Down 66 LBS with pics

I think I am finally ready to post my success story.

I started my weight loss journey in the end of January 2012 weighing in at 185 pounds and being only 5 foot 1 after having 3 kids all by c-section I felt that my weight had crept up on me. I started mainly with your typical diet lifestyle low fat items, lean cuisine tv dinners, splenda/artificial sweeteners and every low calorie item I could get my hands on. I gradually realized that these quick fix foods were not healthy or satisfying my hunger. About a month or so into my weight loss I started reading more and more success stories from other people and realized I really needed to cut out all these processed foods, which made such a difference in the way I felt and the way I processed food. I started running in February with a goal of doing a 10 km race in the summer. I kept my calories around 1200 – 1400 cals per day which was satisfying for me. I got a gym membership and was doing classes with a friend when I could fit them in since I was on maternity leave with my son. It was tough to juggle everything but I was more than determined to make this lifestyle work since the obvious results were more motivating than anything. I started work on May 14th and was weighing in at 135 pounds at that time and had already achieved my 10 km race goal (which I finished in 53 minutes 14 seconds). I decided to start training for a half marathon after that race with a main goal of FINISHING! That was on July 7th and I finished my half marathon in 1 hour 51 minutes and 11 seconds. I was so unbelievably amazed with myself. I still am I can’t believe all that you can accomplish if you really put your mind to it. I can’t even wrap my head around what the heck took me so long to make this lifestyle change. I am so much happier with myself in everything I do. Being comfortable with the way I look has made me so much more confident at work, with friends, just all the time. It’s crazy. Anyways here are some before and after pictures. I have lost a total of 166 pounds and now weigh 119 pounds which I have maintained for about 3 weeks. I’m happy at this weight and have another half marathon planned for October 21st. Hoping to maintain this new lifestyle for the rest of my life and to forward on my new healthy habits to my three children.