A work in progress..

firef1y72 · April 2016

So I started this journey back in November weighing in at 289.5lb, refusing to allow anyone to photograph me at that point. At that point I could hardly walk, (I have hypermobility syndrome), was on painkillers 4x a day, couldn't get out of the bath on my own, couldn't sit at tables with fixed chairs and could barely manage 3000 steps a day.

Rather than following any faddy diets, I decided that I would try simply eating less and moving more and so started tracking what I ate on here and bought myself a Fitbit to track activity. I refused to ban any food, instead saying to myself that as long as it was within my calorie allowance I could eat it and if it wasn't and I really wanted it I'd walk until it was.

By the 1st of January I was 32lb down and finally allowed my photo to be taken and decided to start creating a montage of progress pics, showing how my body changed. Starting with monthly pictures and then adding in pics when I hit one of my mini targets.

Today I broke what was (to me at least) a big target and I am under 225lb for the first time in well over 4 years.

Next target is 210lb which I hope to hit by the end of May, but in the meantime I've reduced my pain meds by half, can get in and out of the bath on my own, go to the gym 3-5 times a week, am on week 4 of C25K and walk 20000-30000 steps a day.

Carla1962Shaw2015 · April 2016

Wonderful job! You not only look great, it sounds like you are feeling so much better. Congratulations!

plushieboo · April 2016

Awesome job!!! You are doing great!! And looking good!!

kgb6days · April 2016

WOW! I can't begin to tell you how happy I am for you. Fabulous change in your weight and appearance, but the ability to be mobile with less pain - fabulous. The happier look on your face says much

Iamsimpleguy · April 2016

Amazing Job!! Great work and You are inspiration for newbies like me!! All the best for the goal!! You are looking good.

RoseTheWarrior · April 2016

Absolutely terrific change! Keep up the great effort and you'll reach your goals for sure!

firef1y72 · April 2016

kgb6days wrote: »

WOW! I can't begin to tell you how happy I am for you. Fabulous change in your weight and appearance, but the ability to be mobile with less pain - fabulous. The happier look on your face says much

Thank you. I am much happier with being able to do more for myself. Still see myself as the woman in the first picture though, I seriously struggle with self image. But the photos don't lie and they're helping me see the difference in my body.

Fursian · April 2016

Those are fantastic achievements, well done to you!

All the best!

cmsu64113 · April 2016

Great Job!

grwrn · April 2016

Awesome job! Keep trudging through. You'll make it.

firef1y72 · April 2016

Had a really horrid week as far as the scales are concerned last week, despite being in deficit and dropping a couple of pound at the beginning of the week I ended up 0.4lb heavier come Saturday. Thankfully I knew why and didn't get too stressed, I'd worked out really hard over 4 days, pushing myself with resistance levels, speeds, inclines and weights for a total of 8 hours over the 4 days. Ended up putting on a heck of a lot of water weight (2lb+) that I've lost over the last couple of days.

The good thing is I'm now 0.4lb down on the lower weight at the beginning of last week and even better I bought myself some size 20 (UK) tops yesterday and they fit!!!! It was only in November that 24 was starting to get too tight. Hopefully I'll be in an 18 by the summer.

bjcvickers · April 2016

Thank you for sharing, you are an inspiration! I began my journey last month and you are an encouragement to me.

88meli88 · April 2016

Yeah!!!! Sounds great. Congratulations.

120poundstogo · May 2016

Great goal setting! You really followed through well like walking until u could eat what u wanted. I really admire you!

firef1y72 · May 2016

Waiting for the bus it hit me just how much progress I've made over the last 6 months.

When I first stepped on those scales back in November and saw the horrifying 289.5llb displayed I knew I had to do something before I became completely immobile. So I started this weight loss journey and as part of that tried to become more active. Only I could barely walk, heck I couldn't even get out of the bath on my own, my daily step total was barely 3000.

By January I'd lost well over 20lb and started going to the gym. That first session included 10 minutes on a stationary bike (which I struggled to finish), a series of strength exercises including triceps curl (10lb), bellringer (10lb), pec fly (10kg), shoulder press (5kg), dumbell work (2kg) and assisted squats (using a swiss ball), oh and a 10 min cool down on the treadmill. This took under an hour and exhausted me, burning around 700 calories (thanks to my size).

Today I'm a total of 69.7lb down, just 2.7lb short of a quarter of my starting weight and I average around 25000 steps daily. Today's workout was cardio and leg based including 20 mins on the bike, 2.5km rowing machine, 20 mins treadmill (running and incline intervals), 18 mins elliptical, 6.5 mins stairmaster, unassisted squats (3x10), lunges, leg press (100lb). 1000 Calories burnt in 2 hours.

Tomorrow I'll be doing most of the same cardio, increasing the elliptical by 1 min and the stairmaster by 30 seconds. Plus I'll be doing arm work having upped from my original weights. Triceps + Bellringer 2 sets 40lb + 1 set 50lb, shoulder press 20kg, pec 20kg, dumbell 3kg.

When I started I was starting to find 24 too small, today I'm wearing size 20 and I've lost an impressive 18cm (7") off my waist.

Carla1962Shaw2015 · May 2016

Wow! Great job! I'm sure you are not only looking great but feeling better too! You should be very proud of yourself!

WindyCityGal160 · May 2016

You look so different and the stats don't lie either! Congrats to you to digging in and creating a solution!

forruths · May 2016

Wow! You are doing so well. Well done and keep up the good work.

caguitare · May 2016

firef1y72 wrote: »

So I started this journey back in November weighing in at 289.5lb, refusing to allow anyone to photograph me at that point. At that point I could hardly walk, (I have hypermobility syndrome), was on painkillers 4x a day, couldn't get out of the bath on my own, couldn't sit at tables with fixed chairs and could barely manage 3000 steps a day.

Rather than following any faddy diets, I decided that I would try simply eating less and moving more and so started tracking what I ate on here and bought myself a Fitbit to track activity. I refused to ban any food, instead saying to myself that as long as it was within my calorie allowance I could eat it and if it wasn't and I really wanted it I'd walk until it was.

By the 1st of January I was 32lb down and finally allowed my photo to be taken and decided to start creating a montage of progress pics, showing how my body changed. Starting with monthly pictures and then adding in pics when I hit one of my mini targets.

Today I broke what was (to me at least) a big target and I am under 225lb for the first time in well over 4 years.

Next target is 210lb which I hope to hit by the end of May, but in the meantime I've reduced my pain meds by half, can get in and out of the bath on my own, go to the gym 3-5 times a week, am on week 4 of C25K and walk 20000-30000 steps a day.

Such an I spiraling to those of us on a similar journey:)

caguitare · May 2016

caguitare wrote: »

firef1y72 wrote: »

So I started this journey back in November weighing in at 289.5lb, refusing to allow anyone to photograph me at that point. At that point I could hardly walk, (I have hypermobility syndrome), was on painkillers 4x a day, couldn't get out of the bath on my own, couldn't sit at tables with fixed chairs and could barely manage 3000 steps a day.

Rather than following any faddy diets, I decided that I would try simply eating less and moving more and so started tracking what I ate on here and bought myself a Fitbit to track activity. I refused to ban any food, instead saying to myself that as long as it was within my calorie allowance I could eat it and if it wasn't and I really wanted it I'd walk until it was.

By the 1st of January I was 32lb down and finally allowed my photo to be taken and decided to start creating a montage of progress pics, showing how my body changed. Starting with monthly pictures and then adding in pics when I hit one of my mini targets.

Today I broke what was (to me at least) a big target and I am under 225lb for the first time in well over 4 years.

Next target is 210lb which I hope to hit by the end of May, but in the meantime I've reduced my pain meds by half, can get in and out of the bath on my own, go to the gym 3-5 times a week, am on week 4 of C25K and walk 20000-30000 steps a day.

Such an I spiraling to those of us on a similar journey:)

Inspiration*

caguitare · May 2016

I have been committed to getting the weight off since the new year but have to admit I am wavering trying to stay on track and looking to grow my MFP buddy list so if anyone is looking to have and to give a little motivation please friend me!

firef1y72 · May 2016

So it's time for another 4 weekly progress pic (please excuse the shorts was ready for a workout) and while I don't think it's a great pic (top is now too big and doesn't particularly flatter) it does show where I've lost most of this month's 10lb and that's in the bum and hips area, which is probably thanks to a new weight training routine I've started that finally includes actual leg work and lots of squats and lunges.

I also started the EA Sports Active 2 on the Wii again, starting with the 3 week kickstart on Easy, which was a lot easier than I remembered (think I may be quite a lot fitter than I was last time I was this weight), although I've only done the one session so far. I also tried an upper body focused session last night that was pure torture with foot fires, split squat jumps, side planks and running on the spot.

firef1y72 · June 2016

Today marks the 60lb lost since 01.01.16 (total 82.1lb) and the difference is shocking. Got a long way to go but starting to like the newer me.

IremiaRe · June 2016

Those two pictures, side by side, are pretty amazing. I need to drag out an old fat pic and look at it side by side with a current one. It's amazing how you can't SEE what you look like, without the pictures. My brain still sees me at 300+ pounds... *sigh*

Keep up the great work - you are an inspiration to the rest of us!!

lrr33 · June 2016

Amazing! Great work. Add me if youd like!

spurby123 · June 2016

Incredible! You should be very proud of yourself! Thanks for sharing your inspirational story:)

lulukittie · June 2016

Great work-- keep it up!!

Forty6and2 · June 2016

Absolutely incredible! I love that you've chosen to skip the fad diets and go for what you thought was going to help you most in the long term. Your hard work and dedication definitely show!

Oh, and I dig the tights in your latest picture. Super cute!

hamstertango · June 2016

Thanks for the updates you are doing so well! The difference is so noticeable!

firef1y72 · January 2017

Haven't updated this in a loooonnnnggg time, but new year and all that.
I'm now 112lb down, weighing in at 175.6lb this morning, but that's not the whole story by far.
In September all training was put on hold for a month as I recovered from an umbilical hernia repair, but fora couple of months previously I had started Stronglifts 5x5 and some high intensity classes. The classes included Insanity and such moves as burpees, mountain climbers and press-ups. Let's just say I had to do a lot of modifications. In the last few months of the year I deliberately slowed my weight loss down, dropping around 2lb/month so that I could focus on getting stronger.

As the new year started I increased my deficit and ramped up cardio while continuing to lift having moved over to 5/3/1 in November after stalling on my overhead press and bench (think it was mostly a mental stall). The weight seems to be falling off me again, I've dropped 9lb so far this month, so will probably have to reassess how much I'm eating.

As far as strength goes I've made huge progress in the last few months, I can actually do full burpees and mountain climbers, they're not the prettiest or faster but I'm not using modifications. I've made the most gains in deadlifts, was pleased as punch to lift bodyweight (81kg) on Thursday. I'm not squatting as much as before my op, but still managed 58kg last week. Broke the plateau for OHP and bench as well. OK, neither lift is huge at 26kg and 41kg respectively but I'm progressing a little further each cycle.

So here are my pics showing progress from that first photo to last week.

nomkhithakwinana · January 2017

Wow so inspirational, I have started this journey about 18 months ago after having given birth to a beautiful baby girl. Its been really hard, its beens wins and losses, I would lose 3kg a month and gain it back and more in one week. The scale has also not really helped, as I become depressed when I gain and eat more. Im generally very good during the week and slip up Friday and Saturday. I started this year @ 90kg and am now @ 88kgs. I am going to try and eat right or wthin my calorie limits, on weekends as well

A work in progress..

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