Lost 63lbs! & Kept it off! From a size 14 to a 2
 

Hi Everyone,
I'm new to the forum. For my first post I thought I'd share my story.

I lost a total of 63 pounds in 2007 and I've kept it off for almost 7 years.
My hope is to help others achieve their weight loss goals by just sharing what I've learned through out my journey.
Maybe my story will inspire you, Or maybe it will fall on deaf ears, but either way if I can help 1 person then I've accomplished what I set out to do.

No matter what your goals are just know that you don't need to starve yourself on some crazy diet or torture yourself in the gym for hours on end...
You don't need to count calories, cut out carbs, take diet pills or give up the foods you love. Whether you need to lose 10lbs or 110lbs,
you can make it happen just by making small changes over time.

I started off by just eliminating soda (I use to drink about 2-4 liters of Pepsi A DAY so giving that up was tough for me).
But within 1 month, I lost 15lbs!! And I still hadn't changed anything in my diet! I was shocked to see that weight come off so quickly! I had no idea that all that soda I was drinking was being stored as fat.
I mean I knew it wasn't good for me but I really didn't think it was packing on that many pounds!

That was enough to motivate me to make more changes! But I wasn't sure what to do next since I didn't know a whole lot about how to lose weight and I really didn't feel like I was eating a whole lot...
I was only eating twice a day at the time...just lunch and dinner. As it turns out, that was part of the problem! The other part was what I was eating in those 2 meals.
Typically pizza or fast food for lunch and some type of fried meat with white starchy carbs for dinner!

A friend told me that I should ALWAYS eat breakfast first thing! And to eat every 2-3 hours after that! Three Meals and 2-3 snacks in between!
It sounded like a full time job to eat that much and I didn't understand how eating MORE was going to make me lose weight!

She also gave me 2 other valuable pieces of advice...
1) She said you should never go hungry! if you feel hungry then EAT! Fruits & veggies are unlimited! Eat as much of those as u want until you're not hungry.
2) She also said to switch all white starches like bread, white rice & white pasta to brown! Whole wheat or whole grain! And swap the white potatoes for sweet potatoes! Nothing white!

So I started my days with either hard boiled eggs or a bowl of plain oatmeal with cinnamon and fruit.. or plain yogurt with fruit.
Then 2-3 hours later I'd have some type of fresh fruit with nuts... then either a big salad or chicken/turkey on a wheat wrap for lunch... then more fresh fruit or veggies for afternoon snack...
then brown rice, steamed veggies and chicken or fish for dinner.
I felt like I was eating constantly! And I was!
But the weight really started coming off!! And fast! I lost another 40lbs over the next 2-3 months!

So as it turns out, I really didn't need to eat less, I just needed to eat better!
My advice to anyone looking to lose weight is to start by taking a real good look at what you're putting in your body
and then educate yourself on what you're really eating. How do those foods affect you? Are they giving your body the nutrients that it needs? Or are they just satisfying your taste buds? MOST of us know the difference between healthy foods and foods that are not so healthy! But still choose to eat them for whatever reason lol
I was clueless at the time but the way I see it now, if you're eating a lot of fried foods, processed foods, white carbs and sugar, you're doing a major dis-service to your body.
You're not giving it the nutrients that it needs so in turn, it tells you that you're hungry again shortly after! You feed it more garbage and the cycle repeats.
If you treat your body right and give it what it needs, it will be good to you in return!

Since then, I've continued to follow this eating regimen and I pay even closer attention to what I'm putting in and on my body. I buy about 80% of my fruits and veggies organic, dairy has to be organic, chicken has to be organic, and fish has to be wild (not farm raised). My friends tell me I'm a little too strict when it comes to food, but I feel like they're not strict enough. lol
They might be right in a sense but I feel like you can't be too careful when it comes to your health.

Just within the past 2-3 years I've started to exercise. usually 4-5 days a week. 2 cardio days and 2-3 strength training days.
I look good! & Feel great!! Physically and mentally! I have more energy now than I did in my 20's! & My acne has also cleared up! :)

I still treat myself every once in a while to foods I love (pizza is my fav)!
I practice the 90/10 rule... I eat 100% heatlhy 90% of the time, and then 10% of the time it's ok to splurge!

If you're still working on losing weight, I hope my story helps you in some way! Remember small changes really do make a big difference!


GOOD LUCK TO ALL! :)

Just realized I forgot to include... I'm 5'6..125lbs. 34hrs old.

34 hours old? LOL! Sorry, that was a good typo. :)

Welcome and congrats on your success!

Congratulations!

It's success stories like your that keep me motivated! :)

Thank you! :)

LOL @ 34hrs! Ooops!!

Awesome work!!!

Good for you :) Happy to hear you're adding fitness to your lifestyle, it sure makes a difference for body and soul! And omg...2-4L of Pepsi every day...wow, just removing that from your diet must have made you feel better, well, after the withdrawal I'm sure! I used to be hooked on ginger ale, in my warped logic I figured it was good for the stomach because of the ginger lol...ginger IS good for digestion, but not in soft drink form at 1-2L a day! ;)

Your post is a pretty good summary of what I started doing about 4 months ago. It's amazing how those small changes add up!

(And you have excellent typing and language skills for someone who is 34 hours old.... :) )

What is the most significant change that has come in your life with your weight loss? More Confidence? More energy? Different outlook on life? Your story is really inspiring and I hope to one day tell my own story of weight loss.

Congrats! What an achievement, very inspiring! And not just losing the weight, but maintaining the desired weight. The latter is the hardest.

:bravo: Great progress!! Fantastic!!

That is wonderful. Inspired by your story. Eating healthy foods is key.Maintaining a weight loss can be difficult. Congrats to you!

This is so inspiring!

LOVE THE 90/10 rule!!! I'm solo gonna use it haha! Amazing story, amazing post! Thank you!

Wow! Congratz!