Yippee- It's my 1st fitversary! (with pics)

I have read so many success stories during this past year to inspire me and now it's my turn to share about my journey.

I've always been a thickish girl and while I didn't like it, I never really did much about it. When I was 34, I tried for the first time to lose weight. I was a mom of 2 kiddos and my weight had gone up from my pre-pregnancy weight of 187. I began logged calories and went to the gym to do power and aerobic classes. I started at 196 lbs and wanted to lose 10%/19 lbs which I did within 4 months. But then, I stopped and gained the weight back.

Three years ago, my dr said I was in the pre-pre-diabetic range and urged me to lose weight. I was at my highest ever at 225 lbs. I started eating with the glycemic index in mind and walking. Within 4 months, I lost 33 lbs. At a follow up, my glucose was much lower. The weather was also cooling down. I stopped being so mindful about my food intake, stopped exercising, and the weight came back.

I didn't have the heart to start trying again for a while. Last summer, I kept thinking about it, but lacked any internal motivation. Then, I saw a picture of myself from a family party and I knew it was time to change my life for good. I started logging calories, eating much more fruits and vegetables, cutting out carbs, and sugar. I was walking and spinning for exercise. Like always, the weight came off in the first 4 months. But then I stalled right before Thanksgiving. I kept exercising, but wasn't being careful with what I ate. I gained some weight back and stayed on the plateau through December and January. In early February, I injured my knee. It was stressful to not be able to exercise, but it helped me to refocus on what I was eating. When I could start working out again in March, I started weight lifting and being more careful with my diet.

It's now been a year and though I haven't reached my goal of 33%/73 lbs, I've lost 59 lbs and feel great!

SW: 222
CW: 163
GW: 149

For exercise, I spin 3 mornings a week, go to a circuit training class 2-3 times a week, do some weight training on my own, and also walk/jog. I eat about 1240 calories and do eat some exercise calories back when my day includes heavier lifting and it is typically just a protein shake post-workout.

Things I've learned this past year:
- stay on the journey and work through the plateaus
- challenge myself to do more by increasing intensity and weights
- people will generally be positive and encouraging, but there will be haters as well
- getting male attention is new and awkward for me - ha!
- don't allow exercise calories to become "I can eat whatever I want" calories
- weight loss isn't linear and your body doesn't understand your timeline, so just do your best and be grateful for success as it comes

Here are my before pics:







The picture that started the journey.

These are pics taken by my trainer in my circuit training class:







This picture was taken on Saturday. I changed my Facebook profile to this and was stunned by the amount of comments from friends about my metamorphosis.



It's been such a wonderful, challenging, rewarding, and amazing journey. I'm 44 and am in the best shape of my life. One day, I hope to post that I'm moving into maintenance, but until then, I will keep eating right, working out hard, and embrace life.

Best of luck to all of you who are changing your lives as well each day.