The difference 40 pounds make

sherrie8929
sherrie8929 Posts: 38 Member
edited September 21 in Success Stories
My weight has yo-yo'd a bit ever since I moved down south (8 years ago) and discovered fried food, biscuits and gravy, and sweet tea. My sisters always told me that eventually my teenage metabolism would slow down and I'd gain weight but I had to learn the hard way, of course. So I will start off by saying that at 16, I was 5'4" and 117-120 pounds. I moved to Tennessee and immediately started picking up weight. Lost a few lbs here, gained a few there, but at 21 in November of 2007, I was a whopping 173. To my knowledge, that was the heaviest I had ever been (AND WILL EVER BE!) and since then, I have been slowly working it off.

I had lost a good 20 lbs when I got sick in November of 2008, which caused me to lost another 15 or so. However, as part of my treatment (for Ulcerative Colitis, which I was diagnosed with in December 2008), I was on 60 mg of steroids a day, so I bulked right back up. Now, almost 2 years later, I am down almost 40 lbs (39 to be exact) from my highest weight. Here are the pictures to show you the difference:

Thanksgiving, 2007, 173 lbs (middle - you can see my sister laughing at my chubbiness! lol)
IMG_0054.jpg
January 2009, on steroids with lots of water weight
Picture19-1.jpg
More recently:
Halloween 2009
16337_164290791510_555851510_326457.jpg
April 2010
25075_384866671510_555851510_439697.jpg
And my favorite comparison:
April 2008, when I first started trying to lose weight and documenting my progress with pics
2.jpg
Two weeks ago, after giving myself shots for the illness mentioned above.
IMG_9091.png

Replies

  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
    My weight has yo-yo'd a bit ever since I moved down south (8 years ago) and discovered fried food, biscuits and gravy, and sweet tea. My sisters always told me that eventually my teenage metabolism would slow down and I'd gain weight but I had to learn the hard way, of course. So I will start off by saying that at 16, I was 5'4" and 117-120 pounds. I moved to Tennessee and immediately started picking up weight. Lost a few lbs here, gained a few there, but at 21 in November of 2007, I was a whopping 173. To my knowledge, that was the heaviest I had ever been (AND WILL EVER BE!) and since then, I have been slowly working it off.

    I had lost a good 20 lbs when I got sick in November of 2008, which caused me to lost another 15 or so. However, as part of my treatment (for Ulcerative Colitis, which I was diagnosed with in December 2008), I was on 60 mg of steroids a day, so I bulked right back up. Now, almost 2 years later, I am down almost 40 lbs (39 to be exact) from my highest weight. Here are the pictures to show you the difference:

    Thanksgiving, 2007, 173 lbs (middle - you can see my sister laughing at my chubbiness! lol)
    IMG_0054.jpg

    January 2009, on steroids with lots of water weight
    2.jpg

    More recently:
    Halloween 2009
    16337_164290791510_555851510_326457.jpg

    April 2010
    25075_384866671510_555851510_439697.jpg


    And my favorite comparison:
    April 2008, when I first started trying to lose weight and documenting my progress with pics
    2.jpg
    Two weeks ago, after giving myself shots for the illness mentioned above.
    IMG_9091.png

    lower case img
  • sherrie8929
    sherrie8929 Posts: 38 Member
    Got it! thanks!
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
    you look great! Good job in doing it slowly, will make it easier to keep off.

    Love the blue dress:love:
  • pearlyfatcat
    pearlyfatcat Posts: 31 Member
    Here I think I fixed the pics for you!

    Thanksgiving, 2007, 173 lbs (middle - you can see my sister laughing at my chubbiness! lol)
    IMG_0054.jpg

    January 2009, on steroids with lots of water weight
    2.jpg

    More recently:
    Halloween 2009
    16337_164290791510_555851510_326457.jpg

    April 2010
    25075_384866671510_555851510_439697.jpg

    And my favorite comparison:
    April 2008, when I first started trying to lose weight and documenting my progress with pics
    2.jpg
    Two weeks ago, after giving myself shots for the illness mentioned above.
    IMG_9091.png
  • pearlyfatcat
    pearlyfatcat Posts: 31 Member
    Oops! I'm slow with it! You look great btw!
  • Behavior_Modification
    Behavior_Modification Posts: 24,482 Member
    you look great! Good job in doing it slowly, will make it easier to keep off.

    Love the blue dress:love:

    I couldn't agree more, and I also LOVE the blue.
  • sherrie8929
    sherrie8929 Posts: 38 Member
    Thank you ladies!

    It was actually purple, but it's hard to tell. Looked freaking fantastic on me, I won't lie! I felt like $1M in that dress!
  • jenhodges13
    jenhodges13 Posts: 4
    Great job!!
  • tbear358
    tbear358 Posts: 41 Member
    Yay!!! :) So happy for you!!! And yes you do look great in the dress AND the Robinette costume! :) Props to my BFF! Just don't get to 125 before me! :)
  • sherrie8929
    sherrie8929 Posts: 38 Member
    Oh I'm totally gonna beat you there Tiff, but you'll be in better shape than me since you work out nonstop! LOL
  • aippolito1
    aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
    You looked hot before, but wow! :happy:
  • baggins706
    baggins706 Posts: 310
    Wow, you look wonderful! :flowerforyou:
  • aveme
    aveme Posts: 1
    As someone who only knows of you through the pics and post please know that you looked very lovely at your highest weight. I am glad that you are losing the weight so that your body feels better and you have more energy, and yes even so you can wear a wonderful form fitting dress without feeling self conscious. Just know that in every picture I saw a lively vibrant person .
    Peace and Success to you.
    Heidi
  • ambersee
    ambersee Posts: 8
    Wow! This definately inspires me!! Good job!
  • HeatherBurke
    HeatherBurke Posts: 147
    can't see at work... have to look at home!!!
  • shellshalla
    shellshalla Posts: 263 Member
    you look great!!! :)
  • girliegirl1822
    girliegirl1822 Posts: 164 Member
    great job!!!
  • erikazj
    erikazj Posts: 2,365 Member
    Well done - you are so pretty!

    Erika
  • HotMommy0609
    HotMommy0609 Posts: 224
    You look great! I have UC too and know the joys of pred. :angry:
  • WWmember
    WWmember Posts: 2
    Wow! You do look marvelous! I would have never guessed you had weighed in at 173 but I can tell the difference now that you are 40 pounds lighter. Do you want to share any tips?
  • chelseap891
    chelseap891 Posts: 62
    You look gorgeous! Awesome awesome awesome!
  • sherrie8929
    sherrie8929 Posts: 38 Member
    Wow! You all sure know how to make a girl feel AWESOME!

    WWmember, the only tips I have are those that you are probably already familiar with and practicing. For starters, EAT RIGHT! MFP has been incredibly helpful and is by far my favorite of all diaries I have tried (dailyplate, loseit). In just two weeks from eating much better and using MFP, I have lost 5 lbs. That is with no exercise whatsoever.

    But speaking of exercise, when I lost the steroid weight, it was due to running. A lot. One day I just decided I wanted to be a runner, so I started meeting a friend of mine in the am before work to run. We'd jog and walk too, but we'd try to mostly run. We got up to about 1.5-2 miles 5 days a week and it helped tremendously. The weight just fell off and everything was tone and tight. Then I started back to school + working full time and just lost my motivation for it. I had been holding steady at 140 or so for the last few months then got down to 134.4 yesterday thanks to MFP!

    The best advice I have is to fight the cravings. I love food and tend to immediately go for the worst choices available. But, I've learned that if I plan my meals through MFP early in the day or week, I tend to follow my menu very closely and lose a lot of weight quickly and in the right way.

    Now that I'm in the 10 lb stretch to my goal, I think it's time to start throwing in exercise (which I loathe...) so I am going to start running again and am planning to start doing the 30 day shred again on days I don't run. Stay tuned for those results!!
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