Post Before/After Pics

Not really a before and after.. more a before and during:)


Just... awful.



I don't look as awful now

RIGHT ON!!!

Wow! Amazing work, keep doing what you're doing! What's the time between the first and second pic?

About 3 months

Before photo 250lbs was my start weight.



I ended up finding out I was pregnant shortly after I joined here, so I quit coming here and then found out I had Gestational diabetes in first trimester and lost 70lbs in my pregnancy.

This is me pregnant



This is 1 week after I had her. December 25, 2010



This is me 25lbs heavier during Summer of 2011.



Then September 22, 2011 I had gained 25.5lbs back and I was sick of how I looked. I screamed and cried at myself. I hated myself and everything about me. So I decided this was the day my life would change and I have not looked back since.



Today I am 129.5lbs. I've lost 120.5lbs so far. I have 9.5 more to go to hit my weight loss goal. My goals do not end there.

This is me today.



I count my calories and I workout. I eat a 1200 calorie diet I know a lot of people turn their nose up to that here, but that is why I should eat. I do not eat back my workout calories and it's worked for me this far and hasn't stopped working. I've never hit a plateau but that is because I believe, I let myself go over once sometimes twice a week. Not to much but I do let myself go over. I do not deprive myself, I will eat what I want and I will count for it.

^^^ This worked for me too. And you did a beautiful job. Congratulations!

I The 1200 calorie minimum is relative to your BMR. If you are a bigger person this is a low number, if you are small like me this is a large number, barely below my RMR. This 1200 may work okay for most people but for short females like me it's way too much. If you are like me, petite and short and you think you might fall into the same category then you need to seek approval of your doctor. I went lower and when I showed my doctor the research links for eating less in Brad Pilon’s Eat Stop Eat and the calorie guide for me in “The Venus Index Workout Manual” he said “Great. Do it!” So I did and it worked, but I think that is because I am short.

Taller people have more room in their calorie budget to go up or down. Shorter people like me have less room and get frustrated with "eat more" because that typically does not work for us. If you are confused about it don't just listen to the "eat more" bullies, do some research and get approval from your doctor, then tell the bullies who "call you on the pad for eating too low" that you are under a doctor’s care and to please leave you alone.

Once I got leaner I had to taper UP my calories. The leaner you get the less of a calorie deficit your body can handle. It needs to be a long slow shallow deficit. For me still under a doctor’s care, this is around 1000-1200 calories because I am so short, petite, and am under 12% body fat where I truly can go into starvation mode if I ate under 1000 calories. I have supporting documentation below. Again, you must seek your doctor’s advice. No one here can tell you how many calories to eat, either up or down.

Seek advice from your doctor. Myself or anyone else on here can’t tell you how much to eat, or to go up or down. If you have a lot of body fat reserves you would be surprised at how little you can eat (unless you have emotional eating issues or disorders). The leaner you get the less your body has to draw from and then you have to taper up your calories. There is no such thing as starvation mode for woman over 12% body fat or men over 6% body fat. I pretty much proved that for myself by staying strong and building muscle and doing what I did. I'm the leanest, most muscular, and most fit that I have ever been in my life at almost 52 years old. My doctor looked at my blood work throughout my journey and it remained fine even with “taking breaks from eating” for periods of time and eating less. Even now at less than 12% body fat everything is A-OKAY. I am healthy, active, and vibrant, muscular not skinny. I have never had eating disorders nor do I now. If you have eating disorders you should not be on a diet unless you are under a doctor’s care and/or get those issues resolved first. I do not advocate unhealthy eating or promote eating disorders.

While there is no one size fits all I listed the things that worked for me here --> http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/740340-i-lost-60-lbs-at-age-51-anyone-can-any-workout

I found the following quotes helpful for sorting through all the myths plastered all over the place.

What is the exact number of calories for you?

We’ve been trying to figure out an exact NUMBER of calories that everyone should be eating, without recognizing that everyone is slightly different. In truth, the calories aren’t the end game. Your body is. So the EXACT amount of Calories that are right for you is the EXACT amount that will allow you to maintain your ideal bodyweight no matter what some calculator or chart says.

In other words, an online calculator might tell you that you need to eat 2,500 calories
per day to maintain your ideal bodyweight. But the only way to know for sure if this is
the right amount for you is to test it out. If you gain weight or can’t lose weight eating
that much, then you know you need to eat less to lose weight no matter how many
calculators and text books say otherwise.

This doesn’t mean your metabolism is broken, it just means the estimate of your needs
was just a bit off.

-John Barban (The Body Centric Calorie Guide from the Venus Index and Adonis Index Manuals)

The Theory of Fat Availability:
•There is a set amount of fat that can be released from a fat cell.
•The more fat you have, the more fat can be used as a fuel when dieting.
•The less fat you have, the less fat can be used as a fuel when dieting.
•Towards the end of a transformation, when body fat is extremely low you
may not have enough fat to handle a large caloric deficit anymore.

At the extreme low end, when your body fat cannot ‘keep up’ with the energy deficit
you've imposed on your body, the energy MUST come from SOMEWHERE. This is
when you are at risk of losing lean body mass during dieting (commonly referred to
as ‘starvation mode’). This happens at extremely low levels of body fat, under 6% in
men and 12% in women [Friedl K.E. J Appl Phsiol, 1994].

-Brad Pilon and John Barban (from The Reverse Taper Diet in The Adonis Index and Venus Index manuals)

Hello, I am just getting serious about my weight loss and I'd love some motivation by people sharing their stories and especially photos. I am looking for people who are like me, bottom heavy, with thigh/hip/bum problem areas. Most posts show the dramatic differences in the mid-section and while they are VERY motivating, I tend to tell myself that "sure they did it because they don't have a body like mine" I don't want to say that anymore, everyone works very hard to reach their goals and congrats to those who do.

I'd love to see your successes and hope that one day I will be posting my own pics in a topic like this instead of asking!

Okay but know this: Your body loses weight in chunks, not linear. I have found that you can do everything right and your weight loss seems to plateau but if you are patient and keep exercising and eating at a deficit (however slight) you will lose it, it will suddenly "whoosh". There are so many variables for the scale; water retention, digestion, allergies, sodium, carbs, water intake, DOMS, inflammation, the list goes on. People mistakenly think they lose or gain weight when they eat more or less because of these fluctuations.

Losing weight requires tremendous patience. You will not lose it when you want it or where you want it. The body does its thing. Some apparent plateaus can last a month or so. You can not make it happen faster. You must focus on two things; calories and exercise. Nothing else matters. Scales and metrics don't matter. The day in and day out grind of exercise and calories are all that matters. It is not very exciting until things fall into place. You get your victories and you ride one victory to the next.

The scale is a trend tool. The scale is good but put it away and only check once a week and only use it as a trend tool. It will fluctuate, it does not matter. Take front side and back progress pictures at least once a month. You will see differences that the metrics won't tell you and it's that little bit of NSV that will keep you going until the next victory.

My full story here http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/740340-i-lost-60-lbs-at-age-51-anyone-can-any-workout

BEFORE:



AFTER:

I absolutely LOVE that bottom picture of you! That is a really cute picture. Congratulations! :flowerforyou:

Wow amazing!!

Hello, I am just getting serious about my weight loss and I'd love some motivation by people sharing their stories and especially photos. I am looking for people who are like me, bottom heavy, with thigh/hip/bum problem areas. Most posts show the dramatic differences in the mid-section and while they are VERY motivating, I tend to tell myself that "sure they did it because they don't have a body like mine" I don't want to say that anymore, everyone works very hard to reach their goals and congrats to those who do.

I'd love to see your successes and hope that one day I will be posting my own pics in a topic like this instead of asking!

Okay but know this: Your body loses weight in chunks, not linear. I have found that you can do everything right and your weight loss seems to plateau but if you are patient and keep exercising and eating at a deficit (however slight) you will lose it, it will suddenly "whoosh". There are so many variables for the scale; water retention, digestion, allergies, sodium, carbs, water intake, DOMS, inflammation, the list goes on. People mistakenly think they lose or gain weight when they eat more or less because of these fluctuations.

Losing weight requires tremendous patience. You will not lose it when you want it or where you want it. The body does its thing. Some apparent plateaus can last a month or so. You can not make it happen faster. You must focus on two things; calories and exercise. Nothing else matters. Scales and metrics don't matter. The day in and day out grind of exercise and calories are all that matters. It is not very exciting until things fall into place. You get your victories and you ride one victory to the next.

The scale is a trend tool. The scale is good but put it away and only check once a week and only use it as a trend tool. It will fluctuate, it does not matter. Take front side and back progress pictures at least once a month. You will see differences that the metrics won't tell you and it's that little bit of NSV that will keep you going until the next victory.

My full story here http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/740340-i-lost-60-lbs-at-age-51-anyone-can-any-workout

BEFORE:



AFTER:

You look amazing!

These before and afters are SO inspiring! Thank you for posting.