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Before and After Photos

Jonarra lost 61 pounds

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Let’s show some Black Women Losing Weight love to Jonarra who lost 61 pounds.  Here is what she shared with me:

My motivation to lose weight was my health.  I also got tired of not being able to dress nice.  I would go to my hometown and people I grew up with didn’t recognize me. I felt ugly.   Then, I saw the Insanity commercials on television and was very impressed with it. Got the DVDs and worked it out.  20 minutes warm up, 25 minutes pure cardio.  In term of my eating habits; I ate healthy Special K cereal, drank plenty of water, baked many foods, ate a lot of fruits, etc. The picture on the left I was 203 pounds. After insanity, I’m 142 pounds!!!!!

Jonarra weight loss before and after

Simone lost 110 pounds

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Today’s weight loss before & after story:  Simone lost 110 pounds.  This 5’3″ diva embraced eating right, monitoring her calorie intake and exercising 6 days a week.  Here is what she shared with us:

I would love to share my before and after pictures.  I lost  110lbs and I’m truly loving my life and my sleep since.   My doctor never told me that it could be my weight that was the issue causing me not to get any sleep.  I just want the world to know that it’s never to let to take your life back. My journey started with a picture that I took and posted to Facebook.  When I went back to my folder of pictures I could not believe what I saw.  That person was not me…but sad to say it was.  After wiping the tears away and putting the “beat myself up bat” away, I started a new way of life.  It was hard, I won’t lie.  My life with this weight had me in a situation where I could not sleep.  My knees and back would hurt nonstop.  I couldn’t even walk around the block without being out of breath.  Trying to do what I love to do, which was dancing, was hopeless.  I could not even get through a 4 minute song.

Each day, I got up and looked at that picture.  I started eating right.  I was eating food that would only last seven days and when I did not want to cook I ate lean cuisine, which was the next best thing.  I stopped drinking sweet tea and opted for water.  My fitness pal and calories counters are my best friend.  I have them on my phone, my laptop and my iPad so I have no excuse.  When I go out to eat, I ask for the calorie sheets because it is important to know what I am putting in my body.

Also, I work out six days a week.  No excuse!  I walk my dogs  for a 1/2 a mile and started dancing again.  I now can dance to not just a song, but a whole album.  Lol.  My top weight, when I went to by doctor in the beginning, was 232 pounds (my height is 5’3).   Yes, I was carrying around another person, so no wonder my knees and back were hurting.  Today I am proud to say I have been maintaing my weight at 125lbs for over a year now.  Guess what!  My doctor is even jealous of the weight I have lost and he calls me his roll model.   Also, I must give a shout out to Black Women Losing Weight.  Your stories keep me inspired to be the best I can be.  I am proud to say that I am 47 years old and in better shape know than I was in my twenties.   It’s never to late to take your life back.  I did and I’m loving it.

Simone weight loss before and after

Nadira lost 30 pounds

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Let’s show some Black Women Losing Weight love to Nadira.  She lost 30 pounds since the birth of her son with Crossfit training and distance running.  Here is what she shared with us:

I’ve lost 30 lbs since having my son.  I attribute my weight loss to Crossfit training 3-4 times per week and distance running at least 1 – 2 days per week.  I also prayed while I ran and I removed negativity from my life. In terms of my eating habits, every 2-3 weeks I didn’t eat any processed carbs for 3 consecutive days.  I also used this time to only eat protein, fresh veggies, fruit, and drink lots of water. Other than that, I kept a 1500 calorie per day diet and ate foods that nourished me so I was not hungry.  Whenever I think about eating something, I always ask myself, “what is it doing for me?”.  If it doesn’t do something positive, then I typically pass on it. When I get off track, then I implement my 3 day no carbs challenge.

Nadira weight loss before after

Niazsha lost 30 pounds

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Niazsha lost 30 pounds going from 192 to 162 pounds.  Here is what she shared with us:

I took me 2 years to lose this weight.  I changed my diet, eliminated red meat and eliminated soda  I also limited the sweets I was eating.  I started walking and taking pole fitness classes (it’s fun). I still have 25 pounds to go. The extra weight gave me the worst hormonal imbalance and it put me at risk for diabetes. I thank God for how far I’ve come and look forward to meeting my overall goal of 135-137 pounds.

Niazsha weight loss before and after

Precious lost 107 pounds

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Update: Shout out to Precious. She lost the weight and has kept it off for more than 4 years.

Today’s featured weight loss success story: Blogger Precious lost 107 pounds.  She changed her eating habits, worked out regularly and found a love for running.  Here is what she shared with us:

What was your motivation? I come from a family with lots of health issues ranging from diabetes to cancer. My Dad died in 2007 due to complication involving diabetes and it still didn’t hit me then that I needed to change my lifestyle. I would just keep making that same I’m going to lose weight New Years resolution. Finally, In January 2010 I was going into my final semester in college and just didn’t want to start my next chapter in life being so overweight and out of shape so I finally committed myself to becoming a better me. I wanted to be an inspiration. I wanted to be someone else’s motivation. I think the best thing for me that kept me going the most is when people took note of my weight lost and complimented me. Sometimes you just feel so defeated when losing weight and just to have someone take note of your hard work makes you feel awesome. It made me feel good and allowed me to keep pushing forward. Also I have a small shopping problem so it felt awesome to shop and be able to pick up smaller sizes. I love fashion and finally I can wear clothes that I love and not just wish they made them in bigger sizes.

How did you change your eating habits? I changed my eating habits by cutting back on the sweets, not eating fast food (i.e McDonalds, Burger King), no fried food, and drinking only water and green tea. I learned new ways to incorporate more vegetables like through green smoothies as well as healthier recipes to help satisfy my sweet tooth. I now stick to a more 85/15 rule. 85% of the week I eat healthy, 15% maybe not so much but still within reason.

What did your workout routines look like? Because I was so overweight and out of shape I started simple. I used my Wii to help me get in shape through the use of Wii Fit. I stuck with this for the first 6 months and lost about 40lbs. The summer of 2010 came and I decided to join a fitness center. I started working out 5 – 6 days a week and varied between weight lifting, zumba, belly dancing, and cardio. After losing 90lbs, I decided to try something more intense and started at Forte Fitness Bootcamp as well as joined Black Girls Run and found my love for running which helped me reach my 100lb weight loss goal.

What was your starting weight? What is your current weight? The highest weight I recall is 267 pounds. I am currently 160 pounds.

How long did your transformation take? My transformation was one that involved a long hiatus because of working two jobs. I started in January 2010. By January 2012 I had lost 90lbs. I stopped working out in February 2012 and started back in September. By December 2012 I had reached the 100lb lost mark. Currently I am still on my journey however my focus is now toning and getting my body fat percentage below 25%.

I hope to inspire people through my blog: http://thecoilybombshell.blogspot.com as well as my facebook page www.facebook.com/thecoilybombshell

Thanks for reading & remember if it’s important to you, you will find a way. If not, you will find an excuse!

precious weight loss before & after

Update July 2014: Precious is now down 110 pounds.  Check out this video all about her journey.

Lashonda lost 145 pounds with weight loss surgery

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Let’s show some BWLW love to Lashonda who has lost 145 pounds with gastric bypass weight loss surgery.  She was motivated by her diabetes and her family history of it.   Here is what she shared with us:

Hey, I lost 145 pounds from Gastric Bypass surgery.  I’m striving to lose more.  My motivation was that at 27 years old I was diagnosed with diabetes and both my parents passed away with it.  I changed my eating habits to smaller portions.  My workout routines: At first my exercise routine was only water aerobics.  That was the jump-start.  Now I do cardio exercise and some weight training, but I do need more in terms of my workout routines.  Thank you for sharing my story!

Lashonda weight loss surgery

Jasmin lost 35 pounds

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Today’s weight loss before & after featured story: Jasmin lost 35 pounds.  This mom of six changed her eating habits and focused on burning calories to lose the weight.  Here is what she shared with us:

I’ve lost a total of 35 pounds. After having 6 children, I wanted to challenge myself to get back to my original size before having children. My target weight is 179 pounds.  I’m 195 pounds now. Almost there!. First, I changed my eating habits. I ate all my heaviest meals in the morning.  This means I ate my dinner in the morning. After 12 noon I started to slow down and eat very light, like crackers, boiled eggs, fruits, etc.  Anything lite.  I was in the gym everyday, except Sundays, for 1 hour.  I ran on Elliptical for 30 minutes to tone and the other 30 minutes in another  area of the gym. When you first start out on your weight loss journey,  just burn calories don’t worry about toning until you have lost your desired weight or close to, then tone and burn.

jasmin weight loss before & after

Ernestine lost 100 pounds with weight loss surgery

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Let’s show some Black Women Losing Weight Love to Ernestine.  She lost 100 pounds with bariatric weight loss surgery and it has changed her life and her health.  Here is what she shared with us:

Hello, my name is Ernestine, I was 244 pounds last year until I had Bariatric surgery done called the sleeve.  I had the surgery on April 17th 2012 and it has changed my life. It took one year to lose 100 pounds and I would like to lose at least 9 more pounds more.  The reason why I had the surgery was because I had sleep apnea, high blood pressure and sugar diabetes.  I could not stand for a long period of time, my back was always hurting and I couldn’t enjoy life. For 20 years I tried to get pregnant and the doctors kept saying that I would never get pregnant because I had polycycstic ovarian syndrome.   The weight was no help.  I prayed to God for a child and I finally got pregnant in 2004, but my weight kept going up.  I decided to have the surgery because I needed to start taking care of myself and to also be able to take care of the child I always wanted.  I wanted to live, but I was literally dying on my feet.

I’m thanking God everyday for a second chance, I’m learning how to eat healthy and I’m learning how to make the right choices when it comes to eating. I walk everyday with a DVD that my mom got me called “Walk away the Pounds” and I also work out with my stationary bike. I lift 4 pound weights to build up the muscles in my upper part of my body, especially underneath my arms.  I’m also taking karate class and I’m learning how to do kick boxing. Before I lost the weight, I couldn’t shop, do hair, try on new clothes or couldn’t play with my son because I was so tired all the time.  I was sleeping at red lights and sleeping on the job.  I had no energy and now I’m moving much, much, better and I’m getting much sleep without the machine on my face every night.  I’m very blessed and again I’m thanking God for a second chance.

So to anyone who is reading this story I’m asking you to not give up, ask the Lord to guide you in all your decisions and he will. The only reason why I don’t have a picture of me standing when I was heavy was because I did not like taking pictures and I was ashamed of my body, so this was the only one that I could find. Again thanks for giving me the opportunity to tell my story.

Ernestine weight loss surgery

Sonya lost 64 pounds

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Today’s weight loss before & after story: Sonya lost 64 pounds by lowering her carb intake, lowering calories, and burning more calories with regular exercise.  Here is what she shared with us:

Starting Weight: 283 (Nov. 2012)
Current Weight: 219
Goal Weight: 170

My story isn’t uncommon but it is rather extensive.  I’ll make it short.  This isn’t my first successful attempt at losing the weight.  I lost over 100 pounds and gained it and more back, quickly.  I used prescription diet drugs and when I reached my goal the weight I began to pile the weight back on again even faster. This time, I made up in my mind that I am not meant to be a thick girl. Many are satisfied with a little in the middle. I appreciate that, but my health and happiness were more important to me. That’s when I quietly started this journey in November. I wanted to lose weight to fit into my birthday dress. I did and I felt great, but that wasn’t enough. I wanted to go all the way back down to my Junior size 11-12’s. (I still have all those clothes by the way).

This is what I’m doing: 1). Carb intake lowered to 20 or less 2). Current caloric intake is no more than 1470 daily. 3). I work to burn MORE calories than I eat. I started with 3 miles of brisk walking and 2 hours of cardio at leat 5 days a week. I’m now doing 4 miles of walking and 1 hour of resistance training in the gym 6 days a week. I am very disciplined in my workouts and eating habits.  I also downloaded lots of low carb recipes from various websites. I don’t consider this a diet. It’s my way of living for the rest of my life! Will I eat pasta, cookies, cakes, pies, pizza, ice cream and bread again? Of course, but I know that when I do I’ve got to burn those calories up with a great workout!!!  I love myself and the body I’m in!!!  Be encouraged and know that you can do it, too! Do what works for you!

Sonya weight loss before and after

Monique lost 30 pounds

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Let’s show some love to Monique.  She has lost 30 pounds in about 3 months with a 1600 calorie plan.  She had lap band weight loss surgery the past, but it didn’t work for her.  Eating right and regular exercise brought her results.  Here is what she shared with us:

This is my story: I started my journey in March 2013 (starting out at 260 pounds). A few years ago I had lap band surgery and did lose weight but eventually gained most of it back! I was disgusted with myself so I decided to lose the weight naturally. I started out by substituting two meals with protein shakes and then eating a healthy dinner. My excercise started out with walking 2 miles a day. I eventually got rid of the shakes and started to eat meals three times a day with snacks in between. I am on a 1600 calorie a day plan. Also I up’d my excercise to 6 miles a day of walking, 20 minutes of aerobics and light weights! I also drink a gallon of water a day if possible. Since March 2013, I have lost 30 lbs and counting, not to mentions many inches!!! I feel great and am excited to continue my weight loss the natural way!  I pray about it and once I started seeing results it made me even more determined to continue!! I hope you share my story so others may be inspired to live a healthier lifestyle as I have.

monique before and after weight loss