Need moms' success stories

I wasn't really thin to begin with before having kids, more skinny fat at 120lbs. Sagging skin from having two babies (and horrible genes) don't really show all that I've lost but I'm sure someone will see it :laugh: Hope it inspires you!

Jan 8/Day 8 (181.5 lbs, 32%BF)



Wearing a bathing suit for the first time in my life on May 19 (Day 139?) (164.5lbs, 21%BF):

Well, my baby is 9 months old now. I was in the early 170s before I became pregnant, so I wasn't thin to begin with (I'm 5'1). Before I gave birth, I weighed 185-187 lbs. After my son was born, I weighed 172-173 lbs. I put on the weight after the pregnancy (I was starving from breastfeeding! OMG). Looking back, I could have made better choices and taken walks to reduce the impact. Had I known what I know now (about TDEE and the like), I could have eaten to be satisfied/full while staying within a good calorie range. Lesson learned for my future babies!

In February, I weighed in at 185 lbs *gasp*. The heaviest I had ever been (the above doesn't count as I was carrying a baby). I started working out and eating better. I still breastfeed my boy, but it's more like dessert now, not the main dish. At my last weigh-in (a week ago), I was 165 lbs. I'm trying to get down to 150 before I reevaluate. I'm more concerned with how my body looks than what the scale says.

Getting there!

I have always sat around the 130-135lb weight range. Had 2 babies 18 months apart in age. With first I put on 44lb, with the second I put on 48lb (in my defence both where BIG babies, lol). Both times I lost all the weight, although the second time it took longer. For me, I didn't stress in the early days, just tried to eat in moderation, enjoy my new baby, went walking daily and let breastfeeding help melt away the pounds. When my second turned 1 I joined the gym. My profile pic was taken when my baby was about 18 months old.

I got the Move It Mom book on Kindle and did the routine in it. Plus during the third phase (there are 3 exercise phases in it) I started logging my calories. Of course, this is a postpartum book, but there are things you can do now.

I got some of the Moms into Fitness videos (momsintofitness.com), and I found that the yoga especially was helpful for me during pregnancy. You can download the videos. If you can make yourself get off the couch long enough to at least try the trimester-specific exercises, I am sure it will help! And then once you are cleared to exercise afterwards, do it! Either do the moms into fitness postpartum exercises or the Move it Mom ones or something geared for the postpartum body. It will make a difference!

That, and remember, just because you're eating for two doesn't mean you need to eat double. The second is a whole lot smaller than you are! I think I tried to eat for two adults with my first and I gained 50 lb! I'm losing weight after my 3rd, and I am finding that tracking my calories has made a really big difference.

This is going to be very detailed so hope I get everything from start to now in there. I have a half a pound more to go to hit my ultimate goal weight.

When I was growing up I didn’t really start getting heavy till I was 10, I started to slim up in my teenage years but was never “Thin”. I was always on the hefty end of the weight rim. When I was 14, I was like 5 foot tall. I weighed 140lbs. I remember this because I remember a cousin and I having a conversation, she asked me how much I weighed, and I told her 140, that is what the scale that day said. I didn’t weigh myself all the time then, I wasn’t obsessed with it and didn’t really “care” how much I weighed. To me back then it was no big deal. Well I remember her saying “Oh wow, you hold your weight very good.”

When I was 19 I met my husband, didn’t care much for him when I met him. We started dating about a month after I met him and yeah he grew on me lol. I remember going to the beach with him and my best friend at the time and her boyfriend. I never “Owned” a bikini of my own, but a friend let me wear one of hers and honestly now that I think about it, I looked awful in it. I was about 150lbs then, and I was 5’1.5 which is my current height. I don’t know why I thought I needed a bikini then, urg. Live and learn I guess.

I ended up pregnant with my son in 2003, I was 20 when I found out I was pregnant, 21 when I had him. During my pregnancy I gained about 50lbs. After I had him, you can forget about me fitting into any of my pre-pregnancy clothes. I got down to 180, but couldn’t get passed that. I ended up falling into postpartum depression. Honestly I think it was more like Postpartum Psychosis. I was hospitalized for it for about 2 weeks. After I was out of the hospital I was medicated with anti depressants and anxiety medication. It caused me to gain weight. I was also on the birth control shot which caused me to gain weight. I have no idea my weight, I just know my pant size went from a 14 to an 18 and 20.

In September of 2009 my husband got in an accident at work that caused him to be out of work for awhile. So stress was put on me to figure out how to bring in some money. Also in September of 2009, my dad had a heart attack and found out he was a diabetic in the same day. This was an eye opener for me. I had signs of being a diabetic but I ignored it. In October of 2009 this photo was taken of me and found it on my friends facebook page, she tagged me in it, and honestly it made me sick. I was in denial that this was actually me.



I couldn’t believe this was me, I thought it was a sick joke, I didn’t see that girl in the mirror, I seen a thinner girl. When I seen myself I only had 1 chin, not 3. I did not have an obese problem in my mind. I just ignored it and walked away. Come 2010, I found myfitnesspal.com and thought I’d try to lose some weight. I joined and was ready, then in April of 2010, I found out I was pregnant with my daughter. By May 2010 I was diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes. I started seeing a diabetic doctor and also started seeing a nutritionist. By my last doctor appointment, I lost 70lbs. I went from 250lbs down to 180lbs. Yes you can lose weight while pregnant, if it’s needed. I was monitored by 2 different doctors and both said the same thing, that I was doing everything right. My baby girl was born healthy and only 7lbs 9oz. She’s a happy healthy little girl, almost 2.

Well after she was born I very quickly gained 25.5lbs back. I used MFP during my pregnancy for carb counting for my diabetes but lost my access.

September 22, 2011 – This is the day my life changed! This is when I was reborn. I woke up and my baby girl was asleep, I was in the bathroom about to get into the shower, and I remember looking in the mirror, standing there naked, looking at myself in disgust. For the first time in my life I finally said it out loud “I HATE YOU” I was crying and screaming at myself “How could you let yourself go like this? You are so pathetic.” I got in the shower and just cried. I got out, got dressed and went to my room, I sat on my bed and just cried some more. I was depressed and very unhappy. I started to feel sorry for myself. Then something snapped within me. “Feeling sorry for yourself isn’t changing anything. If you really are this sick of yourself, what are you going to do about it? No one can change this but you. Why do you hate yourself? You made yourself this way!” So now I was blaming myself, which honestly for me it worked. So I started running this all through my head “If you are really serious about this what are you going to do?” So I got on facebook and a friend of mine posted a quote and this quote changed my life. It is now my go to quote when I feel like giving up.

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I’ve always been interested in losing weight, but I have never been committed to it. It was time to commit myself. I took a photo of myself because I wanted to always remind myself of the day my life changed. You can even see the anger on my face, the depression in my spirit. How miserable I was. You can see how lost I was. When I see this photo, I see the hate for myself.



After I dusted myself off and realized that the only way I could change is if I did it myself and not rely on anyone or anything at all. No I did not have any surgery, the only surgeries in my life I’ve ever had are 2 c-sections and surgery on my right arm. You may see the scar in a few of the photo’s. Now in order to pick myself up and start on this path I had to tell myself that I can’t better myself if I don’t love myself. This is so true. So in order to love myself, I had to find 1 thing I loved about myself and let it build into more. I’ve always loved my eyes, so I made an attempt to dress my eyes up a lot more. I didn’t do this alone, I don’t believe you can do it without a support system. Now don’t get me wrong, my support system didn’t come from home. In fact my husband and I were having issues and he didn’t believe I’d do it. He won’t admit that, but I don’t think he did think I would. I started to go to a weight loss clinic. At first I was a little skeptical, just wasn’t sure how it would all work. Well I went in and what won me over was when he looked at me and said “Yes we want to lose weight but that’s not all. We also want to lose inches, losing weight is just a number on the scale, losing inches is a whole lot more.” I knew right then that this guy knew what he was doing. I went in with the mindset of “This doctor is going to focus on the number on the scale.” While yeah that’s important when you are as obese as I was. So he put me on a 1200 calorie diet, told me to quit drinking soda’s and no fried foods. I have not had a soda in 11 months. I don’t miss them. I use to drink them religiously. Fried foods aren’t the easiest to cut out, once in awhile I’ll eat something fried and it reminds me real fast that it isn’t worth it. Makes my body slow way down.
I have worked out and still do. I did Jillian Michael’s 30 day shred. My results from that, honestly that’s where most my inches fell off.



A lot of people see this are really amazed, I’m amazed that Jillian did this. You can get this workout at walmart for $10.00. I strongly suggest it. Now don’t expect to lose as much as me, a lot depends on it. How hard you work at it, how much you need to lose, how much fat you have in the regions, how tall you are, a lot depends on it. Some people have had amazing results, some people haven’t had as of amazing results. I promise you this though, you will get results. The more you want those results, the harder you need to work. Remember, you did not put the weight on over night, don’t expect to take it off over night.

One thing I have learned through all this is, the mind is a lot stronger then we know. Our mind controls us, until we take control over our mind. You have no idea how many times I wanted to give up, how many times I didn’t think I could do it. I’m not done yet by any means but I’m closer now then I’ve ever been before. My mom even says that she is proud of me because I stuck to it so long. I haven’t really stuck to much in my life. My marriage and being a mom and now this. I don’t plan on giving up, in fact my “I’m done losing weight” goal, when that is done I have so many other goals I’d like to accomplish. I hope this time next year, my stomach is showing abs and my stretch marks are nearly invisible. I have a long way for this goal but every day I get closer and closer to my weight loss goal. One thing at a time.

I want to go back to the love yourself part of this a moment. I didn’t really really fall in love with myself till I started to believe in myself, and that did not happen till I seen changes. I’m sure to some people I give off the impression that I’m into myself. Ya know? I am into myself, because I love myself so much now. I have worked so hard, I deserve to love myself and honestly if people don’t get that, then that is their problem. I am a great person and I have a great personality, sometimes it can be a strong personality, sometimes it can seem to be shy. Once I get to know you and the atmosphere I’m in, I eventually let loose and the real me starts to come out. I’ve been doubting myself at my new job, because my personality really hasn’t came out to much. That’s starting to change a little bit at a time. Every day is better on that.

I want to go back to the photo of my in September. Actually before that. I wanted to show the photo of me while I was pregnant with my angel girl. Also the photo of the month that she was born.



These are just a few from my maternity shoot. I did lose weight and you really can see that in my face. But I have lost a lot more since. These are December 2010 – December 2011.



Yeah I think weight from having a baby and actual weight from being fat is a little different looking, I don’t know. But The Christmas photo I was 180. I’m 180 in this photo. I’m 5’1.5 in height so ya know.



I did take photo’s about each 10lbs loss, simply because I wanted to keep myself into this. This is something that helped me. I might not have looked great but I’m glad to have them. I won’t bore you with photo’s from each 10lbs but I’ll show you the difference in a few more. The photo’s I really like are the ones that are a year apart.
Through this process there have been many up’s and many down’s. I went through moments of feeling like a failure, through feeling like it’s not worth it, through thinking I will never be where I want to be, to now knowing I will be to where I want to be. It takes time, it took years of putting it on, it’ll not come off over night and I know this. My mind tries to tell me all the time that I can’t, but when it does, I try to tell it I can and then prove it wrong. The only person that can stand in your way is the person you look back at in the mirror. I’ve heard excuses, I’ve used excuses, but until you are really ready, you will always have the perfect excuse. This is my time, and at 30 year’s old I look better then I did at 20 yrs old.



Eating is not the enemy, food is not the enemy, bad food it the enemy. Honestly you don’t have to eat good for you to lose weight but you do have to watch how much of what you eat to lose weight. I don’t always eat good. I do know when I chose to eat bad I usually feel bad, mood and all is bad. The better you eat the more likely your calories are to last you for the day. Calories aren’t the only thing that plays into weight. Sodium, if you have to much sodium in your diet, you will bloat and gain water. Watch that sodium!

Well this is my story. Here are a few more photo’s. My 1 year apart photo’s till now and my most recent photo’s.

put on 20 plus kilos while pregnant, im one hot mum now!!!

working mum of a 3 year old and 5 year old. I have lost 31kgs to date.

I had 6 kids, I am nowhere near done but my pics are in my profile.

You can do it! I discovered eating right/exercising after my two kids. I was almost 250 pounds at 40 weeks with my first. Hovered around 200 forever after both kids. That person is dead and gone. It is totally possible. you are already way ahead by being aware of this while being pregnant. I wish I had been. I'm now smaller than I was in high school. Totally possible!

claire671 - I saw your pics on your profile and that is amazing transformation. Thanks for sharing!

rosy003 - You look beautiful! I am 5.2'' and would like to get down to 120ish lbs.

blessedby2boy- You are so right about taking time to heal and adjust to motherhood. I know I wouldn't even know what hit me hahaha. But right now when I have the luxury of planning and working out according to my schedule, I am always stalking this success stories thread Glad I am not the only one

mrsbigmack- Wow! That's my goal actually to look better than pre-pregnancy, you know! And thanks for the inspiration.

Keriberi9- Hey you look so nice!! What a transformation and in such short amount of time! Details!!!

sakurarose13 - You look hot! What size jeans are you wearing (if you don't mind me asking)? Because I'm a shortie too wtg!

Currently a size 8 from a size 12 in Jan and sometimes a 6, I found out yesterday, which is awesome ,thanks I'm hot hmm no one calls me that :)made my day.

I don't have any pictures (my profile pic is newer though). I had three kids 22 months a part from the next-now ages 5, 6 and 8. It wasn't until a diabetes scare last fall and being labeled pre-diabetic, that I realized it was time to focus on me. I found alternate day IF and over the course of several months I lost 40lbs, plus another 6ish while transitioning into maintenance.

~Beginning stats-171lbs/highest weight (higher than my pregnancy weights). Pre-diabetic range and a size 14 jean

~Today-124-126lb maintenance range, fasting glucose number is 89, and now in a size 4 jean/size 2 skirt/shorts

It takes time, patience, commitment and the mindset of I Will Do This, but it's so worth it

After babe #3. Ick.




Now.

WOW!! This is incredible and inspiring -- you look awesome!! I will be so proud when I get a belly like that!

I am in my 2nd pregnancy and 25 weeks pregnant. I am constantly having similar thoughts about getting my body back and wanting to be in shape. However, I keep reminding myself, it took 9 months (or in our case it will take 9 months) to put all this weight on. It isn't going to just come right off, and can take a good 9 months or more to come off. I breastfed with my first and it def. helped and will be doing it again, and since I am due in Sept. I plan on doing LOTS and LOTS of walking with the baby to start light exercising right away. Best of luck to you!

After babe #3. Ick.




Now.

I have some more toning to do on my stomach. I was wondering how u were able to completely get rid of the bottom belly that hangs a little? I do crunches, reverse crunches, and other exercises for toning the stomach, but that bottom part hasn't completely went away, It does look better. I had twin boys that r 5 now, so I know when carrying them it stretched quite a bit. Also, how long did it take you to achieve it? Ur stomach looks so good!!!