Black Weight Loss Success

The Official Blog of the Black Women Losing Weight Community. Tips, articles and weight loss resources for African American Women.

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Ajima Jackson

LaTasha lost 62 pounds

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Today’s weight loss success story: LaTasha lost 62 pounds.

“After having 3 kids (9yr old, 7yr old and 3 yr old) I just couldn’t get my weight back under control. I needed a change so I began my weight loss journey January 1 2012 and never looked back! I’ve lost 62lbs so far. I workout 5 to 6 days a wk, I eat less and try to make better food choices. I used to hate working out, now feel bad when I miss a day. I can’t afford a gym membership or a trainer so I do it on my own. My weight loss secret is simply hard work and dedication.

As far as eating habits, there is almost nothing I tell myself I can’t have because that will make me want it more! So moderation is the key for me, no more downing a big bag of Munchos in one sitting. I just try to eat less and added more fruits and vegetables into my diet. I only drink water but when I need some flavor I add lemon or a pack of Crystal Light. I can’t afford a gym membership/trainer so I workout at home using dvds (such as Jillian Michaels and Billy Blanks), kettlebells, stability ball. When the weather is warm I try to jog on a track at the local high school. But my favorite thing to do lately is Wii Zumba Fitness Core. It’s sooo much fun!”

Latasha weight loss

Mona lost 120 pounds

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Today’s featured weight loss success story: Mona lost 120 pounds and her story is one of my absolute favorite success stories.  She threw out all her junk food, became alcohol free, and is now a vegetarian.  She first shared with us back in July 2012 and she has continued to maintain her amazing weight loss.  I asked her to send us an update so that I could feature her on the blog.  She says,

“It has been almost three years since I began my journey in this new life. I still exercise regularly and I love the vegetarian lifestyle. At times I look at old pictures of myself and cannot believe I allowed me to NEGLECT me in such a horrible way. I treated my body like a trash can and tried to cover up my disgust and pain with liquor and more food. But I decided that I needed to respect myself by way of changing the way I live, the way I think, even the way I love. Now I am alcohol free, meat free, sugar free, fat free, and foolishness free and could not be happier.”

Back in July she wrote us to say…

“In the spring of 2010 I hit the bottom-out trifecta, I crashed physically, mentally, and spiritually at the same time. And it was at this time that I decided to change the way I lived my life which involved changing the way I defined food and how I determined my self worth. Immediately after I said out loud that I was not going to live another day in that body, I got on the treadmill and I could not complete 5 minutes, but I got back on it the first thing the next morning. I cleaned out my pantry, throwing away all of the cream filled snack cakes, cookies, buttery crackers, pop tarts, potato chips, candy, etc and I replace them with fresh fruit. I got rid of all the high calorie frozen entrees, ice cream, etc. My new diet consisted of fresh fruit, vegetables, baked poultry and seafood, and whole grain foods. Plus, I eliminated fast foods, fried foods, and later alcohol (18 months sober). In the beginning I exercised twice a day which was mostly at least on hour of cardio. After about 6 months, I went to the gym twice a day 3 days a week and once a day the remaining days. A year later I reduced my workout to once a day, but I integrated weight training. Today I am a sober vegetarian that exercises everyday for at least 45 minutes to an hour.”

Mona weight loss

Ashley lost 86 pounds

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Today’s featured weight loss success story: Ashley lost 86 pounds the old fashioned way, by cleaning up her eating habits and working out.

I’m 29 yrs old from Mississippi.  So you can imagine the comfort soulfood I was raised up eating. I was relatively thin growing up until certain traumas occured in my life, and I turned to food for comfort, kinda was my outlet. So after 2 sons and a failed marriage, I moved to the Bay Area of California where of course image and beauty is everything! I thought, “So, I’m big and beautiful not superficial like them so I’m eat whatever I want”. Until my heart started feeling weird pains.  I felt sick, weighed down and fatigued all the time. I was just like no, I cant live like this. Dec. 2011 was when I started, weighing in at about 350!!!! I started to eat really clean gradually and began to work out every single day! I met with a dietician who educated me on how to set my plate, using the 9 inch plate method, healthy alternatives to the things I had to have. Thank God for her beacuse I had broke up with my currrnt boyfriend and had picked back up on my bad habits and started gaining the weight back. So I got back on track. I drink about a gallon of water a day, I take CLA & raspberry keytone vitamins, and b12.  Muscle Milk protein shakes are the bomb! Helps ya tone up faster but it goes hand in hand with your exercise regimen.  To date I’m at 264 lbs. I never let the scale bother me.  I focus on inches lost. I cut out beef and pork and anything white (All wheat everything). I count calories and carbs try to keep my calorie intake between 1500 & 1800 because of my height but I know for a fact I eat much less because I eat til I’m full and then stop wether I finish the meal or not. I dance on the kinect with my kids, I do alot of cardio, (elliptical mostly), anything that keeps me sweating and active I do it!”

Ashley weight loss

LaTasha lost 54 pounds

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Today’s weight loss success story: LaTasha lost 54 pounds by working out and using Weight Watchers.  She wrote us to say…

“Here is my story: I decided to embark on a healthy living journey back in 2011. I make better eating choices (using Weight Watchers) and I work out 5 times a week. I knew dieting wasn’t for me because I needed life long changes. Below is my pic of progress. Although my weight is fluctuating now because I am toning more, I have lost 54 lbs!

I had to make a lifestyle change. Why? I went to get a physical and the doctor was seriously SHOCKED that I didn’t have any illnesses…no diabetes, high blood pressure, nothing. I’ve seen what these illnesses have done to my family. There is too much in life I can’t control, eating better…I can control that.

I decided to research some healthier options of living (notice I didn’t say DIET). I stumbled upon Weight Watchers…a program where I can eat the same foods I always ate, but in better portions and better contents within. This journey I have been on has changed my life. It really is a mental shift. You see, dieting…doing temporary things to lose weight can lead to temporary results, but eating healthier, making a true lifestyle change is where the longevity of weight loss resides.

So what do I do? I go to the gym 5 days a week for at least an hour and I stick to the plan of Weight Watchers. I eat between 5-6 times a day, small portion meals. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and 2-3 small snacks in between. What is important to remember is if you starve your body, only eating a couple of times of day, your body will hold on to the food thus making it more difficult to lose. But eating more often (quality meals:fruit, veggies, protein, etc.), your body will learn to release that food essentially building your metabolism a bit. I have now lost 54lbs since I began my journey…and counting!!!!

Latasha weight loss

 

 

Devin lost 204 pounds with weight loss surgery

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Devin lost 204 pounds with the gastric sleeve.  She went from 443 lbs to 239 lbs and is still losing!!

She says, “I had the gastric sleeve surgery in April 2011.  I had to eat five small meals throughout the day.  I also cut out sodas and a lot of sweets. It’s all a mind control thing.  You have to be mentally prepared and focus on changing your bad habits.”

Devin weight loss surgery

Tasha lost 60 pounds

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Today’s weight loss success story: Tasha lost 60 pounds by running and learning to “eat to live instead of living to eat”.

Here is what Tasha shared with us:

“I started on December 27, 2011. I was tired all the time and I wanted to be able to walk a flight of stairs without losing my breath. On 12/27/11, I weighed in at 240 lbs. Today I weigh 180 lbs. I lost the weight by changing my relationship with food. I stopped looking at for for comfort or pleasure. Instead I looked at as a means of survival. I basically learned to eat to live instead of living to eat. This doesn’t mean I didn’t fall off the wagon. I learned that when I fell off, I had to suck it up and get back on. I also started going to the gym daily. My goal has always been to be a runner. I ran my first 5k in August and I will run another in January. I work everyday to keep the weight off and to lose more weight because my journey is not over. My ultimate goal is to run a marathon. Your Facebook page has given me so much encouragement. Whenever I thought I couldn’t do it, I looked at the pictures of the women who did. Thank you.”

Tasha weight loss

Erica lost 32 pounds

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Today’s weight loss success story: Erica lost 32 pounds with hard work and the help of her supportive, fitness minded boyfriend.

Erica lost 32 pounds

Erica gave us all details of her weight loss journey:

“The early part of 2012, I started out at 175 wearing size 13, large, and extra large and it seems that the number was going to keep inching higher if I did not make a change. My boyfriend, who is heavily into fitness: running, lifting, extreme calisthenics, eating healthily and losing weight in the right way, got me started on my journey on June 3, 2012. I discovered how important (and critical) it was to have strong support from loved ones and he was with me every step of the way. He has got to be the most patient man on earth because I kept hounding him with question after question!

Here’s a brief synopsis of what I have done over the last 7 months:

June 3: Took before pics
June 4: Started the Insanity program and wanted to quit the same day but I kept going
August 30: Finally finished Insanity after two knee injuries from a pinched nerve
August 31: Received my core-cardio liptical trainer and started working out on that
September 10: Started P90x and was still using my elliptical
October 20: Stopped doing P90x (too slow, too corny, and some of the moves was seriously aggravating my knee issues, like the Legs & Back set)…kept working out on the elliptical and doing other stuff like squats, jumping jacks, speed walking (all of this while wearing a 10-20# vest)
Novemberish: Added running to the mix while wearing a full sauna suit and also started lifting using my free weights with a dedicated program (I have a 250# weight bench set with olympic bar at home but I’m not interested in using it at this time…not part of the game plan just yet)
November 23: Had to stop running for a few weeks due to right knee pain but kept up with the elliptical
December 5: Threw in an extreme, high intensity calisthenics program that incorporates heavy jump roping 5 days a week – Chiseled in 30
January 16: Finished the CI30 program
January 26: Started back running….hit 2.16 miles my first day back.

In addition to the exercising, I had to do a complete overhaul on my nutrition. As of June 3, I went cold turkey on a lot of my fav foods and drinks: soda, specialty coffees/pastries from Starbucks, white bread, white rice, table sugar, canned veggies, packaged meals, frozen meals, pizza, all fast food, sweets/candies, chips, cookies, etc. I replaced all of that with fresh fruits and veggies (the fresh fruit I keep on the counter for grab and go), home-cooked meals, at least 60oz of water every single day (never leaves my side), brown rice, fresh spinach, egg white omelettes, fresh fish (salmon and tuna steak), limited 97/3 ground beef, limited chicken, no steak or pork. I pretty much stick to 90% salmon and 10% chicken.

In addition to all that I have learned from my boyfriend, I started researching not only what he’s told me but to learn other things for my own understanding. It’s important to understand how everything fits together so that I am able to help someone else. For instance, there are a lot of people who don’t understand what their TDEE is(amount calories your body burns in a 24 hour period) or what it even means. They don’t understand how certain vitamins and minerals feed off of each other to aid in weight loss, so if they’re lacking in one, it could hinder their progress. There is so much to know and understand!

weight loss erica

The results of my hard work, DISCIPLINE, dedication, and purpose: total of 17 inches lost from hips, thighs, chest (not bust), and waist; total of 17% body fat lost (from 42% to 25%), and a loss of 32 pounds (just 8 pounds to go!).

My boyfriend, Bishop, took me on a very special cruise from Dec 13-17 to celebrate all that I have accomplished. As of December 12, I had lost 30 pounds. Since then, I’ve lost 2 more (it’s an up and down battle but the trend line goes down). What’s most important is how my clothes fit, how I feel, and how much I have progressed in my workouts. I went from the girl who couldn’t do a single push up to the girl who did the girly push ups to the girl who could knock out 15 in one shot. I went from the girl who could barely kick out 10 burpees to the girl who could jump rope for a minute, do 20 burpees, jump rope for a minute, do 20 burpees, jump rope one more time for a minute. That’s what being FIT really means to me.

My hope is that my story and all of the ups and downs will inspire someone else to not give up…to know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and to keep going, to keep pushing.

Keyla lost 117 pounds

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Today’s weight loss success story: AKA Soror and BWLW online community member Keyla lost 117 pounds by reducing her caloric intake and exercising.  I asked her to share about her weight loss journey:

Keyla weight loss

I picked up 77 pounds in about 5 months. I didn’t see the weight change within myself at that time. I only had three pairs of pants I could wear. All three pairs of pants were black sweat pants with a different colored stripe on the side. I was miserable. I could not walk from one side of a parking lot to the other without being out of breath. When I started noticing how out of shape I was I started giving up hope and continued to eat whatever I wanted. I felt there was no way that I would ever be able to lose weight. My self-esteem was non existent. My attitude was horrible, and I isolated myself from the world.

“Eventually I had enough!   I changed my lifestyle April 24th 2011.  This is my second time losing weight however, this time I had even more weight to lose.  My starting weight was 377.4 pounds and my current weight is now 260 pounds. My start pants size was a size 30W.  I am now able to fit a size 18. My shirt size when I first started out was a size 24. I now fit XL tops from the junior department.

I reduced my caloric intake and hit the gym! I did an hour of cardio per day burning around 900-1000 calories per workout, 3 to 4 times a week. I did go to a nutritionist and I was put on a 1200 calorie diet back in 2003. 8 years later, I’ve gotten older obviously.  The typical 1200 calorie diet did not work for me. I had to cut my calories even more to see any results. It was really a touch and go effort to lose weight because I had to figure out what foods I could and couldn’t eat in order to lose weight. No longer could I eat starches often. Mainly, I had to eat non-starchy vegetables.

For breakfast I have coffee, tea, and fruit. I only ate strawberries, apples, melons, or either oranges for breakfast. For lunch and dinner I would always have 3.5-4 ounces of lean protein and 3.5-4 ounces of non-starchy vegetables. I always drink a gallon of water per day and limit my diet soda intake to 36 ounces. As a result I’ve lost 117 pounds.  I personally believe that if I can turn my life around then anybody can. Life is hard! Struggles are real but happiness is priceless!”

Connie lost 120 pounds

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Today’s weight loss success story:  Connie lost 120 pounds.  She said,

“I started out with changing my eating habits (I stopped eating late night and no after hours snacking). Lowering my portions and changing what I ate. Then I started walking daily and now I run 3-4 times a week (3-4 miles) and the elliptical machine.  It took me two years to get the weight off and I’ve kept it off for almost 3 years now.”

Connie weight loss

Donesha lost 59 pounds

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Today’s weight loss success story: Donesha lost 59 pounds with the help of a personal trainer.

Donesha weight loss

Here is what she shared with us:

“My name is Donesha Bolden and I am a 33 year old teacher in the Atlanta area and I was asked to share my story with the Black Weight Loss Success Site by one of my high school classmates. I try to post daily inspiration to my friends on Facebook as I am on this journey to a healthy life. My media specialist encouraged me to share my story with the AJC newspaper in Atlanta and they accepted and published my story.

I stated out at 215 pounds in October 2011 and I started working with my trainer as well as doing Insanity within my home. I felt a sense of comfort at home with the insanity program because I could be myself while working out. I lost over 30 pounds doing the 60 day program and my trainer Tissilli Rogers helped me keep everything TIGHT. I have since been working with Tissilli on my goal weight of 160 and I reached that weight in December 2012. I am currently 156 pounds with a total loss of 59 pounds. Tissili wants me to weigh 150 pounds so I am currently working on her goal for me. I go to the gym 5 days a week at 5:00am and run two miles, squats, leg press and abs. I am currently enrolled in Tissilli’s “Show Ready” group where we train at a high level with weights and cardio. That class takes place on Tue/Thur at 6:00 pm. On the weekends I take part in Tissilli’s Tred and Shed class as well as her Buns Buster Class. I have a new found love for running and I am preparing for my first race soon. I realized that it was time to get healthy and that is and always be my goal. I no longer eat for taste I now eat for my health. I can truly say that I am addicted to working out. I pray my story is an inspiration to someone who doesn’t think they can make It happen because with dedication, will power and ambition anything is possible.”

Donesha lost 59 pounds