De-Lurking to Post my One-Year Success Pics!
fitphoenix
Posts: 9,673 Member
I've been lurking on these forums for the past year, and since the success stories have been so inspirational to me, I wanted to pay it forward and make a post of my own in the hope that I could inspire just one other person.
I found MFP and started my healthy lifestyle on March 11, 2011. Something clicked that day, and I simply decided it was time to stop eating and lazy-ing myself into an early grave.
I gave my habits a complete overhaul: I started as someone whose portions were out of control and who thought take-out, cheese, and carbs were the three main food groups. I never got off my butt and was one of those people who likely would only have made a token effort to run during the zombie apocalypse.
I now go to the gym 4-5 days a week and walk or work out at home most other days. I bought a heart rate monitor and Vibram Five Fingers and like to tell everyone about them. I've run my first 5K. I own almost all of Jillian Michaels' DVDs. I'm familiar with most of the machines at the gym and have just started using barbells as I try to lift heavy. (I've bought NRL4W, and I'm getting calluses on my hands!) I now feel antsy if I don't get a workout in and sometimes need to remind myself how important rest days are.
My stats: I'm 5'4" and started out with a BMI of 34.5 and a weight of 198.2. I reached my lowest weight of 118.4 (BMI 20.3) in February of 2012 and have been trying to maintain since then, fluctuating between 118 and 122 (BMI 20.9). I'm not so worried about the scale these days and am focussing on trying to decrease body fat and increase lean muscle mass. According to my hand-held fat % analyser (not the most accurate thing in the world, I know), I've gone from 44.2% fat to 25.1%. I've lost a combined 74 inches across my body, including 15.5" from my hips and 14" from my waist! I've gone from eating 1200 calories/day when i started to over 2000 these days in order to fuel my body for all my workouts.
I buy loads of fresh foods (shop the perimeter of your grocery store!) and cook many things from scratch. I love to experiment in the kitchen, something I rarely did in the past. I've added whole wheat, quinoa, Greek yoghurt, nutritional yeast, flax seed, almond butter, PB2, and edamame to my diet, just to name a few items off the top of my head. I make my own pizza, pitas, mug breads, and tortillas, and I enjoy them more than I did the store bought versions.
I've never felt better. I've never looked better. And here's the part you've all been waiting for:
This is me starting out (around 194 pounds, size 18-20). Sorry for the headless pics, but I don't like sticking full pics of myself on the internet.
A year later, this is me in the same top and comparably-sized trousers (at around 120lb):
This is me standing in one leg of those old size 20 jeans:
This is me in clothes that fit. (It might be vanity sizing, but it says size 2 on the label!):
And this is what I have to show for my strength-training efforts so far:
I still eat the foods I love and still do activities I enjoy, but I've done my best to constantly push my limits and discover new definitions of those things. I've slipped up more than once, but I just get going again and remind myself that this is a healthy lifestyle that I need to figure out how to maintain for the rest of my life.
I look in the mirror these days and still see all the changes I want to make BUT I also see how far I've come. I see that anything is possible, and I know that we've all got it within us to change our lives and be happy and healthy! Best of luck to all of you on your journeys. ^_^
I found MFP and started my healthy lifestyle on March 11, 2011. Something clicked that day, and I simply decided it was time to stop eating and lazy-ing myself into an early grave.
I gave my habits a complete overhaul: I started as someone whose portions were out of control and who thought take-out, cheese, and carbs were the three main food groups. I never got off my butt and was one of those people who likely would only have made a token effort to run during the zombie apocalypse.
I now go to the gym 4-5 days a week and walk or work out at home most other days. I bought a heart rate monitor and Vibram Five Fingers and like to tell everyone about them. I've run my first 5K. I own almost all of Jillian Michaels' DVDs. I'm familiar with most of the machines at the gym and have just started using barbells as I try to lift heavy. (I've bought NRL4W, and I'm getting calluses on my hands!) I now feel antsy if I don't get a workout in and sometimes need to remind myself how important rest days are.
My stats: I'm 5'4" and started out with a BMI of 34.5 and a weight of 198.2. I reached my lowest weight of 118.4 (BMI 20.3) in February of 2012 and have been trying to maintain since then, fluctuating between 118 and 122 (BMI 20.9). I'm not so worried about the scale these days and am focussing on trying to decrease body fat and increase lean muscle mass. According to my hand-held fat % analyser (not the most accurate thing in the world, I know), I've gone from 44.2% fat to 25.1%. I've lost a combined 74 inches across my body, including 15.5" from my hips and 14" from my waist! I've gone from eating 1200 calories/day when i started to over 2000 these days in order to fuel my body for all my workouts.
I buy loads of fresh foods (shop the perimeter of your grocery store!) and cook many things from scratch. I love to experiment in the kitchen, something I rarely did in the past. I've added whole wheat, quinoa, Greek yoghurt, nutritional yeast, flax seed, almond butter, PB2, and edamame to my diet, just to name a few items off the top of my head. I make my own pizza, pitas, mug breads, and tortillas, and I enjoy them more than I did the store bought versions.
I've never felt better. I've never looked better. And here's the part you've all been waiting for:
This is me starting out (around 194 pounds, size 18-20). Sorry for the headless pics, but I don't like sticking full pics of myself on the internet.
A year later, this is me in the same top and comparably-sized trousers (at around 120lb):
This is me standing in one leg of those old size 20 jeans:
This is me in clothes that fit. (It might be vanity sizing, but it says size 2 on the label!):
And this is what I have to show for my strength-training efforts so far:
I still eat the foods I love and still do activities I enjoy, but I've done my best to constantly push my limits and discover new definitions of those things. I've slipped up more than once, but I just get going again and remind myself that this is a healthy lifestyle that I need to figure out how to maintain for the rest of my life.
I look in the mirror these days and still see all the changes I want to make BUT I also see how far I've come. I see that anything is possible, and I know that we've all got it within us to change our lives and be happy and healthy! Best of luck to all of you on your journeys. ^_^
0
Replies
-
Great weight loss journey! Thank you for sharing!
0 -
Great job!0
-
Glad you came out of lurking to share your story. Big congratulations to you and keep up the good work. I've come a long way, too, but still have more to go. Your story inspires me!:flowerforyou:0
-
oh my gosh! That is incredible! you look great! Wonderful inspiration to me! 0
-
Wow, thank you for posting this! You are such inspiration and example to all of us. Way to go!0
-
amazing transformation! way to go!0
-
Fantastic job!! Very inspiring. 0
-
How motiviating!
I'm just a smidgen over 5'4" and I don't think I've been under 120 lbs since 5th grade! I'm well over that now and was shooting for 145...but maybe I can do better than that.
Thanks for posting!0 -
AMAZING!!!!!!0
-
Awesome job!0
-
You look great. Congrats on your success!0
-
Thanks so much for giving me some hope! What a wonderfully written success story. I too am 5'4" and was shooting for 145 (I am 162 now - 4lbs down). I think the 120's are long gone for me - I'm over 40 and have had 3 children late in life - but now I'm thinking maybe somewhere in the 130's IS possible. Congratulations to you and your perserverance. So very inspiring. What a great post! :flowerforyou:0
-
AWESOME! You totally rock!0
-
Thanks for sharing. Great Job :flowerforyou:0
-
Its people like you, that helps alot of us to know that we can do it too. GREAT JOB!!!!!!0
-
So glad you came out of lurking and decided to post - your pics are simply amazing - way to go!! Awesome job, very inspirational :flowerforyou:0
-
awesome!!=)0
-
Wow! Amazing pics. Well done on your tranformation!0
-
Thanks so much for paying it forward. You look amazing and it's clear from your story that you feel amazing, too!0
-
Holy Moly! That's amazing......congrats on an outstanding achievement.0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393K Introduce Yourself
- 43.7K Getting Started
- 260.1K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.8K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.5K Fitness and Exercise
- 416 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.9K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.6K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.5K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions
Do you Love MyFitnessPal? Have you crushed a goal or improved your life through better nutrition using MyFitnessPal?
Share your success and inspire others. Leave us a review on Apple Or Google Play stores!
Share your success and inspire others. Leave us a review on Apple Or Google Play stores!