Finally, after 6 months & 37 lbs, I'm ready to share!

No fancy diet, no pills. Just dedication, motivation, hard work and willpower. I didn’t see results right away, but I kept working out and learning how to eat better. If my weight loss journey/lifestyle change can help even one person to stay motivated, then it was worth it to post!

The stats
Ht: 5’ 2.5”
SW: 157
Joined MFP: 136
CW: 121

The Pics

BEFORE


AFTER


Chipmunk cheeks are GONE!



The Story
Prelude: After having three kids in a row, three years in a row, I reached 163 pounds in January 2011. This was not good for a short Asian who used to be a volleyball setter in high school. My attitude toward eating was flippant, and I drank 3-4 cans of Coke a day. I gave away my size 8 jeans and shorts because I figured I’d never fit into them again. I told myself that my kids would probably just know me in their younger years as “the chubby mom”, and I was ready to accept that. I was lazy and unmotivated about my weight gain, but inside I was disgusted at my huge abdomen and ham-hock arms. I tried to exercise once a week with a friend but went out for Chinese food afterward. We tried Pilates, then Zumba, and I hated how I looked in the mirrors.

The turning point: My older sister gave me the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred for my birthday in February 2011 and I put it on my bedside table to decorate it. When she invited me to a one-time Bollywood dance class in March 2011, I put on a large, black t-shirt and cringed at the tent it created over my belly. I was stunned when I saw my sister; she had lost 15 pounds since January, doing it on her own with the Shred, and she looked fantastic. Perhaps it was a little sisterly competitiveness, but I was floored by her determination to do it on her own. If she could do it, having had four kids of her own, *I* could certainly do it. Two days later I started the 30 Day Shred.

The regimen: Over the next six months I improved my eating habits, gave up Coke cold turkey, and exercised my butt off. I worked out after the kids had gone to bed. I’d go downstairs, do the Shred, and then follow with cardio for 30 minutes. My used treadmill broke and died two weeks after I started working out, so I ran circles in my basement like a hamster. The space was 20x20 so I did high knees and high-cadence “jogging” w/my iPod. I lost 22 pounds. Then I found MFP in July 2011 and lost the last 15 pounds, slower but with the right tools e.g. calorie counting and the MFP community. I had finished the Shred and moved on to Ripped in 30. Now I’m doing the 6 Week 6 Pack and am hoping to start the New Rules of Lifting for Women program.

I had given up on myself before I even started. Now that I’ve made the leap, I plan to never go back to that way of living. There are too many reasons to keep moving forward and stay positive. When I lacked the motivation to work out, I told myself that NO ONE was going to lose the weight for me. I would have to do that myself.