1yr. on MFP, 35lbs. lighter. Many things learned! Pics!

Yesterday I hit my one year mark here on MFP. Honestly when I first started one year ago I didn't really know what to expect. Had no idea if I'd succeed or fail at losing weight. I actually bumped into MFP because I had a new iPhone and wanted an app that would let me scan bar codes on food and voila I found MFP!! I also joined a gym at the same time I signed up for MFP.

My stats on September 16, 2011
Weight- 237.4 pounds
Right arm- 14 inches
Waist- 43 inches
Hips- 53 inches
Right thigh- 29.5


My stats on September 17, 2012
Weight-201.8
Right arm-11.5
Waist-38.5 inches
Hips- 46 inches
Right thigh- 27 inches

My original goal was to lose 50-100 pounds by my first year anniversary. That didn't happen, which is hard to accept, when I see so many people who do lose that much in the first year. I've learned that I needed to come to terms with that if I was going to succeed at this little game of getting healthy So, I put my big girl pants on and just kept fighting!!

What I've learned this first year:

*this wasn't as hard as I thought it would be!
*it also wasn't as easy as I thought it would be!
*you can't do this alone, my Heavenly Father who loves me and wants me to succeed at this! Pray for help :-)
*everyone loses at different rates
*don't compare yourself to someone else, just compare yourself to your old self. You'll see improvement!
*give yourself an event to lose weight for...for me a family vacation
*just because you're really heavy doesn't mean you'll lose the weight really fast, some might but I didn't
*I feel better if I do some sort of exercise EVERYDAY!!
*You can lose weight if you're eating everyday food. Maybe this might be why I lost a bit slower but I also wanted to be able to do this the rest of my life. So I pretty much ate what I fed my family, just in smaller portions.
*With that being said, I found myself eating healthier choices of food because I felt better when I did.
*I didn't let one day or even one week of eating bad ruin my whole plan.
*If you make a bad choice put it behind you and start again. You'll do this MANY times, so forgive yourself!!
*My body is amazing and can do amazing things! Give your body a chance and you'll be surprised at what it can do!!
*Having friends who support you makes all the difference! I have an AMAZING group of MFP family!!
*I posted positive thoughts on my "weight loss notebook" Seeing these positive, motivational thoughts helped me keep going!!
*My "weight loss notebook" has recipes, goals, measurements, fitness routine, etc in it
*Log in EVERYDAY if you want to succeed! If you do it helps keep you focused on what you want to accomplish.
*Drink LOTS of water!!
*Get a heart rate monitor and/or something to help you keep track of calories burned (I have a HRM and a Fitbit and love them both!!)
*EAT BACK YOUR EXERCISE CALORIES!! or at least most of them, starving yourself doesn't work!!


I'm sure I'll think of a bunch more things I learned after I post this but we'll leave it at that for now. I still have at least 50 more pounds to go so I'm sure I'll be making a "what I learned after being on MFP for 2 years...haha!" post a year from now!!

Now for a few photos....

September 2010- I'm sure I weighed at least 237 if not a pound or two more



September 2012



October 2011- The beginning of my journey



20 pounds into my journey



Family Vacation this summer 2012







Positive Thoughts That Helped Me On This Journey!!

"A year from now you will wish you started today"

"If you started exercising when you first thought about it, you'd be done by now"

"If you don't go after what you want, you'll never have it"

"Success is not always what you see"

"You don't always get what you wish for, you get what you WORK for!"