What 1 pound per week looks like (with pics-hopefully)

This is my first time posting a success story. I never imagined that I would post my very revealing before pics in a public forum but I wanted this to inspire those who scoff at slow and steady weight loss goals. I started this process just over a year ago and have lost the equivalent of about 1 pound per week. Here's my story:

I was never overweight growing up. I was athletic and active and fit and never concerned about being a skinny girl. I ate pretty healthily and didn't pay much attention to the scale. As a woman who is 6'1", gaining or losing a pound here or there doesn't really show up that easily.

Flash forward to about 10 years ago when I found myself working more and working out less. I continued to eat as I always had when I was more active and since I still went to the gym for 45 minutes of cardio about 2-3 times per week, I didn't notice anything initially. Over the years I did see subtle changes like my clothes getting tighter and that I was wearing a size or two larger than I previously had; but it all happened so gradually that I wasn't really paying attention to the changes. In my mind, I was still the fit, athletic girl I'd always been.

In the mirror and on the scale, was a totally different story. One day I got on the scale at the gym and found that I was 40 pounds heavier than I thought I was! That was my wake up call and the kick in the pants I needed to start paying attention.

So enough with the background, here's the before:

June 2012




And my favorite, the dreaded rear view. Note to self: "Always look BEHIND you!!"


Flash forward 1 year to the after/during:

June 2013




I'm still a work in progress, though my focus now is on building more strength and decreasing body fat rather than focusing on the number on the scale.

So what did I do? What was the "magic" or "secret" to losing 50 pounds?
It wasn't raspberry ketones, or juice clenses or starvation or any of that stuff people ask about on these forums from time to time.
The magic was boring, but tried and true: I tracked what I ate, I ate at a deficit, I exercised moderately and included strength training. And slowly, one week at a time, one pound at a time, I made it here.

That's it folks. It's not always easy but it's also not complicated. You don't have to lose 3 pounds a week to get there. Give it enough time and those numbers add up.