Weight loss progress - 75 lbs down

(okay, as soon as I figure out how to add pics, I will.)

Here's my story.

I started at 420 lbs in March of 2011. I lost 40 of it, then gained some back when I moved out to OH. in March of 2012, I started walking to try to start getting the weight back down, and by April, I'd completely compressed my knee cartilage to the point where I could barely stand up off the couch because it hurt so much. I'd gained back most of my weight, I was devastated, frustrated, and totally ready to give up.

I went to a doctor who took xrays of my knees, and gave me clearance to seek out physical therapy, to try to deal with the damage. She said otherwise, my options were pretty much "don't walk anymore. get in a wheel chair and call it good." Having had my dad end up in a wheel chair for similar reasons before passing on not too long after, and who also had weight problems, I decided to take her words to heart, find myself a physical therapist, but someone who would be able to transition into a physical TRAINER, to keep me going even AFTER I was able to exercise, again.

Meet Joe.



He's My Physical Trainer. He met me pretty much at my worst. I was a desperate, broken, limping mess, who could barely lift the weights I'd purchased for myself. He told me once that the day he met me, he heard this voice in his head that said "if you stick with this girl, She'll stick with you. She's worth your time, you just have to let her prove it to you." So he did. Despite minor reservations due to my fairly singular case, and the fact he'd never worked with someone my size before ( at the point we started working together, I was just shy of 400) Joe jumped in with both feet, and dragged me in with him. I started with little things - weights, walking short distances, changing my food here and there to try new things to figure out what would work best for me. I kept up with my medications. slowly but surely, we started working in my office gym instead of my back yard. then we started working out more days a week. then I started walking longer distances. Joe got me on an elliptical (which I'd only ever been able to use for about 30 *SECONDS* at a time, because my heart rate would skyrocket. *Note, now I can go on an elliptical for upwards of 30 *MINUTES* and not bat an eye. We transitioned to his home gym, where he started to teach me boxing, and olympic weights.

This spring, as the weather has turned, we started doing something I never thought I'd be able to do again - Jogging. Short distances right now, but Joe and I have big plans for this summer. I've lost a total of 75 lbs (since tipping the scales at 420) and somewhere around 40 inches all over my body.

I have a lot more weight to lose (My goal is 200 lbs, for now, and I'm at 343.8 as of the pictures below) but 75 is still pretty good. I'm finally starting to see the differences in myself, which was another thing I've struggled with. So without further ado, here are some pics.