My success story, with pictures!!!

Well, I am happy to say it is time for me to post a success story, so here it goes.

My name is Autumn, and I am a 31 year old housewife and mother of a 5 year old and a 3 year old. I have been happily married for 7 ½ years to my perfect match but have been unhappy with my weight for more than 80% of my adult life. Between August 2010 and February 2011, I believe I was close to the heaviest I have been (save being pregnant). I was about 180-185lbs, but I was too afraid of the scale to weigh myself. They say ignorance is bliss, but the denial was a huge part of the problem. Something had to change. The first pic is me in September 2010 for a family picture, I was so disappointed in how fat I looked that I actually scheduled a re-shoot and then wore a corset to minimize myself in on the re-dos. They still weren’t pretty. The second is me at my friend’s wedding in October. I was again wearing a corset/girdle to hold myself into the dress.




So for the last 8 ½ weeks I have been on a mission to create the very best me. I had a trip coming up and didn’t want to be camera shy because of how heavy I look in pictures. So I set a goal of losing 10 lbs in 2 months. I created a blog (http://otm25.blogspot.com/) and posted a link on Facebook, listing my starting weight of 177.9lbs. I knew that once it was out there, on the pages of all 283 of my FB friends (frenemies and ex boyfriends included), I would really be accountable. I also started a Biggest Loser Competition with some close mommy friends to give myself additional motivation. One of my friends suggested MyFitnessPal.com and I immediately signed up. I dutifully logged everything that passed my lips including vitamins, breath mints and even the occasional splurge! I lost 4 lbs the first week and knew that I was addicted. I have since urged everyone I know to sign up, and I personally claim responsibility for at least 7 new members who have in turn lost a ton of weight and told their friends!

So here I am. 18 lbs lighter at 159 lbs and 5’9. I have lost 10.17% of my body weight and finished 2nd in my Biggest Loser Competition. I have lost a total of 5 inches from my waist and hips, and fit comfortably in a size 10 jean. I feel healthier and stronger than I ever have, and look forward to my daily exercise which I had dreaded in the beginning. I feel absolutely in control of my weight and my life. The first shot is a couple of weeks ago at the end of March, the following is me today.




The biggest surprise was how easy it was. I have been overweight most of my adult life and despite saying that I had to lose weight, felt completely powerless. This site gave me the tools to educate myself on nutrition, provided motivation with every before and after pic, and basically gave me the power to make the right choices. I started out not really understanding the science behind it, and ended up eating way less net calories than was healthy. After scouring the message boards and learning what I could, I chose to keep my net calories between 1200 and 1500, and am still consistently losing at least a pound a week, not to mention several inches. I never deprived myself, and can’t remember feeling hungry. If I wanted a cocktail or a Cadbury Crème Egg (my favorite seasonal treat) I just rationed out my calories. I have never gone over my net calories, but if I do, I will know that I am allowed a splurge and that it is no excuse to spiral out of control again. I know myself, and if I were to deprive myself of anything I would not stick with this.

So I am heading to Ireland this week for the big vacation that prompted my weight loss. I will keep my phone with me and continue to log my foods, but not deprive myself at all. I have learned portion sizes which have helped tremendously with the stomach aches I used to have every day after dinner, running to the bathroom. I am lucky that my husband never thought I needed to lose weight, but he is lucky that I have gained confidence with every pound that I have lost. My kids have learned a lot in these past two months about nutrition and exercise, and I sincerely hope that they way that I live and the example I set in this “after stage” will be an efficient tool for them to use in their lives so they won’t struggle with their weight as I had.

So I am not “done” but almost. I lost the 10 lbs I had set out to lose only 4 weeks into my journey, and then continued to lose another 8 lbs the next 4 ½ weeks. Now that I have the tools, I will continue to live this new healthy lifestyle, possibly down to a toned 155 lbs. Then I plan to go into maintenance mode. This is my new life and I love every minute of it. I love the way my clothes fit, I never shy from the camera, and I have gained so much confidence. I hope my story will help as many of you as fellow MFPers have helped to motivate me. Thank you.