Quitting weight loss before my goal!

Happyme2009

I think I am going to quit losing weight now... although I am 4-5 lbs away from my goal. From now on I am not losing weight anymore, I want to build muscle.
While I am not done, I thought I can share how far I've come.
I am a 5'7'' female, 1 child , 38 years old, small bones, pear shape.
I started in Jan. 2013 at 151lbs. The first 2 shameful underwear photos I took in Jan. I am an endomorph. I like food and I am “puffy”. That means soft….
SInce January. til now, almost end of April, I became a gym addict.
I exercise 5 times a week. Usually I do 30 min strength training + 15 min abs + 60 min cardio. When I do strength training I do only one body part a day. Once day back, one day legs, one day biceps and triceps, one day shoulders, one day chest…… Belly ( abs) I do every time, about 200 crunches plus 100 sideways.
Cardio I do very heavily. Usually it’s a choice between elliptical and treadmill. I put the elliptical at very high resistance. The treadmill at very high incline. By the time I am done, I am soaking wet in sweat.
I eat healthy. That means for me : fruits, vegetables, cheese, milk, yogurt, chocolate, meat, fish, quinoa, beans, lentils, whole grains, nuts, seeds. I almost never fry stuff, I bake it. I do my best to stay away from bread, pasta, potatoes, rice, corn syrup, sugar ( sweet potatoes ok).
I "cheat" 2 days a week, usually during the weekend. That means I eat anything I want, but not unlimited quantities. … although sometimes I reach 3000-3500 calories, which is quite bad. In my “cheating” days I would have pizza, burgers, cheese cake, ice cream. I have a terrible sweet tooth. Not that I recommend it, but I cannot help it. It would have probably been much faster without these days, but I like food….
During the week I eat about 1700-2100 calories. That is because I eat back my "exercise" calories.
The days I don't go to gym are always "over". I just cannot diet. And I cannot eat 1300 calories a day either, I am too hungry.
Except my 2 days of cheating, I eat about 25 - 30% protein, 20 % fat, 55% carbs.
I take supplements which I don’t log. I take Calcium, Vitamin D, Vitamin C, Omega 3, Propolis, Kelp. Before gym I take 2 tablets of expired Trimspa which I have from a long time ago.
I drink enormous amounts of coffee…. ( half normal, half decaf). I also drink lots of water and herbal tea.
I don’t usually drink juices or pop. Occasionally I have red wine.
Also I forgot to mention that normally Wed. and Fri. I am vegan ( has to do with religion , I am Christian Orthodox). Sometimes other days too.
I have a tendency to be depressive. Or panicky. I haven’t really been depressive since I started exercising!
My stats are these, for 4 months:
5'7 tall
151 lbs to 129 lbs
chest: 38 inches to 35.5 inches
waist: 29 inches to 26.5 inches
hips: 42 inches to 38 inches
thighs : 26 inches to 23.5 inches

Well, I had a nice NSV recently….. some ladies in the gym came to me to ask me what am I doing that I changed my body so fast, so much. Could I train them ???? Haaaaa, me!

Anyways, here is what everyone wants, pictures….. Sorry I blurred my face but I am not comfortable in underwear in public.... Also I do this with a good purpose, hoping to motivate someone who needs motivation.

namkeng

Really nice job! You look fantastic. Thanks for sharing. It's really helpful to know all the choices you've made and the difference these make. :drinker:

gtp2373

Great results! Good work!

Happyme2009

I don't know why I cannot edit my post. ...

Since I had to run and did not finish..... I'd like to thank all my fitnesspal friends, who have been extremely helpful and supportive....

Also I would like to say that one of the most important things is to be truthful in your diary even when truth is unpleasant.

You will be shocked to see how many calories can go in a salad with dressing.... for example.
You will also be shocked to realize that a couple of slices of pizza can be as much as 3 cans of tuna....
or that a grilled cheese sandwich can pack as many calories as an entire box of cottage cheese....
Anyways,

I met some wonderful people on this website. I will not give names, you know who you are and you are in my friend's list.....

I wish them all good luck and success in their quest, and send my blessings to all people, fat and skinny, who have a good heart and desire to improve their health, their life and and their looks

I lost 22 lbs but I think it made a world of difference for me.

luckyjuls

I'm really glad to hear that you eat your calories and look that great. It's awesome for women to see this kind of weight loss. You worked hard for your body and fueled it and you should be proud.

Plus, you eat really healthy. My only question is, why the expired Trim Spa? Lol, that's the one thing that seemed out of place.

Congrats on the new hot bod!

jenilla1

You are exactly my height, weight and age! We do have a little bit different body composition, though. I lift heavy and run cross-country. You look awesome just as you are, but I agree with your plan to stop losing weight and focus more on body composition at this point. When I achieved my goal weight I needed a new goal, so I chose fitness goals. :drinker:

Happyme2009

Thank you all!
A little bit of "celebration" over the weekend and I went up by 2 lbs.... Not worried though
From what I understand I need a little extra calories to build muscles.
Also I changed my routine, from now on it's 45 min weights and 30 min cardio. Hopefully I will build up a little bit!
Lots of love to all of you !

DeirdreGoals

Same age height and weight as I am:) Just shifting to not loosing but hard to get the right balance! Thanks for sharing!

beachgirl172723

You look amazing. Great work !

YouHadMyCuriosity

I'll be honest, I saw your "before" before I started reading, and thought, "she looks amazing!"... and then I read, and scrolled down, and was even more impressed. You looked fantastic before you lost the weight, but now you can really see the toned muscles. If I sae you at the gym, I'd ask you to train me too

musetle

you look fantastic. this is one of my favourite success stories so far

Happyme2009

Thank you all! By now it's almost Christmas and I managed to maintain between 128-131 lbs. I am eating tons , roughly 2000-2500 cals a day, no diet. Still being active although my gym has gone down to 3-4 times a week max, no time. My learning lesson : park far away from any store, walk , and put away the guilt. And on my fasting/ vegan days , always supplement with vegetarian protein. I found out that eating sweets is ok as long as my macros are ok.
Oh , and I love my fitbit. Amazing toy to keep me motivated.

FindingMyself24

You look great!!