My 5 month progress - over 30 lbs lost! [PICS]

Mochi6812 · April 2013

Wow fantastic job on your weightloss

travelgirl77 · April 2013

You look so wonderful!

Critty44 · April 2013

You look great!!! Thanks for posting the pictures; they are the motivation that I need!!! Best wishes for continued success!

katiebrew · April 2013

Ahhh! You look so great, and are especially inspiring to me! I am 5'0 too, started my pregnancy at the same weight as you, and am due this August. I'm a little apprehensive about the weight gain because of being so short. I would even say we have a similar body type. I hope that after I give birth I will be able to work just as hard as you to lose the baby weight (and more!)

Sul3i · April 2013

U r doing FANTASTIC!! Keep up the awesome work!! :flowerforyou:

rosemaryhon · April 2013

You look awesome, keep up the good work!! BTW your before looks like my body type, I'm excited thinking I might have a body like yours in another 15 lbs!!! So thanks for the inspiration too

Sparlingo · April 2013

Thank you, everyone, for the encouraging words! It has taken a lot of reworking my priorities (and sadly neglecting my banjo) to make this happen, but it's been worth every drop of sweat! The real challenge will be continuing the transformation as I head back into the workforce (I work shift work as an RN) in June following the end of my maternity leave.

For those that asked about my stretch marks, they are absolutely still visible, they've just faded nicely. I wish I could attribute that to some oil or cream that I could recommend, but truth is my husband and I don't have a lot of money right now - I just used whatever body butters I had lying around whenever I thought of it (which was infrequently). It was mostly just time that made the difference!

schaskes · April 2013

Congratulations! I especially empathize with your feeling (for the first time) self-confident about your ability to do physical activities. This is probably the best thing I have gained from my MFP journey as well. Keep up the great work!!!

KAbena · April 2013

Phenom!

rwhyte12 · April 2013

Way to go! Keep working hard.

msmichle · April 2013

What amazing progress you have made! Keep up the good work! You look great!

Prettymisssparkles · April 2013

I thought I'd make a success post to commemorate hitting 30 lbs down, though I still have a long way to go!

My daughter was born in June of 2012, and when the dust settled, I weighed 164 lbs. My pre-pregnancy weight had been 135 lbs, and even at that weight I had felt very self-conscious of my body shape. After having my little girl, I was uncomfortable and unhappy in my skin, and I knew that I needed to get in shape now and stay in shape through and after any future pregnancies.

So, 4 weeks post-partum I started hitting the gym and eating "better" and "less" (or so I thought). Going to the gym 3-5 times per week and changing my diet, I had lost a whole 2 lbs over the next 4 months.

This brings us to November 2012. I was still essentially the same size that I was immediately postpartum. I had tried to fix it myself and had gotten nowhere. I felt broken. I reached out to a friend who had been successful in losing weight, and she told me about MFP. I tried to sign up, and found out I already had an account from a few months before - had signed up and forgot all about it!

I started to track my intake (have every day since I started!), and stepped up the exercise to 5 days a week; generally I do 3 days of Zumba and 2 days of Iron Reps, a weight lifting class.

And it is working!!

And the best part is that I finally believe in my physical abilities when I haven't believed in myself in this way my whole life. I CAN run! I CAN lift! I CAN get better at anything I put my mind to!

Now for the pics :happy: I'm 5'0" if that makes any difference to anyone!

And I didn't take pics of my back until 2 months in, so this would be a 2 month vs. 5 month comparison:

A little ways yet to goal, but now I know I can do it!