56lbs down in 11 months

Hey folks! I started this journey 11 months ago August 2012 - I fell off the band wagon for the first month or two, mainly because I was following something called the Dukan Diet - a pure protein/veggie diet... NO CARBS... I literally wanted to cry... because I was so constricted I binged out... then I found MFP, and realized : "yes, I can have that piece of pie, or that burger, or that plate of pasta... all in moderation ".... my #1 piece of advice is DONT RESTRICT YOURSELF!!!! - moderate yourself!!

Let me tell you a little about me : I was always overweight in highschool, since I was 12-13. I was never able to go shopping at the mall with my friends, never able to fit in with stylish clothing. I looked like a frump - baggy pants and boy's t-shirts. I had an extremely low self esteem.... battled an eating disorder when I was 15-16.... Grew up with a single mom so cheap unhealthy foods were all we could afford (chips, nutella on white bread, pepsi.... whatever) I never had a clue, nor cared about nutrition, and what all this junk and low self esteem was doing to by body. I dropped out of gym class because the girls made fun of me - I was never any good at sports.... so I felt like a lost cause....

One day I went for a walk with my fiance in the summer picture #1- and all I could do was b!tch, about how out of shape I was, how I had to take it easy, how hot it was.... and we left... then at home I seen the picture he took of me and was mortified. Noone ever told me how out of control I had gotten - no one ever pegged that I was 230lbs because I'm 6ft tall and carried my weight well... So here I am, almost a year later - still not at my goal but I'm about 15-20 away... it could be because I started lifting weights that I dont see results on the scale, but today I can see that my efforts are not a waste.

I try to eat fairly clean - but I do go out and live my life as well - when I have company over , sure I'll have a bowl of chips out, and yes my fiance and I go out for dinners, or drinks.... I just try to make healthier choices when I go out - instead of that side of fries, I'll get a salad with dressing on the side... or veggies... you know to try and help...

I try to have a equal moderation of cardio and weight training (resistance and free weight)about 3-4 days a week - and I know we are all human, somedays I perform better then others, some days its still a battle to get myself out there to the gym, but the point is - its a lifestyle change, do what you can and be honest about it!....

ANYWAYS ! enough of my babbling, here are pics (I have posted previously fyi)... also stangely enough - people say I look taller, could actually be possible, since I've strengthened my back muscles I feel like I have way better posture


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