Goal Achieved 60 lbs Down w/ Lots of Pics!

Many of you have probably already seen my previous progress updates, but I've now reached my goal weight and I wanted to do a post with my entire weight loss story and all of my pics in one place.

I'll start with my weight history. I was a skinny kid up until the 3rd grade when I started getting a little chubby and remained overweight all through high school. I didn't play any sports and was very inactive. I started losing weight my first year of college because I walked to all of my classes and was constantly on the go. I also became a vegetarian for 2 years and pretty much lived off of snack foods like popcorn and reduced fat Cheez-Its. My average weight in my early twenties was around 110-120 and my lowest weight was 105 (WAY too skinny)! I slowly started gaining weight again in my mid to late twenties because I never exercised and ate whatever I wanted. I didn't become unhappy with my weight until a couple of years ago, but I was too lazy to do anything about it. I reached my highest weight (190) in July of 2011 and decided that I HAD to do something! That's when I discovered MFP.

When I first joined MFP, I felt very overwhelmed with the amount of weight I needed to lose and I really thought there was no way I'd be able to do it. I also thought that in order to lose weight I needed to pretty much starve myself which explains my earliest food entries when I was only eating 900 or so calories a day. Luckily, I made friends through the message boards and started soaking up all of the info I could. I realized that I really could do this and started feeling less overwhelmed the more I learned.

At the time I joined, I had recently gotten married and quit my job, so I was a housewife and living a very sedentary lifestyle. I started out by walking at the park and on my treadmill and consumed around 1200 calories/day and did not eat back my exercise calories. I also bought the 30DS, but I didn't do it consistently at all. Then, I got a job at the Subaru plant building engines at the end of August, so I went from being sedentary to active. My job is very physically demanding and I stopped exercising outside of work. I swing 30 lb crankshafts and engine heads around and move at top speed 8-10 hrs/day so I considered that my exercise up until just recently. I consumed 1200-1400 calories/day with an occasional cheat day. I lost 1-2 lbs/week for most of that time, sometimes 3 lbs/week.

As I got closer to my goal weight I realized that I was going to have to put forth a little more effort to get the toned look I wanted. That's when I decided to do the 30DS consistently. At first I was worried that I would be too tired to do the shred on top of working sometimes 60 hrs/week, but it's actually helped me feel more energetic at work. I started adding on 40 minutes of cardio, power walking on the treadmill, and lately I've been doing 2 levels of the 30DS instead of the treadmill. I have 5 days left of the 30DS, then I'm doing Ripped in 30, followed by 6 Week Six-Pack, then No More Trouble Zones, and then I'm going to start P90X.

Everyone is different and some things work for some and not for others, but here is my advice. Don't think of this as "being on a diet." My mantra has been "everything in moderation." I still eat fast food. I still eat junk food. I still drink beer. I just control my portions now and make sure that I stay under my calorie goal. I log everything that I eat! I also pre-plan my food every day through the week and stick to it. I very rarely go over my calories unintentionally (maybe a few days the entire 8 months) because I'm very dedicated and I refuse to make excuses. My diary is open to the public and it helps me stay accountable. I know that doesn't work for everyone, but it's helped me a lot. I've been working on eating more protein and fiber, and more fruits and vegetables. I've also started eating back some of my exercise calories.

And now, everyone's favorite part, pics!

March 2011


March 2011


July 2011 (at my heaviest, 190 lbs)


July 2011


November 2011 (155 lbs)


December 2011 (146 lbs)


January 2012 (138 lbs)


Before 30DS


Halfway through 30DS


Last summer's capris


Today (130 lbs)


My guns. lol