4.5 months, 23lbs down [pics] :)

I've never had the guts to do anything like this on MFP before now--or anywhere else, for that matter. Yesterday I posted an instagram "Transformation Tuesday" photo and got a lot of positive feedback, so I thought I'd take it one step further and post here.

MFP has really been my mainstay and biggest inspiration/point of focus for losing weight and staying on track. I want to stress that this is solely from sticking to my calorie goals and working out 3-6 times per week. With cardio, I started slow--walking 2 miles or so every day on my lunch break with a co-worker. That turned into 20-30 minutes on the stationary bike, then the elliptical. I completed my first 5k (and when I say completed, I don't even mean I ran the entire time--more like 2.5 miles of it) when the Color Me Rad race was held in Oklahoma City a few weeks ago. I'd like to lose about 10-15 more pounds, but now it's all about stamina for me and getting toned. The number on the scale shouldn't matter so much once you realize that getting healthy is totally doable. I hope this helps even just one person, because looking at the success stories has always pushed me to keep going.