ChaLEAN Extreme Day 90 Results (19 lbs lost, with pics)

If somebody had asked me this January if I would ever post photos of myself showing my belly online, I think I would have laughed and cried at the same time. I was FAT, my belly was big, I had a couple of chins, no visible waist, my skin was shiny due to my sweating all the time... No way I was going to publicly show that.

I knew I had to do something, but I guess in my mind I just "was" like that, like some part of my personality. But then, on February 2013 I found an offer to get a special discount rate at a local gym, and I decided to join. I went there once or twice per week, pedaled on the bike while reading a book, did 15 min on the elliptical, kept eating like a pig, and wondered why I wasn't losing any weight.

Then, on march I found MFP, started tracking what I eat and, like most of us here, started stalking the forums. Every day I would look at the Success Stories forum and look at all those people that made it, that had had wonderful transformations. I read what they were saying, and it kind of made sense. And a lot of them were talking about weight lifting.

So, on April, I went to a sports store, bought some weights, and started ChaLEAN Extreme. By the end of the 1st week I had to go back to the store to get heavier weights. And by the end of the 1st month, I had to go back again! The 1st week I did 1 push-up on my knees. Now I can do 3 on my toes, and several dozen on my knees. I discovered that my body could do amazing things, if I was willing to push it.

Being a vegetarian, I also realized I wasn't getting enough protein, so I started watching my macros, and boy, did it make a difference! I still have days when I eat way over my cals, days when I only eat pasta and cheese, and 2 or 3 times per month I have a couple of beers when I go out. Still, I usually cook everything at home from scratch and I don't have a sweet tooth, so I don't feel gilty at all when I "cheat".

Half the days, specially at the beginning, I didn't want to do the workouts, but I did them nevertheless. I wrote down my weight and repetitions for every exercise, and tried to go heavier and have a better posture every time. I kept going to the gym on cardio days to get some variety, and added some HIIT training. And this last month, I started doing the C25K training on cardio days.

I still have some weight to lose, and I think I will do a second round of ChaLEAN Extreme, but I am already very happy, and wanted to share my story, because I couldn't have done it without your advice, your success stories, and your words of encouragement. MFP has really changed my life!

TL;DR: I eat reasonable portions of many different foods - nothing is forbidden in my diet, I just don't eat a whole cake everyday. :-) I workout 6 days a week for 30-45 min at high intensity. I do weight lifting like there is no tomorrow, and I love it. So there go the photos!