200 pounds and so much more

That is so awesome. And I thought I had problems. I have never had a smoke or drink in my life and I have always been a fruit and veggie lover but because of my slow metabolism and a penchant for sweetness, I had put on enormous amounts of weight. Club that with a sedentary job and you have the perfect recipe for disaster. I too felt hopeless and depressed. I too, felt like my body was breaking down. I too had lost all hope of ever losing weight.

I had been to gyms before but they were always humiliating. I would have time to workout only in early mornings and at that time they were full of picture-perfect chiselled fitness buffs who loved making fun of me. The trainers were really stupid as they wanted to make me do the same cardio as everyone else did which was impossible. Therefore, I decided never to go to the gym again and carry on my journey in the safety and privacy of my home. I love to dance and found some dance workouts and decided to do them in the comfort of my home. The workouts were 40 minutes long but I would get winded after mere 5-7 minutes. But I didn't stop. I would pause, catch my breath and go again. It would take me 60-70 minutes to complete a 40-minute workout. I couldn't do a single jumping jack and would have sprains every 5 days. But I stuck with it.

After about a month I felt like my body was getting worse than before. I couldn't even walk in my home without my knees buckling. I didn't know what was wrong. After much research, I decided to log my food. That's when I joined MFP and voila! I found that due to my vegetarian diet, I was not getting even 1/4th of my daily requirement of protein. That's when I completely switched up my diet adding eggs, tofu and other protein-rich foods. I did feel better after weeks of this, but according to MFP, I was still getting only half my RDA. That's when I added protein shakes to my diet and that was the first miracle. With cardio, yes, with just cardio, I could feel my muscles getting stronger too. And what was more, due to regular workouts, my depression was gone within a couple of months. I used to have trouble sleeping. That was gone, too. I had more energy, felt lighter on my feet and felt better everyday. I decided to follow a 1200 calorie diet and was really able to fine tune my meals. I discovered recipes that suited me and then, later invented ones specific to my needs and taste. My sweet tooth was gone, only to return once in a while when I would allow myself to indulge (still going only upto my BMR in calorie consumption). I lost 2 lbs per week.

This went on for a year. The same workouts and meal plans producing miraculous results. But when I had lost around 50 lbs, I struck a plateau that just wouldn't break. I decided to increase the duration of my workouts to 60 minutes and even went up to 90 minutes. But nothing. Then, after much deliberation, I decided to try HIIT and mix that up with my workouts. And that was my second breakthrough! I started awkwardly, slowly, with multiple pause buttons. Where I couldn't do a single jumping jack before, today I do squat jumps, lunge jumps and burpees. This has also increased my tolerance for low-intensity cardio. This has got me going again at the same rate of weight loss after 2 months of stagnation.

The next thing I am considering is weight training.

Reading your story, though was very inspiring. It made me feel like talking about my journey too. Every single piece of clothing I own fails to fit me. And that fills me with pleasure! Whenever I visit my relatives, I am showered with compliments. I am still a long way from my target body and the climb gets steeper as you get closer to the top. And when the going gets really rough, I like to look back at the bottom and see how far I have come which gives me the heart to keep going. I hope you do too. I thought squat jumps were impossible just 6 months ago. And now, I can't get enough. Looking back, I can tell myself nothing is impossible. I don't think you achieving your target weight will be impossible either as long as you remain committed and keep reinventing yourself. Keep winning by losing.

Great job!! Keep on moving forward!!

So glad you shared! What an awesome story you have!

Very inspirational, congratulations and keep enjoying your success!

great story, amazing result, congratulations

Congratulations on your success and Amazing job

Thank you so much for sharing this inspirational story! You should be so proud of yourself for the changes that you have made and being brave enough to try something different and make the change that made the difference for you.

So cool

You rock!

Amazing transformation! Well done!

Wonderful achievement!!!!!

Who is chopping onions over here?! You are so inspiring and you look wonderful. I'm so happy that life is way better for you now:-)

Thank you for sharing your incredible journey! Congratulations on all of your success so far and good luck on the rest of your journey. You are going to make it!

You are a rock star!!

You make me smile. Your story is amazing and your determination and willingness to achieve are going to take you even further. I can do nothing but wish you continued success. Great work!