My Before & After - 61 lbs lost w/pics! Yay!!

Holy moly!!!! i have sooo far to go, i have just started today, and need to lose about 25 kilo's... any tips? you look amazing now

And sorry, thank you so much!!! Check page 9 of this thread for all of my 'this is what I did' advice!

Well, since my thread rolled (which I can't believe, thanks Scott, lol) I'll repost my pics!


So, I'm finally at the point where I can do my Before & After post! Yay! I started out close to 200 lbs. Since I started MFP at the very end of February of this year I've lost 61 lbs. Yesterday (12/10) is the day I officially met my goal weight - well, exceeded it, actually, since my goal was 135 and I hit 134!

So, here are some Before pics:











And now for the good part, the After pics!







I need to get back to my alma mater for a new pair of sweats, lol



it's a costume, I swear!



Halloween!



I am soo thrilled with how far I have come! So now, I'm on to maintenance here on MFP and my new goal is to continue toning, shaping, and sculpting my body.

I'm also going to repost my answers to people's questions here that I had consolidated in part 1 of this topic.

Ok, since I've been getting inundated with so many pm's/friend requests/posts asking for what I did, what my workouts are like, what my eating is like, etc. I've consolidated the answers that I posted previously on this thread. Hopefully, it provides some sort of help/inspiration for some of you guys! So, here it is, in all it's lengthy glory, lol:

First off, my stats: 5’ 5 1/2”, 28 years old

QUESTION: “Thats fantastic progress! You look amazing!! Can you tell us a little bit about how you acheived your goal? How many days a week you work out & what you do for workouts?

Great job "

Well I always danced (ballet, lyrical, jazz, tap, hip hop) twice a week, 2 1/2 hours each time during the 'school year', less in the summer, even when I was at my highest weight. So I continued that. But when I started mfp and really focusing on losing weight I also started going to the gym. I would go to the gym 2-3 days per week (during the 'school year' in addition to dancing 2 nights a week). If I didn't go to the gym then I would take long walks. Over the summer I went to the gym A LOT, since I wasn't dancing as often. When I go to the gym my workout consisted of a minimum of 60 minutes on 2 different types of ellipticals. I would frequently change the resistance and ramp to keep variety in the workout. I also always try to then do strength training as well. At the very least I always do crunches and push ups/reverse push ups. Probably about 1 1/2 months ago I started running (something I never thought I could do since my feet always went numb, plus I always hated it! lol) and I'm getting addicted, lol! I have now run for 60 minutes straight, not dropping below 6 mph, on 3 separate occasions!

Let's see, what else? For me a huge deal was portion size. My ex always ate HUGE portions so I got used to thinking that I was eating a normal amount because my portion was smaller than his. THIS WAS NOT TRUE! Lol. Also, making healthier food choices and cutting out lots of alcohol really helped. And I know this is a hotly debated topic but for me personally, I generally ate back at least 1/2 of my workout calories.

I'd say my gym workouts average anywhere from 800-1000 cals burned, and I think I burn somewhere around 600-700 for 2 1/2 hours of dance classes. I've actually never used a HRM so I don't know exactly how accurate my estimates are. I am living proof that you don't need a HRM to lose weight though!

QUESTION: “PLEASE tell me how long it took you and what your routine was like! I've been doing mfp for almost 2 months and I've come to a stand still at 192 and I can't break it. I just have to say that you've given me hope. Your before pics look like mine and the way you look now is unbelievably smaller and I never thought in a million years I could ever be that skinny until I saw your pics! I know its possible now, that I don't just have "bigger bones" then other people. If you have any advice, PLEASE send it my way! You look amazing and I know its hard work and Im willing to do it no matter how long it takes! You look amazing!”

It took from the very end of February to now.

Here's an example of a workout. This is what I did at the gym today:

- 60 min treadmill run, speed ranging from 6mph to 8mph (i actually got my fastest mile, fastest 10k, and longest distance, 7.05 mi in 60 min, ever today!) - 5 sets of 5 assisted pullups - 5 sets of 10 assisted dips - 4 sets of 15 reps on the hip abductor machine - 5 sets of 5 reps rear deltoid machine - 2 sets of 10 reps upward shoulder press machine - 5 sets of 10 reps(10 reps straight legs, 40 reps knees bent) on the thing like a chair with no seat, where you hold yourself up and lift your legs (dont know what it's called, lol) - 50 side crunches on each side -300 crunches on the floor, in various positions Cooldown/stretch - approx 5 min of stretching - ballet plies right and left sides

Obviously I've worked up to this! Lol The majority of my cardio during my weight loss was actually on the elliptical. I would use 2 different types of elliptical and constantly change the resistance and slope. I also did a lot of walking. Nowadays, if I go for a run outside and not at the gym I'll do crunches and pushups at home. I also take dance classes 2 nights a week for 2 1/2 hours each night.

I really think a big key is variety of workout. Also, at least every few workouts you should try to do at least one thing more/better/faster/longer. You always have to push yourself!

QUESTION: "Did you hit plateaus along the way? How were you able to overcome them?"

I definitely hit a couple plateaus. One for over a month sometime in the summer. I just kept plugging away and also tried changing up my eating, doing a little zig zagging with higher and lower cal days. Also, right up to the last 2 weeks I'd been kinda stuck with the last few lbs. Second to last week I lost .6 lbs, then last week I actually UPPED my cals by adjusting my goal from 2 lbs a week down to 1 lb and dropped 2.4 lbs to bring me under my goal!

UPDATE: since Dec 10th I am now down another few pounds. I am currently set at maintenance cals but with a sedentary lifestyle, so I think it's underestimating my bmr, and I started a weight lifting routine around Dec 20th. In the last week I went up about a pound but I lost a quarter inch off my waist, which is what happens when you lift. Gotta love muscle!