Almost a year and 120lbs lost into this fun adventure.
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lyrics09
Posts: 217 Member
I didn't really want to do one of these threads because I tend to just be a quiet girl lol but I wanted to maybe offer help, or hope, to someone out there whose starting or stuck or just needs a boost. These threads certainly kept me going and gave me hope and a 'light at the end of the tunnel' type effect. So here ya go and sorry for long post.
I was always 'bigger' than most girls and friends growing up. I wasn't actually that overweight, but you know how it goes, at the time and being young you think the worse all the time lol. I had really bad knees from years of soccer and then a pretty bad injury that left me getting surgery on my ACL and all that. 6 months of physical therapy and a life of pain when I bent or walked- so I tended to stay inside and play video games. The weight over the years I was slowly gaining also didn't help any, actually made it worse. I did college stuff 2005-2008 and gained more weight eating out and terrible junk foods etc. I was addicted to pop as well my whole life. It was cheap and easy and its just what you went for when you wanted a drink. I was drinking like 3-5 pops a day. Then none of the cute clothes I had were fitting anymore. I was hating trying to shop because nothing fit right. I was feeling more miserable by the day over the years and I had no idea why.
I knew I was heavy but I didn't realize how heavy but figured I had to start changing something. I didn't even weigh myself and just decided to try and lose weight. I started on slimfast and decided to stop ALL pop consumption and only drink water. That lasted about 3 wks total, because that *kitten* gets boring real fast. Spoiler alert. lol. I did buy a scale 2nd week into that adventure and figured "eh I'm probably 200's somewhere mid range" - wrong. I was 304lbs. I felt my heart sink into my stomach. I couldn't believe it that I was actually over 300's. Probably much higher since the water weight etc comes off asap in the first week or so and I was already 2 weeks in. I was kinda baffled, because to me when someone said someone weighed 300 lbs I always imagined those people that can't get out of bed. But here it was damn easy getting to 300lbs without even realizing it. I never tried to lose any weight previously since all my friends would try and fail within a month. Or they would lose 15-20lbs and then gain it all back asap. And here I knew when I started I was going to have to lose 100lbs, and that is VERY difficult especially since not many people even in the world can say they did it. I already felt pretty bad about myself with 100lbs to go but now that I realized my real weight I saw that I actually had 150+lbs to lose. Safe to say I was pretty bummed. But I don't quit things because I'm stubborn and an overachiever in everything in my life so I figured I could apply those traits to this just like anything else.
I wrote a few people for tips or advice and kinda was hit or miss. Some were helpful and some just ignored me. I just took it upon myself to look thru here and read everything I could. I weighed myself daily and marked whatever it was on a big wall calendar so that I could see trends myself. I could see when I gained weight due to water or my period or just how I lost it in spurts. I ate the calories that MFP here told me to eat except I did not eat my exercise calories back, occasionally I would eat back 1/2 of what it said I burned. I ate whatever I wanted as long as it fit into my day's total of calories. Occasionally I wasn't hungry really but wanted a big amazing Starbucks so I'd blow a meals worth of calories into that treat. I would include things like ice cream, alcohol drinks, dinner out, processed foods, frozen things, healthy things, teas, chips, chocolate etc. Basically I did not miss out on anything. I planned every day the night before at 12am so when I'd wake up that next day I'd have everything all ready. It helped me keep things in check and stay excited. And while I hardily went over I still had my days I would go out with friends or family and be 500-600 calories over. I didn't panic I would just go right back to the normal routine the next day. I changed up what I ate from time to time to keep it not boring. Basically rotated what I would crave for awhile. I realized that weight is NOT linear and is black magic. It makes no sense especially being a woman. I would be fine, then randomly gain 5-8lbs, take 5 days to lose those, lose extra, gain 2-4lbs randomly. I did try to keep my sodium under 2300 and make sure to drink lots of water trying to avoid the water weight bloating.
I joined a gym about a month into this journey, planet fitness, and I'm still a member. I go every other day since I joined. Sometimes I went back to back days if I wanted an extra push or was bored. I mainly do cardio (elliptical/arc) but I'll toss in the bike or stair machine sometimes. I do some weight machines that I rotate on what I feel like (basically I felt I wanted to spend more time burning as many calories as I could before I wanted to 'tone up'- just personal choice). I recently added running out at the trail near me outside 3-5 miles of running, I started walk/running and worked up to it). I averaged about 8-14lbs a month weight loss which I guess is quiet high. As I hit the 100 loss mark it slowed down. Lately I'm at almost 120lbs lost total (118 currently technically) and I'm averaging 4-6lbs a month loss. But even if the scale is moving slower I lost quite a bunch of sizes still. I have stuck points of 8-14 days where I won't lose anything but I keep doing what I'm doing anyways.
When I started I wanted to weigh 120lbs, which might be a bit redic for my height so midway thru I decided I wanted to see how an athletic 140lbs looks on me when I get there eventually. I'm tall, at 5'8 almost 5'9. (Which is funny when I started this I was 5'7 and somehow gained inches as I lost weight lol) I'm at 188 currently, and need to be around 167 to be in the "normal not overweight category" and my original goal date was December 2015.
I started at over a size 24/26 pants barely fitting and currently I just bought 2 pairs of size 8/10 jeans (one from H&M and one from Calvin Klein) that fit without any trouble buttoning. Tops/Tshirts I went from a 2x to a medium/small currently.
I measured myself every month and took pictures every 10lbs mark to keep track of everything.
Neck: 18" down to 14"
Waist: 57.5" down to 35"
Hips: 52" down to 38"
Upper Arms: 15" down to 11"
Thighs: 27" down to 18"
Breast area: 42" down to 38"
Bust: 38" down to 35.5"
BMI: I went from a BMI of 48 to a current 29 almost 28
I hated myself before so I tended to avoid pictures so excuse the lack of variety and I'm not totally brave enough to post the underwear pics on here just yet. lol
And like the typical woman- I hate like every picture of myself haha Look at your own risk :P
Some Before:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/53477042/2013-03-26 15.45.15.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/53477042/before1.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/53477042/IMG_0477.JPG
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/53477042/199570_505978618106_977_n.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/53477042/IMG_1678.JPG
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/53477042/227784_505979057226_9039_n.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/53477042/IMG_1128.JPG
Currently (After):
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/53477042/2015-04-11 17.12.17-1.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/53477042/2015-04-10 15.33.08.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/53477042/2015-04-08 02.53.02.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/53477042/2015-04-10 15.31.23-1.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/53477042/2015-04-09 21.09.43-1.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/53477042/2015-04-10 15.24.58-2.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/53477042/2015-04-09 21.04.32-1.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/53477042/2015-04-11 18.15.01-6.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/53477042/2015-04-11 00.17.30.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/53477042/2015-03-31 15.40.11 (2).jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/53477042/2015-04-07 18.04.34-2.jpg
Oh the common question I see people being asked - the skin thing. I don't really see anything horrible. I mean yeah I have some stretch marks but I tan darker so they kinda blend in better and I already have tattoos so the jig is up for having flawless skin hah. I have some skin that looks wrinkly ish on my tummy but its not sagging bad, i.e I think it will get tighter as I let it recover/keep it moisturized etc over the next year.
I know how drama on here explodes and breeds so I'm saying -- I, in NO way, believe this is the ONLY way or RIGHT way to do things. This is just what worked for me. I don't think I'm an expert by any means at this. I just keep getting asked about how I'm doing this or how am I so "amazing" and I honestly don't think what I did was hard- its only hard because you have to have the mental patience and will power to keep going even when you think the finish line isn't in sight, what you're doing is pointless because you can't see the difference, etc. Sticking with it when the times get tough is what makes it hard. A few of my friends have asked my advice and I love hearing them attack me with joy how they lost 10lbs or up to 20lbs down. It makes me good that I helped ONE person learn to start loving themselves.
Cheers & Thank you to all the people I've creeped on over the last year!
I hope to get to my goals by end of summer and fall time of this year.
xox
I'll try to answer anything if people want to creep on me lol
I was always 'bigger' than most girls and friends growing up. I wasn't actually that overweight, but you know how it goes, at the time and being young you think the worse all the time lol. I had really bad knees from years of soccer and then a pretty bad injury that left me getting surgery on my ACL and all that. 6 months of physical therapy and a life of pain when I bent or walked- so I tended to stay inside and play video games. The weight over the years I was slowly gaining also didn't help any, actually made it worse. I did college stuff 2005-2008 and gained more weight eating out and terrible junk foods etc. I was addicted to pop as well my whole life. It was cheap and easy and its just what you went for when you wanted a drink. I was drinking like 3-5 pops a day. Then none of the cute clothes I had were fitting anymore. I was hating trying to shop because nothing fit right. I was feeling more miserable by the day over the years and I had no idea why.
I knew I was heavy but I didn't realize how heavy but figured I had to start changing something. I didn't even weigh myself and just decided to try and lose weight. I started on slimfast and decided to stop ALL pop consumption and only drink water. That lasted about 3 wks total, because that *kitten* gets boring real fast. Spoiler alert. lol. I did buy a scale 2nd week into that adventure and figured "eh I'm probably 200's somewhere mid range" - wrong. I was 304lbs. I felt my heart sink into my stomach. I couldn't believe it that I was actually over 300's. Probably much higher since the water weight etc comes off asap in the first week or so and I was already 2 weeks in. I was kinda baffled, because to me when someone said someone weighed 300 lbs I always imagined those people that can't get out of bed. But here it was damn easy getting to 300lbs without even realizing it. I never tried to lose any weight previously since all my friends would try and fail within a month. Or they would lose 15-20lbs and then gain it all back asap. And here I knew when I started I was going to have to lose 100lbs, and that is VERY difficult especially since not many people even in the world can say they did it. I already felt pretty bad about myself with 100lbs to go but now that I realized my real weight I saw that I actually had 150+lbs to lose. Safe to say I was pretty bummed. But I don't quit things because I'm stubborn and an overachiever in everything in my life so I figured I could apply those traits to this just like anything else.
I wrote a few people for tips or advice and kinda was hit or miss. Some were helpful and some just ignored me. I just took it upon myself to look thru here and read everything I could. I weighed myself daily and marked whatever it was on a big wall calendar so that I could see trends myself. I could see when I gained weight due to water or my period or just how I lost it in spurts. I ate the calories that MFP here told me to eat except I did not eat my exercise calories back, occasionally I would eat back 1/2 of what it said I burned. I ate whatever I wanted as long as it fit into my day's total of calories. Occasionally I wasn't hungry really but wanted a big amazing Starbucks so I'd blow a meals worth of calories into that treat. I would include things like ice cream, alcohol drinks, dinner out, processed foods, frozen things, healthy things, teas, chips, chocolate etc. Basically I did not miss out on anything. I planned every day the night before at 12am so when I'd wake up that next day I'd have everything all ready. It helped me keep things in check and stay excited. And while I hardily went over I still had my days I would go out with friends or family and be 500-600 calories over. I didn't panic I would just go right back to the normal routine the next day. I changed up what I ate from time to time to keep it not boring. Basically rotated what I would crave for awhile. I realized that weight is NOT linear and is black magic. It makes no sense especially being a woman. I would be fine, then randomly gain 5-8lbs, take 5 days to lose those, lose extra, gain 2-4lbs randomly. I did try to keep my sodium under 2300 and make sure to drink lots of water trying to avoid the water weight bloating.
I joined a gym about a month into this journey, planet fitness, and I'm still a member. I go every other day since I joined. Sometimes I went back to back days if I wanted an extra push or was bored. I mainly do cardio (elliptical/arc) but I'll toss in the bike or stair machine sometimes. I do some weight machines that I rotate on what I feel like (basically I felt I wanted to spend more time burning as many calories as I could before I wanted to 'tone up'- just personal choice). I recently added running out at the trail near me outside 3-5 miles of running, I started walk/running and worked up to it). I averaged about 8-14lbs a month weight loss which I guess is quiet high. As I hit the 100 loss mark it slowed down. Lately I'm at almost 120lbs lost total (118 currently technically) and I'm averaging 4-6lbs a month loss. But even if the scale is moving slower I lost quite a bunch of sizes still. I have stuck points of 8-14 days where I won't lose anything but I keep doing what I'm doing anyways.
When I started I wanted to weigh 120lbs, which might be a bit redic for my height so midway thru I decided I wanted to see how an athletic 140lbs looks on me when I get there eventually. I'm tall, at 5'8 almost 5'9. (Which is funny when I started this I was 5'7 and somehow gained inches as I lost weight lol) I'm at 188 currently, and need to be around 167 to be in the "normal not overweight category" and my original goal date was December 2015.
I started at over a size 24/26 pants barely fitting and currently I just bought 2 pairs of size 8/10 jeans (one from H&M and one from Calvin Klein) that fit without any trouble buttoning. Tops/Tshirts I went from a 2x to a medium/small currently.
I measured myself every month and took pictures every 10lbs mark to keep track of everything.
Neck: 18" down to 14"
Waist: 57.5" down to 35"
Hips: 52" down to 38"
Upper Arms: 15" down to 11"
Thighs: 27" down to 18"
Breast area: 42" down to 38"
Bust: 38" down to 35.5"
BMI: I went from a BMI of 48 to a current 29 almost 28
I hated myself before so I tended to avoid pictures so excuse the lack of variety and I'm not totally brave enough to post the underwear pics on here just yet. lol
And like the typical woman- I hate like every picture of myself haha Look at your own risk :P
Some Before:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/53477042/2013-03-26 15.45.15.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/53477042/before1.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/53477042/IMG_0477.JPG
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/53477042/199570_505978618106_977_n.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/53477042/IMG_1678.JPG
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/53477042/227784_505979057226_9039_n.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/53477042/IMG_1128.JPG
Currently (After):
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/53477042/2015-04-11 17.12.17-1.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/53477042/2015-04-10 15.33.08.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/53477042/2015-04-08 02.53.02.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/53477042/2015-04-10 15.31.23-1.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/53477042/2015-04-09 21.09.43-1.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/53477042/2015-04-10 15.24.58-2.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/53477042/2015-04-09 21.04.32-1.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/53477042/2015-04-11 18.15.01-6.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/53477042/2015-04-11 00.17.30.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/53477042/2015-03-31 15.40.11 (2).jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/53477042/2015-04-07 18.04.34-2.jpg
Oh the common question I see people being asked - the skin thing. I don't really see anything horrible. I mean yeah I have some stretch marks but I tan darker so they kinda blend in better and I already have tattoos so the jig is up for having flawless skin hah. I have some skin that looks wrinkly ish on my tummy but its not sagging bad, i.e I think it will get tighter as I let it recover/keep it moisturized etc over the next year.
I know how drama on here explodes and breeds so I'm saying -- I, in NO way, believe this is the ONLY way or RIGHT way to do things. This is just what worked for me. I don't think I'm an expert by any means at this. I just keep getting asked about how I'm doing this or how am I so "amazing" and I honestly don't think what I did was hard- its only hard because you have to have the mental patience and will power to keep going even when you think the finish line isn't in sight, what you're doing is pointless because you can't see the difference, etc. Sticking with it when the times get tough is what makes it hard. A few of my friends have asked my advice and I love hearing them attack me with joy how they lost 10lbs or up to 20lbs down. It makes me good that I helped ONE person learn to start loving themselves.
Cheers & Thank you to all the people I've creeped on over the last year!
I hope to get to my goals by end of summer and fall time of this year.xox
I'll try to answer anything if people want to creep on me lol
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Replies
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I only clicked on the first picture of each before and after and I have to admit I didn't read the entire post. Holy moly girl! Good for you! Congrats on your success and hard work. The photos speak for themselves.0
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Wow! I like it! Realistic and not giving up all the good tasting foods!0
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WOW! Amazing! I have over 100 lbs to lose it and this helps keep me motivated.0
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Awesome job lady! You look 15 years younger in your after pictures. You did it right, slow and steady, and you look fantastic!0
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Oh thanks everyone! Yeah I do try to mix in healthy foods but its not out of "requirement" I do it because I want to try new foods. I don't have some stuff like the super bad for you fast foods just because its too difficult to manage the calorie counting when the entire day can be blown on 1 meal item easily. I prefer pre-packaged meals to cooked ones because honestly I hate trying to figure out exactly the calories in each meal I cooked, its easy to read a back of a box lol
I guess I should put how old I am too since age changes things. I'm 28 as of this past March, obviously 27 when I started. I never remember how old I am anyways lol0 -
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Wow! You are an inspiration! Thank you for sharing your story! Reading threads like this keeps me wanting to keep going, no matter how much I want to toss in the towel. I have my before pic images in my head and then I think about how I used to look in my size 8s. I'll remind myself of you and your successes, which will definitely help me keep on track!
As far as eating pre-packaged foods because you don't want to count the calories. MFP has an awesome tool here. I use it all the time. I'm sure you probably know about this feature but for those who don't, it's a God send! If you use recipes that you find online, you can drop them into your recipe folder here and it calculates everything for you by matching the ingredients and quantity. It is AWESOME! No need to measure food and count the calories, it does it all for you!
Keep up that great work!! You have so much to be proud of! Thanks again for sharing how it has been working for you! I want to work my way up from walking to jogging, like you!! Just, wow!0 -
Thanks!!! Yeah I haven't tried too much to fiddle with the recipe thing. I love the barcode scanner on the phone app- its probably my fave thing to do ever because I'm a nerd haha. I save some recipes and cook some stuff from scratch but usually its also a time thing. I'm a full time student studying structural engineering for architecture so I'm always on weird hours trying to study, get work or projects done, and get to gym etc. So cooking is sometimes out of the option unless I can get more hours in a day. I did try the pre-made things to heat up during the week I just got bored super easily with those.
I did make water less boring by putting fruit or cucumbers or mint in the giant container to soak to make it taste better. I enjoy doing that.0 -
Very, very impressive and inspirational!0
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Thanks! Like I said I hope I can make at least someone realize what they're doing IS worth it and it DOES get better even when you think it isn't. Even I don't always see a difference but I know somethingggg is different and I at least feel better inside.
Oh yeah ps having braces since November....You don't get to eat a lot of hard things so adjusting diet to accommodate some of that pain I guess helped some with the losses. I couldn't have some stuff till I got used to knowing how to eat with these bad boys and occasionally had days where I felt like I was in a scene out of Saw 5 with mouth cuts and couldn't eat solid things. Mashed potatoes, mac and cheese cups, soup, no pretzels etc.0 -
You are awesome! This is amazing! keep up the great work...0
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You look fantastic!!!! Keep up the great work!!! 0
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I could have written your story! Your stats are almost identical to mine now, and you have given me hope that I can do this! I struggle with keeping the weight off, and just need to get my butt in gear and stick with it!0
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I've enjoyed watching you melt away and kick *kitten* at school also. A lot of people will be inspired by you today but you've had me inspired since the day we became friends! Keep tearing it up. ❤0
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Thank you!weightapp15 wrote: »You look fantastic!!!! Keep up the great work!!!patnguyen34 wrote: »You are awesome! This is amazing! keep up the great work... You're always super awesome and a great friend~
Nice! Yeah I mean if I can do it--litearlly anyone can do this. Just find what keeps you as excited as you can and it makes it enjoyable. I use monthly planners with stickie notes for short term goals to get excited about, a large wall calendar for progress marks, etc. It keeps me motivated and that time isn't taking forever to get to the end.mizzjessie13 wrote: »I could have written your story! Your stats are almost identical to mine now, and you have given me hope that I can do this! I struggle with keeping the weight off, and just need to get my butt in gear and stick with it!
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bigT24chiefs wrote: »I've enjoyed watching you melt away and kick *kitten* at school also. A lot of people will be inspired by you today but you've had me inspired since the day we became friends! Keep tearing it up. ❤ I keep telling you and all my buddies on my friends list. You all inspire me so much more than I feel I inspire you hah. I love logging on to see the progress and exciting news from you guys. xox You helped me change my own life. I hope I can return that favor hah
And yeah, yeah, I'm a giant academic nerd :P
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Thank you for sharing. You look amazing and so happy! I really needed this inspiration!0
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Amazing!!! What a transformation!0
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Thanks for the very motivating post! you look absolutely beautiful.
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jillby6666 wrote: »Thank you for sharing. You look amazing and so happy! I really needed this inspiration!Amazing!!! What a transformation!marlenemeza wrote: »Thanks for the very motivating post! you look absolutely beautiful.
You guys are so sweet, thank you! I guess what made me the most motivated was that I truly am I positive, enthusiastic, happy person always at heart and on the inside but when I hated my outside I always hid it. I never wanted people to notice me or to stand out. Stupid I know. But its so refreshing to smile and feel semi confident or share my positivity with others around me for once.
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