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exercise for weight loss

Angela lost 34 pounds

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Weight Loss Story of the Day: Angela lost 34 pounds since June 2014. She has worked hard to embrace exercise, change her eating habits and she’d participated in our monthly challenges for inspiration.  We are proud of this BWLW sista!  Read more about her journey…

Angela before and after

My name is Angela. I started this weight loss journey in June of this year. Prior to this journey I have attempted it several times with no success.my main motivation is my health. I have high blood pressure and while at a routine doctor visit I found out that my cholesterol was high, which was kinda disturbing to me. (it’s normal now) I also had a fear of being diagnosed with diabetes, which runs in my family on both sides along with high blood pressure and congestive heart failure. At this point I knew I had to make a change.

Another motivation is my accountability partner Tony Franklin. He helped me with a meal plan, which wasn’t hard for me to adjust to. He also motivates me by pushing me and reminding me that I can every time that I say I can’t. Last but not least the Black Women Losing Weight Facebook page has really been an inspiration to me.

I changed my eating habits by giving up certain foods and replacing them with healthier choices. I also had to learn portion control and self control. I’ve always fixed my plates with more than a serving of everything and because of how I was raised to eat all of my food, I always felt that I had to eat everything on my plate, even if I am good and full. I stopped eating fried foods, rice, pasta, sweets, bread, fast food and drinking sodas and juices. My meals now consist of baked chicken, fish, turkey, fruits and vegetables. I have 3 healthy meals, 3 healthy snacks everyday and drink lots of water. I don’t eat anything after 8 p.m.

For exercise, I started out just walking 2 miles a day, then it gradually increased to 6 miles a day. I participated in the July challenge with BWLW. I don’t walk as much now. My workout varies from day to day depending upon whatever my accountability partner schedules. but our main goal is to burn fat and build muscle. My starting weight was 268 lbs. My current weight is 234 lbs. I am still progressing. My advice to others is you must have a made up mind. Once your mind is made up you need to work on changes that will fit your new lifestyle because not everything works for everybody. Be determined and consistent. Don’t let nothing or nobody stop you. If you get off track just get back on. Remember that you can do all things through Christ which strengthens you and just never give up.

Instagram: @adennard72

Angela weight loss story

LouCinda lost 42 pounds

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Let’s show some love to LouCinda.  She lost 42 pounds over the course of a year and went from a size 18/20 down to a size 12/14.  Here is what she shared with us about her weight loss journey:

Lou weight loss journey

“My motivation was to take control and not end up a high blood pressure or a victim of diabetes. I’ve always felt that prescription medicine will fix one thing but you’ll need another prescription to fix the side effects of the first prescription. The doctor told me that I would die of high blood pressure if I didn’t take the pills or lose the weight. He told me to pick one. I decided to lose the weight. Besides, losing weight is something I can control so I thought “Why not give it a shot.” I knew I couldn’t do anything to long as far as workouts were concerned, because I wouldn’t stick with it. So, I thought about what I was eating.

The first thing I did was that I figured out my eating weaknesses. My weaknesses were bread, pastas and Pepsi. I could eat 6 slices of toast in one sitting. I knew that if I figured out my weaknesses first and conquered them that everything else would be a breeze! It was hard at first but I just took it day by day. Before I knew it, I had lost 15 pounds. I also increased my water intake. I felt lighter and happier. Inline with cutting out those items, I simply started walking twice a week in my local park. I only did 30 minutes because I had other things to do besides exercising. It wasn’t a fast walk but a walk just the same. Before I knew it, I was running and walking 3 times a week. When it rained, I went home and did jumping jacks. I just continued to remain active. I believe that’s the best answer to any weight loss question; just remain active and keep your body in motion. It doesn’t matter what you do, just do something. I heard people say exercising makes you happy but I just thought only the thin or tiny people say that. I now understand what they meant because if I don’t exercise or start to slack off in any way, my attitude changes. I’m happy when I exercise. I would’ve never thought that but it’s true. My starting weight was 213 pounds. I’m now at 171 pounds. My blood pressure is never higher then 120/80. I went from a size 18/20 to size 12/14. The pictures I sent are from 2011 until now. I lost 42 lbs in a year. That’s my story! My advice to anyone would be just do something!!!”

Candy lost 70 pounds with weight loss surgery

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Candy wrote to us to share her weight loss journey. She’s lost 70 pounds with gastric sleeve weight reduction surgery. Here is what she shared:

Candy weight loss story

“I started this journey over 8 months ago. I am a heart patient with a very rare heart disease. I retain a lot of fluid and it causes severe weight gain. To make a long story short, my cardiologist wanted to perform surgery to repair my heart, but at my weight of 260 pounds, it could not be done safely.  At that point my doctor and I decided that weight loss surgery was the best option for me if I had any chance of living.  I had gastric sleeve weight loss surgery on February 28, 2013. I have lost 70 pounds so far and I am still losing weight.  I now exercise 4 to 5 days a week, which includes Zumba class, and line dancing. I don’t stick to a strict diet, but I don’t eat fried food but once or twice a month.  I have mostly grains and wheat. To everyone out there I strongly urge you to exercise as much as possible.”

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

Caroline Jhingory lost 150 pounds and Kept if OFF

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Shout out to the amazing Caroline Jhingory! This woman released 150+ pounds and has kept it off for almost 20 years. Her story inspires us and lets us know that long term success is possible.

caroline before and after
Update Sept 2018: “The best compliment that I ever received was from a doctor here in my hometown Washington, DC. “You are an African-American woman that has lost and maintained a 150+lb weight without weight loss surgery and kept it up for over 15+ years. I’ve been a physician for double that 30 years, and I have rarely seen that.”

I will say that now in life maintaining my 150+lb weight loss is just as hard if not harder as it was too lose it. Metabolism and hormone changes, and it just seems food especially chocolate taste better and better in your 30’s. Still a positive support system of people and positive self-talk keep me in line.

Power-walking everyday is a regimented part of my life just as taking a shower. And I don’t bring any unhealthy foods into my home. I save indulges for dining out or family gatherings.”
– @CarolineJhingory

Author and weight loss expert Caroline Jhingory is definitely a weight loss success story that you need to know about.  She has appeared on the Dr. Oz Show, TODAY Show, the Huffington Post, and in PEOPLE, ESSENCE and SHAPE magazines.  You may have checked out her book, Half My Size: How I Ate To Lose 150lbs.  I had the chance to ask her the questions we ask all of our featured ladies.  Check out what she shared with us:

Caroline Jhingory weight loss interview

What was your motivation?
Ten years ago weighing over 307 pounds on a 5’2 frame a dermatologist told me that the dark blotches on my skin were an indication that I was pre-diabetic. That moment was what I call my rock bottom. I decided right then and there that I was going to make the rest of my life, the best of my life.

What did you do in terms of eating to lose the weight?
Being that I was pre-diabetic, my family doctor’s recommendation was to eliminate, not moderate all white foods from diet. Although these foods are not technically white, this meant all sugar, products made with flour, bread, rice, pasta, potatoes and corn. My new way of eating involved lean proteins (all seafood, chicken breasts and egg whites) and non-starchy vegetables only. (All vegetables, excluding corn, potatoes, peas, plantains, squash and carrots.)

What did you do in terms of exercise to lose the weight? 
I could not afford fancy personal trainers or a gym membership. So, I began to walk everywhere instead of catching the bus and subway here in my hometown of Washington, DC. Over the years, my body needed more of a challenge and strength gym. Eventually ,I was able to afford a gym membership and swore by machines like the elliptical fitness trainer and circuit machines. Now my primary workout is running on my treadmill at home while watching a ratchet reality TV show. It makes the time fly right on by!

Caroline also shared with us about having skin removal surgery.

Caroline Jhingory on the Dr. Oz Show – www.doctoroz.com/videos/secrets-skinny-pt-3

Ashley lost 40 pounds

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Today’s featured weight loss before and after story:  Blogger Ashley lost 40 pounds with MyFitnessPal, clean eating, exercise and the Couch to 5K running program.  She says that she decided that if she made healthy choices for her body the weight loss would come naturally.  Here are the details of her weight loss journey that she shared with us:

I began my most recent weight loss attempt last September when the scale hit 184.6 pounds, but I have been trying to lose weight since I was little girl. My highest weight ever was 216.4 pounds when I was in middle school. I was obese and miserable.  the summer before high school I started going to Weight Watchers and got down to the 160s. My weight started to yo-yo after that. I would let my weight get up into the 180’s then decide I needed to go on a diet again and get back somewhere between 150 and 160. I never managed to make it to my goal weight, but I also never let myself leave Onederland again (the 100s).

Fast forward to my first year of law school. I was stressed out and eating badly but I let myself believe I hadn’t gained that much weight. I kept telling myself that fiction right up until I was too big for all my favorite dresses and I had to buy size 18 jeans because none of my old ones fit anymore. In late August I decided to find out how much damage I had done during my first year of law school so I ordered a bathroom scale for my apartment. When I stepped on it for the first time I was horrified. I was dangerously close to 190 pounds. I decided it was time to get to work and reach a healthy weight once and for all.

What was your motivation?
The first time I lost a large amount of weight, I did it because I wanted to be thin like the other girls in my school. This time when I decided to lose the weight, I did it for myself. I decided that I wanted to be healthy and fit. I wanted to live a better life than I had been living. I wanted to be happy.

How did you change your eating habits?
I started by counting calories and tracking what I ate in MyFitnessPal. At first I ate a lot of Lean Cuisine and other diet foods, but as I started doing more research about weight loss and eating healthy.  I realized that eating primarily frozen and processed meals wasn’t a healthy way to lose weight even if I was staying within my calorie budget. I slowly started to ease into clean eating. First, I gave up soda and learned to like water. I started trying new fruits and vegetables. I started cooking more. Eventually, I found clean replacements for the processed foods I loved. I started eating Peanut Butter Cookie Larabars instead of the peanut butter cookies I used to get at Subway as a treat. I started making my own pizzas with healthy ingredients instead of buying Lean Cuisine ones. I started doing most of my grocery shopping at Trader Joe’s where I could find healthier, less processed foods than I could get at a regular store. As I made these changes, I started to feel better. I started focusing more on getting healthy than losing weight. Somewhere along the way I decided that if I made healthy choices for my body the weight loss would come naturally. So far, that approach has worked fairly well.

What did your workout routines look like?
When I started losing weight, I was really out of shape. My first forays into the gym involved setting the treadmill at an incline and walking for an hour at a time five or six times per week. I would see the other gym-goers running on the treadmills next to me and wish I could be like them, but at that point I didn’t think I would ever be able to run. Sometime in October, I came across the Couch to 5k program online. It was supposed to help you ease into running with interval training where you run for a minute or so then recover by walking for a couple of minutes. Eventually the running intervals get longer and the walking intervals get shorter until you are either running thirty minutes at a time or 5k (3.1 miles). I didn’t follow the program exactly, but I was able to run for twenty to thirty minutes at a time by the end of December and was running 3 miles several times a week by the end of January. The more active I became, the more active I wanted to be.  I started venturing to local parks and greenways and found that I love hiking.

What is your current weight? How long did your transformation take?
At my last weigh-in my weight was 145.4, but I’m not done losing weight. My current goal is to weigh between 130 and 135, but I mainly want to get toned up. My transformation up to this point has taken 10 months. I am still a work in progress, so you will have to read the rest of my journey on my blog: downsizingashley.blogspot.com/.

ashley weight loss before and after

Andrea lost 32 pounds

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Check out Andrea’s weight loss story.  She lost weight with Weight Watchers and regular exercise.  I think her story is a good example that it’s hard to keep the weight off after you’ve lost it.  Sometimes, you have to revisit and recommit to your overall health goals for the long haul to maintain weight loss for good.  Here is what she shared with us:

Most of my life the journey to a healthier lifestyle has always been a challenge. I am a petite 4’11 inch At at this point I realize that this is a real journey. This battle is more mental than physical. I didn’t do surgery. Everything is self discipline. Now that I have gained back almost half of the weight that I lost, I want to catch my self before I go all the way back. So please be encouraged ladies we are in this together.

Most of my life I have been a plump girl. I always maintain a size 12 to 14 for most of my life. After having two children and the stress of owning a business in the recession of 2009 I went up to a size 20. I am a petite (4’11”) woman, so obviously that is too much weight. Because of the stress I was under, I turned to food for comfort. However, I really want to be an example to my children. I want to be a healthy mom.

I decided to join Weight Watchers online. I like the fact that it teaches you healthier options and portion control. My parents are from Alabama, so I love my soul food one and a while. I have tried diet pills in the past and other fad diets but Weight Watchers works for me. It’s truly a lifestyle.

I exercise 3-5 says a week by doing Taebo, Turbo Jam, Jillian Michaels, Zumba, and moderate weight lifting. Let’s just say I love to dance and kick!

In December 2009, I was 205 pounds.  By December 2011, I was 137 pounds. Today, I weigh 173 pounds do to lack of dicipline and exercise. I am determined to conquer this battle with my weight once and for all so that I can motivate some other women to do the same.

Andrea weight loss before and after

Shelby lost 100 pounds

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Today’s featured weight loss before and after:  My Sigma Gamma Rho soror Shelby lost 100 pounds with a low carb lifestyle and consistent exercise.  Here is what she shared with us:

Ladies, I just wanted to take a moment to tell you all how inspiring you all are to me and to share my story! Over the years, I gained and lost A LOT of weight but, on 12/27/2002, I decided to try my hand at a low carb lifestyle and CONSISTENT exercise.  Thank God, those were the changes that allowed me to change FOR GOOD! I’ve been able to keep the excess weight off (pic on the left was taken in the summer of ’02 and the one on the right was at a sorority (ΣΓΡ) conference in April of this year) through continued commitment to my low carb lifestyle and MOVING MY BODY. Many of us are proof that we can do this for life, not just as a “quick fix” or for a special occasion.  I thank you all for being next to me on this journey!!

I lost 100 lbs (120 total but gained 20 after having thyroid surgery…boooo!) and my motivation was to improve my health and no longer feel like a prisoner in my body! High blood pressure, insulin resistance/pre-diabetes and asthma were controlling my life and I felt like someone much older than my actual age! For exercise, I’ve done everything from aerobics classes to Zumba to every DVD program you can imagine. At the moment, I’ll be wrapping up my first round of Insanity next week and I plan to start Les Mills Combat on June 2nd!!

Shelby weight loss before and after

Nikia lost 150 pounds

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Today’s weight loss before and after story: Nikia lost 150 pounds.  She started at 389 pounds and lost the weight by working out religiously and changing her eating habits.  After being told she had a 10% chance of having a child, she is a proud mom.  Here is what she shared with us:

nikia weight loss storyHello! My name is Nikia Dejoie and I wanted to share my journey with you all. In 2003, at only 22 I finally got on a scale…and to my surprise it read 389 pounds. I was blown away. Already boarderline diabetic, I was taking high blood pressure medicine and was in the worst physical shape possible. I was also informed that due to my weight, I had a hormone malfunction which put me in the 90% chance of never conceiving a child category. I took control of my life and decided that I wanted better. I then began to workout religiously, I completely changed my eating habits, and in about 1 year and a half I was down to 178 pounds in 2005. Over the years I celebrated this new found person i had become, I lived life like I had never lived before, met the man of my dreams, I fell in love, I got married, i started a new career, and in 2011 (shortly after I got married)…I became PREGNANT. (Yippee) With everything happening so fast and life being so good, of course I gained about 80 pounds back. After celebrating a good friend’s birthday in January 2013 she posted pictures on Facebook. I almost screamed when I saw myself. I was becoming that person AGAIN that I had buried in 2003. I started my change immediately. I worked out 5 days a week for 1 and 1/2 hours, I eliminated all fried foods, soda, pork, starch, and beef. On June 2 2013, I was down 52 pounds! I am still on this new lifestyle change and I still have a long road ahead of me to maintain this. I plan to stick with it and provide support to any and everyone on this road to a healthier life… Here are a few photos. Anyone can follow my journey on Nikki’s Makeup Lounge on Facebook or missmakeup_artist on instagram.

Nikia weight loss before and after

Tecoye lost 69 pounds

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Today’s amazing weight loss before and after story:  Tecoye lost 69 pounds.  At 4’11” this mom went from 185 to 116 and developed some amazing abs as well. She lost the weight with portion control, changing her diet, and exercise. Her weight loss motivation is very moving. Here is what she shared with us:tecoye weight loss before and after

I have been overweight most of my life, and because I am only 4’11, any extra weight I have makes it even harder to carry at my size. I was 185 pounds and I was so uncomfortable in my skin and could not do the things I wanted to do with my kids. My husband is my biggest motivation. We were both overweight and tried many times to lose weight and be healthy.

During my first pregnancy, I developed high blood pressure and knew I definitely needed to make a change. My husband and I starting working out until I got pregnant for a second time. During that time, I converted back to some of my old habits. After that pregnancy, I weighed 165 pounds. During both pregnancies, medical issues contributed to early deliveries. My blood pressure was so high when I was pregnant with my son that they had to induce me at 34 weeks. The doctors were afraid that I might slip into a coma. With my daughter, I went into labor and delivered her at 28 weeks. She was only 2.6lbs and spent 2 months in the hospital. Even though it was undetermined why I had went into labor with her so early, it was my personal belief that I could have done more to prevent it.

From that point, I promised myself I would never be like that again. The biggest thing for me is preparation. I prepare my meals ahead of time so I always know what I am going to eat and take to work. My rule of thumb is if I didn’t bring it, I don’t eat it. I incorporated more protein in my diet and pride myself in eating a variety of fruits and vegetables. I don’t eat fried foods and strictly limit myself on carbs and sugars. I also drink at least 80 ounces of water throughout the day. I got up every morning before work at 4:30 and worked out in my basement. I also changed what I was eating. I started off walking on the treadmill and using the elliptical for at least 30 minutes. As I got better I continually increased the intensity of my workouts. I did a lot of jumping exercises like box jumps, jumping jacks and burpees. The first month I lost 15lbs and was excited to continue. As I got smaller the weight became harder to lose, so I started doing yoga. Doing that really sculpted my body. I started in December of 2012 and reached my current weight of 116 pounds in June of 2013.  I am in the best shape of my life. I now have just as much energy as my kids to be able to run and keep up with them.

tecoye weight loss before and after