blumuse Member

Started out around 300..down to 208. Lost 10 clothing sizes so far. Still lots of work to go but I have what seems like an actual waistline forming! Oh my!

It feels awesome just to be able to do normal things! Like ride a roller coaster, sit in a booth at a restaurant, be able to put on my seat belt in the car, in the airplane, be able to go MILES without taking a break, be confidenent enough to wear a TANK TOP (gasp) in public.... all those kinds of things. It's very…

Thanks for that compliment. I still have quite a bit of butt and belly on me - and even though I've lost 10 sizes in clothes, I'm no where near where I should be for my size. I'm 5'3" frame, it's not pretty yet. Things are shrinking for the outside towards the middle so while I finally have wrist bones and ankels and knees…

I don't think so either. I think I've always had an image in my mind about what I SHOULD look like thin, but yeah, I wouldn't have known it was me either. Sometimes the person staring back at me these days still seems a little surprising. Some days I just can't get used to my face.

awww *blush* wow. Thanks for all your kind compliments and encouragement. I really appreciate it.

Thanks everyone, feels great.

I lose less then it predicts in a 5 week period for various factors. It's not that MFP is WRONG, it just isn't sophisticated enough to take in all the factors that can affect your weight; PLUS, every person is different. I don't know about all women, but I lose at least one week out of the month to PMS weight…

I suppose it might depend on where you get it... but all my tattoos actually look better as I lose weight. I have a full length sleeve on my right arm and people notice it more and compliment me more on it now that my arms are getting more muscular. Infact, a lot of people mistakenly think I've had new ink work done ..…

Angry music gets me through my cardio: Stone Sour, Staind, Linkin Park, Sick Puppy, Slip Knot, Mudvayne, Disturbed, Godsmack...

YaY! Horray for you!!!! I know exactly what you're feeling. When I first started going to the gym about a year ago, I could only do about 2 minutes on the Elliptical on the lowest of levels. It's kicked my butt and I thought I'd never, ever be abel to do much on it. My trainer challenged me to do 10 minutes and I laughed.…

my favorite is: - (1) large poached egg (no extra calories from frying in oil- I use a microwave-able egg poacher) - (1) low carb tortilla (Sonoma brand from Trader Joes) - (2) slices of turkey bacon (from Trader Joes) cook egg, break the egg up, mix in with turkey bacon (I microwave it - again, no extra oil from cooking…

People are commenting on my tattoo on my arm..as if I got NEW work done. "your tattoo work is looking great"... erm.. same ink, my arms are just more muscular now. Ha ha.

Totally made my day. The best motivation I've seen yet! haha. Awesome!

Wow.. great post. Always seemed like it was easier for men and that makes total logical sense. What a great husband you are too. Good luck to both of you.

fresh baby carrots and celery with a small wedge of cheese

Wow! Thank you thank you for posting that. I've been hitting plauteaus every 20lbs or so and it's been TERRIBLY frustrating. I'm glad to know you have went through it - makes me fee like it's a little more normal!

Frozen food is always loaded with sodium as a preservative (and most lamb comes from New Zealand, unfortunately). I learned my lesson the hard way too - I wont buy frozen chicken breasts anymore. Fresh is the ONLY way to go. I'll cook up tons of it and freeze it myself for use later. That way I know there's no extra salt…

The first initial rapid weight loss is often water. It's fun but you shouldn't expect it as the norm. My personal trainer told me that if you're new to diet and exercising, to expect your body to kind of freak out for two weeks and then get a little more stable on the third week. Glancing at your food diary - are you…

Whole Foods can be more expensive BUT, their produce selection is the BEST I've ever come across, even better than Trader Joe's. They list it if it's local and organic. I feel like I can make more informed buying choices there because of that. If I don't splurge on fancy cheeses (my downfall) I can usually keep my costs…

about $50 a week for myself. I don't eat out, hardly ever and I get most of my veggies and fruits (which make up the majority of my diet) from local farmers markets (wayyyyyy cheaper than the grocery store). I find that the more meals I make from scratch, the cheaper it usually is as the ingrients divided by the amount of…

Ohhh.. I get that "but you have such a pretty face" thing all the time! HATE it. I wish people would really consider what they say. That's the kind of thing that scars your self confidence and is really hard to overcome.

I have over 100 lbs to lose and I absolutely know how you feel! I was stuck at a 16 lb loss for what seems like FOREVER and I know it can sometimes feel frustrating. It didn't feel like I'd ever get to 20. I was extremly envious of people who had lost 50 lbs or more. However, I stuck it out, even through the bad days and…

ditto! That one was HUGE for me. The first time I went out (with my dad of all people) and went to sit down but couldn't FIT into the booth, I thought I was going to die. That's one of my "fat" horror stories. The other was not being allowed on a roller coaster because they couldnt close the safety bar on my lap. Now I…

I'd encourage them to get on MFP and read the message boards. If they see other women their own age doing it, that may give them ecouragement.

I prefer the elliptical because I don't run. You burn more calories on the elliptical than you do WALKING on a treadmill. Having said that, if you want to RUN inside and cannot get outside, then treadmill would be better for you. I do the elliptical inside and save the walking stuff for outside in the fresh air.

You did exactly what I'm in the process of doing. Great inspiration. Thanks for posting your story and photos. Its people like you that keep me going when I feel down.

Great post! And yes, every little bit is the first step to a whole new life!

Congrats! Seriously, how amazing does that feel? I can't WAIT til I can say that too.

I know it's discouraging to see the scale move so little after a lot of hard work but don't give up. I too have over 100 lbs to lose and I struggled for the first month to make that scale budge at all. You hear all these stories of very overweight people shedding tons of pounds at first....and well, that just didn't happen…

What a horrible concept for a show. Geeezus.