Six Months and 37 Pounds!

A brief summary for those of you who do not feel like reading:
Starting weight: 174
Current weight: 137
Goals: Probably about 130, gain muscle.
Height: 5’6”

I know this isn't a giant weight loss like some people post, but I lost 37 pounds in six months, and that's a big deal to me. I don't have amazing abs and I'm not a size two, but I'm proud of my progress. I couple days ago, I hit day 180. I never thought I could stick to this lifestyle for so long, or that I could fit into my old prom dress.
I have never been thin. I was a normal weight during high school, but never felt like I had a great body. I valued my personal health and fitness throughout high school, but never played school sports or considered myself to be athletic. When I started college, I started to get athletic. I ran, went to the gym, played sports with friends, etc. This ended when I found out my ACL had been torn for two years. I got it fixed after my first semester of college, and it was downhill from there. I got lazy and used my knee as an excuse to not exercise. I took the bus rather than walking. I started to date someone who did not value his personal health. We ate junk food all the time and rarely exercised. It's not his fault that I gained so much weight during the year and a half I dated him, but the during the relationship, my physical fitness went down the drain. I gained way more than the freshman 15. I wish I knew my weight entering college, but I must have gained about 30 pounds between my second semester and the end of my sophomore year.
This photo was a wake-up call for me:



I was 19 years old, 5’6”, and 174 pounds. I hate how I look in this photo, and it will be displayed on the internet forever as I reminder of the time I earned a math scholarship, but looked really fat. I know the fit of my clothes and the angle of the photo may not have been ideal, but that’s what I looked like.
Here’s another picture of me at 174ish pounds:



I started to use MFP in late May, after the semester ended. I monitored what I ate and exercised frequently.
In July, I ran a color run with my friends. I was about 162 pounds in this picture.



I ran a few times a day, biked to work rather than driving, and continued to eat in moderation. By the end of August, I was 155 pounds.



I was still unhappy with the way my stomach looked, but pleased with the shape of my legs. When I went back to school, people complimented me on my weight loss. I was worried that I would gain more weight like I did during the previous year of college. I started going to the gym a few times a week, running with friends.
Around homecoming in early October, I was 147 pounds.



Last weekend, I went to a wedding. I wore a dress that hasn’t fit me in over a year, and accepted compliments from my extended family. I am now 137 pounds, happy, and healthy.



I would still like to lose 10ish more pounds and do some toning with my arms and stomach, but I realize the importance of taking my time, eating healthy, and enjoying my life.
I’m a math person, so I enjoy using graphs and charts to represent information, so here is my weight loss graph. The reason the lines are so straight for late August-now is because I don’t have a scale at school. I would occasionally weigh myself at the gym at the end of the days with my shoes on, but the bigger drops are when I went home and used my parent’s scale in the morning.



Look at the difference in my face!

164 lbs:



137 lbs:



Feel free to add me as a friend if you need motivation or support. I’ll try to answer any questions you have. I’m excited to keep progressing! More success story pictures will come later when I have hardcore abs!