If you are anything like me, I knew I had to make a change. One for the better and one that was permanent. If you're like me, you never wanted your picture to be taken, my back hurt when I slept at night, and I was winded quickly when it came to doing any form of extended physical activity. I couldn't cross my legs properly for heaven's sake! I was sick of running from the camera, sick of never swimming with my family, and sick of not wearing shorts during the summer. I found that no matter how much I sucked in my gut for pictures and no matter how hard I worked to look nice in the mirror by applying make up and primping my hair, I just could not look pretty the way I used to. In general, I was MISERABLE!
The majority of my life I was thin, but then I never worked to lose weight after having my second son...well, I did, just not long and smart enough to lose it so...my weight went up, and up, and up. I am 5'11" tall and I used to enjoy trying on clothes in the department stores because just about everything I tried on looked great on me. I haven't enjoyed that in nearly 13 years now - in fact, I've left dressing rooms disgusted for years. So, I finally decided to do something about it. I decided this because I was about to move up to a size 18 because my 16's were squeezing me to death. This FREAKED me out! I knew I HAD to start exercising to lose my weight back to the real me. Not only did I never move up to size 18 pants, but I am now comfortably fitting into size 14's that are a little loose...loose enough that I have to tug them up every once in a while. A couple of days ago I decided to try on a pair of size 12 regular jeans that my aunt gave me just for the heck of it. Not only could I get them on, I was able to do so without hopping all over the room or writhing around on the bed to button and zip them. I tried on that same pair of size 12 jeans about six weeks ago and the button was about three inches from getting anywhere close to being buttoned. This time, I buttoned and zipped them without any trouble. This was a HUGE milestone for me because I haven't been able to wear size 12's for 13 years!!!!! Yes, I still have "muffin top" when I tried on those size 12's but it won't be long before I can wear them confortably. I still have thighs that are jiggly and jiggly arms, but that too will go away over time. I'm not stopping now...I'm pressing on toward the finish line! This is all part of the journey and progress is happening!
I began exercising on 2/17/11 and then discovered My Fitness Pal on 2/22/11...that's when I joined and started counting calories too. Since then, I've been faithfully exercising and counting calories. Before counting calories, I would get frustrated after exercising for a while because I just didn't see progress. Now I see weekly progress thanks to MFP! Today I reached 25 pounds lost. Today is the day I promised myself and others that I would post before and current progress pics. Even though there's still a lot more work to be done before I reach my goal weight, I've come so far already! I'm not happy where I am, but I am happy where I'm going. Here are the pic's.....
Neck: 1.2" GONE
Waist: 5.7" GONE
Hips: 5.0" GONE
Arm: 2.0" GONE
Thighs: 5.0" GONE
Bust: 4.8" GONE (Thankfully my cup size is still the same LOL!!! --for now)
Calves: .70" GONE
Body Fat: 6% GONE
BMI: Lost 3.4 to a "Healthy Weight Range" from an "Overweight Range"
Get your head in the game and be honest with yourself about your exercise and calorie consumption. I still eat pizza, burgers, and sweet treats, but I do so in moderation...not until I'm stuffed to the gills! If I didn't allow myself to enjoy these little things I would not have stuck with it. I have eaten real food, not diet drinks, shakes, etc. which just goes to show that exercising and calorie counting really works! Make sure you choose an exercise program that is something you'll enjoy. If you don't enjoy it, you won't stick with it. Don't start off with something too difficult too fast either. Work your way up to more challenging things. It's okay to change things up and introduce new exercises to keep things fresh and interesting. It's not about losing weight overnight...you didn't gain it overnight. It's about knowing WHY you want to lose weight, knowing what YOUR GOALS are and reaching DAILY goals. Before you know it, it all adds up to BIG GOALS achieved!!! I believe in YOU! YOU CAN DO THIS TOO..TAKE IT ONE DAY AT A TIME. IT'S WELL WORTH THE WORK!!!!
"Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out." ~Robert Collier"
~Jennifer
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