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how I lost weight

Niazsha lost 30 pounds

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Niazsha lost 30 pounds going from 192 to 162 pounds.  Here is what she shared with us:

I took me 2 years to lose this weight.  I changed my diet, eliminated red meat and eliminated soda  I also limited the sweets I was eating.  I started walking and taking pole fitness classes (it’s fun). I still have 25 pounds to go. The extra weight gave me the worst hormonal imbalance and it put me at risk for diabetes. I thank God for how far I’ve come and look forward to meeting my overall goal of 135-137 pounds.

Niazsha weight loss before and after

Precious lost 107 pounds

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Update: Shout out to Precious. She lost the weight and has kept it off for more than 4 years.

Today’s featured weight loss success story: Blogger Precious lost 107 pounds.  She changed her eating habits, worked out regularly and found a love for running.  Here is what she shared with us:

What was your motivation? I come from a family with lots of health issues ranging from diabetes to cancer. My Dad died in 2007 due to complication involving diabetes and it still didn’t hit me then that I needed to change my lifestyle. I would just keep making that same I’m going to lose weight New Years resolution. Finally, In January 2010 I was going into my final semester in college and just didn’t want to start my next chapter in life being so overweight and out of shape so I finally committed myself to becoming a better me. I wanted to be an inspiration. I wanted to be someone else’s motivation. I think the best thing for me that kept me going the most is when people took note of my weight lost and complimented me. Sometimes you just feel so defeated when losing weight and just to have someone take note of your hard work makes you feel awesome. It made me feel good and allowed me to keep pushing forward. Also I have a small shopping problem so it felt awesome to shop and be able to pick up smaller sizes. I love fashion and finally I can wear clothes that I love and not just wish they made them in bigger sizes.

How did you change your eating habits? I changed my eating habits by cutting back on the sweets, not eating fast food (i.e McDonalds, Burger King), no fried food, and drinking only water and green tea. I learned new ways to incorporate more vegetables like through green smoothies as well as healthier recipes to help satisfy my sweet tooth. I now stick to a more 85/15 rule. 85% of the week I eat healthy, 15% maybe not so much but still within reason.

What did your workout routines look like? Because I was so overweight and out of shape I started simple. I used my Wii to help me get in shape through the use of Wii Fit. I stuck with this for the first 6 months and lost about 40lbs. The summer of 2010 came and I decided to join a fitness center. I started working out 5 – 6 days a week and varied between weight lifting, zumba, belly dancing, and cardio. After losing 90lbs, I decided to try something more intense and started at Forte Fitness Bootcamp as well as joined Black Girls Run and found my love for running which helped me reach my 100lb weight loss goal.

What was your starting weight? What is your current weight? The highest weight I recall is 267 pounds. I am currently 160 pounds.

How long did your transformation take? My transformation was one that involved a long hiatus because of working two jobs. I started in January 2010. By January 2012 I had lost 90lbs. I stopped working out in February 2012 and started back in September. By December 2012 I had reached the 100lb lost mark. Currently I am still on my journey however my focus is now toning and getting my body fat percentage below 25%.

I hope to inspire people through my blog: http://thecoilybombshell.blogspot.com as well as my facebook page www.facebook.com/thecoilybombshell

Thanks for reading & remember if it’s important to you, you will find a way. If not, you will find an excuse!

precious weight loss before & after

Update July 2014: Precious is now down 110 pounds.  Check out this video all about her journey.

Lashonda lost 145 pounds with weight loss surgery

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Let’s show some BWLW love to Lashonda who has lost 145 pounds with gastric bypass weight loss surgery.  She was motivated by her diabetes and her family history of it.   Here is what she shared with us:

Hey, I lost 145 pounds from Gastric Bypass surgery.  I’m striving to lose more.  My motivation was that at 27 years old I was diagnosed with diabetes and both my parents passed away with it.  I changed my eating habits to smaller portions.  My workout routines: At first my exercise routine was only water aerobics.  That was the jump-start.  Now I do cardio exercise and some weight training, but I do need more in terms of my workout routines.  Thank you for sharing my story!

Lashonda weight loss surgery

Jasmin lost 35 pounds

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Today’s weight loss before & after featured story: Jasmin lost 35 pounds.  This mom of six changed her eating habits and focused on burning calories to lose the weight.  Here is what she shared with us:

I’ve lost a total of 35 pounds. After having 6 children, I wanted to challenge myself to get back to my original size before having children. My target weight is 179 pounds.  I’m 195 pounds now. Almost there!. First, I changed my eating habits. I ate all my heaviest meals in the morning.  This means I ate my dinner in the morning. After 12 noon I started to slow down and eat very light, like crackers, boiled eggs, fruits, etc.  Anything lite.  I was in the gym everyday, except Sundays, for 1 hour.  I ran on Elliptical for 30 minutes to tone and the other 30 minutes in another  area of the gym. When you first start out on your weight loss journey,  just burn calories don’t worry about toning until you have lost your desired weight or close to, then tone and burn.

jasmin weight loss before & after

Ernestine lost 100 pounds with weight loss surgery

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Let’s show some Black Women Losing Weight Love to Ernestine.  She lost 100 pounds with bariatric weight loss surgery and it has changed her life and her health.  Here is what she shared with us:

Hello, my name is Ernestine, I was 244 pounds last year until I had Bariatric surgery done called the sleeve.  I had the surgery on April 17th 2012 and it has changed my life. It took one year to lose 100 pounds and I would like to lose at least 9 more pounds more.  The reason why I had the surgery was because I had sleep apnea, high blood pressure and sugar diabetes.  I could not stand for a long period of time, my back was always hurting and I couldn’t enjoy life. For 20 years I tried to get pregnant and the doctors kept saying that I would never get pregnant because I had polycycstic ovarian syndrome.   The weight was no help.  I prayed to God for a child and I finally got pregnant in 2004, but my weight kept going up.  I decided to have the surgery because I needed to start taking care of myself and to also be able to take care of the child I always wanted.  I wanted to live, but I was literally dying on my feet.

I’m thanking God everyday for a second chance, I’m learning how to eat healthy and I’m learning how to make the right choices when it comes to eating. I walk everyday with a DVD that my mom got me called “Walk away the Pounds” and I also work out with my stationary bike. I lift 4 pound weights to build up the muscles in my upper part of my body, especially underneath my arms.  I’m also taking karate class and I’m learning how to do kick boxing. Before I lost the weight, I couldn’t shop, do hair, try on new clothes or couldn’t play with my son because I was so tired all the time.  I was sleeping at red lights and sleeping on the job.  I had no energy and now I’m moving much, much, better and I’m getting much sleep without the machine on my face every night.  I’m very blessed and again I’m thanking God for a second chance.

So to anyone who is reading this story I’m asking you to not give up, ask the Lord to guide you in all your decisions and he will. The only reason why I don’t have a picture of me standing when I was heavy was because I did not like taking pictures and I was ashamed of my body, so this was the only one that I could find. Again thanks for giving me the opportunity to tell my story.

Ernestine weight loss surgery

Sonya lost 64 pounds

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Today’s weight loss before & after story: Sonya lost 64 pounds by lowering her carb intake, lowering calories, and burning more calories with regular exercise.  Here is what she shared with us:

Starting Weight: 283 (Nov. 2012)
Current Weight: 219
Goal Weight: 170

My story isn’t uncommon but it is rather extensive.  I’ll make it short.  This isn’t my first successful attempt at losing the weight.  I lost over 100 pounds and gained it and more back, quickly.  I used prescription diet drugs and when I reached my goal the weight I began to pile the weight back on again even faster. This time, I made up in my mind that I am not meant to be a thick girl. Many are satisfied with a little in the middle. I appreciate that, but my health and happiness were more important to me. That’s when I quietly started this journey in November. I wanted to lose weight to fit into my birthday dress. I did and I felt great, but that wasn’t enough. I wanted to go all the way back down to my Junior size 11-12’s. (I still have all those clothes by the way).

This is what I’m doing: 1). Carb intake lowered to 20 or less 2). Current caloric intake is no more than 1470 daily. 3). I work to burn MORE calories than I eat. I started with 3 miles of brisk walking and 2 hours of cardio at leat 5 days a week. I’m now doing 4 miles of walking and 1 hour of resistance training in the gym 6 days a week. I am very disciplined in my workouts and eating habits.  I also downloaded lots of low carb recipes from various websites. I don’t consider this a diet. It’s my way of living for the rest of my life! Will I eat pasta, cookies, cakes, pies, pizza, ice cream and bread again? Of course, but I know that when I do I’ve got to burn those calories up with a great workout!!!  I love myself and the body I’m in!!!  Be encouraged and know that you can do it, too! Do what works for you!

Sonya weight loss before and after

Monique lost 30 pounds

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Let’s show some love to Monique.  She has lost 30 pounds in about 3 months with a 1600 calorie plan.  She had lap band weight loss surgery the past, but it didn’t work for her.  Eating right and regular exercise brought her results.  Here is what she shared with us:

This is my story: I started my journey in March 2013 (starting out at 260 pounds). A few years ago I had lap band surgery and did lose weight but eventually gained most of it back! I was disgusted with myself so I decided to lose the weight naturally. I started out by substituting two meals with protein shakes and then eating a healthy dinner. My excercise started out with walking 2 miles a day. I eventually got rid of the shakes and started to eat meals three times a day with snacks in between. I am on a 1600 calorie a day plan. Also I up’d my excercise to 6 miles a day of walking, 20 minutes of aerobics and light weights! I also drink a gallon of water a day if possible. Since March 2013, I have lost 30 lbs and counting, not to mentions many inches!!! I feel great and am excited to continue my weight loss the natural way!  I pray about it and once I started seeing results it made me even more determined to continue!! I hope you share my story so others may be inspired to live a healthier lifestyle as I have.

monique before and after weight loss

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

Chanel lost 132 pounds with weight loss surgery

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Let’s show some Black Women Losing Weight love to Chanel who lost 132 pounds with gastric sleeve weight reduction surgery.  Here is what she shared with us:

“I had the gastric sleeve weight loss surgery procedure, in which they removed 80% of my stomach.  It’s a little different from the the gastric bypass surgery. Once the surgery was complete, that’s when the challenge came Lol!!  Now I eat smaller portions but instead of three meals it’s now five small meals.  I exercise 2 hours a week and I break it down to 30 minutes a day.  I still have a long ways to go, but I’m defiantly on my way.  My Goal is to be healthy for myself and my daughter.  My advice: just embrace who you are. Everybody not meant to be a size 1 or 2.  I’m just trying to be part of team healthy.”

chanel before and after weight loss