Two year anniversary pics

Since Jan 2, 2009, I've pretty much been following the MFP guidelines (counting/budgeting calories, exercising, lots of water, etc.). I was just using a little notebook journal and adding it up that way, rather than calculating online.

Well, in December I found the MFP app for my iPhone, and it's amazing how much easier it's been keeping track of everything! Not to mention, I've been following the community for the past month or so, and it's really inspiring seeing everyone's stories. So on my two-year "lifestyle change" anniversary, I thought I'd share my own, since the success story board is my favorite.

In 2009, I was 290lbs. My new year's resolution was to "get healthy". To do so, I completely overhauled my diet/exercise, in addition to going to the doctor. I found out I had hypothyroid, but have since gotten that under control with a doctor's help and medication. I also bought and started using a stationary exercise bike every day, starting at 10 minutes per day and adding one more minute every Saturday.

I lost about 70lbs in 2009, and about 39 in 2010. Right now I'm at 181lbs, and hope to get to 160 by the end of 2011. I have since sold my stationary bike, but I replaced it with a real bike that I ride to work every day (about 55 minutes round trip).

So I may be new to MFP, but I'm not new to the idea of budgeting calories and exercise. And I can say that this method has really worked well for me! I don't ever feel deprived, and I feel like this is something I could continue for the rest of my life. (And I probably should, because I've found that when I don't pay close attention to what I'm eating, I tend to eat mindlessly with disastrous results.)

So, here are a couple before/afters. Unfortunately, I didn't have the foresight to take any full body pics when I started. If I could do anything over, that's what it would be!


Before (Oct 2008)


After... man I look tired in this one! (Jan 2011)