47 lbs. Down and Going Strong! (Pics....I hope lol)

Hello all. I am celebrating as I quickly progress to my 50b lb. mark. My starting weight (and the last straw) was 285 lbs.; a depressing place to be after having been a lean, muscular ballet dancer. After having danced for ten years, at the age of fifteen, I was forced to quit dance, because of excruciating pain that seemed to have begun after a serious neck injury. I thought I could deal with the discomfort, as I hoped to be a professional dancer, but it progressively got worse, and I had no other to choice but to quit. I was devastated as I watched the pounds pack on. It seemed as if it would be impossible to exercise again, and I felt like I was going to be forever trapped in an endless cycle of pain and weight gain.

However, two years later (in 2010), I was blessed by God when He brought an amazing nurse practitioner into my life. This NP diagnosed me with fibromyalgia, and quickly put me on medication to treat the disease. Within a matter of three days, my pain was virtually gone and I slowly began to make my way back to my old self. I am sorry to say I had many slips, and kept taking weight off and then putting it back on.

But this past March, at the age of eighteen, I decided that enough was enough; it was time for a change. I joined our local gym, starting at only 12 minutes of cardio and barely being able to lift any weights.
Well here I am now, at 238 lbs. and still losing. I now do approximately 40 minutes of cardio 5-7 days a week, and lift weights regularly. The past several months have been life changing; life changing to the point where I changed my college major to Health and Wellness so that I may become a personal trainer. The best part? My college minor is dance.
I wish you all the very best of luck as you work on your weight loss! It is a long, but rewarding road. And I feel so blessed to have found the MFP community.

God bless,

Christa

P.S. I'm not quite sure how to post these pictures, so I am sorry if they don't show up/appear weird. lol

This picture was at my heaviest weight. I am almost disgusted to look at it lol.


This picture was taken just yesterday 5'10" 238 lbs.