Never thought I could say this......

rosepetals_03

I am now 60lbs down & only 5lbs from my goal weight!!! Whoever said the last 5-15lbs is the hardest/takes the longest wasn't kidding! Since I am so close I wanted to share my story...nothing super inspiring but maybe it will give someone hope to know it can happen if you set your mind to it and believe in yourself. You don't have to spend 2hours a day at the gym to make it work.
I've been overweight my entire life and thought I was just one of those people who could never be "thin". I never really made an honest effort towards weight loss - I would just complain/cry/feel upset about the way I looked but never knew how to turn it around. I'm sure at my heaviest I weighed around 210lbs(I would never step on the scale for fear of what it would say) and on a girl that's 5'2" that's not flattering in any way ('before' picture below proves this). At the end of my pregnancy in 2008 I weighed 190, but a couple months after giving birth I dropped to 165...still not acceptable but I was excited none the less. About 6 months later I managed to gain back everything I lost! In February 2010 I decided start working out 3 days/wk for approx 30min each day(doing a mix of strength training and cardio)...I didnt have a ton of time to spend at the gym as I work 40hrs a week/I'm married/had 1 child at the time. After doing this for a few months I ended up gaining weight (I'm sure losing fat/gaining muscle) but when you put in the effort to get your big booty to the gym the last thing you want to see is the scale moving upwards! I almost gave up hope when I stumbled upon MFP and my life forever changed Once I started logging my calories and actually paying attention to what I was eating the weight started dropping off... I went from 190 down to 176 then I found out I was pregnant in Sept 2010. During the pregnancy I managed to not gain weight because I was eating healthier (actually lost 6lbs) - fast forward to 5 months post partum and I am down from 176lbs to 130lbs (5lbs away from my goal)!!!! I'll be the first to admit I didn't really take official 'before' photos because I wasn't sure this would work....I am a firm believer now! I still enjoy 'junkie' foods like pizza and mac & cheese but in MUCH smaller portions than before - I now eat more veggies/fruits than I ever have. I will never fully give up pop (I allow myself 1 Pepsi a day) and I remind myself a day here or there of 'bad eating' will not add the 60lbs back that I have lost....It didn't get there overnight, it's not coming back overnight but you can't make it a habit. Comment if you wish!
BEFORE (approx 200lbs)
AFTER (ish 130lbs....still 5lbs from goal) excuse the 'blank stare" LOL I was focusing on taking the photo

FitForLife81

Awesome work!!! You look great! You should be very proud

Justjoshin

Wow, congratulations!

JulieSD

You look fantastic!

lmelangley

You look amazing and are a great inspiration! Those 5 lbs will come off.

MaraDiaz

Wow! You'd never know to look at the second picture that you've been overweight all your life. You look like one of those people that has no problem staying skinny.

Butrfli

Awesome Job!!! Much different now and I know you feel better inside and out! CoNgRaTs!!!

spyork

Wow! :flowerforyou:

Fantastic job, you look amazing !

drog2323

AWESOME! you look great! younger too!!

jessyhyde

Wow that is so great Congrats you give me hope thanks for sharing your story!!!

Justkf

congratulations on your success!

lexik09

you look absolutely stunning. i am also on my weight loss journey and has managed to lose almost 30lbs in less than 6 weeks. i too never thought i could do it but now that i am doing it in the here and now, i often wonder why i havent done this years ago. everything just sort of clicked for me and now i am on the road to a healthier new me! congrats and keep up the wonderful work!

charityateet

You are goregous!

virginiejaubin

You did a fantastic job and your story is inspirational! Thanks for sharing! Good luck in acheiving your weight loss goal and maintaining it! Congrats!

geminigirl53

Great!!! Thanks for sharing!

hsk1019

You look incredible and I hope others find your story inspiring. This resource is so much more than just a calorie tracker. As you stated, you started to control portion size and really be aware of what you were eating. I'm so happy for you that you have achieved the results you have achieved. You will get those last 5, I know it!

LeanMeanFitnessMachine

You look fantastic!! Such an inspiration for future and current moms struggling with baby weight!! You go girl!!!

Sherbog

Incredible and a great inspirational post. I like the way you have continued to include the foods you like but in smaller portions. Thanks for posting.

Nicoleo1

Thank you. you are an inspiration. You look AMAZING!

cobarlo14

Incredible and a great inspirational post. I like the way you have continued to include the foods you like but in smaller portions. Thanks for posting.

This is so key to your success!! enjoy in moderation, so simple and it works for me too
Congratulations! Rock that dress! Did I understand you correctly? Your second pregnancy you didn't gain any weight? did you continue to work out? if so what work outs/methods did you use?

You totally are an inspiration!!! Congrats!!! You look stunning and wow, I don't see where that 5lbs would even have to come off of...:flowerforyou:

rosepetals_03

Thanks!! :blushing: You did understand correctly....I didn't gain any weight during my second pregnancy (lost 6lbs). I continued to work out for the first 6 months or so just doing simple strength training with the weight machines (avoiding ab exercise of course) and for my 'cardio' I just walked on a treadmill or outside. The doctor suggested keeping my heart rate below 140 because of the baby so that's what I did... normally I get on the elliptical/cross trainer and my heart rate gets to about 155-160 (according to the machine). I need to get a HRM to get a more consistent/accurate reading. I got lazy during the last couple months so I would just go on walks around my neighborhood...usually for 45mins or so.

pinktink88

amazing hun

Kell_5

Congratulations, you are an inspiration, well done!!!

silvergurl518

amazing.

amazing.

amazing!

you've done wonderfully! enjoy your successes and good luck with the last 5#!

lovelee79

Thank you for sharing ! You look amazing! And your story really inspires me! My weight loss has been a slow struggle, but you have reaffirmed to me that slow & steady wins the race!
Rome wasn't built in a day.

Cheers!!

elimendoza31

YOU LOOK AMAZING...THANK YOU FOR SHARING... :flowerforyou:

rosepetals_03

Thanks so much for all the compliments!!! :flowerforyou: Glad some of you found my journey to be inspiring...yes my weight loss was slow but that taught me even more patience (I was always looking for a quick fix so this definately taught me that a 'quick fix' isn't what works!). Forgot to include in my original post that I used to wear a size 16 (women's plus jeans) and can now fit a size 9 in Juniors or 10 in misses...a size 7 Juniors/8 Misses jeans will fit just fine but I want/need to tone more before they look great on me!

Carfoodel

wow you look great

princess_tia

you look amazing....thank u for sharing!!!!

Teliooo

How lovely you look. It is so nice to hear someone admit that they enjoy the 'bad food' and don't beat themselves up about it all day long. You have taken the healthy attitude and have found something you can sustain. A lot of people could learn from this. You look gorgeous x

rebequitaalonzo

You look absolutely amazing !!!! Wow ! I showed my sister & she was amazed ! You look stunning !!