How did you feel from Day 1 till Now...

Cool topic.

I had told a really good friend just two mornings ago that while waiting in the checkout line, I realized for the first time in 4 years I was not embarrassed about my body anymore. I wanted to cry and laugh at the same time but decided not to freak out the other shoppers. Intense work in the gym and massive changes to how I've been eating in the last 12 weeks are finally showing results.

I reached my goal weight last month but still have a long way to go before I get the body I want. At this moment, though, I am pleased as heck and the changes are driving me even harder towards my final goal. I also have much more energy than I used to. I walk helluva lot faster. I sleep better most of the time.

Don't abandon ship no matter where your emotional roller coaster takes you. Stay the course and tell yourself every day that you are doing this for you and you alone.

Best of luck.

I can't get over the difference in how I feel! Health wise, I can do so much more. I haven't gotten sick ONCE since beginning this. I have more energy, and I even sleep way better.

Confidence wise, it's amazing! I've dropped from a 14/16 to a 10 - a size I haven't seen since my freshman year in college. My husband, family and friends are all noticing and admiring the changes in myself. I am more comfortable in my clothes AND in pictures. I feel like I look like ME again.

I feel awesome. No, I'm not a goal yet. Yes, there are still things about my body I am not thrilled with, and I get self conscious and down on myself sometimes. But on the whole, I've done a mental 360.

That is a great question for someone starting out. I've lost over 20 pounds since mid Nov. and feel great. Outside of arthritis which is from Purine levels being out of whack from the weight loss. I used to pop tums like candy but since I've lost 20 pounds have not needed them as much. Also I feel much stronger and ready to attack the day. Your weight loss journey is a marathon. You may see drastic weight loss at first and things will slow. Just a matter of sticking with it on exercise and diet. It is really worth the life style change.

To start, change your tracker to show the weight you have lost versus how much weight you have to go. You have lost weight, but even with your tracker looks like you are focusing on how far you have to go. I wouldn't change that until you are pass your half way point. You need to always remember how far you have come on your journey so far.

Whenever you get depressed, look at a lb of butter. A lb doeesn't seem like much until you take a look at one. That is gone. That is how I look at it when I'm only losing about 1lb per week. If you get really depressed, go to the store and grab a pound for each pound you have lost. Even if it is only 3 or 5 lbs, it adds up.

I feel a lot better now. I changed my lifestyle and while it is not the best yet, I easily eat and/or exercise the amount of calories for someone around my goal weight. At some point, that means I will weigh that weight. In the meantime, I just work on eating better and exercising more or challanging myself more. Instead of a diet, it is my new lifestyle.

I'm almost to goal...about 5 lbs away, and they are going to come off VERY slowly...so I feel I can respond to this.

I didn't have terribly much to lose...only about 24 lbs total. Before I started this journey, I was really discouraged and depressed about the way that I looked. I was always very slender growing up, and it wasn't until my early twenties that I started to pack weight on. Around Thanksgiving 2011, I realized I had crossed the BMI line into being "overweight" for the first time in my life. Of course, this led to emotional eating.
Then, come Christmas 2011, I decided to start to make changes. It was frustrating at first, because the weight didn't just fall off quickly in those first few weeks. But I persevered. And I noticed the changes very slowly. Even after the first 10lbs came off, I still looked in the mirror and saw the same person that was there 10 lbs ago...

It has only been in the past 2 weeks that I've been looking in the mirror and actually seeing myself almost 20 lbs lighter. People have started to comment as well. Not every day, but at least a couple times a week someone I haven't seen for a while will take notice. Those moments keep me fueled to keep going. I have also found that I love setting fitness goals for myself. 3 months ago, there's no way that would have been happening.

Also, it's not so much about seeing a certain number on the scale anymore. I really just want to do what's right for my body, and to keep my heart, lungs and muscles healthy. In the beginning, all I cared about was meeting a certain number, but that's not so much my priority anymore!

To start, change your tracker to show the weight you have lost versus how much weight you have to go. You have lost weight, but even with your tracker looks like you are focusing on how far you have to go. I wouldn't change that until you are pass your half way point. You need to always remember how far you have come on your journey so far.

Whenever you get depressed, look at a lb of butter. A lb doeesn't seem like much until you take a look at one. That is gone. That is how I look at it when I'm only losing about 1lb per week. If you get really depressed, go to the store and grab a pound for each pound you have lost. Even if it is only 3 or 5 lbs, it adds up.

I feel a lot better now. I changed my lifestyle and while it is not the best yet, I easily eat and/or exercise the amount of calories for someone around my goal weight. At some point, that means I will weigh that weight. In the meantime, I just work on eating better and exercising more or challanging myself more. Instead of a diet, it is my new lifestyle.

Love this response about butter. There are several .gifs online that show how much one pound of fat is...even one that shows how much 100 lbs of fat looks like. Those are incredibly inspiring!

This is a good topic, because the change that this makes in our lives in sooo huge and dramatic! I started in Janurary this year and I must admit, I felt horrible. I was 170 and 5'5". In my younger years I was slender, although I have always had to work for it. But in the last five years, I got lazy and ate what I wanted, so I gained.

So in Jan I joined my local gym. I pushed myself hard and I found that even so, I wasn't losing any weight. After three weeks, I finally lost a pound. This is after working out five days a week in the mornings before work. I took measurements and found that the measurements are much more encouraging. Every week I saw a change in my measurements, although I still, two months later, have only lost 10 pounds. But I am 48 years old, so it's harder than when I was young. But that 10 pounds looks like 15 because I am so much more toned and shapely than before. I looked in the mirror this morning and couldn't believe it. I actually said out loud that I can't believe how I look. It's very exciting for me. I can do things I couldn't before, like bend over to pick something up without grunting, haha!

You may not see immediate results, but don't let that get you down! The first month you may not lose anything, but take measurements and eat right and excercise, and you will reach your goal!

Ive been on for this whole month, n um i see the difference in my attitude, mentality wise. Its great, i don't want to go back to my old ways.