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Stareka lost 116 pounds

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Weight Loss Transformation of the Day: Stareka lost 116 pounds.  Over the course of a year, this proud mom took steps to change her eating habits and embrace regular exercise.  Here is what she shared with us about what she did to lose the weight…

stareka before and after

My motivation came from my 11 year old daughter. She is very athletic and I never wanted to be the “lazy parent”. I decided to become more active and lose this weight so that I can keep up with her. She’s into gymnastics, so it’s very important to me to stay in shape so I can participate in the sport with her. Also, Instagram provided a lot of motivation for weight loss as well, providing multiple examples of successful weight loss stories that don’t include drastic measures taken to lose the weight. 

I changed my eating habits very slowly. First, I stopped eating late, then I reduced my bread intake, and lastly I cut off all sodas. I had to take it one challenge at a time. Each month I had a goal of what I was going to cut off and add in as a healthier eating option. 

Exercise: I started off by walking. Then, I downloaded the Nike app to start running and to boost my cardio. That app is amazing, by the way. I also became best friends with the elliptical machine and made sure that I did at least 3 miles on it four times a week when I did go to the gym.

Now, I workout at home doing cardio, working out with my 5 pound hula hoop, and doing other indoor workouts. When the weather warms back up, I’ll be outside working out. It’s more refreshing and I feel more energized outdoors. I love using Buffy the Body’s free workouts on YouTube for ladies that want to keep their curves.

My starting weight was 310 pounds and my current weight is 194 pounds.  I’m  5’4″ tall. My transformation took about one full year. I’m still losing and plan on focusing on toning soon. 

My advice to others: Motivate YOURSELF! Don’t lose weight for other people, do it because you care about YOUR life, YOUR body and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

I put together an e-Book on what I did to lose my weight the healthy way without surgery, pills, or crazy fad diet. I’m all about helping others and becoming more active in the fitness world its a amazing feeling. 

Instagram:@lavishvixxen
Twitter @Lavishvixenn

stareka weight loss

Kimberly lost 100 pounds

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Update Oct 2015: Kimberly wrote in to share that she’s lost 5 more pounds. – “It’s been 1 year and 7 months since my weight loss. I have maintained my weight and actually loss 5 more pounds for a total weight loss of 105 pounds. Feel so blessed and I still workout. I have plenty of ladies that I have had the chance to inspire. That makes me feel blessed cause now they are working out and getting healthy too! I am a firm believer in hard work. Yes, I still run and yes I still eat food real FOOD! I still eat lots of yummy veggies and I DON’T DIET. I workout with awesome people. We fuss through our workouts, but we are working out and we don’t let excuses run our lives.”

March 2015 – Weight Loss Transformation of the Day: Kimberly lost 100 pounds.  This proud mom of 2 embraced running, changed her eating habits and burned lots of calories to reach her goal.  She’s gone from a size 18 to a size 6.  Here is what she shared with us about her weight loss journey…

kimberly before and after

Hello, My beautiful sisters! I am a 38 year old woman who weighed 235 lbs in the last year. I have two beautiful boys who have gave me my tiger stripes [stretch marks]. I used to have a 46F bras size, wear size 18 outfits and I stand at only 5’3″. We all know I am a short thing..LOL!! I decided to change my life from the inside out by eating better and cooking better.

It all started with an app called Couch to 5k (running training app). Water, water and more water is what I drank. I didn’t cut out sodas, just decided to drink one soda at lunch or for dinner. I’m eating more veggies and having protein shakes. Now, being a busy sports mom, I depend on Fresh and Easy.  For exercise, I do Zumba and other cardio workouts. I workout 4 times a week for an hour to hour and half.

We as woman need extra cardio to boost our metabolism! Cooking at home and running stairs is an absolute calorie and fat burner. Let me say this…I hate running but I see results. I know now weights are key to tighten and firm up what’s loose. I have to say I feel blessed that I have lost 100 lbs. I can’t believe I went from a size 18 to a size 6 in Juniors. I am feeling accomplished. People say I am crazy for working out so hard but I want to be able to run around with my Boys and keep up.

Instagram: @locinlife

Bre lost 45 pounds

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Our featured weight loss story of the day: Bre lost 45 pounds this year.  However, she wrote us to share a timeline of her whole weight loss journey.  It’s a reminder that weight loss takes time and that change doesn’t happen overnight.  Check it out.

Lets run down the last 5 years quickly.

– In 2007, I had a stressful job and though I was having a heart attack.

– In 2009, I l ost my job and didn’t recover at all due to the recession.

– From 2010 to 2012,  I had went from a 26 to a 22 but was stuck there weight wise.

– In 2013,  I just got pissed off.  Seriously, everything was piling on me.  Stress + Weight = disaster.

So, here is what happened to set me free. I watched a YouTube documentary with my husband who is a diabetic called “Simply Raw” about a group of diabetics going raw for 30 Days.  It talked about clean eating all the way on a raw vegan diet (aka. being a raw foodist).

Then, the next month, Black Women Losing Weight did the monthly challenge of Vegan/Vegetarian eating.  That was right up my ally. So,  I threw myself in nothing but fruits, veggies, lean meat (fish or chicken) and water/ 100 juices for the first 2 weeks. Then no meat or juice just water for 4 weeks. I went over the challenge time line. I was amazed to see 20 pounds gone in a month.  I wanted more but decided to add protein back (clean fish no catfish, crabs, shrimp, etc and chicken).  No short cuts. I dont eat BS until my cheat day which is between the 15-18 of the month.  On day I have a ice cream cone or a 25 cent bag of chips. Thats it.

My start weight in May 2013 was like 275 pounds.  I am now 230 pounds.  My heaviest weight, without pregnancy was 340 pounds.

I do the Beachbody Challege, which is better known for Insanity, P90X etc. I fell in love with another program, Les Mills Combat. It’s High Interval Training which burns fat and calories as well as adds weight for muscle tone and build. I routinely do this while running 10 miles a week. i just chose any day and say “Ok, do I have my 10?” I look at MapRun, which is a free app with Android and go running. I usually do this about 3 miles, 3 times a week.

Bre weight loss

Review…

  • My Motivation: Pissed off with Life (Too Stressed)
  • Routine : Les Mills Combat 5 times a week. Running 3 times a week (minimum of 10 miles a week)
  • Eating routine: Fruits , veggies, lean clean meats (selective – no bottom feeders *catfish, shrimp, etc*, fish and chicken), Water (add lemon, mint, fruit), 100% juices. One cheat day a month..mine is usually on the 18th.
  • Total time for full transformation : May 2013 – August 2013
  • Photos: Before photo is from 2009 and the after photo is from 2013.