Halfway to Goal, 32.5 pounds down (pics heavy!)

MFPfriend
MFPfriend Posts: 1,121 Member
Wow, so, let's be honest: Even the whole time I was trying to lose weight, I never actually thought of myself one day hitting a goal. I was doing this because people thought I couldn't... that was honestly my only reason. So I never actually could see myself one day being on the Success Stories board, saying "I'm halfway to my goal weight!" I never even really had a goal weight in the beginning, actually. I just recently found out a good goal weight for my body (I've set it at 140). So I guess that's why I didn't really realize it when I hit the halfway mark, because I had never really strived for that goal.
So anyways, I hopped on the scale yesterday, saw a nice 172.5. Thought to myself "Oh hey, that's cool." Crunched the numbers right now and immediately thought, "Holy *kitten*! I reached the halfway mark!" And being an MFP junkie, I knew the first thing I need to do was to post a success story. :D

(FYI, some of these pictures are old, from when I was 16 or 17. I never really took photos of myself after that- too afraid- so these were all stolen from my tagged photos on Facebook, haha).

Highest weight- 205
Current weight: 172.5

So the first picture- YES, I know I look like a man (that's actually a good thing, since that was our goal. I was playing Hercules who had lost his way and become a fat old man. We squished my then-massive boobs down, but the fat hanging around was quite convincing for my part. By the way, the eyebrows and beard were fake!) My weight here was probably around 200, though I refused to weigh myself at that time.
xgkw7n.png

Here's another one from the same weekend, I believe:
2l6ptf.png

And this one was from my VERY highest weight, 205 (the dress was a size 20):
a0xpie.png

After seeing that photo, being disgusted with myself and constantly being fun of by my family, who said I would never lose weight, I decided to change. After I had finished school, I was going to be a foreign exchange student in Germany. Did I want to protray the stereotypical, overweight American? NO. So I started watching what I was eating. I didn't exercise in the beginning, but I stopped shoving crap into my mouth. I lost my first 20 pounds that way.

So, right before I left for Germany, I went to a formal dance with my study abroad program. I actually got "asked" (I would have gone anyway, haha) to the event. Even though I didn't feel that pretty at the time, I was extremely happy with myself and wasn't so self-conscious.
Here's a picture of me at 185, hanging out with the foreign student from Germany:

20p96kh.png

So while I was in Germany, I did not actively attempt to lose weight (I knew I only had one year to enjoy it, so I was going to enjoy it to the fullest. I was okay if I gained 20 or 30 pounds, it's normal for exchange students). I adopted the German lifestyle- healthy eating (well, for the most part) and lots of exercise! I joined a badminton group while I was there. I had never played before, but my skills improved quickly, and I found myself enjoying the game, playing 3 or 4 times a week for 2 hours each time. According to the scale, I only lost about 5 pounds in Germany, but I can see a huge difference from when I first got there to when I left Germany. I gained a lot of muscle and lost some fat. This picture is me around 180ish.

1zlpx61.png

So after my year in Germany, I came back home to America. After a couple days of eating crappy food and getting sick each time, I realized it was time to continue my journey! I started back at counting calories, got a gym membership, and started exercising regularly. I can see such a difference from my "before" pictures, and I'm more than happy to be showing off my "during" pictures.

I can't wait to see what I look like when I get to my "goal weight"!

At 172.5:
bfgakz.jpg and 30jgyvo.jpg

To all of you guys out there just starting out, or stuck on a plateau or if you just feel like giving up- YOU CAN DO IT. I promise you, keep going, plug on through. It's so worth it in the end (and I'm not even to the end!). I'm so happy now. I wake up in the morning with a smile on my face, happy to be alive and healthy. My confidence is literally SOARING every day. I look at myself in the mirror and think "D*mn, she's hot!"

P.S. Sorry it was so long, haha. I'm a bragger, what can I say? ;)

Replies

  • Ashonym
    Ashonym Posts: 172 Member
    You deserve bragging rights. You look great! Excellent work! Just what I needed to see before getting some shut eye, haha. Keep it up. :)
  • Good job! :)
  • Tabby1980
    Tabby1980 Posts: 75 Member
    Well done you! You more than deserve to be proud of yourself :) What a great transformation! xxx
  • Jena_72
    Jena_72 Posts: 1,057
    great work!
  • You've made such a diffrence and you look fantastic! Well done and congratulations!
  • LauraMarie37
    LauraMarie37 Posts: 283 Member
    Congratulations! Great work and badmitton is so fun!
  • pippyrlz23
    pippyrlz23 Posts: 40 Member
    You look great!
  • glittermouse
    glittermouse Posts: 582 Member
    No, it's not bragging. You've worked really hard and you look great. Good job. Oh, and--
    xgkw7n.png

    ^^^ love, love, love this picture. lol.
  • cprys8942
    cprys8942 Posts: 99 Member
    This may sound weird but your most recent pictures are exactly what I look like now. And my goal weight is also 140lbs lol. Great job(:
  • shalynna89
    shalynna89 Posts: 324 Member
    You look great!! I loved reading your story..probably because I can relate to the starting out to prove people wrong! You have fine such a good job on losing the weight and you definatly deserve to brag!
  • MFPfriend
    MFPfriend Posts: 1,121 Member
    No, it's not bragging. You've worked really hard and you look great. Good job. Oh, and--
    xgkw7n.png

    ^^^ love, love, love this picture. lol.

    Bahaha, me too! People were walking by, seeing my pretty-convincing stubble and fake eyebrows, then hearing my obviously female voice. The confused faces were insane, haha. :D
  • TDGee
    TDGee Posts: 2,209 Member
    You have done such a great job. I am so proud of you!Now go clean your room, it's a mess! smiley-happy110.gif
  • MFPfriend
    MFPfriend Posts: 1,121 Member
    You have done such a great job. I am so proud of you!Now go clean your room, it's a mess! smiley-happy110.gif

    Haha, I'll get on that soon. Can I count it towards my exercise calories? ;)

    Sad thing is, you saw the clean side, haha.
  • kierra28
    kierra28 Posts: 68 Member
    Congratulations!!! amazing journey :) you look fab...and your dance gown is so very pretty...you are looking gorgeous in that pic :)
  • Well Done, You look amazing, keep up the hard work!
  • anu_6986
    anu_6986 Posts: 702 Member
    You look great! well done!
  • risefromruin
    risefromruin Posts: 483 Member
    You look awesome and I love your story!!
  • MFPfriend
    MFPfriend Posts: 1,121 Member
    Thank you everybody! The nice comments really made my day!
    I love MFP! :)
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