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Ajima Jackson

LaShunda lost 102 pounds

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Let’s show some love to LaShunda. She lost 102 pounds with weight reduction surgery, exercise and eating right.  I’m happy to share her weight loss story with you:

“Hello, this my story. I lost my Mom and without me knowing I gained over 95 lbs that took me over the 300 mark. Depression had sat in without me knowing it. I tried everything in the world and it did not work. My daughter  graduated in 2011 and after taking all the lovely pictures, I saw a different person. I went to True Results and got the Lap-Band® surgery . It is the best thing that I have done for myself in a long time.

Hit the gym 5 to 6 times a week along with zumba and eating right. Along with the assistance of the Lap-Band, I choose to cut soda’s, sugar drinks, bread, and most red meats. These items are the worst for me to digest. I also eat very small portions many times a day. Water is a very important part of my day. I try to drink half my body weight in just water. I now drink the cucumber, lime, lemon and mint detox, which is really good. My starting weight was 319 pounds and I am currently 217 pounds. I went from a size 28 to a size 12 . I have been serious for the last 2 years. I did not realize that I was that heavy. I went into a depression and did not know that I was there mourning the death of my mother. My advice to those that struggle is eat clean, move, drink plenty of water and get plenty of rest.”

LaShunda weight loss story

Crystal lost 30 pounds

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Today’s featured weight loss story: Crystal lost 30 pounds.  Her photos show that you don’t have to lose 100 pounds to transform your body.  Working our regularly, building muscle and eating clean are key.  Here is her story:

Crystal weight loss photos

What was your motivation?

“At first I wanted to lose weight because I was tired going up in sizes and not being able to wear my old clothes. After researching the health benefits of weight loss, I started to do it for my health. There are a lot of obesity related diseases that are common in my family and I refuse to be the next victim.”

How did you change your eating habits?

“At first I thought I could keep the same diet and just exercise…NOT TRUE. I had to cut out sugar, fast food, fried food, and learn how to eat clean. Now, I only eat lean protein, green leafy vegetables like spinach and kale, and I drink a gallon of water a day. I try to eat about 5 small meals of day without snacking in between. I’ve been drinking Shakeology for about a year now, and that really helps me fight cravings for junk food and desserts. I’m also a green tea lover so I drink about 2 cups of tea a day.”

What did your workout routines look like?

“I get bored with workouts very easily so I like to switch up my routine. I lift weights 5 days a week, do cardio 2-3 days a week, and I rest one day week. I do home workout DVDs due to my busy schedule, but I also run outdoors to change the scenery from time to time.”

What was your starting weight? What is your current weight?
“I started out at 165 lbs and I’m currently 135 lbs.”

How long did your transformation take?
“My transformation took about 7 months. It could have taken less time if I would have changed my diet in the beginning. The first 2 months were mostly trial and error.”

What advice to you have for others who want to lose weight?
Be patient. The results will come as long as you put in the hard work. It’s also important to challenge yourself. I always try to push myself to go a littler harder, to lift a litter heavier, to not take so many breaks when jogging. It will pay off in the end. Trust me!

Crystal weight loss story

Weight Loss on a Budget Tip #28: Feed Your Family Healthy Food and Save Money

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family healthy food save moneyToday’s tip for weight loss on a budget: Tip #28: Feed Your Family Healthy Food and Save Money. One of the main issues I hear from mothers is that they have to be able to feed their whole families while changing to healthier eating habits.  Many people think that eating quality food has to be expensive, but it doesn’t have to be if you are strategic and do your research about deals, sales and pricing.

Here are my tips:

  • Focus on Healthy Staples in Bulk: Whole wheat pasta, healthy low-sugar cereal, oatmeal, beans, whole grain rice, chicken breast and yogurt.  These are just some of the foods that you can buy in bulk.  Focus on things that you know your family eats a lot of that will not spoil quickly and can be stored in bulk.
  • Create Family Staple Foods: Think about what cheap things you can use as the base for meals.  Example: Canned tuna, beans, rice, sweet potatoes, romaine lettuce, lean pork, ground turkey.  You want to look for cheap, healthy ingredients that have a lot of versatility and can be used in a variety of ways in terms of the recipes you make for your family.
  • Sacrifice Variety for Health and Cost: Create a set of 10-15 dinner meals that you know your family will eat (meals your kids will eat, especially) and cook those meals regularly.  Make this list the basis of most of your dinners. Prepare a new or different healthy meal selection, that’s not on the list, at least 4 times a month.  This will help you to control cost, save time and know exactly what nutrition your family is getting.  You can do the same with other meals, like breakfast.
  • Don’t Buy Junk Food – NO brainer.  Junk food that is full of empty calories and has little nutritional value is not worth the money or inches on your waistline.  In addition, your kids need quality food for their health and development.
  • Freeze Leftovers –  Leftover meals and portions should be saved for later.  If you think that you may not get to the food for a few days, freeze it to avoid spoilage.
  • Make a Grocery List and Stick to IT – When you are shopping with kids, you can end up with a lot of unplanned items in your cart.  If you go to the grocery store while you are hungry or craving junk, you could also end up with some unplanned items.  A shopping list can help serve as a reminder of what you committed to buying and of what you have allotted in your budget for groceries.  It’s not a guarantee, but it’s better than not having a plan.

Crystal lost 35 pounds

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Crystal wrote to us to share that she’s lost 35 pounds.  This proud mom of 3 lost the weight after being a food addict as a result of dealing with very hard and painful things in her past.  Here is her weight loss story:

Crystal weight loss photos

“I have been plus size (size 16W-18W) for a while now.  I have even advocated to ladies in my area to love themselves, no matter what size they are. I was in denial about my own size and even though my self esteem was always high, I just felt like crap physically.

This year, I was involved in a car accident, that left me with injuries to my back and my legs were constantly feeling numb. I accepted the fact that I am overweight, and tired of being sick and tired. That was when I decided I would do something about it after healing from the injuries.

After the accident, I had to do some deep soul searching, and in the meantime I read some really helpful material on how to deal with a painful past, and forgiving others. It was then that I realized that I had a food addiction, and I turned to food after dealing with a very hard situation in my life as a child.

Food was my drug of choice and I ate constantly, any and everything.

I have been so busy changing my lifestyle by eating healthy foods, and exercising, that I decided not to publish my online newspaper anymore (Cincinnati Defender). It took up too much of my time. I am a mother to three children ages 17, 8, and 7, plus I work a normal job in addition to being a publisher I had to decide between catering to the community, and catering to my health.

In three months, I lost 35lbs, no weight loss surgery. I changed what I ate and the portions I ate. I made better food choices, and increased my water intake from maybe 6 glasses a day to 2 gallons a day.  I exercised 4-5 times a week. I am still on this journey, and now encouraging others to do the same thing. Now, I have a total of about 45 more pounds to lose.”

Terri lost 58 pounds

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Today’s featured weight loss success story: Terri lost 58 pounds.  This petite 5’2″ sista was able to improve her health after being diagnosed with kidney disease with the help of a supportive Facebook community.  She committed herself to wellness and weight loss!  Here is what she shared with us about her journey:

Terri weight loss photos

“Hello, I’m Terri Little, I am 48 years old. I am married with 2 grown sons and 1 daughter-in-law. I was diagnosed with kidney disease at the age of 32. At that time my Renal doctor told me that I would most likely have kidney failure in 10 years because both kidneys were affected. He also told me if I lose weight that it would help my kidneys. I tried every fad diet out there, I lost a few pounds here and there but always gained it back. My doctor prescribed steroids that I took for about 6 months. The weight gain and side effects were unbelievable! I gained 15 pounds. I gave up trying to lose weight.

In 2011, I made my usual New Years Resolution to lose weight. Surprisingly I lost 20 pounds. I was at my largest at that time, 190 pounds and I stand at 5’2. In April 2012, (weight 172 size 10), a friend of mine added me to a lifestyle weight loss group on Facebook, that was founded by a personal trainer on the east coast. At that same time my labs for my kidney test were not good, so I said to myself, I’m going to try the group out and see if I could really lose the weight naturally and really stick with it to improve my health. As being part of the group we were to post our meals and workouts and he would give us advice on eating healthy and different kinds of exercises. That is when my journey began. The group was so motivating! I would see others overweight/obese like myself working out, posting their healthy meals, pictures and videos. He would also give us challenges. One challenge in particular I enjoyed was July 2012 was to purchase in the dress size we wanted to be. I purchased a size 4. By the end of the challenge I was able to fit that dress!

How I lost the weight: First, I stopped eating processed foods, white flour, white sugar, white rice, no fried foods of any kind. I use agave nectar as my sweetener, I bake, grill, boiling, broiled and steam my meat and veggies. I gave up all red meat. I drink half my body weight in spring water daily and cups of organic green tea. I make all sort of smoothies. I love to cook and have been told I’m a great cook  I enjoy making over my dishes so they can be healthy. I workout at the gym and at home 5-6 times a week. I love my 3 pound hula hoop, it’s really helped trim my waistline. I do strength training, free weights, cables and band. Interval cardio training on elliptical and stationary bike (something I learned from personal training in lifestyle group).

By November 2012, I reached my goal of 132 lbs. I now weight 135-138 and I have lost over 50 lbs since 2011. I wear a 4 size, sml and extra sml. I am within normal weight range for my age and height. I’m happy to say my Renal doctor was right! I lost the weight my kidney function is normal! I no longer take any medications. I now see my Renal doctor once a year. For years, I saw him every 3 months. I am overjoyed for what I accomplished! With A LOT of Prayer, Self determination and motivations from others I reached my goal! I get emotional just thinking about it. Thankful!! I’m eating for Life literally! I always say it possible.”

Terri weight loss journey Terri weight loss story

 

Weight Loss on a Budget Tip #27: Bring Your Lunch From Home

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It’s almost the end of our Weight Loss on a Budget Challenge so I just have a few more tips.  Today’s Tip #27: Bring Your Lunch From Home.

bring your own lunchThere are 3 major benefits to bringing your lunch to work or while you are out.

  1. Saving Money – Buying your lunch everyday can be very expensive.  The cheaper options (dollar menus for example) tend to be very convenient, but also FULL of empty calories, fatty meats and simple carbs.  You can save money by planning out your meals according to your daily budget.  Create your own healthy meal plan with low cost items like greek yogurt, low sodium deli meat, cereal, bulk items (nuts, beans, etc), cottage cheese, apples, oranges, protein shakes, etc.
  2. Calorie Control and Healthy Ingredients – When your make your lunch, you know exactly what’s in it.  You will have selected the ingredients and you’ll know how the food was prepared.  Also, you will have already considered things like calories and the nutritional value (vitamins, fiber, etc).  If you have a calorie goal for the day, it’s easier to stay on track because youl know in advance what your calorie counts should be.
  3. Portion Control – When you order your lunch, sometimes you may not be aware of what the true portion size is for what you’re eating because you’re on the run.  You may think you’re eating 1 serving of a food when you are really eating 4 servings.  That’s because there are so many great restaurants out there that have huge portions that don’t work for people who want to cut back to lose weight.  In the end, you may feel like you’re getting a deal on food, but you are sabotaging your weight loss efforts with those huge portions.  In addition, many of us were raised to eat everything on our plates, so the thought of not eating what we just paid top dollar for doesn’t compute.  Thus we end up eating more food than we need to.  That leads to guilt because we don’t want to “waste” food, so we eat it.  When you make your own lunch, you can better control how much food you eat.

Tabaitha lost 53 pounds

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Today’s featured success story: Tabaitha lost 53 pounds and she’s kept the weight off since 2011.  Here is what she shared about her weight loss journey:

Hi! I want to be a inspiration to the ladies to keep going! My name is Tabaitha and I’m 53 pounds down and counting.

My motivation for losing the weight is I wanted to feel like myself again after gaining over 80 pounds while pregnant with my daughter.

I changed my eating habits by eliminating white sugar, sodas, friend foods & breads. I replaced them with baked or broiled lean meats and lots of green veggies on the side.

My starting weight was 213 pounds and my current weight is 160 pounds.

My workout routines consisted of 45 min of cardio, 5-6 days a week and light strength training.   I did a mix or the elliptical and the treadmill. When I would use the treadmill I would set the incline high to make me really work but I would power walk. I’m still not to the point where I’m running yet but I’m working on it. When I use the elliptical I up the cross ramp a little too. You just want to constantly challenge your body. Every week go up a notch in speed, weights or reps.

My transformation started off slow with me losing 23 lbs in 2010 over the course of 4 months and then took off in 2011 with me losing 30 lbs in 2 months

My advice to the ladies is to be consistent with your workouts and nutrition. Nutrition is the most important part. Drink lots of water and stay positive! I’m not done with my journey I’m losing my last pounds and getting lean & toned. Just keep going  🙂Tabaitha weight loss photos

Tabaitha weight loss story

Weight Loss on a Budget Tip #26: Use Free Weight Loss and Fitness Apps

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Mobile apps are part of our daily lives.  Today for our Weight Loss on a Budget Tip for day 26, we want to encourage you to try some great, free weight loss and fitness focused apps. Tip #26: Use Free Weight Loss and Fitness Apps.

weight loss apps

My Fitness Pal – This is a calorie counter app, online community and database that contains the nutritional information for million foods. This app can really help you stay on track with your eating. Hundreds of BWLW members are on the site so check out this list of their usernames.  It’s FREE

Nike Training Club – This app from Nike gives you access to over 10o workouts at the click of a button.  It includes some great High Intensity Interval Training routines to help you burn calories.  You can set up goals and you’re rewarded for your progress.  It’s like a personal trainer in your pocket because there is a cool audio feature that talks to your to help you stay motivated during your workout.  Very user friendly.  It’s FREE.

Loseit – Track calories, workouts and your overall weight loss progress with this app.  You can keep track of macronutrients, sleep patterns and even your blood pressure so you see a great snapshot of your health as you work on your overall wellness.  My favorite part of this FREE app is the bar code scanning.  It saves me a lot of time when I’m logging what I’ve eaten (protein powders, dairy, etc).

Fooducate – If you want to really know what’s in your food and get some help with making food decisions based on nutrition, get this FREE app.  It will open your eyes.  Their site says that “Fooducate’s scientific algorithms grade each product and provide simple, concise explanations. Grading system developed by scientists, dietitians and concerned parents.”  They emphasize REAL, unprocessed foods.

 

Lanise lost 158 pounds with Gastric Bypass surgery

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Let’s show some BWLW love to Lanise.  She lost 158 pounds with Gastric Bypass weight loss surgery.  After years of using different dieting methods, she is very glad about her choice. Here is her weight loss story:

335 lbs to 177 lbs! After years and years of Weight Watchers, Slim Fast, diet doctors, etc, Gastric Bypass was my last option. I love that after 4 years(this November) I still get full after a small meal! Yes, I have to take vitamins, calcium and b12s for the rest of my life.  I’m fine with that! My only regret is not doing it a decade ago!

My motivation: I was tired of carrying around this weight, tired of my back hurting and I wanted to travel more.

Eating habits: Once you have gastric bypass your are forced to change your eating habits. I hear a lot of people say that weight loss surgery is an easy way out, but in all reality it’s not. It’s a lifestyle change. You can not longer eat the huge portions. Some foods that you used to be able to eat, you may not be able to tolerate them. After 4 years post surgery, I still eat small portions, eat on smaller plates or on plates with sections.

Workout routines: I walk a lot and I try to get a least two days a week in the gym.

Advice for others: Do what’s best for you. Whether it’s weight loss surgery or doing it on your own, just be motivated and have faith in yourself.

Lanise weight loss photos

Tina lost 50 pounds

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Today’s weight loss success story: Tina lost 50 pounds and has kept it off for 6 years.  We all know that it’s hard to get the weight off, but it can be even harder to keep it off.  Here is what she shared with us:

Hello, My name is Tina and I would like to share my story as to how I lost 50 lbs and keep it off for 6 years. My motivation was the health problems that some of my family members faced, like high blood pressure, diabetes, and difficulty breathing due to their weight.

I changed my eating habits by drinking a gallon of water a day and not eating after 6pm.At the time I started ,my workout plan was nothing, but then I decided I’d join the gym and get a regular routine going of crunches, cardio, and toning.

My starting weight was 197 pounds and my current weight is 147 pounds. My transformation took me about half a year. Now, I’m on an exercise regimen to where I go to the gym 3 times a week and when I’m not at the gym I’m here at my home working out in my small gym room. My diet is a gallon of water a day still and not eating after 6pm. I have protein drinks that I drink throughout the night to curve my appetite.  No sodas, no sweets and this pic is my motivation. My advice to others is to have supreme discipline when trying to loose weight and stay steadfast on your goal.

TinaOct13