1 year. 100 lbs. (wordy, but pictures!)

triciab79

Congratulations!! Thanks for sharing! You look fantastic!

MyChocolateDiet

amazing. really. just amazing.

babynew

Absolutely Fantastic :flowerforyou:

mabucher

You're an inspiration! Incredible work, keep it up and you will hit that 135lb goal by your birthday. Thanks for sharing your progress.

superdrood

You look fabulous! Way to go!

Amlynnskie

WOW!! INCREDIBLE job!! You look amazing!

julietoh

Great story, very inspirational:glasses:

joygwen

I am where you started, needing to lose over 100lbs. Seeing your story (and pics) is inspiring. I'm not discounting the users that share successes of using 5, 10, 15 or so lbs but when you have to lose almost what they weigh (or sometimes more!) it sure is great to see others actually doing it. Thanks for sharing.

Vailara

Wow, we started about the same time, but you've lost more than double what I have! It looks like you've really worked for it! Congratulations!

maegmez

You look amazing and what an inspiration you are!

SwimFan1981

You look absolutely amazing! I'm so pleased for you.

stevenleagle

I've been on Mfp for longer than a year and while I too have seen some success am inspired by your even greater achievement. Congratulations!

ChristineS_51

Wow and congratulations :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: - I love the talky talk - how and why you did it, the words mean a lot I think. Great story, great pictures, well done, and best wishes for the rest of your way back to where you will be, I love it - better at 42 than 21 :laugh:

gwyneth55

You look amazing, well done. Loved your post too.

SarahCW1979

Oh look at you!!! Well done, you should be very proud of yourself :flowerforyou:

buttons2455

fantastic hun well done on your journey you have done yourself proud

supplemama

Good job, congrats!!

LTGPSA

Thank you for sharing your journey thus far. Your story shows we have the ability to be in control. Kudos to you on your strength and commitment to a better You! Happy 1 year! :flowerforyou:

XXXMinnieXXX

Incredible journey in just one year! That's absolutely fantastic! Congrats x

sofahogger

You look amazing! Well done. What an inspiration.

lazydaydays

Wow wow wow , you have done so well so inspirational

Looking fab tooo

shaneewilliams51

You are absolutely amazing!!!!

ALittleBitLess1

Well done you, thats great! just starting out and reading others success stories gets me motivated.

LilRiver

Wow! Thanks for all the kind words & support! I'm a bit overwhelmed by the response

I've had a load of questions in PMs and such and, while this is buried at the end of the post, maybe others with similar questions will stumble upon it...


My Height: 5'3-5'4 (it seems to vary)

Weight history: I was not always overweight. I wasn't very athletic as a kid, but I was fit enough and loved the water - swim team, life guard, etc. I went to college a size 5/7. I left college a size 13. I continued to gain through my twenties & thirties. Didn't do much yo-yo dieting or anything. I did try to lose a few times. I did South Beach in my early 30s and went from a size 18/20 to a size 22. I swore off dieting at that point and just resigned myself to always being fat. By 40 I had had enough of that... mostly had enough of finding excuses to not do things I wanted to do and decided to "get healthy". Started walking in December (got a pedometer for Christmas) hit 10k steps six weeks later and looked for a walking/running app to track my walks and discovered MFP in the suggested fitness apps.

Calories & What I Eat: I don't really care what I eat (carbs, processed stuff - none of it is "off the table"). I do try to keep it somewhat healthy (seeing as my goal is "get healthy") but I do eat ice cream just about every night. The last few weeks have been atypical in that I've only been eating 1200-1500 calories. I honestly have not been that hungry (I think it was a mental thing as I approached the big milestone? I hope that's all it is.) and didn't feel like I should eat just to eat. I need to improve my relationship with food and that seems like a quick way to make it worse. Throughout most of the year, I was probably averaging 1500-1800 calories when I was logging and probably 1800-2200 when I wasn't logging and just trying to maintain.

Exercise: I started out by walking. I was super out of shape and anemic to boot (makes you get tired and out of breath quickly). For the first couple of weeks, I was happy to manage walking around the block. Then I walked a short multi-use trail adjacent to my place (so handy!) - out and back was 3 miles. I started walking in January. In March I was in good enough shape (mentally & stamina-wise) to do fitness DVDs/wii fitness games. I would walk or do fitness dvd/game (usually biggest loser wii) every day. Some days I would do both. I got a bug to do a half-marathon and that led me to the elliptical because I was still 220 lbs and it was low impact on my knees. I was very worried about my left knee (it was sore after some long walks). By the fall I felt confident enough (stamina wise & weight wise) to try pavement running. My knee buckled. After a rest to let it recover, I continued with the elliptical (which I really do like). I do it nearly every day for 30-45 minutes at a pretty intense level. Next step is to start strength training with some emphasis on strengthening my leg muscles to help my knee out. I have not given up on the half-marathon. I'm thinking about one in November. Fingers crossed.

eamconnor

All that...AND a fabulous new haircut. Congratulations.

XAVTAY2

Congratulations and you look FABO! Great work

HeidibooJB

Fabulous! I wish every person who is in the position you were in could see this post. It IS possible, it just takes a LOT of hard work, determination, and dedication to yourself. You are truly an inspiration. I love your spirit! Congratulations, and i look forward to seeing those final 'after' shots. :drinker:

rayray61

Wow, thats great !!!!!

perfekta

Great job! You look fantastic!

jakkidoodles

That is amazing! Well done, you are an inspiration xxxxxxxx