Time to start taking progress pics!

determinedbutlazy

I first realised I was seriously overweight when I got to university 4 years ago.
I was 22 and wearing a UK 22... At my highest I weighed in at about 17 stone.



This was me in 2009. Pretty damn embarrassing.



(I'm the hugger, not the hugee)

Then in my third year of university I moved to Japan to study. My diet improved, I walked every day and I began to feel a little healthier. I was still carrying around a lot of weight (especially on my face) but I was happier.





I was still very uncomfortable around cameras and it's really difficult being a tall, fat, white girl in suburban Japan. Seriously. I couldn't find clothes to fit, I got looks, sometimes comments from Japanese girlfriends.



After this picture (taken in Paris in summer 2011) I decided that as soon as I got back to university I would do something about my weight. I didn't want to graduate fat and go back to Japan and have all the same problems.

I started MFP in September 2011 and started a primarily vegan diet (I eat meat about once a month if I want it, I eat honey) I lost 20lb almost immediately. I started training with C25K 4 weeks ago and although the scale hasn't budged much, I have been losing inches.



The pictures from January are from before joining the gym.
The pictures from today are 4 weeks in.

I lift circuit weights (as heavy as I can, short reps) and train for C25K on the treadmill 3 times a week. I also do a basic yoga dvd for core strength and flexibility if I'm feeling stiff.

I feel stronger, healthier and happier. I am becoming more and more obsessed with the way that I feel and not the number on the scale.

You guys might not see a huge difference on the outside, but inside, I feel like a new person.

I still have a lot of weight left to lose, but I'm never giving up. Slow and steady wins the 5K!

ryansgram

Awesome, you look great. Keep up the good work.

madsmith123

You can see a difference!! Well done!

ReclaimingSarah

Well done! You can absolutely see a difference! (Also- I'm currently obsessed with that gigantic bag you are posing with in your first photo. :laugh: )

tdaddybarlow

That is so awesome you decided to make a difference in the way you look and feel. You will inspire others with your journey. Stay patient and keep putting in work! Keep killing it, killer!

flisafakto

You're doing great!!!

Sb65513n

Hey good job on your weight loss. I used to live innJapan in 2007 and had the same issues. I was overweight in Tokyo and couldn't find clothes got stared at and in the end I left because of a lot persecution I went through. It's tough to be different in a foreign country but it's great you are doing something about it. I can't wait to go back to Japan when I reach my goal weight.