However, my life had been on pause.

So when I came back to myself and started again, over two years, I slowly gained about 20 of it back. I woke up one day and realized I wasn't doing this. Health, my health, was a priority, and I would be damned if I was going to stuff myself back in a corner because life hit me like a ton of bricks. I described this journey as more mental than physical, and as a roller coaster, with major ups and downs, a few unexpected twists, and something I just needed to relax and enjoy as it came.

So wow, just wow. You inspire me on a daily basis, and I'm so glad we've become MFP Pals.

Carly

K2Sakura

You really are an amazing person! :flowerforyou:
I will think of your journey whenever I am about to give up..... you are my inspiration!

sbrookes9

WOW!!! You look amazing! Thanks for sharing.

mbadam69

Truly amazing and inspirational! Especially for me, on day 1, where I am starting out and feeling overwhelmed by it all! So glad to read your story!

SexyLovinmeCook

Yes you look absolutely wonderful...Thx for sharing

survivor1952

Love, love , love your post!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What great advice & fantastic attitude.
You are a great role model. Be proud, you did amazing. :flowerforyou:

gert1985

I agree 100% on the consignment shops and LOVE thrift stores for that reason too !
Good for you for doing so well. Enjoy the new you .... You have done fantastic !

SnuggleSmacks

Congratulations! That obviously took a great deal of work, and it certainly paid off!

blf20

Very eloquent.
Congratulations!