Just gotta stick a [ img ] in front and a [ /img ] in back, remove the spaces. Also, I changed them over to tinypic.com because they were huge. lol

You look great Massage, and everybody else too, good job!

Hi ladies :-) am interested in starting this program and am actually wondering where I can find it?

Hi ladies :-) am interested in starting this program and am actually wondering where I can find it?

Checkout this thread
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/560459-stronglifts-5x5-summary

or you can start with looking at http://stronglifts.com/5x5/

I found the MFP thread to be an easier read.

Oooh, considering it's not a huge loss on the scale, you look fantastic! Looks like far more than 5lbs.

ETA: This also gives me hope that some day I will see my belly button again...

Your looking great willlift4bagels!

Wow! You go willrun4bagel! That is impressive in only 2 months. Your waistline is nipped right in. Keep it going!

The picture on the left is from June 10 and the picture on the right is from August 24.

Here's how I got to this point (sorry, it's kind of a long story):

Last year, I decided to get fit. I've always been pretty skinny but I was NOT healthy. I didn't really exercise and I smoked on and off for 26 years. I tried to eat healthy but my husband is totally not a health nut so I ate plenty of junk, too. I started couch to 5k last May and then August 1, I quit smoking. Then 5 days later I found out I was pregnant with my 8th child.

I had wanted to start lifting before that but hadn't joined the gym yet. My midwife said nope, can't start lifting while pregnant so I continued to run as I could through the all-day nausea that plagued me through the first trimester. Then at 20 weeks, I found out I had placenta previa, which meant I was at risk of bleeding (and even hemorrhaging). I quit running by then and then had a bleed in early December that landed me in the hospital for 3 days. I was put on modified bed rest; I could be up but was supposed to take it VERY easy. Then from Jan 1 to mid March, I was in the hospital 4 more times. The last time, I went in March 6 and stayed until I was released with the baby on March 23. I also had a c-section this time, the first for me, and it went well, but the recovery was so different.

I was used to getting back into the swing of things pretty quickly so having to wait to do stuff really made me crazy. I started walking with the stroller when the baby was 3 weeks old and re-started the couch to 5k program when the baby was 4 weeks old. I started stronglifts when she was 6 weeks old. I told my doctor that either I was going to run and lift or I was going to smoke again.

I know this sounds really shallow and awful, but I was so depressed over how heavy I was. With my prior pregnancies, I started out between around 115 and 125 and ended between 150 and 155. With this last one, I got to the point where I refused to look at the scale, but the last time I weighed myself right before going into the hospital the last time, I was at 174, so roughly 50 lb. up from my starting weight. I don't know what my end weight was but it had to be high. I was super swollen after the c-section because my blood pressure fell so they pumped me full of fluids to avoid a transfusion.

When I got home from the hospital, I got on the scale to find I was at 171. In the June pic, I was at around 160. Yesterday, I was 154. Not a huge weight difference, but I am amazed at the difference in the pictures!

I've been keeping up with the running mostly and am trying to hit 40 miles this month (although I may fall short due to being out of town for several days and not doing jack), I've been trying to lift 3 times a week and I've been doing the 30 day ab challenge with co-workers. In the past couple of weeks, I've worked on cutting carbs and have lost several pounds already.

I'm not where I want to be in the end but am so psyched now that the things I've been doing have made a difference!

@RPS -- First, EIGHT kids?! Wow! I can't even imagine. And second, you look fantastic. So glad you're pleased with the changes and feeling upbeat about your body again. I'm looking forward to my first set of progress pics, and have my fingers crossed I'll see some improvements.

Courtney

oh yay! now that I have posted the pics are showing back up! SCORE!