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before and after weight loss

Stacey lost over 180 pounds

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Today’s featured weight loss before and after story: Stacey lost over 180 pounds by exercising and calorie counting.  She started her weight loss journey at 384 pounds.  Here is what she shared with us:

My name is Stacey Yvonne and I started my journey back in 2005. I was working at Flowers Bakery and we were video taping each other and acting silly at work. I saw myself on that tape and had no idea I had gotten so large. No one ever warned me or said anything and I truly didn’t know! My highest weight to chart was 384 pounds. I have tried any and everything to lose weight. People are very judgmental, so some things I share and some I do not. The healthiest thing I ever did and the only thing that has helped me to keep the weight off is exercising and calorie counting. I got down to 187 but I currently weigh 202. I have a degree in fitness and exercise and I almost done with my personal training certification. I plan to get my degree in nutrition and business. Also, I hope to open a wellness center in the next seven years. I want to help everyone I can. If you need my help or motivation or if you just to follow me on my journey, I am Stacey Yvonne on Facebook.  You can like my fan page “KWU’s Health and Wellness” on Facebook. Instagram and Twitter: @ kwus_creator and YouTube: kwuscreator.

Stacey weight loss before and after

Farah lost 75 pounds

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Today’s featured before and after weight loss story: Farah lost 75 pounds by changing her diet, embracing green smoothies and working out religiously.  Here is what she shared with us about her weight loss journey:

Hello, I wanted to share my journey thus far. It’s long but I know it’s attainable.  I reached my highest weight when I was pregnant with my last son. When I was at 39 weeks, I weighed 294 pounds.  Despite not getting the support I needed at home , 6 weeks postpartum I went down to 282 pounds. I still looked so puffy I pictures I’ve seen of me at this weight.

Prior to me getting pregnant, I was into fitness and nutrition. So, I knew what I had to do. I had to completely stop procrastinating and stop being all in the feeling from my past. I still had my gym membership.  I started back going to the gym 5-6 days a week, doing cardio and strength training.  I was also eating 80% clean eating.  The only thing I ‘m doing different now is using a Nutribullet, which I love , love , love.  I use it once or twice a day. Everything I use too make my protein/veggie/ fruit drink is raw.  No cooking required.  Some times I add a little bit of healthy fats . Of course, I drink tons of water everyday day.

I’m still under construction, but I’m happy with what I have accomplished thus far. The tools I use; Your monthly challenges, my fitness pals, free weights, cleaningeat.com, Google for healthy Recipes, Zumba, boot camp, elliptical, treadmill with incline, jump rope, planks, Squats, ankle weights, burpees, mountain climbers, dvds, cable machine, other people’s success stories and a heart monitor Ft4. I can’t thank god enough. #stillaworking progress  Now I weigh 219.6 pounds.

Farah lost 75 pounds

Kaylea lost 69 pounds

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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

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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

Crystal lost 90 pounds

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Today’s featured before and after weight loss story: Crystal lost 90 pounds with regular exercise, changing her diet and seeking out expert help.

I’ve lost a total of 90 pounds. I did it by totally changing in my lifestyle. With the help of a nutritionist, Zumba classes and a personal trainer (as well as really supportive co-workers who workout with me), I can say ” I’m healthy”!

I married, adopted two children, had one more child and graduated from college in a span of six years. One day, I looked in the mirror and didn’t know who was looking back at me . Motivated by the threat of diabetes and high cholesterol, I knew I had to change. It started with diet modification. I made sure none of my foods have more than 10 grams of sugar and I limit my carbohydrate intake to 40 grams or less. I don’t drink any sodas. I drink water or vitamin water zero. I eat three balanced meals a day and I try to always have breakfast. When I first started the weight loss journey I was 247 pounds. I now weigh 157 pounds. I started my workout regimen with Zumba classes. If you are a dance lover, Zumba is great cardio and it builds your endurance while having fun. After my body became acclimated to Zumba, I changed to freestyle gym workouts using various gym machines. I have a personal trainer that I work out with one day a week. My co-workers helped me as well, because I had real insecurities about walking into a gym. I found that having my gym buddies helped me overcome my fears and grew my love of exercise.  I’m happy with the weight lost and pray I can maintain it!

Crystal before and after

Updated: Yvette lost more than 50 pounds

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Update Nov 2013: Yvette recently wrote in to update her weight loss story.  She lost 17 more pounds bring her total weight loss to 51 pounds.

Yvette before and after weight loss

“I was featured in May after I lost 33 pounds. I am now down over 50 pounds. My starting weight was 264 pounds. Today, my weight is 213 pounds. My goal weight is 175 pounds. I’m still walking and using Mapmyfitness. No fried foods, junk food, soda or eating out. I keep a journal of my food and activities. I participate in abs and arms challenges as well as your monthly challenges.

My journey continues as I work to live a healthy lifestyle, maintain being free from diabetes (which runs in my family), and live long enough to see my grandchildren grow up. I love bike riding with my granddaughter. She was amazed to see me ride a bike and swim. Never in 7 years had she seen me do neither of these activities until this summer. I had not rode a bike or been a swimsuit in over 10 years. Now, I set small goals for myself. My next goal is to be under 200 pounds by 2014. My ultimate goal is to be at my goal weight by my 44th birthday which is in April 2014. Slow, but steady progress.”

Yvette weight loss photos

Original post: Let’s show some BWLW love to Yvette. This 43 year old mom of 2 lost 33 pounds by walking and changing her eating habits.

I begin my journey in July 2012 at 264.8 pounds. I’ve lost 33 pounds so far. My goal weight is 175 lbs. I was invited to join a group on Facebook called Campaign 2 Move. It’s a group of about 100 ladies. We practice Meatless Mondays and Wednesdays, and we post our movement/exercise progress daily. We also share daily encouragement and meal ideals. My movement is walking. I use the MapMyFitness app and I walk 4 miles at least 5 days a week.

I eliminated fried foods, pork, and soda from my diet (on occasion I have a piece of fried chicken or fish, but not to often though). I drink water, water and more water all day long. Sweet foods and drinks have never been an issue for me. Each month, I gave myself a personal goal and for the month of April I limited my carbs (no rice, mac & cheese, potatoes…etc). My personal goal for May is to walk 3 times a day (morning, noon, and evening).

I’m 43 years old with two grown daughters and a granddaughter. They are my motivation. I want to set an example and hopefully they follow my lead. Thank you for interest and noticing my transformation.

Yvette before and after weight loss

Kim lost 35 pounds

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Update from Kim! She has lost a total of 45 pounds (down from 210lbs): Feb 1, 2014 – “Hello, Ladies just wanted to give you an update on my story since my last post. I have lost an additional 10 pounds, which now puts me at 165. I was planning on waiting until I hit my goal of 20 more pounds at 155lbs, but decided to give an update since it has been so long. I also want to be held accountable and get really motivated again.

Okay, so I hit a major plateau since I first shared my story and it has been hard to lose the additional weight. My experience is once you hit a plateau, you really have to change up and increase the workout intensity. You also have to scale back more on eating. I will admit I have been a little lazy and with the holidays and being really busy at work I slowed down a lot. I was so use to my routine, I hated to have to change it up and push harder.  My eating has stayed about the same. I still prepare my own meals and do not eat out. I continue to make better choices and just really practice portion control. However, I have indulged a little on some days and my workouts went to three days a week instead of 6.  I could have honestly made my goal last year, but I got really comfortable at my new size and liking the way my clothes fit. Nevertheless, I still have some additional weight to lose on my stomach and back. I am also still considered overweight for my height according to my physician. This year, 2014, I plan to start trying some of the smoothie recipes here on BWLW and I also have started back drinking more water and cutting back on sweets. In the next couple of weeks, I will go back to 6 days a week at the gym. Right now I am spending an additional 10 minutes on the elliptical machine and treadmill. I also am getting ready to start Zumba classes consistently. I am still lifting weights which are amazing in transforming the body. Okay, so that’s it for now. I will post again when I hit my goal of weight! Thanks BWLW! I thank God for this website! The tools, resources and success stories really help me stay on track!”

Kim updated weight loss

Check out this before & after story from Kim who’s lost 35 pounds, dealt with high blood pressure and took control of her health!  Here is what she shared with us:

I have struggled all my life with my weight. I was 130 pounds in high school.  When I first started college, the weight went up to 145 lbs, which I did not think was too bad.  By the age of 24, I went up to 165 pounds. I lost weight and went to 140 lbs, which was short lived because I went on a fad diet. I gained 20 pounds back fast and then got pregnant and gained 13 more putting me at 173 lbs. I was determined not to go back to work fat after maternity leave, so I got down to 150 pounds.

Over the years and as a result of going back to poor eating habits, I bloomed up to 210 pounds.  I was so unhappy with myself. I had started and stopped diets all my life. In March of 2011, I got motivated and in about two months got down to 190 by walking outside every day and portion control. From June of 2011 until the beginning of January 2013, I would gain and lose five to eight pounds. I finally decided at the end of January of 2013 that I was tired of being unhappy with my weight. I wanted to be healthier, fit in all my cute clothes that had been sitting in my closet for over a decade and lastly just be the best I can be for myself and my daughter.  I also have a family history of diabetes and high blood pressure and did not want to go down that road of health issues. I was diagnosed with high blood pressure when I was 28 and told by my doctor that it was weight and stress related. He told me if I would just exercise, relax and eat right I could get off the medicine.  I never really took the medicine consistently because my pressure never was that high and when I would get my yearly checkup all my blood work would come back normal.
kim before after weight loss

On January 27, 2013, at 41 years old, I decided to take charge of my health and to stop taking it for granted. I noticed I was starting to have a lot of headaches and that my blood pressure was starting to be high despite me finally taking the medicine consistently and that scared me.  I decided to start using my membership to the gym that I have had since 1998 and signed my daughter up as well. She plays basketball and begged to join me so that she could stay in shape. It has been a true blessing! We motivate each other, our relationship is better and I call her my own little personal trainer because she taught me how to lift weights. I started at 195 this time around and now weigh 175 with 20 more to go.

I actually found BWLW through my older brother who is a fitness guy. He encourages me at least every other day and although some days he can be really hard on me, it pushes me to stay on track because I know it’s all done out of love. I make better food choices, control my PORTIONS; I do cardio and lift weights four days a week in the gym. I also power walk two days a week at the park to enjoy the beautiful outdoors. I do not count calories or fat grams, too much work for me personally. I just bring my lunch to work every day and cook my dinner every night. No more fast food for me! If I really have an urge to eat out, I normally do a 6 inch deli sub and soup. I will share an occasional piece of cake with my daughter if I get an urge for sweets, but that’s it. I also try to eat light for breakfast and lunch so that I can enjoy a nice dinner at night without making major changes to the menu. I will post again when I hit my goal weight of 155. We can do it LADIES! I have not felt this happy and motivated in years! I love reading all the success stories and thanks so much for reading mine!

Monica lost 91 pounds

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Let’s show some “You DID that, Girl” love to Monica who has lost 91 pounds.  The mother of triplets + one more completely changed her diet and embraced exercise and meal planning.  Here is what she had to say about her weight loss journey:

I started my weight lost journey on December 16 2011. The moment I stood on the scale at the doctor’s office for my yearly check up, I felt like crawling under a rock. I had no idea that I weighted 278 pounds. I knew I had to do something right at that moment. With the doctors advice, I started walking three times a week for 30 min, eating five smaller portioned meals and drinking water (no sodas).  I stopped eating after eight and made sure I got at least eight hours of sleep. I thought that there was no way this was going to work, but with in four months I lost 50 pounds. I also learned that white carbs did not agree with my body so I stopped eating white rice and white bread and replaced it with whole wheat bread. I cut out the sweets and replaced them with fiber bars and fruit. I also found out skipping breakfast was bad, because that was slowing down my metabolism.  Now, I never go without eating breakfast.  My meals are usually oatmeal, cereal in the morning, fruit as a am snack, salad with baked/ grilled chicken or a lean protein with a vegetable for lunch and dinner.  I have fruit or yogurt as a afternoon are pm snack.

I never knew that this would be a true lifestyle change but it has been. As a mother of triplets plus one, I have to step back and get my health in check. By planning my meals in advance and watching others with there journeys on youtube, BWLW, and weight loss friends on Facebook, my motivation stays up. I am currently down 91 pounds, and still going on with this lifestyle change.  This has truly been a journey getting to know about health and about myself in general. I am doing this for me so I can build myself up to the best person that I can be both physically and emotionally.  NO ONE SHOULD THINK THAT THEY CAN’T DO IT, BECAUSE ITS POSSIBLE!!!!

Monica before and after weight loss

Yas lost 102 pounds

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Today’s featured weight loss before and after:  Weight loss blogger Yas lost 102 pounds with workout DVDs, MyFitnessPal and protein shakes.

yas weight lossI am ready to share my story. I have been over weight most of my life but was pretty active playing softball and being in the Marching Band in High School and College. There were many things that motivated me to lose the weight and get healthy. I had a miscarriage right before getting married in May 2011. I took it pretty hard and ultimately left the Doctorate program that I was in partly because of depression. After the miscarriage I continued to gain weight. In April 2012, my maternal grandmother got really sick and was in the hospital for about a month before finding out that she had lung cancer along with the High Blood Pressure and Diabetes that she had already been diagnosed with. She ended up passing away a week later. I did get to see her before she past and it really was a terrible experience. I knew at that point I had to do something about my health.

Fast forward to May 2012. My husband and I had just purchased our first home that had upstairs! I always said that I didn’t want a home with stairs. I could barely get up the stairs without stopping. So, because I wanted to be healthy for myself, my husband, my family, and my future children is why I lost the weight.

I have lost 102 lbs since June 20th 2012. Initially, I lost it by walking using Walk-Away-The-Pounds, cutting out all drinks except for water, using myfitnesspal and drinking nutritional shakes (Shakeology) for my breakfast. I eventually added in dancing and two a day’s workouts. I did some awesome boot camps through Groupon. I started working out using Turbo Fire this past January. I am now doing Insanity and feeling great!

Check out her blog – TheGirlyEngineerGettingFit!

yas weight loss before and after

Updated: Princess lost 60 pounds

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Today’s featured success story: Princess lost 60 pounds by eating clean and working out 5 days per week.  Her story should give hope to women who are dealing with post-baby weight and weight that comes with dealing with the stress of life.  Here is what she shared (check out the update below):

“I haven’t attained my goal, YET. I’m getting there, though. My weight issue started the same as many mothers. I had my first child 2 years ago. I weighed in at 175 lbs prior to pregnancy and I lived in the gym. I gained 40 lbs during the pregnancy. I lost most of it during the hospital stay and shortly after. However, with the stress of having a new life, mixed with unhealthy eating, I blew up to 265 – 270 lbs in a year’s time!!

I’ve been consistently working on my weight loss a little under a year, with glitches here and there. I’m currently down to 209lbs!!! My goal is to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight. I eat clean. I also blend/juice daily and workout 5 days a week.

I took control because I wanted my life back! Being overweight is so uncomfortable. It made my body ache. It also made me lazy and unmotivated. I was active prior to pregnancy and it went out the window with the weight gain. I’m getting back to it.

I want to be healthy for my family. I want to get back to looking and feeling good about my appearance. My Mother always said, “When you look good, you feel good!” I’m working hard to get back to that place.”

princess weight loss story
Updated Nov 2013:  “A few months back, I told you all my pregnancy and post pregnancy weight gain story. At the time I was down by 60 pounds. Well, I stuck to it. To date, I’m now down another 20lbs and countless inches! My update is to inspire my Black Queens to stay focused and determined to reach their goals. Yes, you may fall off from time to time. The key is to get back up and restart your journey! Clean eating, strength training, cardio and spinning have all helped me lose the majority of the weight. I’m so driven to make this a lifestyle change because I want to be healthy for my family and live a life without health complications that I can control by staying active and eating well. Continue on that journey, Ladies!”
Princess weight loss photos