220 lbs to 134 lbs - 5 Year Journey, 1 Baby, 2 Transformations (lots of pics)

Greetings, beasts!!! My name is Shoshana, I've been on MFP for 5 years, and I just want to share my story with you all in hopes of inspiring someone. When I first got on MFP, I was always in this thread looking at before and afters... They really kept me going. I pray that my story will keep someone going.

Just a little background: I was an athlete in high school playing softball, cheerleading, and dance. I was still thick, but had an athletic build. In high school I was about 150 lbs. I went to college in 2004 and quit softball after the first semester. Being that I was an athlete, I could always eat what I wanted without gaining weight... I didn't realize after I quit playing that I couldn't continue to eat the way I had. By the time I graduated college in 2008, I had reached 204 lbs. Fast forward just a bit, I got married, bought a home, and began teaching middle school. Before I knew it, I weighed 221 lbs.


How the journey began:
On Valentine's Day 2011, my husband took some V-Day pics of me. When I saw the pics yall, I almost cried - I felt so bad about the way I looked. From that moment on, my life would never be the same. I started counting calories using
Myfitnesspal and working out 5-6 days a week. Over the next year, I dropped 60 lbs! Here are pics
of my first transformation!

I absolutely loved the way I felt! I loved Myfitnesspal! I even became a fitness instructor and taught nutrition classes at my church. I continued using MFP to maintain my weight loss. I kept it off for a little over a year, and then guess what happened! You guessed it! Got preggo! My pregnancy was amazing. I gained 44 lbs.... I went from 160 to 204 lbs.



After I had my sweet love, I went from 204 lbs to 184 pretty quickly, then I was stuck! Over the next 1.5 years of being a new mother, I just could not find the time or energy to make eating right and working out a priority. I tried to re-commit to MFP over and over and over again! I guess since I stopped logging during my pregnancy and life was totally different now, I just couldn't get back into the swing of it. I spent all of 2014 and half of 2015 at 184 lbs.


In June of 2015,I finally got tired of my own *kitten*. My son was 1.5 and things had gotten a little easier being a new mom. Over the next year, I pretty much killed myself trying to work out 5-6 days a week and count calories. Things just weren't nearly as easy for me as it was the first time. Nonetheless, I cried, I had temper tantrums, my husband didn't always like me, but I did it and lost about 30 lbs in a year.

I was very happy to be down to 155 lbs, but not very happy when I got stuck and stayed there for 5 WHOLE months!!! I was so frustrated with the process. I was eating clean and training mean, and still NOTHING! I was soooooo tired of the journey. I got so fed up that out of complete desperation, I reached out to a friend of a friend who was an Herbalife coach. Before this moment, I had NEVER been interested in any weight loss supplements/companies and definitely not shakes! I had lost weight 2 times on my own... I never felt like I needed "help." But this time was different... I knew something had to give or I was going to have a breakdown. I felt like I was missing so much time with my family always cooking or working out that it stressed me out!

Fast forward to now, I have been using Herbalife for 6 months, I am down to my goal weight of 134, smaller than I was in high school, leaner than I've ever been, have energy for dayyyyyyssssss, workout only 3-4 days a week, and I'm sooooo present these days with my toddler and husband. I am just in awe at how all of this has turned out. I am so grateful and humble for this entire journey, and it all started 5 years ago, right here on MyFitnessPal. I am forever grateful for this website/app and this community! I will always be present here!





I hope that you are encouraged to NEVER give up on yourself. ALWAYS have a vision of your best self and always work towards that! From 220 lbs to 134 lbs... 5 years, 1 baby, 2 transformations. If I can do this, so can YOU! Believe in yourSELF!


[Thread edited by MFP moderator]