Thank you...that has really made me feel I can do this and suceed. Big hugs and congrats:hug:

Congrats! :)

Big congrats! You look amazing and very beautiful! Thanks for sharing your story and being such an inspiration!

I just laughed like...yeah right. Me? Really? It took all my energy just to WALK 3 miles!

Like so many other people, in January of 2009, I set out for the gym for what I'm sure my husband and family thought would be yet another false start. How many times had I said I would lose weight? How many times had I gone to the gym, stuck with it for a few weeks, only to give up?

Let me start by saying CONGRATULATIONS! You look absolutely amazing! My jaw dropped when I saw the before/after photos. You and I have so much in common, including weight/goal weight. I too am 200 lbs. and started running about a week ago. It really was difficult for me to even run for 5 minutes at first, but now i'm up to a 1/2 mile a day. Each week I will increase my running by 1/4-1/2 mile...

You just gave me all of the motivation in the world! It's amazing how reading stories like this can really uplift you and make you feel like you can do anything.

Again, congrats and you look amazing!

Wish me luck cause i'm now on the same path :( *fingers crossed

That's awesome! I'm training for my 1st half marathon. When I started, I DROVE the course and thought "You've got to be kidding me!" but now I'm up to 7 miles..what's 6.1 more right? =)

Thank you for your inspirational story! We are around the same height, age, and weight (pre-diet). I hope that we can become online buddies. I am just starting this journey and really could use the support! That is so great that you were able to finally do it! I can not wait to post my after story. Thanks again for your story and Congrats on the success! :carrot:

Inspiring and beautiful!!! congratulations!!!!

wow you look amazing!

Congratulations!!! Your story is such an inspiration for me. I have to lose the same amount of weight and can feel myself getting discouraged sometime but your story has truly given me the extra will power I need to keep going. thanks!! :)

you look great!!!

I don't think I've ever posted it on the forums, but it's quite laughable AND I actually ran into my former trainer about a month ago - he didn't recognize me!

The guy is very good at selling himself. I was back at the gym in January 2009 but had not yet started running. He approached me one day and said he'd been watching me and could tell I had a lot of "determination" and "commitment" and do I want to work with him to help me reach my weight goal? I told him my goals were actually to run a 5k and hike a 14'er, so if he could help me develop a running plan so that I could achieve those goals, I'd love to work with him. He cut me some deal - $150 for 8 weeks of training, 3x a week.

By the end I think I'd actually only had 5 weeks of training with one training session per week. They were supposed to be at least 30 minutes but he spent most of the time on his cell phone and putting me on the elliptical - dude I can do that myself, why am I paying you? We'd never discussed an eating plan or a training plan to help me start running.

So when the 5 weeks were up, he said he would "cut me a deal" of $600 for another 12 weeks of training. I didn't want to continue because I thought he sucked as a trainer, let alone pay another $600 so I made up some excuse like, we're trying to save money and I can't really afford it. He got angry at me and said I would probably quit going to the gym, gain 5 lbs and then come "begging" him to train me again in another few months. Obviously that didn't happen and I went on to lose weight without his help.

He was actually fired about 3 months later for pocketing money. I guess he was convincing clients to pay him in cash and then not turning it over to the gym. THEN I saw him about a month ago but he had no clue who I was, and I never said anything because he's the type of person to congratulate himself for all my hard work. ha!

FP, you rock! I'd have given him **** for what he did but you gotta let some things go, lol. I had been planning on moving out of my parents' home but for now, I gotta hang in there.

Thanks for sharing your story, it really is inspirational, and your pictures are gorgeous!!!!

Also thank you so much for sharing about your tool of a trainer. I had a bad experience this summer with a trainer, and it really disrupted my progress. I paid a guy to train me, and instead he had his 15yr old "assistant" run my sessions:mad:

But reading your story, just gave me a really good boost.