My Journey with MFP

This is not a success story in my eyes, I will tell you why in a bit.

I have been here on MFP for 3 years; I started back in October of 2010. I am a mommy to two wonderful kids and I had them via C-section. I am a Latina woman and I know that I will never be super skinny because I have curves. The skinniest I have been was before I got married, my wedding dress was a size 6, and prior to that I think I wore like an 8 never really paid attention to that.

I started this journey after I saw a picture of myself at Disneyland, my son was not quite 1 year and I know that while pregnant with him I gained a lot of weight. I was already overweight when I got pregnant with him because I had not lost all of the weight I gained after having my daughter.

My starting weight was 162lbs and I am 5’3. I wanted to do something that was going to make the weight come off fast; I hated the way I looked and how I felt. At that time P90x was in my husband got the videos from a friend and I started doing the revised mode ( I have never been into heavy lifting) I did not know much about nutrition, I found MFP and just started tracking. I lost 12lbs with P90x, I was excited about the weight loss. I wanted to try something different, so I started doing Turbo Fire I loved Turbo Fire. I lost inches and 8lbs. I was in the 142 at this point, my goal weight was 130. I was really close.

Then I started to have problems in my marriage, all of the focus and energy I was putting in my workouts went into trying to save my marriage and work things out. I gained the 8lbs that I had lost with Turbo Fire back. That put me back at 150 lbs.
But while all of this was going on I never left MFP, I was not consistent with my logging but I wanted to stick with it because I had a goal I needed to reach. I kept pushing finding different workouts; I tried Turbo fire again but could not find my groove.

Than last year I felt in love with running again, I was a runner in high school but due to knee injuries I had stopped running. I started training for my first 5k, I ran that race in the summer heat of AZ and even though it was not easy I told myself no walking push through until the end. That sparked my love for running and I signed up for another 5k in 2012. This year I have raced in 3 10ks, and 1 15k. I am currently training for a half marathon that I will run in March of 2014.

The picture below: the left one is me at Disneyland in 2010 the one on the right is me this past weekend at my 15k race. There is only 12lb weight loss difference between these two pictures and 3 years of determination and not giving up.
Now I eat to fuel my runs, not so much for weight loss, I am hoping the weight starts to come off again and I can finally reach my goal of 130lbs.

But running has brought a new perspective I am not depriving myself of food just in the name of weight loss. I have to think about what I will eat and will help me run better or affect my runs. Trust me when I eat like crap even though it is within my calories my runs are affected.

I needed to write this for myself, to help me through this journey and not give up. I do get down on myself sometimes especially when I read the success stories about people reaching their goal in 1 year, or 6 months. But I am not giving up


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Replies

  • You look great!
  • This is a success story. It doesn't matter how long it takes you to get to the point where being healthy is a part of your life. What matters is that you are now working towards it. YOU LOOK GREAT~~~ Keep it up!
  • djpro1337
    djpro1337 Posts: 68 Member
    That is really awesome! I love hearing stories like this.
  • wjstoj
    wjstoj Posts: 884 Member
    My Journey
    journey.jpg
  • sarahz5
    sarahz5 Posts: 1,363 Member
    You look fantastic, you are working hard, and best of all, you are doing it because it improves your life! Great work and fantastic attitude!
  • adnol_2
    adnol_2 Posts: 35 Member
    You look great and if you feel great, I would call it a success story even if you never get down to your goal weight. Great job and keep it up.
  • This is truly a success story. You look amazing in the photo from your recent race! Along with the 12 lb difference over those 3 years, the real difference is that you've gained is an entire new perspective on your health and your body. I think it's really important that you are eating food to "fuel" your races (and just your body,), not thinking only of cutting calories or doing some fad diet to shed weight quick. This plan is much more sustainable and healthy.
  • amyjpage
    amyjpage Posts: 97 Member
    keep up the great work!!! You are doing amazing! The difference in your photos is clear and 12 lbs is nothing to scoff about! You look great, you lost 12 lbs and you renewed your love of running!!! Great job!!
  • I think you have done incredibly well with your running, you also look amazing and I wish you all the best. You are always so positive and encouraging too :)
  • ktully93
    ktully93 Posts: 160 Member
    I am so glad to read your story. I, too, have been at this lose weight game for 3-1/2 years and am now starting to shift my mindset. First it was I need to lose 30 pounds, then it was I want to drop 2 sizes. I have only lost 20 pounds and I have maybe dropped 1 size. However, I completed Jillian Michael's Body Revolution at the end of October and lost 14 inches. I only lost 5 pounds during the 3 month period, but I could notice a lot more definition in my muscles and strength.

    Here's to body re-composition, losing inches, losing body fat and ditching the scale!
  • You look great!

    Thank you
  • This is a success story. It doesn't matter how long it takes you to get to the point where being healthy is a part of your life. What matters is that you are now working towards it. YOU LOOK GREAT~~~ Keep it up!

    Thank you, it is hard for me to see it that way. That is why I needed to write this post, thank you so much
  • You look fantastic, you are working hard, and best of all, you are doing it because it improves your life! Great work and fantastic attitude!

    Thank you :)
  • You look great and if you feel great, I would call it a success story even if you never get down to your goal weight. Great job and keep it up.

    Thanks I appreciate the support. It helped me a lot to write this post
  • This is truly a success story. You look amazing in the photo from your recent race! Along with the 12 lb difference over those 3 years, the real difference is that you've gained is an entire new perspective on your health and your body. I think it's really important that you are eating food to "fuel" your races (and just your body,), not thinking only of cutting calories or doing some fad diet to shed weight quick. This plan is much more sustainable and healthy.

    Thank you, it was hard for me to get to this point I needed to write this post to help me get past it and let go of the number on the scale. I really appreciate your support
  • keep up the great work!!! You are doing amazing! The difference in your photos is clear and 12 lbs is nothing to scoff about! You look great, you lost 12 lbs and you renewed your love of running!!! Great job!!

    Thanks, yes writing this post made me realize that now I eat to fuel my runs I love running and that keeps me going.
  • I think you have done incredibly well with your running, you also look amazing and I wish you all the best. You are always so positive and encouraging too :)

    Thank you :)
  • I am so glad to read your story. I, too, have been at this lose weight game for 3-1/2 years and am now starting to shift my mindset. First it was I need to lose 30 pounds, then it was I want to drop 2 sizes. I have only lost 20 pounds and I have maybe dropped 1 size. However, I completed Jillian Michael's Body Revolution at the end of October and lost 14 inches. I only lost 5 pounds during the 3 month period, but I could notice a lot more definition in my muscles and strength.

    Here's to body re-composition, losing inches, losing body fat and ditching the scale!

    Yes I think the key for me was shifting my mindset, I have been so stuck on reaching that number 130 that I lost track of what I had accomplished. I may have not accomplished that number yet, but I have learned a lot.

    Keep up the good work we can do this :)
  • fsucrack
    fsucrack Posts: 68 Member
    Wow you look great!! Keep pushing forward and you will get to that goal.
  • Daisy471
    Daisy471 Posts: 409 Member
    Thanks for sharing your story. You are an inspiration!
  • itzehoe
    itzehoe Posts: 614 Member
    WAY TO GO - GREAT!
  • Sharon_C
    Sharon_C Posts: 2,132 Member
    I say running 5Ks and 10Ks is a huge success story. It's taken me a long time too to lose the weight so I totally see what you're saying, but you're doing a great job. And remember, sometimes its not all about losing weight but about becoming healthy. I think you're on the right track.
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