Thos Crazy-Awesome Before and Durings
 

So, I thought it was time for before and afters! Hopefully these work, I'm uploading them on a friends server. :)
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Before
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...tha/Before.jpg
(this was taken after I'd lost about my first 10 pounds, so I was a bit bigger before. But, well, you get the gist!)

After

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...tha/After2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...tha/after3.jpg
(sorry if the 'afters' are a bit small, but they were taken with two different cameras.)

Oh, and yes, a good way to make a fool of myself-- spell 'those' wrong! ;P

Wow.. thats amazing congrats!! How much have you lost! You look great girl.

Thankies! :D Right now, I've lost about 95ish pounds.

Wow! In the first pic, you look very similar to me! What motivation! Congrats. What weight did you start at, if you don't mind sharing?

Awh, thankies! :D I believe I started somewhere in the 290's-285's range. I'm not exactly sure on the exact pound, because when I really first started I wasn't too focused on weighing myself every week. Of course, now you can't get me off of the scale! -Sigh-

WOW, you can really see the difference! You look great! You also seem to have more confidence.
CONGRATS!

You look really great! Congrats!!! Im happy for you. : ) By the way..how long did it take you to lose your 95 pounds? What have you been doing?

You look fabulous Shannon!

Wow! What a great job and you look fantastic, and so happy! Yes, please tell us about your hard work... be proud of it... :)

I started somewhere near 290 myself so it's great to see someone else do so well. Thanks for posting pics!

(still playing that funky music) :dancer: (let's boogie!)

-Lala

Wow, Shannon... you look great! Congratulations.

Woohoo! What an awesome job you have done! You look incredible. You must have great determination to have achieved so much. Congratulations and PLEASE share any words of wisdom you've realized through your journey.

you look sooo cute. thanks for proving hard work and determination do pay off. keep at it girlie!!!

Wow - you look amazing, Shannon! Congratulations!

Congrats Shannon! Look at those jeans in the 2nd after pic, they're hanging off you! Well done :).

<3 You guys are so nice! :D I have to say, the smile on my face from reading such nice responses is quite permenant right now!

And to answer a few questions, my weight loss right now has taken about 9 months, although I still hope to lose a bit more (my doctor says he's 'happy', but I could still stand to lose a bit more to be considered healthy. I just about attacked him! :lol:). I don't think I really follow any 'diet', per say. Atkins/South Beach? Tried it, and that lasted about a day until I saw a bagel. Other diets that put limitations on me? Tried them, but they lasted about a day too! Needless to say, I'm bad at diets that put limitations. So, I invented my own diet of to which I call the 'Shannon Diet'. I eat when I'm hungry, but instead of fattening foods it's healthy alternatives. Of course, everyone is allowed 'those days', and I can't say that I've never cheated and had some pizza! But now, instead of eating five pieces, I'll have one/two pieces sans the blue cheese (alright, alright, plus SOME blue cheese! :D) My only big obstacle is the fact that my parents think I'm starving myself, but it's just because they've never really controlled what they ate. They think a cup of breakfast of two bowls of cereal is normal, but I know it's not! :lol: Then, the exercising-- three/four days of cardio with weight lifting is usually what I do. Dancing is definately a newfound love of mine! I'm considering joining a ballet class, but I'm clumsy...Not a good combination!

Shannons in the house! You look great dahlink, what a difference.

Wow you look awesome! I'm so glad that you said you just lost the weight by eating healthier and exercising...because I have tried so many fad diets and none of them have worked so now I'm going to try the healthy lifestyle way.

Thanks for being an inspiration! :D

Maaahvelous, darling, simply maaahvelous :)

Awhh! Thanks everyone, you guys are so nice! <3:D

Congrat's you look great. Thanks for sharing the pic's with everyone. It helps to give us all some motivation.

:D awhh! Thank you! <3 I'm exactly like you, I'm super shy and self conscious too-- but I found that, with belly dancing (my favorite form of dancing), I let go of pretty much all of my self doubt. I definitely have a belly that jiggles and wiggles (it's shrinking though, which is good :D), but when I'm moving my hips and dancing around I feel super confident! There's a ton of DVD'S out on the market if you want to check them out for dancing, but my request is ones that are belly-dancing oriented. I still want to get involved in ballet though, so I'll tell you how THAT goes too! (Probably including pictures of my many bruises from falling over my own two feet. I’ve seen ballerina’s before, all those leaps…-shudder- :lol:)

OMG are you a mind reader?! We have to be soulmates or something. I have several belly dancing videos on my Amazon wishlist! I just haven't gotten around to ordering any.

You look amazing !!! And you look younger too (even if we can't really tell from the first picture) Maybe it's the beautiful smile on your face ! :D

That's so Shannon, it's the future I can seee :lol:!

Lmao!

Im on the "shannon diet too" lol I swear by it. We could probably market it. Our slogan could be.. " Eatting Healthy + Exercise = Losing Weight" Whodathunkit? I also eat when Im hungry, I just make far better choices. The concept is simple, the way you approach it is the hard part. Seriously though, thats how Ive lost my weight too. It all about changing your mindset.. the rest just falls in place. When I was in better shape ( i did put a little weight on, but I mostly wasnt able to exercise ( surgery and some other personal crap) I went to the doctor at 156 and he was like you are on the high end of your weight scale, in fact your 6lbs over weight and I was thinking you know.. Dr. Twerp thats because I can pick you up and squat you little man. OF course I didnt say that but I thought about. Then when I had to be pretty much naked, he was like.. "well I guess you do workout, nice oblique muscles keep up the good work" lol Point being.. I know how you felt especially when he was like.. "your still overweight :blah:" 6lbs.. oh no... whatever would I do. Now I have 16lbs... hope hes happy lol. 26 to goal though. :carrot:

We should market it! But I swear, some people act as if it's the plague. I mean, when I tell some people how I lost the weight..Well, they stare at me! Then they say that I must be lying, because it 'can't be that simple'. Yet again, I just about attacked them! :lol: I think sometimes people think that you have to have some sort of gimmick to lose weight, like cutting carbs or cutting fat or just cutting out food all together. But, well, just eating healthier can really work! -Sigh- But, well, try explaining that to people who wear size 4 pants and call themselves 'overweight'.

LOL yeah I get the same thing... people think I am or should be "on a diet" LOL. The health industry has spent 70 gazillion dollars in research and what have they really come up with? "Your mother was right... eat your veggies." :)

Shannon--
You are such a cutie-- Great job!!

There was an episode of Absolutely Fabulous where the mom wanted to lose weight. The daughter told her to do what you do. The mom said, "Well if it was that easy, everyone would be doing it!" Then she spent zillions on fad diet guru stuff. :-) It's one of my favorite episodes.

Congrats on losing that much weight!! Thanks for sharing your pics! You look really happy!!! Losing weight is pretty simple , eat right and exercise. Alot of people really do think its more than that. LOL I just have to laugh, because most of those people are in my family any they just dont "get it" . My sister is constantly buying new "stuff" for dieting and exercise. Shes gonna go broke before she loses a single lb.

Keep up the absolutly great work your doing!! Its working !! :)

WTG you look really good!

Awh, thanks everyone! :hug:

In theory, anyway! :) But eating right and excercising regularly is NOT simple; it is hard work and requires dedication and commitment!!! :carrot:

Well...it is simple, it's just not always easy. You're right in that it is hard work, but sooooo worth it! :carrot:

LOL you know it is interesting that you said that... I looked up the word "simple" and it said a synonym is "easy" -- I never thought they were the same thing either!!! But whatever, you are definitely right that it is WORTH it! :hug:

That's exactly what I've always said. It's simple - but it's not easy!

You look so fab in yur pics Shannon - you're a true inspiration!!

Way back in January when I'd lost 10 lbs a colleague at work who wants to lose 10 lbs asked me how I did it. I told her - eating less and exercising. She sighed and said "I wish I could do that too!"

Next time I went in the staff room she was eating a bar of chocloate! I felt like grabbing it off her and saying "Well, if you eat crap like that it's never going to come off, is it you stupid woman!" But I smiled inwardly and ignored her. Now I've lost 35 lbs and she's still 10 lbs overweight. It's hardly rocket science!

LOL the dictionary says they mean exactly the same thing... but okay. :) And I tend to think you are right... regardless of what the dictionary says, I don't think most people SEE them as the same thing...??? So I agree with you and not the dictionary LOL :dizzy:

It's easy theoretically, but not easy willpower-wise!

You look fantastic Shannon! Congratulations :carrot: