New to MFP, 35 lbs lost (lots of pix)

Brittonloves

I'm Britton, 22 years old, and my weight has gone up and down in a huge way since I was 13. I've done every fad diet under the sun and had pretty good success with almost all of them. But the weight always came back because it was a DIET not a LIFESTYLE.

Then, on Mother's Day of last year, my best friend and I came home, exhausted from our ridiculous weekend at work (we're waitresses and it's one of the toughest weekends of the year) and we plopped down on the couch to drink some beer, eat a ridiculous amount of fried food, and ***** about our crazy customers. The thing is, though, instead of doing that- I had a meltdown. I was weighing in around 170 lbs at 5'3" and my BF% had to have been WAY up there. I was SO tired. I started bawling on the couch and finally reached that point where I KNEW I couldn't live like that anymore. I couldn't hop on a diet and lose the weight, knowing that it was just going to come back, and I couldn't keep sticking my head in the sand like I had been doing for the six months leading up to that moment, eating and drinking whatever I wanted and pretending not to care what the result was. So my best friend, being an "action-oriented" person said, "Okay, so we'll start making changes." And we did.

It was important to me to not count calories at first. I just started making healthier choices. I know that sounds so simple... and it really was. I started going for walks with friends, and not eating cheese-fries, burgers, and bar food for all of my meals. I knew that if I went crazy with it and lost a lot of weight really fast, it would mean putting myself in the same cycle of up/down that I'd been in since I was a kid. For the first time, I didn't want to try the newest LOSE FAT FAST plan, I just wanted to lose it at a steady pace.

In about a year's time, I lost 35 pounds just by making a lot of small changes. But I wasn't in good shape by any means, just slimmer. Then I went to Rugged Maniac (a 5k obstacle race) to support my friends, and I realized that I wanted to be able to do that! I wanted to be able to participate, not just take pictures and cheer on my fit-friends. So I found a race I wanted to do as a goal-- Warrior Dash, which will be near me in November, giving me plenty of time to get ready. I started talking to my friends about it, getting myself psyched up, and then I started training.... hard. On April 10th, I hired a personal trainer who I now workout with 3-4 times a week, and I've started watching my diet very closely. The whole "just make healthier choices" thing worked for me to slim down, but now I'm beginning a new leg of my journey-- the fitness leg, I guess-- and it doesn't make sense to me to work so freaking hard in the gym, then fuel my body with complete crap food. So I'm trying a lot harder, while trying to remember how going overboard always ended up screwing me in the long-run. I'm hoping to find like minded people in these forums and keep motivated. A little less than a month in with my trainer, and I'm already seeing HUGE differences in my body... but I'm not quite ready to share pictures of that yet.

However, here are a ton of pictures from my journey (since apparently, I'm a freaking narcissist). I don't REALLY have pictures of me at my highest weight of 170, but I found some from before/around that time that somehow made it into digital history. So here's a bunch:

eating cookies at my sister's wedding April '10

posing with my thin mother and sister at her wedding April '10

with my dad, the other "chubby" family member. April '10

December 31st, 2010

drinking beer at my best friend's wedding April '11

being chubby in my work uniform April '11

Now here are some "during" pictures, I suppose... I like comparing pictures from certain festivities and things... Like NYE to NYE, Halloween to Halloween, etc. Does anyone else do that??

See how my work shirt is baggy around my midsection? It's actually a size SMALLER than the work shirt that is tight on me in the other picture.

December 31st, 2011 (The biggest difference is that this year, there were LOTS of pictures taken, and I was okay with it.)

December 31st, 2011. This is the best friend who said "Okay, so we'll start making changes" when I had my meltdown. She's in the picture from NYE last year, and as you can see, she's also lost a lot of weight-- almost 30 lbs!

Here I am at Rugged Maniac with my friends that ran! This picture really made me say, "Do I want to be the spectator forever? Is thin good enough, or do I want to get fit?"



My face is shrinking! These are pix from when Dustin has visited, starting a year ago and ending yesterday.

&The first time I've worn a bikini since I was 12.

I know I've got a long way to go, but seeing progress helps push me now that I'm working on getting the TONED and healthy body I never ever ever thought I could have. Please feel free to add me as a friend if you're working toward similar goals or whatever... I'm new to this place so IDK exactly how everything works.

EDIT: I think I've gotten the pictures resized as best as I can for the moment...

shimewazaMan

Thanks for the inspiration! You have done a great job and look amazing. And ... I LOVE the ink! )

eprissel

Great Job!!!!

JennaM222

amazing

minime2b

You are looking great!!! Congrats on your success

MisterDubs303

Congratulations on a great accomplishment. I think you looked beautiful at every weight, but I'm sure you feel better now.

pyrowill

Hot hot hot!

Brittonloves

I can't seem to get the images quite right... No matter how I resize them, some of them are still getting cut off. Oh well, here's the end of the "shrinking face" picture that's getting cut off:

MzAJ2012

you look great keep up the excellent work:flowerforyou:

Taitiant

:flowerforyou: CONGRATS!!! WELL DONE INDEED!

SexyCook

MY OH MY!! You look amazing....Excellent job!

cbu23

Congrats on your success and good luck in your race! Thank you so much for sharing. Stories and picture are so inspirational!

Jezebel9

You are rockin'! Sweeeeeeeet!~ I love the tats! You look great!

runfatmanrun

Congrats. You look awesome. I like that you get that it's not about being thin but being fit.

PhatGirlSlim35

Thanks for sharing. You look really good. Keep up the hard work.:happy:

candylooms

You look Fabulous! Great job! I think it really makes a difference when you want a lifestyle change and not just a diet!
Great work girl!

Keeshaja

Way to go you look awesome!

Brittonloves

Thank you so much, everyone! I was really nervous about sharing these pictures, but I feel so much better now. Can't wait till I have more to share after working with my trainer! How wonderful and supportive all of you are.

courtney131

Thank you so much for sharing. I have found myself in very similar situations before (being a waitress and all.). I was quite the yoyo dieter. But I have finally dedicated myself to a lifestyle change! I'm also doing a warrior dash! (June 23rd for me). You look awesome by the way!

dvisser1

That's a really significant change. You look great! Congratulations.

Going from chubby to skinny is great for confidence, but being truly fit is a whole new level of wonderful. Don't be a spectator! Go push your boundaries a little, you never know what fun things you'll find yourself doing and enjoying!

Brittonloves

Thank you so much for sharing. I have found myself in very similar situations before (being a waitress and all.). I was quite the yoyo dieter. But I have finally dedicated myself to a lifestyle change! I'm also doing a warrior dash! (June 23rd for me). You look awesome by the way!

Being a waitress and being healthy is SO hard, right?! I know it's not easy for anyone, but holy crap when I started this big push after watching Rugged Maniac and hiring my trainer (beginning of April) I realized how many unhealthy habits I was still clinging to! It's been rough when people want to go out for drinks after work and I go home instead, or when there's fried food EVERYWHERE and I eat veggies instead. But after my friends and coworkers realized this wasn't just a three day thing, but rather something I was really committed to, they totally got behind me! Have you found the same thing with your friends and the people at your restaurant? Also, YAY for Warrior Dash!!! Have you ever done anything like it? I haven't, and I'm SO nervous!

Brittonloves

That's a really significant change. You look great! Congratulations.

Going from chubby to skinny is great for confidence, but being truly fit is a whole new level of wonderful. Don't be a spectator! Go push your boundaries a little, you never know what fun things you'll find yourself doing and enjoying!

Exactly! And THANK YOU. I have always known how to get skinny... I've yo-yo-dieted my way into skinny a hundred times. But I've never put any effort into really being fit. Working with a trainer has been crazy because she gets me doing things I never imagined I could do, and definitely NEVER thought I would enjoy. But when she gives me a new move or ups the weights I'm using and I think, "This chick believes in me way too much-- I can't do THAT!" and then I do EXACTLY that, it's seriously the best feeling in the world... that feeling of surprising myself and being stronger than I thought... it's very very cool. Easy to get hooked on, too!

MelKut

Great job.... your legs are fantastic!

Brittonloves

Great job.... your legs are fantastic!

wow thanks! I don't quite see it yet, but a friend of mine sent me a picture from her bachelorette party (where I wore a very very short dress) and the only thing in the subject was "LOOK AT YOUR LEGS, YOU SEXY BEAST". My friends are weird but supportive, so I guess it could be worse. Anyway THANK YOU!