Pix!! 196 to 132 & mom of 4 (8, 5, 2, & 7 months)

suemay1122

wow.....congrats to you...you look awesome...i just need to lose 10lbs but its so hard....thanks for sharing...

DanaC43

Wow! You look GREAT!! Great job...and good luck with ALL those sweet children too!!

JudoJones

beautiful, thanks for posting. Great motivation!!

33nessy

well done! thanks for the inspiration!

Juleswithaplan

You look fabulous!!! Thanks for posting and cheers!!!! !:drinker:

better_days_ahead

AMAZING!!!

You look absolutely beautiful! :flowerforyou:

sdhorne

You look amazing! Sure your kids and husband are extremely proud of you.

hoop77

You are my inspiration, I am pregnant with my 4th and dream of being 135 after the baby comes. Great job! You look fantastic!

SmartFunGorgeous

Way to go- you look amazing! LOVE the "after" dress!

Kiwijay

WOW look at you...well done!

MeredithRN

You look fabulous!!!!!! :-D

NikkisNewStart

Thank you everyone for the sweet compliments! It felt so great to get all dressed up. We went to our first Mardi Gras ball last night and that was the first time IN MY ENTIRE LIFE that I have ever worn anything strapless... never a shirt, never a dress, anything! I felt amazing!

I will edit my original post in a few minutes to include what I did to get here! Again, thanks so much!

Just realized I am too late to edit my original post so if you see this message... here is how I've done it and continue to live my life.

1. Allow yourself time to learn and make mistakes. It is unfair to expect a 180 degree change overnight. If you go out to eat 5 meals a week, strive for only 4 this week, and 3 the next week, and so on. Little changes snowball. It is unfair to expect to learn how to eat clean and healthy foods overnight when you have been eating crap for years. Give yourself time to learn and evolve. That is how you will make a lifestyle change- by slowly evolving. Realize that going over your calories does not make you a failure. Food does not define you and does not dictate your emotions. It is there to nourish our bodies- that is IT. You are more than the sum of the food you eat- remember that. If you mess up and binge... oh well- start from this moment forward and do the best you can. Most of all- DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, GIVE UP BEFORE YOU REACH YOUR GOAL. You can, and will, do this. It can be frustrating, time consuming, piss you off, and make you cry... but it is worth it. YOU are worth it. Keep going.

2. Stop eating processed food as much as you possibly can. No one can be healthy and eat fast food or in restaurants the majority of the time. It just isn't a reality. I had to realize that and drop that junk like a bad habit. The more I educated myself about the purpose of nutrients and how processed food is manufactured... I realized that I am better than that. Yes, I said it. I'm a food snob and you should be too. You are a valuable human being. Your life is worth more than a 99 cent taco full of ingredients you can't pronounce. Be a food snob. You deserve it. This means that I cook a lot more at home. I actually enjoy it now! I try to eat the most food without a label as possible. Do I still eat at restaurants and have cookies and candy bars? You bet I do. Do I know what's in them is worthless to me nutritionally? Yes, and I still make the choice to have those things sometimes. That's life. The majority of the time, however, I eat clean and enjoy eating clean. You will be SHOCKED at how good food actually tastes when you detox off of preservatives and processed food. It truly is amazing.

3. Drink water. I drink only water and have coffee (b/c I love it). I buy flavored ground coffee to avoid flavored high calorie creamers. I prefer to eat my calories and not drink them and I love water now. All water is not created equal. If you hate the taste of water- try out different types. I prefer purified water at room temperature. I guess I'm a water snob now too. Haha. Whatever it takes to get you drinking it- do it. It makes a world of difference.

4. Don't just focus on losing weight... focus on being healthier. This means EXERCISE. You need to combat that visceral, hidden fat that surrounds your internal organs... not just the muffin top that hangs over the pants. Heart disease, diabetes, cancer... you don't want any of that! Your goal should be to live as long and as healthy as possible to enjoy the people you love. Don't let "food" rob you of that! Remember- food is only there to fuel your body so you can have a healthy and happy life... make IT work for you! You're in control now!!! Find time to exercise daily... I do lunges and squats while I blow dry my hair... I take the stairs and park far away in the parking lot when I go to the store... I chase my kids around and dance with them, I will do some jumping jacks during commercial breaks. EVERYONE has time to exercise. I have 5 kids and just finished Grad school 2 months ago. I have a husband and a full life. There is no excuse. You are worth it. Your life is worth it. Get moving!

5. Be honest with your food diary. I opened mine up to my friends. I am not hiding anything anymore. If I eat junk, it is there for the world to see. I don't make excuses about it... but my friends are there to offer suggestions and constructive criticism. I DO NOT TAKE IT PERSONALLY. Remember- food does not define you. It does not dictate your emotions. It is arbitrary. Because I have a bad diary day does not mean I am a horrible person or a failure. The diary is there as a means of data collection. USE THE DATA TO CHANGE YOUR BEHAVIOR. If you are not losing weight, analyze your diary or find someone who can help you. Find the culprit and MAKE A CHANGE. Why keep doing something that isn't working? I plateaued for a couple of weeks and a friend suggested that I INCREASE my calories... what? Eat more? I did and BAM- on the losing bandwagon again. Ask for advice and help and get information from reliable sources. Do your own research and be critical of experts. This is your life you are dealing with and it is precious!

6. Come to this site every day for motivation and encouragement. EVERY DAY. I wanted to quit more times than I could count and I kept coming to success stories every single day. It gave me the motivation to keep logging and exercising 'just one more day' and those 'one more days' have snow balled into 7 months later and I am now at goal. I still come here every day.

I am a real person just like you. There was no magic pill or get skinny fast treatment that I used. I am a busy mom & wife. I put 110% into every other aspect of my life except myself and I was digging my own early grave. One more day. Keep going. You CAN do it. Friend me if you want support and motivation and I hope to get the same from you guys.

Thanks for reading!

sunshinel397

Great job! You look awesome!

wanitalilly

YAY! I am at 196 and I hope to get where you are!! Congrats!

wanitalilly

This just made me tear up!!
Thank you!

kag0719

You look awesome!!! I hope I can reach that some day!!

mltdown

You look amazing! You have so much to be proud of

rayvn

So awesome to hear!!! You look awesome

NikkisNewStart

Wow thank you everyone for your kind words. I truly appreciate each and every comment! This site has been the best thing to happen to me. I can't stress it enough... I have my life back thanks to the tools here and the information I have found and support from each and every person here. It has changed my life. You can do it too, I promise! Don't give up!

I look forward to reading all of YOUR success stories!!!

wintervixen78

Amazing, you've done so well! Congratulations on reaching your goal )

silverlil

you look great, to tell you the the truth, i was about the same weght when i had my son and after ans still:explode: :explode:

AmandaHammill

Thanks so much for sharing your pictures/story! You look so healthy and energized now! congratulations!!

FaithandFitness

awesome job, what an inspiraltion

page68

You look lovely - healthy and happy. Be proud you've earned it!!!

justahorsen

WOW!! you look terrific!!!

EightDMB

Thanks so much for sharing your advice and story. You look amazing and I took your advice to heart.

manymuses

You are a true beauty!
How inspiring to all of us who still have a ways to go! Congratulations on all your hard work and dedication!

mmellor

Absolutely Amazing!! Thank you for your post!

forever28

Hot mama!! Good job! :flowerforyou:

gertrude13

this is an inspiration honestly thank you for posting! i really appreciate the MFP community because of these kinds of posts as well as those that give practical advice on achieving weight loss