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before and after

Tiffany lost 79 pounds

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Featured Weight Loss Success Story: Tiffany lost 79 pounds.  This proud nurse was battling fibromyalgia and created a weight loss plan for herself that worked with her needs.  Here is what she shared about her 8 month journey:Tiffany weight loss photos

“My motivation to lose weight was the pain caused by fibromyalgia coupled with my graduation from nursing school. I started eating more and set my phone for a meal reminder every three hours at first until I built up my metabolism. Medications had erased my appetite. I did the Insanity DVD until I pulled a groin muscle, then I followed that with Hip Hop Abs. I am way too self conscious to go to a gym. When I hit my first plateau, I started taking a weight loss supplement. I went from 234 pounds in the first picture to 155 pounds in the second. I currently work out 3 times a week, mostly cardio, because weight training is actually harder for me with the fibromyalgia. My transformation took eight months and now it’s all about maintenance. I eat clean and do not drink soda. I allow for cheat hours, not days. I also eat the majority of my food in the am, my most active time of the day. My biggest piece of advice is to get a group of friends who understand your journey. For me, it was a young lady named Charmaine Legrone and the ladies of Project Body Back. When I wanted to quit, they held me up. Sometimes just one person saying good work pushes you that much further. I was blessed with hundreds. Thank you and I hope my story helps someone. I’m @tchunt80 on Twitter and instagram.  Thank you.”

Tiffany before and after

Morgan lost 101 pounds

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Weight Loss Success Story of the Day: Instagram diva Morgan is a survivor!  She lost 101 pounds after gaining weight dealing with Lymphoma at 18 years old.  Read her touching story and find out how she worked for her health and wellness victory.

morgan weight loss

“Hello my name is Morgan and I live in Greensboro NC. I have lost 101 pounds over a two year time frame. I started off by doing the Atkins diet and then started doing my research on clean eating. Limitingcarbs and eating basically meat, veggies and complex carbs has helped me alot. I work out 5 days a week. I do not eat fast food at all. I cook all of my food and I meal prep on Sundays for the week. I mainly eat fish, turkey, and chicken. My advice is to stay consistent! That is the biggest key!

My inspiration to lose weight was because in 2005 when I was 18 I was diagnosed with Non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. It was a horrible time in my life where I was depressed and would eat anything in site. Even after chemotherapy and once I was back healthy I would drink alcohol and eat fast food on a daily basis. Overtime I grew bigger and bigger. One day, I woke up and realized that God gave me a 2nd chance that I am not taking advantage of. I wanted to become a better person mentally and physically. I started off by going to the gym 45 mins a day walking on the treadmill. I tried the elliptical when I first started but couldn’t do anymore than 2 mins at that time. Overtime, I worked myself up to a hour 5 days a week at the gym and walking on the treadmill for a hour day and also being able to do elliptical for 45 mins straight. I also do weight machines 3 times a week. You can find more out about my journey by following me on Instagram. My username is Onenonlymo.”

Morgan before and after

 

Felicia lost 55 pounds

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Today’s featured story: Proud Navy wife and mom Felicia lost 55 pounds.  She provided lots of detail about her weight loss journey and how she transformed her weight and health. Check out her story below:

Felicia weight loss blog

“Summer of 2010 the majority of my mornings I would wake up feeling extremely sluggish & as the day would progress I would still have little to no energy. I am a very outgoing person with an abundance of personality (or so I’d like to think lol) and this sluggish mood just did not fit who I was. I remember being in Chicago for an annual taste fest and while preparing for the day in my hotel room with my family, I noticed there was a scale in the hotels bathroom. I decided to step on it for the heck of it and BOOM there it was. 208 pounds. I was shocked. So, shocked that it basically knocked the wind out of me. This is what opened my eyes to what I have been so blind to. Before I left Chicago to return home, I stepped on the scale again for it to read 206 lbs. Losing the two pounds in two days sparked a little motivation.

My husband was set to leave for bootcamp in September of 2010 for the United States Navy so I used this to set a weight loss goal. By the end of the two months he was gone, I wanted to lose 20lbs which I felt was a sensible goal. When he left I was 197 pounds. Fortunate enough for me, I worked at a company that had a fitness facility which made it easy for me to get a workout in everyday durning lunch. Along with the workout I started watching my portions and attempting to count my calories with an app I downloaded called Lose It. Even though I was not being completely honest with the app in what I was consuming as far as calories for the day, I still managed to lose 17 lbs by the end of my husbands bootcamp graduation!!! I was excited to show my husband I did it! After bootcamp is when things got a little crazy. I was under a lot of stress with leaving my career behind due to military orders for my husbands training and uprooting myself and our two kids from our home back in Michigan to Great Lakes, IL so needless to say, working out and counting calories was the last thing I was concerned about. After relocating to Great Lakes Jan. 1st 2011, I decided to pickup where I had left off with the weight loss kick since I was now a housewife and nothing better to do. I currently weighed 186 pounds and this is when I started the Insanity program by Beachbody. I was terrified as I knew I probably couldn’t perform over half of the moves. Heck, I couldn’t even do half of a push up without slamming face first into the floor! But even knowing all of this, I jumped into it, minus the diet. By the end of the sixty day program, I could do push-ups, push up jacks, walking push ups gained a lot of muscle lost about six inches off my waist but I only lost about 5 pounds. What a disappointment. My husband on the other hand was beyond impressed on my new fitness level so that was enough for me to chuck up the sad feeling of not losing as much weight as I would have like. After Insanity, I did TurboFire just to keep active but as far as weight loss, nothing. But I was maintaining so I was ok with that. By November 2011, we received orders to Naval station Norfolk in Virginia but this time I made a promise not to go backwards with the success I’ve had thus far with maintaing my weight loss.

After being in Virginia for just a few days, I knew that I no longer wanted to be a housewife and I really wanted Adult company/friends for when my husband would be out to sea. Virginia was so far away from home & I needed to find people to lean on. I found a great company and was hired just a few weeks after submitting my application. I met great people and made a few close friends. One dear friend of mine I became extremely close with and we got a long so well at work and outside of work and we honestly could not get enough of each other. We would drink wine every night afterwork and cook dinners every night like you thought it was thanksgiving everyday but life was good, I was back in touch with my adult self and I loved every glass of wine and every delicious meal that I consumed. And so did my belly. Ugh! I gained everything I had loss back plus some! I was now 197 pounds as of June 2012 and I was just over it. And again, I jumped back into attempting to workout and count calories and by November 2012 I was back down to 183 lbs. I maintained up until July of 2013. My husband was leaving for what would be our first deployment (9months) & I needed to be sure I could keep up with our children! I woke up one day and just looked at myself in the mirror and said to myself, is this it? Is 183 pounds really where I want to be? Hecks no! The first thing I did to jump start my new found motivation, I bought a book called SHRED by Dr. Ian to teach me what I had not applied in the past and that was what when and how to eat. I then signed up for my first 5K race and ran it on July the 4th. By the end of my first week of dieting and exercising, I was down 7lbs. Right then is when I knew I was reborn. I had real results and the feeling of that seven pound accomplishment was enough. I set a goal to just get under 178lbs because I had never seen anything less in my adult life.

Today, I am down to 153 pounds and still going!!! I count calories, still using my Lose It app and I exercise during my lunch break Monday – Friday anywhere between 30-45 mins. On Saturdays I run 3 miles and 1 mile uphill and on Sundays I rest. I have never been so happy in my life, I can keep up with my kids and I love knowing that I inspire others. My husband has been out to sea for the last 5 months and while he knows I’ve been working out, he has NO idea of what I look like today!

My advice to people trying to accomplish this same goal is to celebrate all small victories. Set small goals first. If you only lose 3-4 ounces, so what! You lost it!!! Celebrate. Don’t quit because you have a bad day with food, tomorrow is a new day. You can’t get fat off one bad meal just like you can’t get skinny off one healthy meal. It takes time. Follow me on my journey if you wish @she_did_that313 on Instagram”

Felicia before and after

Elaine lost 113 pounds

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Weight Loss Success Story of the Day: Elaine lost 113 pounds the old fashioned way, by changing her eating habits and embracing regular exercise.  Read more about her transformation:

Hello my name is Elaine I started this weight loss journey in February of this year. I weighed 323 pounds in February. I decided to loose weight because I could not find any type of clothes to fit me.  I change my eating habits by consuming 1200 calories per day. I started by eating clean and cutting the sodas, junk food, juices, potato chips, and sweets out my diet plan.  I also started eating a healthy breakfast and I’m eating more fruits and vegetables.  No eating out or fast foods. No fried foods, only baked or boiled. I’ve learned to use portion control as well. Now, I eat three times a day and have fruit for snacks in between meals.

For exercise, I walk at least 3 to 4 miles per day.  On top of that, I do cardio, Insanity, kick boxing, and run.  I have started on weight lifting to tone up my body, doing exercises such as leg raises, leg calves, jumping jacks, crunches, sumo squats, squats, push up, side kick, and kicks and punches to name a few.

It has really been a challenge for me but I have mind control over it now. Now, I am at 210 pounds. I have lost a total of 113 lbs in 10 months.  I want to lose at least 35 more pounds. I am proud of myself and I will continue to work hard to achieve my goal….Everyday was not easy but I put my mind to it and I have achieve…It is a blessing to share my story with you all..Thanks so much

Elaine lost 113 pounds Elanie's weight loss story

Vee lost 58 pounds

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Let’s show some BWLW love to Vee.  She lost 58 pounds and created a weight loss plan that works for her which includes clean eating and food prep.  Here is what she shared about her lifestyle change:

Vee before and after

“Hi My Name is Vee and this is MY Life Change!”

What was your motivation? “I completely was tired of being fat. I couldn’t walk stairs and I wanted to be able to everyday things that my weight was hindering me from doing.”

How did you change your eating habits? “I started by fasting for 3 weeks (I ate only RAW fruit and veggies), now I eat extremely clean. No processed foods and small portions. I pack my food for when I’m away from the house and now I go by this motto called “Eat Inside The bag” So, I don’t eat anything outside of my lunch bag to make sure I stay on track. No Sugars, Carbs, or Late night snacking. I also do a weekly food prep to help me throughout the week.”

What did your workout routines look like? “I started by walking. Then, I joined a local boot camp class, and I also have a personal trainer. However, to help me reach my ultimate goals, I work out on my own at 5am in the morning and I then train in the evenings. I try to not take more than 2 days off from my exercise regimen.”

What was your starting weight? What is your current weight? “I started at 315 pounds and I’m currently at 257 pounds.”

How long did your transformation take? “It took me 1 year. (I’m not finished)”

What advice do you have for others who want to lose weight? “You are doing well no matter where you are on your journey. Don’t count the pounds, count your progress. Don’t compare yourself to anyone else Standards. And there is NO SUCH THING as you are not doing something hard enough. You will see progress at your own rate! And yes you will “Show” them, just like I did.”

Kia lost 73 pounds

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Weight Loss Success Story of the Day: Kia lost 73 pounds.  No gym membership, she worked out at home.  She also embraced clean eating and meal prepping for successful eating.  Here is what she shared about her weight loss journey:

“Hello I am @_healthychoice on Instagram. Here is how my journey began…  I decided to change my eating habits and start exercising when my BMI told me I was obese. I was motivated by the unhealthy signs my body gave me and not liking the person I saw in the mirror. I had high blood pressure and swollen legs due to eating bad foods. I was embarrassed at the size I was becoming. With no gym membership, I dropped 70lbs in less than a year. Walking 3 times a week + clean eating + determination allowed me to go from 220 pounds to 147 pounds. I started at a Size 16 and now I’m down to a Size 6. My lifestyle is healthier, and I feel great.

In June 2012, I started walking outdoors around my neighborhood 3x times a week about 3-4miles. I did that until the winter months came. Then I shifted to Zumba on the Wii and strength training inside the house. I used apps on my phone and google to learn the types of body weight exercises that I could do without a gym membership. These included planks, leg raises, v-sit, squats, etc. For the eating, I focused incorporating proteins and veggies in 5-6 meals a day. I stayed away from carbs, white grains, high sugar, and high sodium foods. I stopped cooking with butter, vegetable oil, and sugar. All I drink is water, milk, and unsweetened herbal teas. Meal prepping my foods helped to keep me focused during the week, so that I did not have any excuses to eat out, stop at the bar, go to the drive thru, or go the snack machines at work. I stopped making excuses for myself and began to problem solve so that I could live a healthy lifestyle.

My advice for those starting their weightloss journey is to take baby steps. Remember that eating and exercise are partners, so find a balance between the two in order to see progress. Find something that motivates you, and go for it. Find something you enjoy doing (i.e. Walking) and keep going! Write down your goal, and don’t stop ever…if you reach it, then aim higher! The journey will be tough, but it is possible.”

Kia weight loss photos Kia weight loss photos

 

Tiffany lost 57 pounds

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Let’s show some love to Tiffany.  She lost 57 pounds with prayer, eating clean and exercise.  She still on her weight loss journey but she was inspired to share her journey so far.  Here is what she shared with us:

Tiffany before and after photos

“Sister Ajima, It is such an inspiration to me to see the many testimonies of our sisters taking on the challenge of being healthy and fit after being obese. I too understand the struggle. It is no easy feat, when you have to reprogram yourself and how you view food and health. I thank you for such a page as this as well as the many testimonies shared in the news feeds. I have struggled with my weight my entire life and tried to live a life being content with being obese. This April, I decided after reaching my maximum weight of 330 pounds it was time for God to truly transform me. Today I am 273 pounds and I still have a ways to go. Thank you again. This page is apart of what keeps me motivated and inspired.

I am working on a personal goal to hit 269 pounds. I had the intentions of submitting my a brief testimony and pictures once the scales revealed 269 lbs; however I’ve had a conviction to do so now. God is Good! I prayed and asked God for a complete transformation of myself, body, mind, and spirit. We are now in December 2013, and I am now 273 and my journey still continues. I have struggled with my weight my entire life I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t FAT! I tried years of dieting and periods of time just being content; however in this new ” Season’ of my life God has said it is now Time, and to be honest I trust and believe Him. I started my journey with a fast, then with juicing for a few weeks. Then, I went to eating cleaner; no red meats, cut the sugars, reduced the breads and increased the fruits & vegetables. My exercising started with walking a mile then I began walking for 5 miles at least 4 times a week. I am now coming out of a period of about a month where I have just maintained. Now I’m working out on my treadmill and trying to get use to the Insanity DVD workouts. My,goal is to lose 100 pounds in 2014.”

Check out her Facebook page.

Shykia lost 44 pounds

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Snovia sent in her twin sister Shykia’s weight loss story of losing 44 pounds this year.  I think it’s so wonderful to see this sisterly support and that they are in this together.  Here is what she shared:

“This is my twin sister Shykia. She has recent lost 45 pounds. I am so proud of her. On and off there’s been a struggle with her weight and she is finally kicking ass!

Her motivation was our mom. She is very sick with diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol. Shykia wanted to live healthier life. She changed her habits by eating clean. We both purchased a NutriBullet and she has cut out sugar and fried foods.

Her workout routines consisted of going to the gym daily since May of 2013  She’s been working out diligently since May. weight training and using the elliptical machine. Her starting weight was 293 pounds and she now weighs 249 pounds…and is still losing.

I think her advice to others would be that  weight loss isn’t a physical challenge. It’s more mental. Stay motivated and positive!”

Twin weight loss story

Tyneisha lost 41 pounds

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Today’s weight loss success story: Instagram diva Tyneisha lost 41 pounds off of her 5 foot frame with Weight Watchers and by embracing regular exercise after years of yo-y0 dieting and trying different plans. Here is what she shared with us about her transformation:

Tyneisha weight loss

“Hello, my name is Tyneisha (Ty) and my instagram name is @tantalizing_ty. I am 24 years old and I’ve lost 41 pounds since Feb of this year. My motivation to lose weight for good this time came from seeing my family members struggle with their health because of their weight. All of my grandparents and several aunts and uncles had or have diabetes and take blood pressure medication. Both of my parents have also had weight loss surgery within the past few years and have been trying to change their lifestyle for the better.

I changed my eating habits by joining Weight Watchers. I track my points, drink my 90 to 120 ozs of water a day and try to limit my carbs. I typically workout 4 to 5 days a week taking classes like Step Abs, Zumba and Kickboxing. My starting weight was 238 pounds and currently I am 197 pounds. My transformation has taken about 11 months and I am hardly finished yet.

My advice for others is to never give up, take a deep breath and keep pushing love. This is my third time on Weight Watchers and have yoyo dieted for the last 6 years. This time however I was determined that nothing was going to stop me and that this would be a lifestyle change. I also would advise others to be patient. Everyone’s body is different and therefore so will their weight loss journey.”

 

Valerie lost 57 pounds

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Today’s weight loss success story of the day:  Instagram diva and proud mom Valerie (aka @fabchickgetsfit) wrote in to share with us how she lost 57 pounds.  She sought out a weight loss plan that worked for her and began her journey to her wellness goals.  Here is what she had to say:

Valerie weight loss story

What was your motivation?

“Christmas 2012 I saw some pictures of myself from my 30th birthday 2 months before and was in shock. I knew I had tried so many times before to lose weight but this time was different. I was 30, obese, a workaholic and I needed to do something for myself. I no longer wanted to be the fat one in my friends, wearing a 22 and a 2/3x. So losing 100lbs was my goal.

When I reached 50lbs down around July, I decided losing 100lbs was no longer good enough for me. So I decided to take the next year to focus on competing. I WILL compete next August in the bikini division.”

How did you change your eating habits?
“I did lots of research and I eat 99% clean. I started prepping my meals on Sunday. I had a structured meal plan made for me by my online coach that I follow. For me, I was ok with eating the same thing every week. Structured plans work best for me.”

What did your workout routines look like?
“Lots of heavy lifting and consistent cardio. The cardio had to make my heart rate go up but I didn’t want to be on a treadmill for an hour. So I do HIIT and I love the stairmaster. I also enjoy no traditional cardio like tire flips and rope turns. So, I do cardio 4-5x a week and I lift 2 muscle groups a day, 5x a week.”

What was your starting weight? What is your current weight?
“My starting weight was 265 pounds in January. Currently I am 208 pounds.”

How long did your transformation take?
“11 months.”

What advice to you have for others who want to lose weight?
“Research and consistency are most important to me. What works for one person might not work for another so next would be to learn your body. I don’t like being on a treadmill for an hour so I had to learn my body and figure out what I love to get the same results. Really take the time to research foods and use an online tool to log your food daily. You will be really surprised at the end of the day with how well you did when you are holding yourself accountable by what you put in your mouth.”

Valerie fabchickgetsfit