40+ lbs gone forever (with pictures)

thenewmanda · March 2013

I never thought I would see the day that I got to post (and be proud of) a before and after photo. Growing up I was naturally thin, once I hit my 20s that changed and between herniating a disc in my back and becoming lazy my weight skyrocketed. At my heaviest I was 205 lbs, I felt absolutely disgusted with myself. In June of 2012 I decided that I needed to make a change for myself. I took charge of my life, got off the couch and started the C25k program. I lowered my carbs, which helped me shed the first 15 lbs, but the fat intake was taking a toll on on my body. I switched to lower fat and watching all my macros instead of focusing on just one. I started walking more, trying to run and taking classes at the gym. The past month I have increased my endurance with running, and can now run 5 1/2 miles cross country and still be able to keep going. I'm training for a triathlon and am in better shape than I was most of my life. I'm still working on the last 20 or so pounds that I want to get off but for the time being I'm focusing more on my endurance and eating cleaner, the scale isn't as big of a deal now as it was before. Today, I weigh 163lbs! It took me 9 months to lose 42 lbs, and I'm ok with that. I lost it in a healthy manner and it's staying off! I didn't beat myself up if I messed up and most importantly for me was that I didn't give up and want to 'start over' after a slip up. I realized that I was human and that one mistake wasn't going to ruin my progress. I'm looking forward to this next year and the changes I will see! If I can do it, anyone can..