1 year and 130 lbs down and still going!!! (Pics)

“I’m never going to be able to lose the amount of weight that I need to lose!”, “How can I lose that much weight?”, “I’m never going to be thin, so who cares.”, “I can’t/don’t want to give up the foods I love.”, “It’s too much work to prepare my meals and plan things out.”, “I don’t have time for the gym!” Do these sound familiar? Well that was the constant battle in my head for years and what discouraged me to lose weight. I sabotaged myself for years by thinking “I can’t”. It wasn’t until I started thinking “I will and NEED to!” when I was successful.

1 year ago today, I committed to regaining my life and health. I took the negative battles in my head and worked hard to change them into positive ones. I knew what I needed to do to lose weight and knew that it needed to be done. Instead of looking at the ultimate goal as a daunting task, I broke it up into much smaller, more manageable ones. I didn’t set a goal weight; instead I focused on hitting smaller goals like look and feel better, make exercise easier and less painful, certain clothing sizes and manageable weight loss goals. This helped me keep things in perspective. I didn’t want to set myself up for failure and keep looking at a big number in weight loss. As I hit a goal, I set another one and worked towards that. Before I knew it, I would hit that goal and need to set another one. I would reward myself for hitting the goals, by buying outfits, shoes, and for the 100 lb mark I splurged on a spa day for my sister and I (boy was I motivated to hit that goal!).

In the beginning, I started off doing a little bit of exercise, cutting out sodas and extra calorie foods and making better choices. As the weight came off rather quickly in the beginning, it gave me more motivation and I started working out more and eating better. Aqua aerobics turned into Zumba which turned into spinning and weights. A year ago, it was all I could do to get through 50 min aqua aerobic class….now I work out 6 days a week for about 2 hours a day and my routine consists of a spinning classes and a weight/cardio circuits.

I plan out my food every day and know exactly what I am eating (I do eat a lot of the same things). When I go out to eat (which is often), I usually look online and on MFP to see if I can find nutritional information and plan out what I am getting before I go so I know what the estimated calories are going to be.

To me, this is life and something that I will continue to do for the rest of my life. I know what happens when I don’t do it and I definitely DO NOT want to go back to that place. I know that things come up, this is life and I want to live it, and I allow myself to eat the things I love (in moderation of course) and I am ok with it. I also know there are going to be days that I just don’t have the motivation to get to the gym and that is ok with me. Of course, I don’t allow that all the time and am now to the point that I feel guilty when I don’t work out.

When people see me and ask me “What is your secret?” or “How have you lost that much weight?” and my response is diet and exercise I always get a disappointed look. Sorry folks, there is no magic pill or a secret….it’s a LOT of HARD work with diet and exercise. It takes dedication and commitment (and a lot of mental mind battles, for me at least.  )

Here are a few things that I have learned and what has helped me on my journey (this is just my opinion):

• Work on the mindset that this is not a “diet” it’s a lifestyle change. I correct my friends and family all the time when they say I’m on a diet. I have had to work hard at changing my mindset and mentality. I know this is something I have to do for the rest of my life as I do not ever want to get back to where I was before.

• Life happens! There are going to be days that you don’t have the motivation to work out, or at an event that you want to eat some things that you typically don’t. Go ahead and not work out or have that 2nd piece of cake. Those things aren’t going to kill you. Work out a little more if you know you are going to be eating more. Just let those things be the exception and not the rule. Do everything in moderation. Allow yourself to participate in life and don’t feel guilty for it and don’t beat yourself up. I know it’s a lot easier said than done. I’m still working on it.

• Start slowly. Who cares if it takes you 1 yr to lose 100 lbs or 5 yrs to do so? It is not a race and our bodies respond differently. Eliminate some things in your diet at once and then gradually eliminate the rest of them. Same with exercise….I have a really bad knee from sports (have had 4 surgeries) and am limited on some things that I can do. Working out in the beginning was hard for me and painful. I discovered aqua aerobics was easier on my knees and provided a good workout. After a few months of that and losing weight, I was able to introduce other activities and my knees felt better. I have worked myself up to doing spinning 6 days a week along w/ a weight circuit. But this did not happen overnight.

• Plan out your meals and exercise. I schedule my exercise in my calendar so that it serves as a constant reminder on what I have to do for the day. When I eating out try to look up the menu and see if there are any nutritional facts before you go. Then you know exactly what you want to get before you get there and how many calories are in it. Don’t be afraid to make modifications at the restaurant and ask for things on the side or eliminate things from the meal.

• Log everything and be honest when keeping your diary. I log everything, even when I eat that 2nd piece of cake or have a 2nd helping of a meal. Try your best to not overestimate the calories you burn on exercise and underestimate what you are eating. The only person you are hurting is yourself. I have discovered that the calories for exercise in MFP are a lot higher than what you actually burn. I invested in a heart rate monitor to better track my burn and that has helped me tremendously.

• Switch your food and exercise routine up every few months. I switch up what I eat and my exercise routine every few months so my body does not get used to the same thing and routine.

• Turn your negative thoughts into positive ones! Turn the “I cant’s” into “I WILL’S!” Speaking from someone who never thought it was possible to lose the amount of weight I have lost, it is possible. Figure out what works for you and do it. You CAN do it and BELIEVE you can do it!!

I am writing this to share my experiences knowing that I am not the only one who felt this way and had to overcome so much to get where I am today. I have read posts on here over the last year and have been motivated by people’s posts and hope that my post can motivate people as well.

365 days of dairying food and logging calories
9 jean sizes, 8 shirt sizes, 45 inches (in bust, waist and hips) GONE!!!
130.8 pounds lost
The way I feel and look now and regaining my health and life…..PRICELESS
What a difference a year makes!!!

Here are some before (close enough b/c I really didn't have many before shots) and work in progress pictures.




This is a picture of me in 1 leg of my jean capri's that I used to wear before I started my journey. As you can see, my 5 yr old nephew can share them with me.