Then and now (hopefully with pics!) - Size 20 to Size 6!!!

Thank you everyone. I can't tell you how overwhelmed I have been by your responses. I've had a few people ask again about how I did it and how long it took, so I thought I would share this from my profile:

About Me
I am a stay-at-home mom of three kids and, for eight years, I completely ignored my health. With the birth of each child, I gained weight and I never really realized how big I'd gotten until I stepped on the scale four months after having my youngest and saw the number 251.9 staring back at me. I was horrified and decided that I needed a change. Over the next 6 months I exercised sporadically and tried to be a little more careful about what I ate. I lost 30 pounds but then I sat at that weight for a very long time.

Fast forward to January 2012. A friend of mine, who had been bugging me for years to join her boot camp, finally convinced me to try a semi-private training session with her. At the same time, my sister-in-law (who is ten years my junior) asked me to stand up with her when she married my brother. I was determined not to be the old, fat one in the wedding party! I had my first training session at the end of February and I haven't looked back.

Today I weigh 115 lbs less than I did on the day I stepped on that scale. I am happy with my weight and I'm determined not to fall out of shape again. I plan to continue tracking my calories for maintenance while shifting my focus from weight loss to strength building. I still workout with my trainer twice a week and I also run/cycle for cardio. I can do a pull-up. I can run over 10K. I can do push-ups from my toes. And, I will continue to get stronger and faster because, I'm not going back!!!


I hope that helps answer some questions. My trainer was here yesterday (he comes to me - which has been a big part of my success - much easier with three young children to factor into my schedule) and he was also asking me what I felt had been the biggest factor in my success. He told me he had a few clients struggling with their last 10-15 lbs and he wanted advice. From me lol. I really wasn't prepared for that and, like all your amazing responses and questions, it overwhelmed me a bit.

I sat down with my husband last night and we really talked about my journey. I told him that I feel like people are looking to me with such hope and I feel like I'm letting them down because I don't have any magic answers. This process has been so much trial and error for me and the things that worked for me might not work for someone else. I lost weight quickly at the start just by adding exercise into my routine (2 training sessions/week and running approx 5 days/week). I have a bit of an addictive personality so, once I made the commitment to get fit, there was no looking back. When I stalled out around 185 lbs, my trainer suggested MFP and that's when I started logging. The weight started coming off again. Despite the flack that I took from some people (and still take), I logged everything. I logged gum. I measured out a level tablespoon of peanut butter before spreading it on anything. I weigh fruit. And, I continue to work out pretty strenuously. I have hit mini plateaus (nothing major but enough to make me wonder what I was doing wrong when I thought I was doing everything right). Fortunately for me, no plateau lasted long enough to leave me super discouraged (and, I couldn't even be sure what it was that made the scale start moving again).

What was the reason for my success? I wish I knew. I don't snack at night anymore, I drink green tea instead. I've cut most processed food/junk out of my diet (though, I don't deprive myself of anything and I'll have the occasional glass of wine and I eat a small amount of dark chocolate almost every day). I have an incredibly supportive husband. When I started this process, we made the commitment to put my exercise needs first. If one of us was going to have time to get a run in, it was going to be me. I couldn't have done any of this without him. I keep setting new goals for myself so that I stay motivated - first it was to do real push-ups, then pull-ups. Now that I can do those, I've signed myself up for several races (including a half marathon) so that I always have something to be looking forward to and training for. I think the thing that helped the most was that, as the weight came off, I started to feel so good. I never realized how amazing it would feel to be in shape. I've always been a "numbers" person so I expected the scale to be my biggest reward, but it wasn't. What I love is that I'm no longer intimidated by physical activity and I am completely amazed and thrilled at the things my body is now capable of doing.

Sorry if that was a bit rambly - but I wanted to try to share as much of my journey as I could just in case there is something in there that might be helpful to someone else. I wish anyone struggling with their fitness, strength on their journey. If I can do this, anybody can!