We are pleased to announce that on March 4, 2025, an updated Rich Text Editor will be introduced in the MyFitnessPal Community. To learn more about the upcoming changes, please click here. We look forward to sharing this new feature with you!

Getting closer to goal, progress since beginning of march 2015

bhokanson2015
bhokanson2015 Posts: 75 Member
edited November 2024 in Success Stories
So, I am blown away when I look at the threads here, you guys are doing so great. And I decided I wanted to jump in the pool and share some of my journey. Although, now I wish I would have taken more pics along the way, but honestly when I started this I hated the way I looked and didn't really feel like posing for a lot of pictures, and would have a mini panic attack anytime I got a facebook notification that someone has added a picture of me. I would think, ohh no, how bad do I look this time and how many people saw it before I could untag myself.

Anyway, so this is a good indication of where I started out. Its not taken at the exact time I started this phase of my life, but I had been hovering right at around 300 pounds for around 2-3 years. I am 6'6" by the way for those wondering, if anyone was.

Big_Ben.jpg

It kind of pains me to even look at it, how big I was, how out of control I had let myself be.

So that brings us to today, as I sit here I am down 74 pounds to 226 and I took this pic this last week when I was traveling for work

IMG_2062.jpg

And this one

IMG_2045.jpg

I am not yet to my goal. But I am so happy I have done this. Its a huge life upgrade. I went from not being able to run for 90 seconds (when I first started couch to 5k) to now completing 5k in under 25 minutes... I know there are a lot of people faster than me but I can't even believe I typed that last sentence, and on saturday I got a personal best for a mile @ a 7:20 pace.

Maybe this helps someone, maybe it doesn't. It feels good though to put all of this down somewhere and share it.

I am so grateful for MFP and the great people I have met on here who continue to inspire me
«1

Replies

  • kcampbell1969
    kcampbell1969 Posts: 29 Member
    Holy cow! Excellent job in such a short amount of time! You can't be too far from your goal!
  • RolemodelmomT
    RolemodelmomT Posts: 107 Member
    You look amazing and you should be totally proud of your achievements!!
  • enterdanger
    enterdanger Posts: 2,447 Member
    That is awesome. I still haven't gotten under 10 minutes on a mile. Be proud. You look great and I will dance a freakin jig if I ever run a 7:20
  • tacosandbeerthatswhyimhere
    tacosandbeerthatswhyimhere Posts: 75 Member
    Wow! You look great. Running is so hard. I'm trying to get better at it as well.
  • BeefSwollington
    BeefSwollington Posts: 4 Member
    Great job! With the shape you are currently in, this would be a perfect time to start a recomp and shaping your shoulders / arms. 6 months of that and you will look badass next summer.
  • CarrieA180
    CarrieA180 Posts: 903 Member
    Amazing results! Well done! :)
  • efrensgirl2015
    efrensgirl2015 Posts: 480 Member
    Kudos to you!
  • bhokanson2015
    bhokanson2015 Posts: 75 Member
    Thank you for the feedback :) You are very kind
  • NextPage
    NextPage Posts: 609 Member
    Wow - great job.
  • shrcpr
    shrcpr Posts: 885 Member
    You look amazing. Thank you for sharing!
  • IILikeToMoveItMoveIt
    IILikeToMoveItMoveIt Posts: 1,172 Member
    Very nice!!
  • ajgordo150
    ajgordo150 Posts: 79 Member
    This makes me want to work harder
  • neldabg
    neldabg Posts: 1,452 Member
    Wowowow! You've done so well! Thanks for sharing your story!
  • Blake3693
    Blake3693 Posts: 56 Member
    Freakin' amazing progress, man!
  • wateryphoenix
    wateryphoenix Posts: 644 Member
    O_O are you the same person? Very inspirational! x.x great job!
  • starryeyedsnoozer
    starryeyedsnoozer Posts: 89 Member
    Holy cow! You did that in 6 months?!
  • FitRoberta
    FitRoberta Posts: 73 Member
    Wow, fantastic job! You look great and your fitness gains are impressive! (I am the queen of the ten-minute mile!)
  • ellerist
    ellerist Posts: 28 Member
    Fantastic results! All your work has paid off tremendously!
  • sambabyno1
    sambabyno1 Posts: 1 Member
    Great man! I m on the same track these days and..viola! half way to it o:)

  • hsuarez1991
    hsuarez1991 Posts: 56 Member
    Thank you for sharing!
  • jamesha100
    jamesha100 Posts: 214 Member
    That is great! - I would have liked to see more progress pictures but I can understand why you do not have them - I am reluctant to take them myself.

    Was running your only exercise and at what point did you start feeling slim? - I am 5'11' and have dropped 50 pounds from 254 but still have a belly whereas yours is flat :)
  • MarietjieHoward
    MarietjieHoward Posts: 214 Member
    Great job!!! you look amazing
  • joinn68
    joinn68 Posts: 480 Member
    edited September 2015
    Do people even recognize you?? :o
    How much weight did you lose before people started thinking twice before calling your name or people didn't even recognize you anymore. What's been your experience after your amazing transformation?
  • bhokanson2015
    bhokanson2015 Posts: 75 Member
    starryeyedsnoozer wrote: »
    Holy cow! You did that in 6 months?!

    Yes, well just over 6 months :)
  • bhokanson2015
    bhokanson2015 Posts: 75 Member
    jamesha100 wrote: »
    That is great! - I would have liked to see more progress pictures but I can understand why you do not have them - I am reluctant to take them myself.

    Was running your only exercise and at what point did you start feeling slim? - I am 5'11' and have dropped 50 pounds from 254 but still have a belly whereas yours is flat :)

    Running hasn't been my only exercise, its the hardest exercise I do, but prior to running I was strictly walking. Walking a lot actually, in the past 6 and a half months there has only been a handful of days that I didn't get my 10,000 steps in a day, most days in that time have been closer to 20,000 steps a day.. I started running actually because a good friend here on myfitnesspal reached out to me and encouraged me to start running, and I am ever so grateful that happened, I really enjoy running and how it makes me feel

    I also have been using the 7 minute workout app on my iPhone on days that I don't run

    As for when I started feeling slim, I don't know its really only been recently that I have had any notion that I am "slim" people tell me I am, but thats different than feeling that I am if that makes any sense..
  • bhokanson2015
    bhokanson2015 Posts: 75 Member
    joinn68 wrote: »
    Do people even recognize you?? :o
    How much weight did you lose before people started thinking twice before calling your name or people didn't even recognize you anymore. What's been your experience after your amazing transformation?

    I just traveled for work and saw a lot of people who I havent seen since May, and there were quite a few people who didn't recognize me until they heard me speak. Which was sort of a bizarre experience lol.

    As far as my experience now vs when I first started this journey. I feel so much better, I sleep better. Prior to losing weight my doctor was going to send me for an expensive sleep study because I wasn't sleeping well, now I sleep like a log.

    Two years ago, I used tobacco and was fat, during a dentist visit when they took my blood pressure it measured at 160/120, now mind you when I went to the doctor after that it didn't measure quite that high, but it was still really high. I just had a physical this month now and my blood pressure measured 103/60, no medication or anything.

    And really the past 6 months has been an education, an education in what eating healthy looks like, what having self control feels like, and what feeling good feels like. :)
  • Chabela53
    Chabela53 Posts: 130 Member
    Wowzer! You look fabulous. I am always amazed at how DIFFERENT everyone looks at there goals, or all the changes along the way. Great job!
  • missmelissa919
    missmelissa919 Posts: 59 Member
    Amazing! You look great
  • bhokanson2015
    bhokanson2015 Posts: 75 Member
    An update on me: In the last two days I set both my 5k personal record and my 10k personal record..

    My 5k is now 24:03 and my 10k is 53:12 looking to beat both of those again by the end of the month.. I look back on how I was now and my life is so much different now than I expected when I first started logging my food with myfitnesspal, so much better than I thought it would be.
  • cmsu64113
    cmsu64113 Posts: 474 Member
    Amazing job!
This discussion has been closed.

Categories

Do you Love MyFitnessPal? Have you crushed a goal or improved your life through better nutrition using MyFitnessPal?
Share your success and inspire others. Leave us a review on Apple Or Google Play stores!