18 lbs lost pics!

I started trying to lose weight about 4 years ago and I went through many different attempts (I tended to fail and restart quite a few times). In total I've lost about 18 lbs! At my heaviest I was about 205. I got a trainer and went for it! I lost about 5 lbs that way (because he worked me hard but gave me next to no eating tips so my progress was slow. I was eating healthy foods but too much of them!).

I lost another 5 lbs or so when I started walking 5 miles a day (2.5 each way to work).

Around the 195 mark I discovered MFP! That combined with listening to a really informative podcast (Fat2Fitradio.com) led to me really learning about caloric intake and stuff. It's been much faster since then and I am down to 188 now!

I've been walking more, biking and I also do the Jillian Michaels' DVD workout, 30 Day Shred. Most days I work my desk job then come home and do Jillian. On the weekends I try to walk or bike a bit. I actually am not working out that often, to tell the truth, as I usually hate it and have to be really motivated to do it. Part of what I like about the DVD is it's only 20 minutes so I don't feel like it eats into my day. I'm slowly loving exercise more but it's a very hesitant love, haha.

Some weeks are better than others. I am in no great hurry but am taking things slowly in order to build up healthy habits.

I eat around 1750 calories a day of lean meats, rice, fruit, veggies, occasional treats, and I drink tons of water! That's my average, but on special occasions and sometimes on the weekends I let myself go a bit more (pizza, cake, all kinds of terrible things!). I try to exercise more to make up for it, but some weeks are easier than others.

I'm super excited to share these pics, they are my very first in progress shots. Here's to more in the future!