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Lindsey lost 140 pounds

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Update: Lindsey has lost a total of 140 pounds and her loose skin removal surgery is being chronicled on a new show, Skin Tight, on the TLC network. (Jan 27th at 10pm EST). More info on the show.

lindsey before and after

July 2013: Today’s weight loss before and after story: Vlogger Lindsey M. Adams lost 126 pounds.  She realized God’s healthy plan for her life, left an abusive relationship and learned to eat right and exercise with programs like Weight Watchers.  Here is what she shared bout her weight loss journey…

Lindsey weight loss storyLuke 1:37 “ For with God nothing shall be impossible “ That is the foundation that transformed a 5’5″, 307 pound women into a healthy, whole and fit 181 pound woman today. After 126 lbs. lost and still losing; God has been my number one source, provider, intercessor, healer and motivator. I started my Journey in July 2011, after the Lord spoke to my spiritual accountability partner about the enemy’s plan to kill me with morbid obesity. I wore a size 22/24 and weighed over 300 pounds. Most importantly I had low self- value and esteem and was in abusive relationships for over 8 years. I found myself being the “other woman” or the “side-line” piece because I tried replacing my feelings of rejection with male attention. Between July 2011 and October 2011, I lost 26 pounds by walking 1 hour on my local track for 3 days a week. In October 2011, I joined Weight Watchers and a nutritional program called “Body Breakthru”. As a member of these programs, I learned lifestyle changes and ways to face my weight loss challenges. I also joined LA Fitness and became an avid group fitness participant. Over a total of 15 months, I lost my first 100 lbs. Today, I am a size 10/12 and 181 pounds. I am excited to reach my goal and I continue to add variety and intensity to my workouts. I also work diligently to stop over eating and emotional eating, as well as to practice better portion control and honest calories tracking. I have been a motivational speaker for the Weight Watchers’ Jennifer Hudson Center in Chicago.  I am also an online personality creating videos about my weight loss journey on LindseymAdams.com.

weight loss success photos

Brittney lost 40 pounds

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Let’s show some Black Women Losing Weight love to Brittney who lost 40 pounds in the last year.  She started walking and then jogging.  She also started juicing and worked to change her eating habits. Here is what she shared about her weight loss journey:

Hi! I’ve been really serious about losing weight for the last year. After getting married, having 4 beautiful children receiving my Master’s of Education degree, I had gained 80 pounds. I got to the point where I got tired of buying clothes and having to return them because they were too small. I felt smaller on the inside, but it didn’t reflect on the outside? After setting my mind on being a better, healthier me I started to walk 3 miles, 3-4 times a week. Within 6 months, I started jogging a little, but increased my total workout to 4 miles. In the last 3 months, I have started jogging 3 miles and walking 1 of those miles. I even broke my treadmill from using it so much.

I have  cut back on my portion intake.  Instead of eating my entire meal when we dine out, I save half for lunch the next day or I choose healthier options of the menu. I juice regularly, drink a gallon of water a day and take full advantage of a fresh fruit salad everyday. I even participate in BWLW monthly exercise challenges. I have successfully lost 40+ pounds and I am working toward the next 40! Thank you for the motivation and encouragement.

Brittney weight loss pictures

Pebbles lost 54 pounds

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Today’s featured weight loss before and after story: Pebbles lost 54 pounds.  Her weight loss and fitness journey was featured on the Dr. Oz Show (Dec 2012).  Now, she teaches others about mental as well as physical fitness.  Here is what she shared with us:

Hi, I’m Pebbles Armwood.  I am just a regular woman who at times gets busy, overwhelmed, and engulfed in everyday life. Around this time last year, I weighted 234 pounds and my doctor told me I was borderline diabetic. I knew at that very moment that I needed a change in my life. It’s one thing to be born with a health condition, because you’re not in control of that. However, to allow myself to become sick from something that I have control over is different. At any cost, if I can avoid, stop, and prevent any type of disease that’s what I will do. I knew that exercising was a must, so I had fun doing different fitness routines. I used dancing, walking, weight training, intervals, group workouts, etc. The key is that I had fun with my mental, emotional, and physical fitness. It took me 10 months to lose over 54 pounds.  Today, I am 180 pounds and still working on it. My message is simple, “It’s about mental fitness.. the physical part will follow.” I believe perception is reality which can make things hard, impossible, and unachievable for ourselves. Once I stopped playing the victim role, the sky was limitless. I soon realized that losing weight was a lifestyle change and not a fad. It’s all about small easy steps that will create big change. I had no idea losing weight would turn into purpose. I was a guest on The “Dr. Oz” Show after sharing my story. I now help others reach their goals thorough my blog, radio interviews, and one on one sessions. I also inform people about juicing for health. I now have a business called Pebbles Armwood Presents Mental Fitness. I do speaking events sharing my 3 Easy Steps To Mental Fitness.

“I love to dance, so I would go to the gym just do a lot of cardio because there was a lot of fat I needed to burn,” Armwood said. “I did cardio, I did elliptical, I did intervals, I did weight lifting. I love lifting weights. I could probably bench-press more than a lot of men. I would dance at home. I would go running, I would go jogging. I would do my own little made-up boot camp. Armwood also made changes to her diet, working in more parsley and lemongrass green tea into her diet, and into smoothies each morning before hitting the gym, both tips she learned from the show.” – Patch.com

Pebbles weight loss story

Tai lost 105 pounds

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Today’s featured weight loss before and after: Tai lost 105 pounds by doing the work of working out hard and changing her eating habits to lose pounds.  She has provided a LOT of detail for us. Here is what she shared with us:

Tai weight loss

“Good morning, I just wanted to give my personal thanks to you for promoting wellness, especially in our community. I’ve been on a healthy journey myself the last 15 months going from 265 to 160! It has inspired me to share my journey as a means to help others like me know it is possible to change your life. This is a really awesome page & I’m glad my friends told me to check it out. Thanks again for your contribution towards healthy living & Showing good examples for women to follow!

On July 5th, 2011, I removed my rose colored glasses and realized an ugly truth I had been hiding from for years: I was extremely overweight and unhealthy. It was during a weekend trip to Miami with friends, and it was the first time I felt uncomfortable in my own body. I had been overweight for the better part of my life, and had become numb to cruel taunts and overweight remarks; however, this weekend was different. If you’ve ever been to south beach, you know that it’s a scenery of nicely composed bodies flaunting them proudly up and down the main strip and boardwalk.

Tai weight loss before and afterUpon returning home from vacation I decided I needed to do something about my weight. I was about 265 pounds and standing only five feet tall. At the time I was a year and a half from my 30th birthday, and I didn’t want to enter the next year of my existence with the unwanted weight. Further, I knew that it would be harder to lose the older I became. I started by joining a Biggest Loser completion at my office. It helped to keep me motivated in the beginning because I’m very competitive and there was money involved for the top two losers. I ended up coming in second place after losing 17 pounds in eight weeks; however, after a few months of working out I hit a plateau and became very discouraged. I was around 30 pounds lost when I decided to change gears and stop working out at the gym. I instead took to a female dance studio that hosted classes like Zumba, Belly and Pole Dancing. I looked like a fish out of water participating, but I kept at it. What I liked most about the studio is that there were women of all ages and sizes, and they pushed me to do better. I kept up with the classes for about two months and then decided to start working out at home to save money. I took to walking and the intense Insanity workout. This forever changed my life. The program was tough, but I pushed play every day because I knew that if I did I would get results. Eventually my daily one mile walk turned into a two mile jog and increased to running several miles later down the line. I finished two rounds of Insanity and then moved on to another home program called TurboFire. The convenience of working out at home helped me stay on track because all I had to do was walk into my living room, which gave me no excuse as to why I couldn’t work out.

What was most beneficial for me during the entire process was learning how to eat properly. In the beginning, I stuck to a 1200 calorie diet, but found that I was consistently hungry. After a while I stopped losing weight, and after doing some research I found out I wasn’t eating enough calories to sustain my weight loss. I also started to look into the actual foods I was eating. I eat a lot of processed foods like canned soup, frozen meals and boxed foods. I learned to adapt to a method of clean eating instead. It wasn’t easy; it took about 6 months of researching and trying new foods before I became fully versed in what clean eating was. The benefit of it verses my previous diet regiment was that most of the food was only lean cuts of meat, raw fruits and vegetables, eggs, fish, nuts and seeds. I started to try at least one new food item each week until I replaced most of the bad foods I had previously consumed on a regular bases.

It took 14 months, but I to date have lost about 105 pounds. My current workouts are now back in the gym lifting weights as I am down to 160 pounds and looking to gain more muscle mass. I also run daily, anywhere from three to six miles, and I’ve taken up yoga. The results I received along the way certainly helped me to stay focused. Also, the people I encouraged along the way by sharing my struggle was a major motivator. I used social media sites like My Fitness Pal, Instagram and my Facebook page to share my store and have others share theirs. Providing motivation to others and helping them see that accomplishing their goals has been one of the most rewarding benefits of this whole process. This is because when I was at my highest weight there were not many women who were where I was and had gotten to a point I was trying to achieve. This is the main reason why I find it so important to motivate women who are currently the “old me” looking to achieve their own health and fitness goals.”

facebook.com/TaiFitness
Instagram: @TaiFitness

Tai weight loss story

Latavia lost 150 pounds

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Today’s featured weight loss before and after story: Latavia lost 150 pounds.  She went from a size 22 to a size 8/10 with Weight Watchers, seeing a nutritionist and working out 5 days a week or more.  Here is what she shared with us.

5 years ago, right before I graduated from college, Is when I began working out. I started by working out 3 days a week for a hour a day.  Gradually, I worked myself up to exercising 5 or more days a week for an hour a day. I joined Weight Watchers and started tracking everything I ate. Within a month I lost 10 pounds.  By the end of the first year I lost 100 pounds and I went from a size 22 to a size 14. In December 2012, I started seeing a nutritionist who helped me make better choices in terms of my eating habits. Since December, I have lost 50 pounds and currently wear a size 10 or 8. I have so much more energy, I feel healthier and I can shop anywhere I want!

Latavia weight loss story

Tyesha lost 162 pounds with weight loss surgery

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Let’s show some love to Tyesha who has lost 162 pounds with gastric bypass weight loss surgery.  Her emotional journey is very moving! She was a part of Atlanta Biggest Loser Couple’s Edition with her husband in 2011. Here is what she shared with us:

My name is Tyesha Dean. After years of being overweight due to emotional issues stemming from being molested for over 10 years(ages 5-15), enough had became enough. At 36, I walked into a doctors appointment and was told that my molestation was the reason I could not have children. Even though my heart was broken, my life begin to change. I had to deal with these issues that were trying to overtake me, but after crying and a lot of soul searching and praying, I decided to make a difference and not become a statistic. I would turn my life around and motivate other women in the same situation as me. So the first thing I had to work on is my image, I had to shed the years of hurt and abuse that was masquerading as pounds on my small frame body.

I had a gastric bypass on 12/27/12. The last 7 months have not been easy. I had a lot of complications, but I have lost 162 lbs. My weight the day of surgery was 367 pounds and today I am at 205 pounds. My husband and I were on the Atlanta Biggest Loser Couple’s Edition in 2011. I lost 25 lbs the first couple of weeks, but after that, trying to compete with people that weighed 200lbs less than me began to take its toll, so I was quickly eliminated. Even though I was eliminated, I still kept working on to lose another 50 pounds. using the skills and eating plans I had learned about.

In 2012, my diabetes and high blood pressure were writing a book about my life and the ending couldn’t lead to anything else but a tragedy, I knew I had to do something. So, I decided looking into weight loss surgery. After losing my father at the young age of 56 to diabetes, I didn’t want to follow suit.

Since my surgery, there were a lot of downs, but my life has been blessed with the simple things that made it worth it. Things people take for granted everyday, like painting my toe nails, fitting in normal size chairs, wearing a seatbelt, picking up something off the floor, and my highest moment…being able to cross my legs.

If you need anything else, feel free to contact me..thank you!!!!  For more information on Tyesha, please visit Tyesha Dean.com

Tyesha weight loss surgery

Nikia lost over 115 pounds

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Today’s featured weight loss before and after story:  Nikia lost over 115 pounds and avoided high blood pressure medication by adopting healthy eating habits and working out daily.   Here is what she shared with us:

Hi, I’m Nikia. As I was doing a before and after picture collage, I decided to share my weight loss experience with you. My motivation started when my doctor told me that I would have to take blood pressure medicine due to high blood pressure. I asked if he could give me one month to make an effort to do something about it. I went back & lost 12 pounds just from changing my diet.  I also drank lots of water & worked out daily with Cardio & light weights. In 3 years, I lost over 100 pounds.  I went from 300+ to 185 pounds. I ate lots of greens, vegetables, fish, salmon, yogurt & fruit. Portion control is a must. Sometimes, I even made protein shakes.  I ate three meals a day with 3 small snacks in between.  I’m very proud of myself. Believe in yourself & you can do anything.

Nikia weight loss before and after

La’Shonda lost 65 pounds

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Update 2016: We shared La’Shonda’s story back in 2013. Now, she is updating us about her ups and downs, as well as her success. She’s lost a total of 102 pounds.

LaShonda

My name is La’Shonda, and I am emailing you to share my blessed testimony. I was featured about 3 years ago when I lost 65 pounds. I have been constantly trying to lose more weight, and at one small period, I regained about 22 pounds. Graciously, I managed to lose those 22 pounds, plus an additional 35 pounds. That’s a grand total of 100 pounds. I am extremely grateful for this testimony. I have 50 more pounds to go before I reach my weight goal.

I did not lose weight with any fad diets, diet pills, programs or surgeries. I just practiced clean eating and exercised regularly. At my largest, 318 lbs/size 24, I became miserably aware that I needed to alter my lifestyle if I wanted to live. I started slow just changing what and how much I ate and I did not exercise. Before I knew it, I had lost over 50 lbs. Eventually, I reached a plateau. After that, I suffered major life changes and then I began to regain some of my lost weight. I was determined not to succumb to the pressures of being obese again, so I made a conscious effort to persevere and push forward.

I begin to increase my fresh vegetable and fruit intake, as well as my lean meat intake. I also minimized my starch intake. I eliminated processed, “fatty” foods, and anything with high fructose corn syrup and/or carbonation in it; thereby, increasing my water intake (approximately approx. gallon a day).

Once I re-lost my original 65 lbs., I incorporated exercise into my weight loss regimen. My exercise regimen commenced with just walking, and today I run too. Eventually, I incorporated strength training and rigorous cardio activities such as Zumba (which is fun, fun, and more fun). Now, I take Boot Camp classes, HIIT classes, and Body Sculpt classes. I’m also walking/running the bridges, taking Zumba classes and doing strength training. It’s a constant struggle, but if I can do it anyone can. I just weighed myself today and I currently weigh 216 pounds. (total of 102 lbs. lost). Thank God for giving me the fortitude to accomplish this. I am still a work in progress, but at least I can see and celebrate the progress.

La'Shonda

2013 – La’Shonda lost 65 pounds by changing her eating habits, doing exercises like water aerobics and weights.  Let’s show her some love!

Hello members of BWLW! My name is Shon, and I would like to share my story even though I am a work in progress. I’ve lost approximately 65 pounds. Initially, I began losing weight due to illness. Once I realized that I was losing weight, I seized the opportunity to capitalize on the loss. I changed my eating habits. I incorporated more fruit, veggies, and protein into my diet thus minimizing my sweet and starch intake, but my secret weapon was water. I eliminated carbonated drinks, and I limited my consumption of sweet tea/lemonade and fruit juice (100% only). I didn’t really exercise until I had lost the first 50 pounds. Now, I do some form of exercise daily. I’ve also recently begun taking water aerobics classes, and while I’m at the gym, I indulge in other forms of exercise by utilizing the weight equipment. I’ve noticed that certain body parts are beginning to tighten where it was otherwise very flabby. I still have a long way to go, but now I can see the change.  That’s all the motivation I need.  Thank you for encouraging black women to lose weight.

LaShonda weight loss before and after

Maxine lost 205 pounds with weight loss surgery

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Let’s show some Black Women Losing Weight Love to Maxine.  She lost 205 pounds with LapBand weight loss surgery. 

“I wanted to send you a picture of my continued weight loss. At my heaviest, I was 405 pounds. I had the lap band surgery.  Now, I workout, eat healthier; semi-vegetarian, and am happier for it. I am 41 years old and have 40 more pounds to go! Love your site. It is very inspiring. Stay Blessed & One Love!”

Maxine lapband weight loss surgery

JoAnn lost 126 pounds

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Today’s weight loss before and after story: JoAnn lost 126 pounds.  She used My Fitness Pal to count calories and gained a love for running on her journey. Here is what she shared with us:

Hello, my name JoAnn. I am a wife and mother of four. I have had three C-sections, a set of twins, and two gastric bypass surgeries (includes reversal). I have been overweight all of my life my heaviest 398 pounds. In my early twenties I had the Gastric Bypass surgery unfortunately I had to have the surgery reversed, for over a year I was what they called the walking dead my body wasn’t absorbing protein and I almost died. I lost 210 pounds however, after the reversal; I gained most of the weight back. March of 2010, I weighed in at 298 pounds.

I decided to get healthy after the premature deaths of my parents. My mother past away at 55 in 2009 from ALS and my father at 56 in Jan 2010 from high blood pressure and being on dialysis. Losing both parents so soon in life really took its toll on me. Having four kids of my own, I knew that I still needed my parents and there was no way I was going let something like my weight take me out sooner than necessary. Being here for my children and growing old with my husband is what sparked me to change my life.

My Philosophy is TAKE IT ONE DAY AT A TIME. I am not perfect and do not claim to be. If I have a bad moment, I do not see myself as a failure, I just know that I will see the consequences of my decision on the scale and I keep going. People do not get that YOU are in control of what goes into your body. Therefore, if you make a conscience choice to eat junk, just know that you are going to have to put in the extra work to get it off with that said, you then have to decide if it is worth it or not, if so then eat it and keep it moving. However, always in moderation. I am a firm believer in counting and watching your calories I have been on My Fitness Pal for over 815 days.

I strength train 3 times a week and do cardio, but my true love is running. I learned to run using the Couch to Run program back in November 2011.  I ran my first race a 10k in March 2012 in 1hr 10 minutes. So far, I have competed in 13 races including a two half marathons and will run in three more before the year is over.

My Motto is NO EXCUSES I truly believe that if you want something bad enough you can do it. I find that people want to know so badly how I did it, when I tell them that I would get up at 4 am and workout  5 times a week run 15 miles over the weekend, they lose interest. Lol!  Everyone wants a QUICK FIX but when it comes to losing weight and keeping it off, SORRY but there’s no such thing.  I do not compare myself to others everyone is different and what works for me may not work for you. Changing the way you think is key to losing weight and keeping it off.

I had the infamous Ah Ha moment! For me, I refuse to turn 40 still dealing with my weight.  Sll my life I’ve had to deal with it and I am tired! Life is too short and enough is enough. If you want it, make up your mind and JUST DO IT!

Joann weight loss before and after