Black Weight Loss Success

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

Join Our Email List:
We respect your email privacy
You are here: Home / Archives for Before and After Photos

Before and After Photos

Cee lost 36 pounds

by 2 Comments

Let’s show some BWLW love to Cee who lost 36 pounds.  This proud mom embraced vegetarianism, juicing and regular exercise to lose the pounds and change to a more healthy lifestyle.  Here is what she shared with us:

On Oct 18 2012, I decided I had enough of the weight issues and decided to lose it. I was at 194 pounds, However, I am 5’1 and I knew that I was not at my ideal weight for my height. I was carrying a lot of weight that I didn’t need or want. I suffered from headaches, chest-pain and I was always tired. It was very hard for me to put on socks and tie my shoes. Just from doing that I would perspire really bad.  One of my best friends gave me a pair of jeans (size 33 in men’s) in Oct. and I could not even pull them up over my thighs. I wore a size 40 men’s at the time.  The reason why I put the jeans on was because I wanted to see “how they would fit”.  I used tacks to hang the pair of jeans he gave me on my bedroom wall and vowed to leave them up there until I could fit them.  I even put it on as a screen saver on my phone. I started my journey right before Halloween.  I thought, “Why should I wait if I am serious about losing weight.”.

I started the Atkins Diet and joined Facebook groups on weight loss. Around this time I could not run or even jog, so I walked, did pushups, sit-ups, jumping jacks and crunches.  In the meantime, lost 36 pounds in 5 months.  I never went to a gym.  Every Friday I would weigh myself and write my weight down on my calendar. I drank some water, but I didn’t drink enough of it (I was drinking a lot of juices and tea).  After a while I started to get a little groggy and felt my stomach become greasy and heavy. I started to look into what I was putting in my body the foods/drinks.  So later on, I became a vegetarian (my son as well) and started drinking 95% more water (straight water or with lime or lemons).  I really wanted to be healthy and I did a lot of research about food.  I changed my thinking and started to look at my health more than my weight.  Thanks to “Fat Sick and Nearly Dead” I juiced for 10 days (fruits and vegetables) while eating them also.  I lost a number of inches and I understood that if I wanted to drink some juice I could not only do so, because I had a juicer that made fresh juice, but I would be getting more nutrients!! I had to learn that (I COULD NOT LET FOOD CONTROL ME I HAD TO CONTROL IT).  I can now run/jog. I do cardio at least 30 minutes to 45 minutes Monday thru Friday and sometimes on weekends. I’m on my way to becoming the best I can be.  I have 10 more pounds to lose.  I’m now at 158 pounds and I can wear a size 32 men’s jeans.  My weight loss was not easy. Books, YouTube videos, Netflix and the internet were my research tools that helped educate myself.  I do have a “cheat day” to eat sweets but at one point when I first started I did not have them at all.  Thankfully, I had a support system.  If you don’t have people supporting you, you have to make up your mind to get healthy no matter what people say. You control you own destiny.

I took the jeans off my wall and I wear them proudly!!! Never going back!!

cee weight loss success story

Kaylea lost 69 pounds

by 5 Comments

Today’s featured weight loss success story.  Kaylea lost 69 pounds. She is a plus sized model, grad of Institute for Interegrative Nutrition (the program I just graduated from this month.  Yay!) and a health coach.  Here is what she shared with us.

After gainging almost 70 pounds after the birth of my son I was so depressed. I couldn’t believe that I had allowed myself to gain so much weight. I didn’t want to leave the house, I just wanted to keep eating. One day, I looked at my son and I said, “He needs you. Stop feeling sorry for yourself.  Get up and change your life.”, so I did. I had already been a vegetarian for 5 years. I knew what I needed to do, so I enrolled in the Institute for Interegrative Nutrition. My whole life changed. I cut out all white and processed foods and added more water to my diet. I started eating my live foods, more greens. My favorite thing to do is Juicing. I did a 30 Juice fast to clean me out and boost my metabolism. I became pyhsically active. I started walking which quickly turned into running. Before I knew it the weight started melting off. My depression was nonexsistent and I was a new and improved women. My Plus Size modeling career started picking back up and I was on top of the world.  I’ve lost 69 pounds and I still have about 15 more pounds until I reach my goal. Life couldn’t be better. Now that I have finished IIN my goal is to empower women to get healthy and that health comes in all shaped and sizes. I call myself The Curvy Health Coach.  It brings me joy that I can now take what I have learned and empower other women to get healthy.

Website: http://kalyea-moss.healthcoach1.integrativenutrition.com/
https://www.facebook.com/#!/LiveBeautifullyHealthCoaching
http://instagram.com/#thecurvyhealthcoach

Kaylea weight loss success story

Rose lost 110 pounds

by 3 Comments

Today’s featured weight loss before and after story:  Rose lost 110 pounds and is now a Certified Personal Trainer.  Rose was featured as a weight loss superstar on April 23, 2012 on the Today Show discussing Joy Bauer’s Joy Fit Club Cookbook.

Rosie before after weight lossHello Black Women Losing Weight.com,  My name is Rose Sporty Diva Coates, 45, from Tacoma, WA and would like to share my 110 lb. weight loss success story with you:

When I was a teenager, my weight fluctuated between 180-190 pounds while I alternated between starving myself and binging.  As a child I was always thin but I would overeat and not gain any weight and I ate just because-whether I was sad, happy, angry, stressed or bored.  By the time I was 20, I was married and had a daughter and my weight soared to 300 pounds during my pregnancy and remained there until March 2002.  After I had my daughter, I began exercising regularly- little did I know that my passion for fitness would begin even though I couldn’t get my emotional/compulsive eating under control.  Exercise became a form of therapy and I immediately started to feel better.

I tried dieting excessively and used diet pills off and on for countless years.  Nothing worked.  I would lose weight, get comfortable and revert back to my old eating habits and essentially the weight would come back again, virtually overnight.  I could not understand what was happening to me.  I was not able to make the connection that I was eating excessively and I was completely “oblivious” that I was dealing with life by stuffing myself with food.

I eventually  ended up going to counseling and the therapist helped me to identify the reasons that I was overweight and eating excessively but I still refused to do anything about my weight.  I continued to exercise but chose to remain clueless about my eating because it was easier for me to continue living with the way things were rather than to make an effort to change my life circumstances. I was overweight, depressed and gave up every time life pushed me.  I stopped dreaming and had no guts.  I felt that if I tried to do all the right things in life (be a good person, mother, wife, friend, employee etc.), I’d be safe and have a lot of friends who’d really like me and a family that loved me.  The truth is, I let life beat me into submission.  Deep down inside I was terrified of taking risks.  I really wanted to be successful with losing weight and keeping it off, but my fear of failing was greater than the joy of succeeding.

I didn’t go after it because I wanted a safe and perfect life.  Anger, resentment, sadness, depression, disgust, and self-hatred are what I felt instead of the “joy” of a perfect life.  A light bulb went off in my head in March 2002 and I got tired of being sick and tired. I realized that I had been lying to my daughter about self care and pursuing goals.  I truly expected her to do everything she wanted to and to accomplish her goals, but I wasn’t being a positive role model for her.  I immediately tossed out my scale and did some soul searching about the reasons that led to my uncontrollable eating.  I didn’t change what I was eating, but I cut back on the amount of food that I was eating and eventually scaled back on dining out and lost 100 pounds in 18 months.

I initially started running to torch the calories and lose weight but it turned out to be so much more.  I  run several marathons a year and running has built my confidence, self-esteem and discipline.   And running in races has changed my life in a magical way-I discovered a part of me that I didn’t know existed!

In 2006, I became an ISSA Certified Personal Trainer and in 2007 established Sporty Diva to reach folks with my personal story and to help motivate people to pursue a healthier and active lifestyle.   I promote health and wellness thru a variety of channels with a philanthropic/pay it forward mission – Ladies Night Out; Walk- Run Events;  Workshops; Personal Training; Motivational Speaking and Boot Camps. I am completely on fire for running/fitness, because even though we are each on our own journey and responsible for our own health and well-being, we are all in this life together.  With fitness, we have the power to change our lives and the lives of others.

Thank you,
Rose Coates
Rose@sportydiva.com
www.sportydiva.com

Chanel lost 132 pounds with weight loss surgery

by 4 Comments

Let’s show some Black Women Losing Weight love to Chanel who lost 132 pounds with gastric sleeve weight reduction surgery.  Here is what she shared with us:

“I had the gastric sleeve weight loss surgery procedure, in which they removed 80% of my stomach.  It’s a little different from the the gastric bypass surgery. Once the surgery was complete, that’s when the challenge came Lol!!  Now I eat smaller portions but instead of three meals it’s now five small meals.  I exercise 2 hours a week and I break it down to 30 minutes a day.  I still have a long ways to go, but I’m defiantly on my way.  My Goal is to be healthy for myself and my daughter.  My advice: just embrace who you are. Everybody not meant to be a size 1 or 2.  I’m just trying to be part of team healthy.”

chanel before and after weight loss

Yetta lost 100 pounds

by 27 Comments

Today’s featured weight loss before and after story: Yetta lost 100 pounds by becoming a raw vegan, juicing, and walking.  Here is what she shared with us:

I started my weight loss journey in mid May 2012. High blood pressure, fatigue, dark spots on my cheeks, swollen legs, and the way I looked finally made me realize that I had to make a change. I became a high vegetable and fruit raw vegan juicing daily, and walking an hour or 2 each day.  After a few days, I lost about 15 pounds and my right leg was no longer swollen.  I realized that this was the way to go.  The first 40 pounds lost were emotionally overwhelming and it took a lot of “Help me Lord!” not to go back to my old way of eating.  For the last few months, I went to the gym with my sister before going to work, about 4:30 am Mon-Fr.  I do “sweat dripping cardio” for 1 hour and weight lifting for 20-30 minutes.  I change my routine every 4 weeks.  Currently, I’m doing 30 minutes on the glider (20 incline and 85 resistance), weights, then return to the glider for another 30 minutes.  I also walk my dog few miles a week.  I’m no longer a vegan but eat very little meat, sweets, sugar, flour or pasta.  I eat clean 95% of the time.  My goal was to lose 100 pounds by my 44th birthday and I did it.  Now, I will lose another 80 or 100 pounds BEFORE MY 45TH birthday. Getting fit is one of the hardest things I’ve done, but I live by “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”…And through prayer all the time.  I hope this helps others with way over 150 pounds to lose.

Yetta lost 100 pounds

Valerie lost 59 pounds with weight loss surgery

by 1 Comment

Let’s show some BWLW love to Valerie who has lost 59 pounds with gastric sleeve weight loss surgery, exercise and healthy eating.  Here is what she shared with us:

Hello, My name is Valerie and I have lost a total of 59 pounds in 6 months with the help of weight loss surgery, exercise and changing my eating habits.  My starting weight was 299 pounds and I am now 240 pounds.  My target weight is 200 pounds.

My motivation to have the surgery was to be healthier and to live healthier! I had no prior problems such as high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, etc!  However, I wanted to be around to see my children graduate from high school, and to see my future grandchildren graduate.  I changed my eating habits by eating smaller portions on a saucer sized plate.  I also increased my water intake from a 1/2 cup daily to 8 cups daily.  I lowered my starches and carb intake, and I have found sugar free recipies for sweets.  My exercise routine mainly consists of walking (anywhere) for a hour to an hour and a half daily.  Having the gastric sleeve procedure was a life changing decisión that I am glad I made!

Valerie weight loss surgery

Jenn lost 46 pounds

by 4 Comments

Today’s featured weight loss success story: BWLW Online Community member Jenn lost 46 pounds by changing her eating habits and exercising.  Here is what she shared with us:

One year ago, I fell into a depression and food became my best friend. I was eating all of the wrong things. I wasn’t active. I am only 5 ft 4 inches tall and to carry around 252 pounds was causing me pain. My back, knees, feet, and ankles would begin to hurt after only 5 minutes of walking. My clothes were getting bigger. One day, I looked at myself in the mirror and all I could do was cry. It didn’t matter that others saw me without flaws. I was unhappy and tired of feeling that way. The next day, I ate and drank all of my favorite things (Doritos, Reeses, Pepsi, french fries). At the end of the day, I threw away everything I didn’t eat and decided at that very moment to start living healthy. I decreased my carbohydrate intake to a minimum of 50 grams daily.  I eliminated sugar, sodas and juices and increased my water to a gallon a day. I also incorporated more vegetables into my meals. I joined a gym and began to do Zumba classes. Today I am 46 pounds lighter! I have never been so proud of myself in my life.

Everyday is a struggle but it’s so worth it. The camera is now my best friend and all of my loved ones can see my confidence. I am still working toward my goal, which I’ll share as soon as I am there. That dark and dismal place of my past won’t EVER see me again. You can believe that!  For all of you that chose healthy living, I applaud you. It’s not easy…But it’s SO worth it!

Jenn before and after weight loss

Rashaun went from 511 pounds to 295 pounds with surgery

by 4 Comments

Let’s show some Black Women Losing Weight love to Rashaun who lost 216 pounds with gastric sleeve weight loss surgery.  Her starting weight was 511 pounds and working out was a significant part of her transformation.  Here is what she shared with us:

I wanted to share my pictures with this group/page.  I started my weight loss journey on April 9, 2012 at 511 pounds.  To date, I’m 295 pounds.  I did have the gastric bypass surgery, which is the sleeve surgery.  I was tired of not being able to walk up 2 or 3 steps without being outta breath.  I couldn’t go to my daughter school events cause I couldn’t fit in the chairs, so my daughter was my motivation.  I changed my eating habits to protein drinks, oatmeal and only veggies.  I also drank 3 liters of water a day.  I started going to the gym.  I would work out in the pool, run 2 miles and then do a hour of water aerobics.  I did that 6 days out the week, equaling up to 3 hours per workout session.

Rashaun before and after weight loss surgery

Charlotte lost 60 pounds

by 8 Comments

Today’s featured before & after weight loss story:  Charlotte lost 60 pounds.  She was motivated by the possibility of having diabetes to change her eating habits and get healthy.  Here is what she shared with us:

I’m down 60 pounds so far since July 2012! I have more to go. I was borderline diabetic.  I didn’t take it seriously until the doctor said she was more than sure I was over the borderline, because of all the signs and symptoms I was having. The day she tested me I prayed and told God if He would spare me from this disease I would start working out and lose the weight. I’ve seen my aunts and sisters deal with diabetes. Losing their sight, their limbs, kidney failure and having to stick themselves daily. The day I got my results I cried. Cried tears of joy because I didn’t have diabetes. As I cried and while thanking God, I popped in a workout video and haven’t stopped yet.

Along with working out I also used the loseit.com to keep track of my eating. I noticed that when I began cutting back on how much I ate the bulk of the weight began melting off. I stop eating beef years before the weight loss, never ate pork, let the sodas go, cut way back on the sweets and began eating more fruits and veggies. I love my veggies now.  Now, I carry a bag of fruits with me in case I get hungry when I’m away from home. It keeps me from stopping for fast food. Don’t get me wrong, I do have my weak points but I don’t over do it and don’t do it often! When I get to that “I don’t feel like doing this” point, I have my before picture handy and it quickly motivates me to keep moving!  I was at a weight loss plateau for a long time so I decided to join Weight Watchers recently to get the remaining weight off.  I was in a size 24-26 at the beginning of my weight loss journey and now in a size 12!  Fit&Fabulous at 40!

Charlotte weight loss before & after

Demetris lost over 70 pounds

by 2 Comments

Let’s show some Black Women Losing Weight love to Demetris.  She lost over 70 pounds in 2 1/2 years and she hasn’t had in soda in over 2 years.

I would love to be featured on your page. Your page has always been such an inspiration to motivate me to hit the gym even when I didn’t think I had the drive to do so.

It took me a total of 2 1/2 years to lose over 70 lbs and keep it off. The secret to my success was to exercise at least 4 days a week, doing cardio and strength training.  I watched my meal portions and I drank LOTS of water. I completely cut out any type of sugary drinks. I haven’t had a soda in well over 2 years. All it takes for anyone to be motivated to lose weight is for them to have that “ah ha” moment when they realize they have to do something.  My moment mine came when I was told I was pre-diabetic. That was when I knew I had no other option but to lose weight and to live a healthier lifestyle.

Demetris weight loss before and after