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eating habits

Gerlande lost 65 pounds

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Today’s featured weight loss success story:  Gerlande lost 65 pounds going from 235 lbs to 170 lbs.  Zumba was a big part of her weight loss success and she is now a Zumba instructor.

Gerlande lost 65 pounds

I asked her what she did in terms of eating and exercise and this is what she shared with me:

“I started July 20th 2011. An ad for Zumba on the television got me off the couch and in the gym. I did Zumba for 6 days a week, then worked with a trainer for about 3 months doing everything: cardio machines and exercise (running, jogging), core training ( using medicine balls, band) and also did weight lifting (using dumbbell, barbell, doing dead lift,presses, squats lunges and all).  I continue to do the same today. I’m currently a Zumba instructor in the 757 and still do a full body workout : cardio to warm up, cores & weight lifting besides zumba 6 days per week.  I had to eliminate alot of bad eating habits and closely select the best healthy food.  I eat breakfast, 2/3 hours later, snack on fresh fruits, eat lunch ( heavier portion, snack again 2/3 hours later.  One more snack before the gym and workout.  I try not to eat dinner after 9 pm.  I drink alot of water more than 2 liter a day.  That’s the story of my healthy weight loss journey.”

Georgina lost 30 pounds

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Today’s featured weight loss success story: Georgina lost 30 pounds.  Changing her eating habits, juicing and running helped her transition to greater health.

Georgina lost 30 pounds

Here is what Georgina had to say about how she lost the weight:

“I wanted to share my weight loss story. For years, I struggled with weight. I had a high blood pressure. On my before picture I weighed 150 pounds. The after pic I now weigh 120 pounds. Never in my life, I thought I would be smaller size. I received a lot of negative feedback from people saying that I will always be obese and overweight because it runs in my family genes. I did not receive tuition assistance from the army because I was overweight. I got tired of feeling bad about myself and having a low self esteem. I got tired of having excuse after another and decided to change my life. I used to eat fried chicken every weekend and hot dogs every day.

In order to begin the transformation, I had to eliminate on the fried food because 70% of my weight loss had to do with what I was putting in my mouth. I decided to buy a juicer and make my own vegetable and fruit juices and eliminated on the artificial flavors. I started drinking more water and a lot of cardio five days a week. I also combined strength training so I can build muscles. My run time now is 17:20 in 2 miles and before was 24 minutes for a 2 mile run. I personally believe consistency, will power and determination will get you to where you want to be. Blocking out all negative voices and focusing on the goal that you want to achieve and never giving up.”

Anitra lost 80 pounds

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Today’s featured weight loss success story: Anitra lost 80 pounds.

Anitra lost 80 pounds

She says, “Hello BWLW!!! I’d love to tell my journey. Sharing my new health keeps me motivated. At the end of 2011, I was 22 years old and weighed 320 pounds. I ate junk food all day and enough meals that could feed families. I decided then there was a change that needed to happen inorder for me to be healthy and happy. I went cold turkey, stopped eating meat and sweets. Only drunk water, ate fruits and veggies and walked daily. Time is reaching a full year since I started my journey however this still ain’t easy. Lol!  I’ve been working a year and only have 60lbs left to being healthy. Amen, thank you Jesus.”

Anitra weight loss

Bridget lost 70 pounds

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Today’s featured weight loss success story: Bridget lost 70 pounds.  This mother of 4 credits willpower and faith with helping her to battle the pounds and deal with Lupus.

Bridget weight loss

Here is what Bridget had to say about her weight loss journey:

“I am a Lupus sufferer and mother of 4. God has been Good.  I used to weigh 210 lbs. I am down to 140 lbs. Total of 70 lbs lost!!

No pills, no diet shakes.  All will-power and Faith. It can be done. Anything you put your mind too, can be done. ~Amen!~  I also wanna share that I’m a Lupus sufferer. I had to take steroids and I have a thyroid issue. I pray for anyone who is battling weight-loss, to never give up. It took me some time, but it paid off.

I cut out fried foods, sugar, sugary drinks and processed foods. I drink water daily and eats lots of fresh fruits, veggies and chicken or fish only. I grill all my meats and exercise daily for 30 min. I suffer from Lupus so at times my joints would hurt or I would be tired from fatigue, but I didn’t give up. I just rested when I needed. and picked back up with my routine. After a while, eating right, exercising and drinking water is just as natural as brushing my teeth and combing my hair. Prayer and Persistence guided me to a healthy weight.  God Bless you all!~Much love!”

Angela lost 15 pounds

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Today’s featured success story:  Angela lost 15 pounds since Sept 2012.  She is sharing with us her photos that span over a number of years.  I love it because it’s not about losing weight fast, it’s about healthy lifestyle choices.  We all have out ups and downs, but when you really commit, you will see results.

Angela lost weight

Here is what she had to say about losing weight:

“I started my healthy transition in Sept of this year. I have lost a total of 15 lbs thus far by excercise and eating right. I love to juice and make smoothies for my breakfast.  The pictures attached are of me a couple years back and the last picture is of me in Oct 2012. Thanks for all the encouragement your provide to me and the rest of the world!

The first picture is in 2007 (200 lb) and the last picture was in Oct of this year (185 lb) . The transformation took some time simply because I did not dedicate myself to change. I officially started my journey by drinking 100 oz of water a day, eating no more than 1200 calories a day, my breakfast consisted of juicing (apples, celery, cucumber, grapes and cucumbers) my lunches consisted of Healthy Choice steamer meals that were under 300 calories. Dinner, I allowed myself a little more leniency, and ate regularly but I made sure to portion my dinner. My exercise included 45 min of tae boe in the mornings and at night I would do 55 jumping jacks, crunches, jump rope, pushups (doing each starting from 10 down to 1) then on Tue and Thur I would do an hour of P90x.”

Deborah lost 20 pounds

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Today’s featured success story: Deborah lost 20 pounds.  She is a great example of why I tell people NOT to look down on their first 10, 20, or 30 pounds of weight loss.  A few pounds can make a difference. Celebrate every pound released.

Deborah weight loss

 

She says,

“I lost 20 pounds since march of 2012!!! Completely changed my eating habits, watching my portions sizes and working out to Zumba, p90x, walking and running!!!! I’m no where near done!! So much toning to do!!!! I’m just happy that I’m no where near where I use to be!”

Letia lost 59 pounds

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Today’s featured weight loss success story:  Letia lost 59 pounds.

Letia weight loss

I am 25 years old, and after years and years of diets i just gave up.  High cholesterol and borderline diabetic, I couldn’t play with my kids and my knees hurt when I walked.  My husband loved me but I did not love myself.  Well, the way I looked anyway.  I had a stroke which was caused by my high cholesterol and many other things.  I’m sure by the grace of God I am here to see my kids but I knew that God gave me another chance and I needed to take full advantage.  How could I die from being overweight.  I felt it was selfish.  We are all human.  We are all people and we all can win this battle.  Nothing happened overnight, it took alot of praying and restraint and support and even if you don’t have a support system you and God is all you need.  I made myself a cut off time for food.  I stopped eating when I felt full.  I found alternatives to my fast food and snacks.  I never knew how much i enjoyed fruit and veggies.  I joined a gym.

I was a person that did not like breakfast but I realized I snacked a lot in between because I skipped breakfast.  I started including breakfast into a daily habit then I would have a snack.  I stopped eating out for lunch which saved money and calories.  I started drinking 64oz of water or more a day and making a cut off time of 8pm for dinner for snacks.  I had to figure out what I liked.  I used a website called hungrygirl.com which replaces your favorite fast food and makes it into a healthy meal.  That was a life saver because a lot of times on diets we cut everything out and then we become miserable.  I brought smaller plates for the house instead of the huge dinner plates I would pile food on.  I eat basically baked meats no beef no pork.  If I want flavor I will use crystal light.  When I eat my meals I drink water before.  I always eat my protein first then veggies then starch if I have any and when I feel full I stop.  I exercise 3-4 days a week weights are 2 of those days cardio are the others everyday.  I think about me having a stroke and it motivates me to push and never give up and go back to my old habits.  I have lost 59 pounds.

Rose lost 60 pounds

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Today’s weight loss success story:  Rose lost 60 pounds.  She was so kind as to share the story of her lifelong weight loss journey with us.  She is now studying for her PT and Group Fitness certifications.

Rose weight loss

Rose shared her story with us in depth:

“I would like to share my weight loss journey with you all.  There comes a time in life when you take off the mask and realize you are not the person you want to be. My “come to fit” moment happened in the summer of 2003, after seeing my wonderful mother lose weight.

See, I was big ALL my life. I was the bigger than my older brothers, classmates and friends. I was picked on for being big, but their taunting did not make me change….eating was my comfort. With hell going on around me, food was something I felt I could control. By the time I was 12 years old, I had high blood pressure, high cholesterol and weighed close to 145 pounds.

Fast forward to high school and college….I was still eating bad and not exercising. Folks who knew me thought I was happy in my own skin, but really I hated myself. Instead of making changes I continued to eat. By 2003 I had reached almost 230 pounds. I was unhappy….cry myself to sleep at night, low self-esteem, suicidal thoughts unhappy.

The summer before my senior year of college I looked at myself in the mirror and came to terms that I was not seeing the REAL woman inside of me. I took my mask off for the first time and decided I would try this exercise thing out.

Within three months I lost about 23 pounds doing kickboxing and changing some of my eating habits. By the time I graduated, I was down to 190 pounds. From 2003-2005, I lost an additional 40 pounds.  In 2006, I got comfortable and reverted back to eating poorly and not working out. I gained 20 pounds back. I maintained 170 pounds until late 2010 after I found out I had cervical cancer and a heart condition.

It was then I knew I had to get back to me. So I made a LIFESTYLE change! No more dieting, but eating clean and working out. I also got me mental and spiritual health in order….it makes a world of difference.

My current regime is simple…eat clean 80-90% percent of the time, pray, and exercise. I dance, run, lift weight, anything to keep me active. I realized I have SO much to live for and I want to make sure I am in the best health possible while I do it. I’m also studying for my PT and Group Fitness certifications. Until I’m certified, I post workouts and motivational stuff on Blessed Body Fitness.”

LaVona lost 170 pounds

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Today’s featured weight loss success story: LaVona lost 170 pounds and is now living a Pescetarian lifestyle and avoiding sugars, starches, and fried foods.

lavona weight loss success

I asked her how she did it.  She said,

“I have been on this journey for quite some time! It took 11 long years and going to 11 different doctors to find out that I had an esophageal blockage. I had a stroke in ’09 and suffered with hypertension and gestational diabetes with both pregnancies. I have since lost 170 pounds in roughly 25 months. When I started out I was 421 pounds. To God be the glory! I am now living a pescetarian lifestyle and avoiding sugars, starches, and fried foods.

I stopped eating all meat except for fish. I ceased from eating sweets unless it was fruit with a little Stevia. I drink a gallon of water a day or half a gallon water/half gallon Gatorade depending on my day. Increased vegetables. Cut out all white foods such as mashed potatoes, flour, or rice. Brown rice was a great substitute. Mashed sweet potatoes with a little brown sugar was also a great exchange. I walk a mile in the morning and one before I go to bed. Just had to take a big look at what wasn’t working and change it for the better. I must not forget that I increased my sleep. My body couldn’t heal until I laid it down. Lol.”

Datasha lost 103 pounds

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Today’s featured weight loss success story: Datasha lost 103 pounds by exercising and changing old eating habits.

Datasha lost 100 pounds

Here is what she had to say:

“Enough was just enough for me. I wanted a lifestyle change rather than a quick fix. For the most part, I’ve always been successful in just about everything I’ve decided to do. However, the weight seemed to have control, literally. I found myself doing extra to compensate for the weight gain. Until I said, Okay something has to give. Get control of yourself, and that’s when I considered Gastric bypass.

After going to the orientation, I was like whoaaaa, that’s pretty evasive surgery. I was under 35 years old and had never had surgery of any kind. However, I had to do something and continued in the process of the six-month weight management requirement, which included visiting a nutritionist once a month for six months. I promised myself and God that I would try to lose the weight without the surgery during the six month time period.

Needless to say I was scared straight! I started to do little by little, I’d never been on any kind of exercise program, and diets – you could forget it. I ate what I wanted to eat and when I wanted to eat it (late night snacking is the worst). But this time was life or death for me…. I meant business—I took back CONTROL over that area of my life. One step at a time…. I started exercising; I began to cut back on how much I ate and lessened my Pepsi intake day by day. Week after week, my old bad eating habits and lack of exercise changed gradually. And yes the results begin to roll in. Every month during my visits with the nutritionist she’d say “you’ve lost more weight?!?!?! And finally she mentioned that if I lost a few more pounds I would no longer be eligible for surgery. Well, I didn’t have Gastric Bypass and have lost over 100 pounds (103 to be exact) and counting….. YOU can too! To God be all the GLORY !”

Learn more about her journey at www.bodybytosha.com