My story is so much less than some of the victories you all have accomplished, but I wanted to share anyway. . . .
I spent my entire teenage years with one question: "Is this my real body, the one God intended me to have and the one I should be thankful for, or is this what my body looks like because I pick at foods and don't exercise?" I was in the upper 130s in high school, but by the end of my sophomore year of college after a trip to Italy, my weight shot up to 144.
With my mom's pretty healthy cooking, I got down to 141-142, but I wasn't happy there. So on June 6, 2010, I changed my life--I went for a walk. Marching along 3 miles in 45 minutes in the blazing sun, I sweated, I panted--and I got fierce with myself and decided I wanted this thing called a healthy body more than I wanted to quit.
I kept walking, six days a week, all summer. Towards the end of the summer, I added a little weight training as well.
On the food front, I tried too hard at first to limit calories, but one day of doing TOO well limiting (it was after dinner and I had only eaten 1100 that day), I knew I couldn't do this. So I eat whatever my mom makes--just not as much as I used to.
Once I got to school, I didn't have 45 minutes each day to devote to exercise, so I began running and using the elliptical.
I now weight 121.6 lbs, run 2 5Ks a week, workout on the elliptical for 35 minutes 3x a week, and do weights and/or pilates twice a week. I eat a mostly vegetarian diet (not vegan--I do eat eggs and dairy products), have given up junk food, and I will never look back.
So not as dramatic as some of the amazing stories here, but it's my story and I'm rather proud of it.
Good luck to you all!
Your Story is Great...You don't have to do any special diet to lose weight..just eat less of everything, and yes you loose faster if you cut out Sugar and Fatty foods ,but it will work and your method of exercise and eating Less is Perfect....It wors for me too, I eat low carb,low fat and Lots of veggies,salad,andRsome lean meat. Thanks for *Your Story* Ranchgirl
Congratulations! The main thing I took from your story is that you became healthy and that is more important than the number of pounds you dropped. Enjoy your new healthy and slimmer body!