50 down! (Attempt at pics)

Your my hero! Plz post how you did it. Congratulations. Your beautiful!

First, thanks to EVERYONE for the compliments - so nice! :blushing:

I'm stepping out of my comfort zone a bit to post pics online. But I have been so inspired by pictures of other MFP'ers that if I can help anyone in the same way, it's silly not to. Seeing the amazing transformations in this community has really propelled me forward!!!

But, to your question......: You'll never believe it, but a combination of diet and exercise did the trick! :laugh:

I went from being fairly sedentary to a habit of walking my dogs daily, usually a short walk of 20 minutes. I then found a thread on MFP for the Couch to 5K program, and had a blast learning to be more active. I've kept up the jogging, and now do anywhere from 3-5 miles a few times a week. Jillian Michaels' DVD's have done a lot for my strength (and created an inner bad-*kitten*). I've played with Pilates and when I'm feeling a little cheesy, bust out the Yoga Booty Ballet. My most recent obsession is ZUMBA!!!!! Also, gradually my lifestyle has evolved into a much more active one: walking to places I could easily drive (such as from one store to another, then back), and picking a hike or a swim on the weekend vs. surfing the web all day from my couch. I keep experimenting with landing on the best combination of these activities, but my overall goal is to keep up the momentum.

Foodwise - my diet before was..... pretty careless. Random mindless eating without a thought to portion control. (Soda, candy bars, chips and fast food through the day, and then a healthy, balanced but LARGE dinner.) It has helped to learn about healthier choices, and to increase my awareness of how I feel when I eat better. I also discovered portion control. (I swear to you, I managed to deny it's very existence up until MFP). I still enjoy the junk stuff, but with an awareness that it's junk, I tend to make better decisions overall.

That was sort of long - but those are the highlights. Thanks again for the feedback - it really does feel great!

Thanks everyone.... here's one more!

WOW! I can't wait to hit the 50 lb mark. How long did it take?

My guess is you'll get there much quicker than I did. 50 lbs is a loss over a period of 4 years.... I went in phases of making gradual changes, so the losses were relatively small (but still in the direction) for much of the time. It has only been within the last year that I have been making daily efforts to be active and eat better. I'm not sure without checking, but I want to say about 15 of the total 50 was in the past year.

Cheers to you!