I haven't accomplished as much as soooo many other people on this site. So I will keep it brief, but I'm not going to sell myself short either! I worked my butt off (literally).

My secret?

I'm not going to lecture or any of that....but I've been doing some MAJOR research in the past year and here is what I found:

Processed foods suck!!! I have five children and a husband that eats like a giant because he is VERY active for a living. We live on a strict budget! I can't afford anything BUT processed right? WRONG!
Part of my exercise was tending a garden last summer. My FIRST garden. It provided us with enough spinach to feed us a salad every night for dinner and me lunch plus dinner. I learned about the neurotoxins in pesticides and the preservatives in food with a long shelf life. Food dyes, brominated vegetable oil, all that junk.....yuck! What was I doing to my children? And myself? I started this weight loss journey for me...but it quickly turned into a family affair.

I decided I didn't want to live like that anymore.
Changing the way our family ate was the single most important and best choice I have made for us in many moons! My kids eat great now, and I still have money left over!
I'm not a huge exercise person. I do my share, but I'm not obsessed about it. But for the first 5 or 6 months- I was ON it. I walked 3 miles every single day and went hiking a lot and mixed it up quite a bit. I started to taper off a lot after a family crisis But I still stuck with the eating!

I lost 46 lbs in 14 months. I went from 196 to 150 and I feel good.
I will still continue to work hard at maintaining and I still need to tone up. I might shoot to lose another 5 but I'm not going to dwell on that now. I'm going to relish this moment, because I literally laughed when I set my goal at the beginning of this journey.

I guess my advice is:
Take the compliments from friends, family, and co-workers! You deserve them!
If you screw up- just start fresh the next day!
HAVE YOUR "FREE" DAYS!!! days when you don't keep track, you don't even MENTION the words "diet" or "lifestyle change"! You will set yourself up for epic failure if you don't take it easy once a week.

Love the journey!
Thanks to all the people here who gave me a boost when I needed it!! This site is awesome!!

Congrats! Your hard work has paid off and you look good Your success motivates me

Congratulations!

I completely agree rerocessed foods, and I can't wait to try my hand at gardening soon. I've put it off for two years now!

Congrats!

Wow, congratulations! AWESOME FOR YOU and your family!!!! And I am so jealous of your garden!

Congrats! You look great!

Congrats! You look awesome

Good for you--and your family!!!! I wonder how toxic all these processed foods are and what additives and preservatives will do to us down the road? Congrats--you look great!

You did work hard and it shows!

Congratulations!!

I so wish I had a garden

Congratulations!!!

You look super good and honestly I feel there is no need for you lose yet another 5 lbs! I have the same goal as you - to get to 150 and right now weigh 196 lbs which was your starting weight. And, another similarity, I too walk 3 miles a day for exercise. Congratulations! And thank you for the tips too.

Mega congrats, you did it! And you've accomplished your lifestyle change and know how to keep it off for the rest of your life.

Just- WOW! Congrats