Global success! My first before pic!

I started out here for the third time on May 2. I am a nurse and I had a nursing student work with me for her Senior Practicum. I went to her pinning ceremony and her parents took this picture of us and tagged me on Facebook. This picture is what made me open my eyes to how much I'd let myself go.



I was probably a size 16, I had taken to wearing the loosest 14's I could find, I was 198 pounds and 5'5.

Here is the before mirror shot.





I started on 1200 calories and obsessed about food because I was starving, I had no energy to exercise, that lasted a week.

I ran across a thread on success stories about pear shaped women and their results. I'm an hourglass, not a pear, but I love pictures. There was a 40 year old woman in a bikini with the most amazing transformation I'd seen. She talked of TDEE and lifting heavy in her success story, so I went into full research mode.

I started gradually increasing my calories to my TDEE-20%, I had great results and lost 2 lbs a week. I was walking and doing 30DS. I only did 11 days of 30 DS and didn't force myself to walk. I sat around and dreamed of the days I would be able to heavy lift. You see, I'm going through a divorce and I'm the sole supporter of 2 teens.

This was my birthday, in August. Around this time I was feeling good, 30ish pounds gone and look how baggy those size 10 pants are in this picture.



I still kept wahing to myself that I wished I could afford to get fit. I had an epiphany; I WAS MAKING EXCUSES. Running is free, body weight is free. I started the C25k for about the seventh or eighth time. I decided to really focus on my form and go slow. Did you know that if you have a proper foot strike and keep your head up and shoulders back that you can run with no pain, side stitches, or feelings of impending death from respiratory failure?

I kind of like running the first week, by the third week, I was hating my rest days. I wanted to run as much as I used to want an entire bag of Reese's Pieces. During this week, I signed up for a 5k in October and vowed to run the entire thing. I went and got properly fitted for running shoes; if you get the proper shoes your feet won't kill.

An amazing opportunity came up to join a gym through my employer, $30 a year to join a gym with free weights! I signed up. All my research led me to the decision that Stronglifts would be the best beginning program for me. I went to the gym, ready to start. I looked at the free weights and became intimidated. I went to the personal trainers office and talked to them about my plan and asked about a trainer to show me proper form. They just happened to be running a winter get fit special, $50 for 10 half hour sessions. You read that correctly.

I've started working with my trainer on body weight exercises and proper form on my lifts. My trainer is AMAZING. I haven't formally started Stronglifts yet, but when I do, I'll be 100% ready. My trainer is a 50 year old who lifts heavy and she is thrilled to work with me. Every session she tells me how exciting this is for her.

Last week I did the W5D3 20 minute run, I still get teary thinking about how it felt when the coach lady from the App said you can call yourself a runner now.

Today my run was walk 5 minutes, run 25, then walk 5. I really wasn't feeling the love towards it; I got to bed late, my allergies are bad.... MORE EXCUSES. I put my inner whiney brat down for a nap so I could get on with this run. As my 5 minute warm up walk was ending I felt dread. I pushed through, because I AM a runner! A few minutes in I had sore legs, the coach from map my run said 1 mile, pace; 11.34 minutes per mile, 5 of that was walking! I got motivated and as I was crossing the street, I saw my shadow, without a big fat belly and with a pretty, concave lower back area. I liked what I saw of me and I was completely empowered at that moment. Nobody has done any of this for me but me!

I finished my run.

My 5k is in exactly 1 month from today. My goal is to run entire 3.1 miles. I didn't give time goal, but thought under 40 minutes.

Today, not feeling it, with 11 minutes of walking included in final time, I did 2.97 miles in 36 minutes.

I DID IT, for me.

There is a MFP fitspiration thread in motivation section. I was inspired by it so I decided to take my pic as I was (allergy eyes and all) after my run and post it, with my inspiration. Here it is.



Sorry this is long. My success is global because it's a body, mind, attitude shift.

Watch this space for my future successes!

We are all capable of living the life we want, we all have the power, I promise!