One year progress! 5'1, -12lbs, down 2 pant sizes

Hello MFP family!
My name is Anna and I'm 29 years old, 5'1, and I want to share this super long post with my awesome MFP support group :smooched: and any fellow shorties out there even though my journey was very slow and not like the incredible success stories I read on here every day :happy: ......I started my weight loss journey in Feb 2012 at 140 pounds, size 8 and now in (almost) Feb 2013, I'm at 128 and a size 4!

This past year has been a really great weight loss journey for me and I always tell everyone who will listen that the #1 thing that helped me lose weight was MFP and the supportive community...and #2 is my heart rate monitor and now maybe #3 is lifting heavy :bigsmile:

Here is a pic of me in June 2010, at the start of my graduate education



Here is Lunar New Year Celebration in Feb 2012 - pictures from event really opened my eyes.



My pants were getting a bit tighter but I didn't want to go up a size and start a whole new wardrobe. I started to cut back on carbs, increased my water intake, and went to a hot yoga class a few times a week (ya, no crazy cardio!). I lost 4 pounds and feel that the yoga helped strengthened my core muscles although I wasn't really seeing any physical results.

I found out about MFP in June 2012 and started off with 1200 cals a day as the recommended intake. I lost a few pounds through this and down to size 6 but didn't really feel this was sustainable. Then I found the "In place of a roadmap" thread (shout out to Dan for being so awesome and helpful! :flowerforyou: ) and upped my cals to 1350 because I love food and know that I can maintain a lifestyle where I can eat whatever I want, just be conscious of how much. :drinker: I bought a food scale, joined a gym and started to do more cardio work (thanks to awesome cardio theater at the gym and body combat!) and also started doing almost weekly hikes around Las Vegas.

**side note: YES Vegas has awesome hiking all around it! so when you come visit, get off the Strip!!!! :bigsmile: **

Oct 2012 - 5 mile Red Mountain hike, 130 pounds and down to size 4 (my normal size throughout college was a 6!)


Then I became MFP friends with some ladies who were 'lifting heavy' and they looked AWESOME and toned (Hi Bobbie! :flowerforyou: ) and I read about Staci on nerdfitness. And I wanted that. So in Dec I started "New Rules of Lifting for Women", upped my cals to 1650 on non lift days and 1900 on lifting days. Focused on getting 130 g protein and getting good macro numbers. I did NOT gain weight by upping because still under TDEE (but barely) and I did not bulk up!

Results:

Dec 6 2012 - 127.5


Just finished stage 1 of New Rules on Jan 25, 2013 - 128 pounds...but now I can squat 105lbs! :laugh:



What I've learned:
- I can eat more and still lose weight.
- Slow progress will eventual show great results and the scale lies. It's not the scale but how I fit into clothes (7 pound difference between size 8 and 4 for me!)
- Taking pictures and measurements along the way has really helped me stay focused, even during my plateau phase.
- Lifting heavy is awesome, makes me feel strong and toned. I'm super excited to start on stage 2 of NR and honestly tell all of my girlfriends about the program haha! Should have started sooner!!

One year later:
3rd time doing this hike at Lake Mead!



Thanks everyone,
xoxo
Anna