Almost a year and 120lbs lost into this fun adventure.

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Replies

  • kmclamb13
    kmclamb13 Posts: 220 Member
    You look great! Congrats on your success!
  • Sarahndipity30
    Sarahndipity30 Posts: 312 Member
    I loved your story and thank you for sharing. Sounds all too familiar!! Ill have to check out your before/after as my work internet has the links blocked (booo). But WTG!!
  • pattykiser7
    pattykiser7 Posts: 7 Member
    You look Marvelous!!!! Awesome job! I only hope I can do the same!
  • SooGal
    SooGal Posts: 6 Member
    What an inspirational story. Your initial measurements were very close to my original measurements. I can only hope that I too will be able to get into the sizes you mention.
  • Sivjegoose
    Sivjegoose Posts: 7 Member
    I love your story! You look beautiful!
  • CandyMonster160
    CandyMonster160 Posts: 153 Member
    So fantastic! Way to go, girl! :smiley:
  • courtneyallisonatx
    courtneyallisonatx Posts: 133 Member
    This is incredibly inspiring!
    I started my serious weight loss journey about a week ago, I weigh approx. 305lbs at the present time.

    to see someone so close to my age and the same weight and height be able to pull this off is amazing. This post has made me feel more inspired than any of the others I have read.
    Thank you for putting this up, you have no idea what this has done for me!
  • nsides0427
    nsides0427 Posts: 56 Member
    You look absolutely amazing lady! Looking at your after photos you can see that smile light up your face, you look SO happy, I love it! And those calves!!! Super cut, crazy! Congratulations!
  • xesixb
    xesixb Posts: 165 Member
    I read the whole story and thought that you were in your twenties, but then I saw your first before pic and thought 'nope she's in her late thirties' ->(not to be rude). Your after pictures amazed me. You look so much younger than before (like a teenager). You have beautiful features and killer legs. Keep up the good work and hopefully you reach your final goal soon. You are an MFP inspiration.
  • LetMeGetUsername
    LetMeGetUsername Posts: 10 Member
    Thank you for posting about your wonderful transformation, and including details. I've been losing steadily for 3 months, but the last couple of weeks I've been so "good" with exercising and calorie deficits, and haven't lost any pounds, which made me very depressed at this last weigh-in. It helps to read that this happened to you as well but eventually you started losing again by being consistent. Good job and good luck with the rest!
  • kamakazeekim
    kamakazeekim Posts: 1,183 Member
    Holy cow! What an awesome transformation!!! Way to go!!!! Your legs look fantastic!!!
  • hnm921
    hnm921 Posts: 49 Member
    You look incredible! Thanks for sharing your story!
  • kalvgs
    kalvgs Posts: 2 Member
    lyrics09 wrote: »
    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. <3

    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 have such a long journey ahead of me. I turned 40 in December and feel no energy. Your story is very inspiring. Thank you for sharing and good luck on continued success
  • believeinme0430
    believeinme0430 Posts: 270 Member
    edited April 2015
    OMG!!! Youl look amazing!!! Congrats on your weigh loss!!! (P.S) I am adding you as a friend so i can creep on you :)
  • smkondy
    smkondy Posts: 583 Member
    Thank you so much for sharing your story--you look amazing!!! :)
  • melissakolpin
    melissakolpin Posts: 6 Member
    one word---- AMAZING!!

    And I love how you did it....because it is EXACTLY what I do, very early in. I have 80lbs to go, and you have given me so much to look forward to! Thank you so much for sharing! xx
  • starbucktigh
    starbucktigh Posts: 170 Member
    No. Freaking. Way! You look like a different person! Congratulations! That's impressive progress!!
  • lyrics09
    lyrics09 Posts: 217 Member
    jessietrumble wrote: »
    It really is encouraging to read this and know being normal and just using moderation really works. You are of similar weight and height as I am. One of my biggest struggles on here is not having more interaction with people with similar goals. It's funny how you mention losing weight in spurts because that's exactly what I do. I will come to almost a standstill for three weeks or so then lose 8 to 10 over the next three.

    Yeah definitely after keeping track on a big wall calendar it was easy to see I'd lose at certain points, gain in others. Sometimes have 8-14 days of nothing for no reason but it would end up averaging back out because I'd lose more than 2 lbs the next week etc. Keeping track daily kept me motivated and calmer I think than waiting weekly to see anything. :)
  • lyrics09
    lyrics09 Posts: 217 Member
    jessietrumble wrote: »
    Did you ever notice that your weigh loss was more steady when you exercised?

    What I noticed, for me, was that I would exercise one day. The next day my weight would actually be slightly up for that day and if I was going to lose it was going to be the next day after that, that I'd see the "drop". The weight loss for me was pretty quick at the start but thats usually how it goes and I was probably well over 304 for the first week(s) before I even bought a scale. 304 is just where I started to "count". It got pretty steady from there till 100lbs loss mark. And I worked out every other day. I did have a few points I got stuck but kept at it. Like if my period lined up with a holiday/family dinner out and I'd eat things I wasn't eating normally the combination made me gain 'fake weight' for a bit. I'd throw in an extra work out day or drink more water or drink a meal with a good smoothie or something too while I waited for things to settle back down.
  • riffraff2112
    riffraff2112 Posts: 1,756 Member
    WOW. Seen quite a few success stories, yours is one of my faves.
    Awesome job and I love your smile...you are beaming and you should be!!!
  • lyrics09
    lyrics09 Posts: 217 Member
    lynder64 wrote: »
    Has anyone told you that you've got great legs? Oh... and smile :-) Wonderful transformation... you must be feeling pretty darn amazing!!! Great job!!!

    thanks <3 Which is hilarious my weight at 304 wasn't on my legs much. I still had pretty nice legs from playing soccer for so long. It was all in my middle/upper body. And just because you use your legs to run and do cardio etc they just got better and better, even still. And I hear it quite a bit and it cracks me up because to me they're just legs.

    My smile on the other hand- I just got short term braces back in November since I couldn't get them growing up because being a musician I couldn't mess with my mouth. I have put up with these annoying things since then and the pain, and am SO excited I can be proud to be the smiley person and not feel ashamed or want to hide my smile. They come off May/June so I'm pumped to not have to take 40 min to pick food out of my wire like a weirdo lol. I literally love taking pictures of places I go and with friends and I skipped all that forever because I hated everything about myself. So its nice to not miss moments over stuff like that.

    My mom actually started the same time as me doing the same kind of lifestyle changes. She wanted to do this with me. She is 68 and started at 243-244, she has lost over 65 lbs and has not quit either. She eats even more of a relaxed type meal planning than I do. She is slower and only loses about 3-4 lbs a month ish but she hasn't quit. Her key was getting enough fiber in her diet and switching up exercises more. I was happy to see and help my mom be happy with herself more and more and the hope that she can be healthy and be around for as long as possible to harass me :P
  • lyrics09
    lyrics09 Posts: 217 Member
    and yeah feel free to add me if you want to creep/be buddies/look at diaries etc. I keep everything open for friends even when I have some weird *kitten* choices in there I just show what I do flat out. I'm finishing up finals coming up so I'm not as super social on peoples walls like normal but usually my friends and I are all silly and fun.

    I made it a point that I wasn't going to quit and I wasn't going to be miserable doing this back when I started. I figured you can't live on shakes or pills or juices or things like nutrisystem forever- at least me, maybe other people are way cooler and badass than me lol. I would get so bored or even if it worked for me the moment I lost all my weight I'd go back to eating poorly in large amounts. This way since its a long journey anyways I could train myself how to eat the foods I like but eat them in the right amounts. So like re-learning how to eat. I wouldn't feel bad about missing foods or wanting to sneak things then feel guilty. If I wanted ice cream or candy I'd work it in, or work in a huge starbucks with amazing whipped cream lol. I know the give-and-take so to speak that if I want these good things that are high in calories you have to sacrifice other things to keep it into perspective. But I wouldn't be unhappy and at the end I know how to keep eating right for me.

    If i did go over due to accident, bad day, family dinner party etc, what also helped was keeping in mind it takes 3000+ calories to make one pound. You didn't gain all that weight in 1 day it happened slowly over time. So yeah you might have went over but more than likely you just ate at or near "maintenance" so you really don't have to feel terrible or want to sabotage all the rest of your days of hard work.
  • amandammmq
    amandammmq Posts: 394 Member
    You have worked so hard, and it shows! What really struck me about your story is that you have been steady and steadfast the whole time. You just kept plugging away through the good weeks and the bad weeks.

    A lot of it is a mental game, keeping a good attitude, getting back on track if you briefly lose your way. I know this intellectually but it doesn't always sink in, as revealed by my weight and fitness yo-yoing up and down over the years. One of these days, I'll finally get it! ;-)
  • lyrics09
    lyrics09 Posts: 217 Member
    jamie_lee80 wrote: »
    You look awesome!! I bet you are having a blast buying new cute clothes!

    lol yes getting smaller definitely costs me more money than I had planned. I love heels. I had some but never wore them when I was heavy. I didn't really feel comfortable or want to draw attention to myself. I hated being tall and etc. Now lol I think I have and entire wall of heels in my closet and I even wear them to the grocery store- Yeah I'm that *kitten* girl. I love being tall now and I love dressing up. I used to hate to try stuff on now I feel like I'm at some magic show, trying on like a size 8-10 and thinking it won't fit and POOF it does. Or smalls being actually perfectly fitting. A silly goal I'll admit was back when I started I wanted to fit into a pair of lululemon yoga pants just to finally say Hey I did this and can look like one of those cute people who work out. It was so weird not only fitting into them but I wasn't even stuck in the biggest size. - PS Calvin Klein yoga pants and underarmor pants are still way cooler to me hah.

    And with the shoe addiction I love colorful running shoes even more now. I have like every color variation of asics triathlon shoe I think now. haha
  • lyrics09
    lyrics09 Posts: 217 Member
    xesixb wrote: »
    I read the whole story and thought that you were in your twenties, but then I saw your first before pic and thought 'nope she's in her late thirties' ->(not to be rude). Your after pictures amazed me. You look so much younger than before (like a teenager). You have beautiful features and killer legs. Keep up the good work and hopefully you reach your final goal soon. You are an MFP inspiration.

    Yeah definitely don't take offense no worries, I know I looked old and felt old lol. From about 18 yrs onward everyone always assumed I was 4-6 yrs older than I was. I just felt like eh whatever I wanted to be older anyways hah. But I do even see that myself that I look (and feel) so much younger now at 28 than I did even at 18. I honestly can't answer how old I am if people ask me on the spot, I forget/don't think about it. To me I feel 23-24 yrs old, or how I think I should have felt. When I compared pictures from HS senior year when I was 190 and to my recent 190 10 years later the distribution of weight is totally different too, and I looked better at now 190 than the younger 190 version. Could be the more mature features or now i'm more toned in places I wasn't before but its neat to see how the weight number really doesn't matter sometimes.

    The only regret is that I wish I had the courage to try doing this journey earlier. I was scared to fail and didn't know this is all it took really. I would syke myself up to try and chicken out. I didn't want to draw attention that I was not only 'fat' but I failed at trying not to be fat sort of thing. And I hate failing/being bad at things too. But the important thing is I finally did it no matter what age so whatever 28 is cooler than 18 anyways haha :P Jk (love you youngins <3)
  • sabrina0024
    sabrina0024 Posts: 22 Member
    Everything you've said here is spot on. You have done wonderful! - Look at those mile long legs!!! Stunning! And you're right - it really isn't hard once you get the mental patience for it!!! I dropped 50 lbs and it was easy - I just ate right and exercised, but then I gained 12 back...not a big deal...it's just 12....but what's stopping me from succeeding is all in my mind. It's not that we can't do it....we just have to tell ourselves that yes we can. Very good blog. Good for you.
  • lyrics09
    lyrics09 Posts: 217 Member
    amandammmq wrote: »
    You have worked so hard, and it shows! What really struck me about your story is that you have been steady and steadfast the whole time. You just kept plugging away through the good weeks and the bad weeks.

    A lot of it is a mental game, keeping a good attitude, getting back on track if you briefly lose your way. I know this intellectually but it doesn't always sink in, as revealed by my weight and fitness yo-yoing up and down over the years. One of these days, I'll finally get it! ;-)

    Yeah thats definitely the hardest part, to me. Was keeping myself enthused about this. Not feeling depressed that it was taking forever. Not being able to see a difference. No one noticing they saw a difference. Seeing gains for no reason. Seeing 8-14 days go by seeing no scale change and thinking I wasted more time. That stuff is whats hard. Even almost 120lbs in and I don't always see a difference, I still feel 'fat' or huge, I still feel like it takes forever occasionally. We all have bad days, especially having hormones as a woman haha Just gotta remind yourself that you will have more good days than bad as you get closer. :)

    Going to the gym, eating the right calories each day, drinking water, that *kitten* was all the easy stuff. hah.
  • lyrics09
    lyrics09 Posts: 217 Member
    sabrina0024 wrote: »
    Everything you've said here is spot on. You have done wonderful! - Look at those mile long legs!!! Stunning! And you're right - it really isn't hard once you get the mental patience for it!!! I dropped 50 lbs and it was easy - I just ate right and exercised, but then I gained 12 back...not a big deal...it's just 12....but what's stopping me from succeeding is all in my mind. It's not that we can't do it....we just have to tell ourselves that yes we can. Very good blog. Good for you.


    Hah thanks! Yeah my mom and friends tell me how long my legs are all the time now. When I sat there and thought jesus christ i have 150-160 lbs to lose back at the begining I wanted to quit right then. So to make it feel less intimdating I just broke it down into mile stones. Every 20lbs, or special BMI category changes etc. So it felt like I had mini wins along the way. I still have:

    TBD 6th Goal: 184 BMI 28
    TBD 7th Mile Stone *Finish Line In Sight*: 167 BMI 26 (Normal)
    TBD GW: 140-150 BMI 21


    -to go on my page type thing. I put these things on stick notes in my school planner to just let me stay excited. A tool I did find helpful was on slimfast's website surprisingly. it is their weight calculator you can put how much you weigh and when you want to be done and it will estimate how much you can lose in that time, based on 2 lbs a week losses etc. Its not totally accurate but helps see down the road what you can look forward to. I like using it.
  • tinaslim
    tinaslim Posts: 48 Member
    Really liked your story and "process". You also did a great job with the pics...it really says it all...that you stuck with it and it worked. Great job and really inspiring ;)
  • beamer0821
    beamer0821 Posts: 488 Member
    wonderful! congrats! thanks for sharing!
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