BEFORE AND AFTER - how diiiiddd you do it?!?

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Your stories are so inspiring - thank you for sharing! I will keep telling myself: just keep going.

Anyone else got a story? I'd love to hear it...

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I don't really know what my aha moment was, but i was on vacation, went to lunch with my best friend on a Friday in September 2009, on the way home, I drove by a gym that had opened about 6 months earlier and I went in. I told myself I was just going to check it out....I signed up for a year membership. I got two free personal training sessions with my membership. I tild mysel I wasn't paying for a personal trainer until I proved to myself that I would actually go to the gym....after the 2nd free session, I signed up for 12 more. I have been going to the gym 5-6 days a week ever since (except for a few illnesses and injuries)

My first real (or paid for) session with my trainer was hard, he weighed me...320 pounds and we discussed goals and nutrition. My first goal was to lose 25 pounds by Christmas. Hit that before Thanksgiving Lost 50 pounds by the middle of January, 2010. In April I had my first minor stall - had to have my gallbladder taken out. Apparently this is an issue with weight loss. Took 10 days off, then started back at th gym. Hit the 100 pound mark at the end of May 2010.

By the end of the first year ( September 2010), I had lost 125 pounds. Things slowed down and I have been stuck between 186 and 188 since October (134 pounds lost) I am still trying to get to 175. In December, I had hip surgery and couldn't work out for 6 weeks. It was hard to deal with mentally. I had two fears...one that I would gain 30 pounds and two, I would not want to get back to my routine. Niether happened. I stayed the exact same weight!

My normal workout weeks now consist of M W F doing resistance training with some cardio, and all Cardio on T Th. Saturday I usually do a group fitness class which I love. Sunday....if I missed a day during the week, I usually go swim about a mile or so. Lately I have been doing some different classes to mix things up. TRX Circut training is what I am doing now. In the last month or so, I haven't lost any weight, but I have gone down a pants sixe

My diet....not always great. If I could get that under control, I would probably be at my goal weight. I try and eat between 1500 and 1750 calories a day. I eat 6 times a day, trying to get more protien, but not doing great at that either I didn;t give up alcohol completely, but I limited it to weekends, unless I am on vacation. When I gave myself that rule, about March, 2010 it helped with the weight loss. I eat a lot of fruit and try to eat more veggies, but mostly I worked on portion control. My personal trainer was a huge help with my workouts and my nutrition.

I love working out now, hate missing workouts. Who knew? Too bad I didn't do this 20 years ago, but I'm doing it now!

This is the best thread! I needed something to get me back on track!

mauryr- I am stealing your signature quote. It is awesome! I'm going to put it up all around my house!

These are amazing
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Love this topic. Would like to see more.

Love these stories......

bumping for more inspiration!

Although still working on losing another 27lbs, I started at 252 (5"7) in January 2010 - I started by joining the gym and hiring a personal trainer 2x a week. lost about 25 or so lbs that way, but really did not pay any attention to what I ate. Progress was slow - I continued with my trainer - felt better physically but still had a ways to go. Trainer told me that I could work out all I wanted, if I did not change my eating habits, it will be a very long and hard road.

tried weight watchers ... for about a week.

tried keeping track of my food manually in a journal.... for about three days.....

Then, in November of 2010, my daughter introduced me to this site and it has made the world of difference. Its been 240+ days and still going strong. I keep track of my food - the good, the bad and the ugly. I still eat junk food and drink alcohol, but a lot more responsibly. I promised myself I wanted to still eat the stuff I love, but have learned to include it in a much healthier diet.

By tracking my food, I realized how much I was ACTUALLY eating (3k calories for a holiday lasagna dinner was an extreme eye opener!) ... I learned what a portion really is - and do my best to stick to it... and I go to the gym for 1 - 2hrs a day 4 - 6x a week (depending on how I feel and what other activities I have planned for the week)...

And most of all - the 'secret' I think is that I never thought I needed a support network - and MFP has proved me wrong. It's strange, I don't want friends to go to the gym with - never like calling on my friends for support surrounding my weight loss - but there is something comforting in an online community that keeps me grounded and accountable in ways that my 'every day life' friends don't.