Black Weight Loss Success

The Official Blog of the Black Women Losing Weight Community. Tips, articles and weight loss resources for African American Women.

Join Our Email List:
We respect your email privacy
You are here: Home / Archives for success story

success story

Talaysha lost 88 pounds

by 9 Comments

Transformation of the Day: Talaysha lost 88 pounds. This proud mom and wife wanted to tackle the weight that had piled up after having her gall bladder removed and avoid a family history of diabetes. She also wanted change the way she was feeding her family to have a more positive impact on their health as well as hers. Check out how she took action to release the weight.

Talaysha before and after

What was your motivation?
I had my gall bladder removed 8 years ago and gained lots of weight after the surgery. I actually gained over 100 pounds. I also knew that I wasnt eating well and that caused me to gain weight as well. One day, I was looking at old pictures of myself when I was fit and in shape. It was then that I had a wake up call. I told myself you have to do something and that my transformation starts today

I know that diabetes runs in my family and I didn’t wanna become a victim of it. So, I changed not only the way I eat, but also the way I feed my family to protect their health too. My kids and husband are my biggest motivation. I wanna live a long healthy life so that I can one day see my children grown up.

How did you change your eating habits?
I don’t eat fried foods and I have little to no starchy or processed carbs. I’ve added more fruit and vegetable to my diet and I drink nothing but water.

What did your workout routines look like?
I workout 5 times a week. During this process, I’ve done mostly cardio and light weights. I go to the gym, walk, jog and also attend Zumba class from time to time. These days, I’m working with a personal trainer who is helping me tone some of my problem areas.

Starting and Current Weight
What was your starting weight? 273 pounds
What is your current weight? 185 pounds
What is your height? 5’7″

How long did your transformation take?
A little over 8 months.

What advice do you have for others who want to lose weight?
You can do whatever you put your mind to. Weight loss is mind over matter. I would like to say to anyone trying to lose weight that the journey is not easy. Some days are more difficult than others, but you have to keep pushing because we are not built to fail!

Instagram: @qtnva84

Talaysha weight loss

Alexis lost 65 pounds

by 6 Comments

Transformation of the Day: Alexis lost 65 pounds. After 2 pregnancies, she felt like she’d given up and her weight was out of control. She decided to take her life into her own hands, do her research and learn how to transform her body with food and exercise. Check out what she had to say about her journey.

alexis before and after

Starting weight: 240 pounds
Current weight: 175 pounds
Goal weight: 160 pounds
Height: 5’6″

After giving birth to 2 children, 19 months apart, I had completely given up on myself. I got up to 240 pounds and felt like my weight was spiraling out of control. One day, I finally stopped saying, “Next Monday I’ll go to the gym.” and just got up and got started. I’ve been consistent ever since. I got down to 158 pounds, but with weeks of weight training I now weigh 174 pounds. I’ve never been more proud of myself.

I was motivated by sadness and depression. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. I was tired of not being happy every I would buy clothes. I was tired of not being happy when I looked in the mirror. I was tired of not going places because I was not happy with myself. I began looking up transformation stories and it really gave me the pick me up I needed to do something. The final straw came when my mother had taken a picture of me and texted it to me the next day. I had to finally face how much weight I gained because I would usually never take full body pictures. From that day forward I decided I was going to change.

I could not afford a trainer so I did all of my own research online. Bodybuilding.com was the most useful site during this weight loss journey. I learned about meal prepping and I owe most of my weight loss to that alone. I would cook my meals every 3-4 days and store them in containers. I literally had to bring one every where I would go because I love to snack…a lot. The first few weeks, I literally thought about food all day long. I needed to have something healthy already prepared to lessen my chances of grabbing something fattening. I tracked my calories the My Fitness Pal app and I kept my calorie intake under 1600 per day. I pretty much rotated chicken, shrimp, turkey, and salmon with vegetables and brown rice.

Once I got down to about 190-200 lbs I joined the gym. I started with a spin class for 6 weeks, then I found a work out plan on bodybuilding.com to follow. I slowly added weights 2 days a week. Once I was comfortable, I started attending a Body Pump class at my gym (high intensity intervals with weights and plyometrics). My body changed the most when I started using weights. Now, I do cardio 3 days a week (stair master or spin) and body pump 2 days a week.

All together, this journey has been about 14 months. I started meal prepping in late October 2014 at 240 pounds. I was dieting on and off from then until September 2015. I became more serious with my diet once I started working out. By November 2015, I weighed 158 pounds. I have been maintaining 170-180 pounds since December 2015.
To others I would say, “You can do it.” A cheat day doesn’t mean you have to quit. You can start over time and time again. Just keep starting over. Believe me, I have had several bad weeks. Also, know that you have to be your own motivation sometimes, because you will be surprised that some people might not support your decision to get healthy. Remember to think of this as a decision to have PERMANENT lifestyle change if you want to maintain your results. Good luck!

Instagram: @alexistizano

alexis before and after

Janice lost 100 pounds

by 6 Comments

Shout out to Janice! She is featured in the May 29, 2017 issue of People Magazine. The article is titled “How We Lost 100 Pounds“. She’s lost 112 pounds!

janice before and after
“260lbs to 148lbs. Thank you People Magazine @people for sharing my story. Hard Work Always payoff.” – Shared by @beautifuljlj on May 19, 2017

Transformation of the Day: Janice lost 100 pounds. She adopted a no excuses/work through the pain-type of attitude to lose the pounds. After learning that she had an ulcer, she let go of all the fast food, started eating clean and worked out 6 days a week. Check out her story.

janice before and after

Starting weight: 255 pounds
Current weight: 155 pounds

On 4-13-2015, I weighed 255 pounds. I got a health wake up call when I found out that I had an ulcer. This made me truly realize that my health is important. I worked hard to lose the weight and get healthy. Every morning, I would workout. No excuses and no surgery. I would cry and wish I never did this to myself. Now, I’ve lost 100 pounds.

Even when I failed, I kept going. I was determined to win. I told myself everyday that I would eventually get to my goal. It was hard, because some weeks I wouldn’t lose anything and would gain weight due to cheating on my diet plan. However, I just told myself to just keep going.

I worked out 6 days a week for 1 hour a day and ate clean. I stopped eating junk food. I used to eat large pizzas for dinner or a Big Mac combo and 10 nuggets for lunch each day. Sometimes, I would drink 5 to 6 cans of Coke a day.  I put multivitamins and apple cider vinegar in my water. Water was the only thing I drank.

Eating Routine: 
Breakfast: I would eat fruit or oatmeal for breakfast. The Fruits included pineapple, cantaloupe or watermelon. After breakfast I would workout.
Lunch options: Turkey burger, meatballs, chicken breasts with salad, steamed broccoli, celery, kale, spinach and lettuce. I had hot sauce as well.
Snack: Melina toast for snack
Dinner: Repeat lunch meal for dinner
Snack: Fruit

Workouts:
I’m a beast. Lol!  I do trampoline, hot yoga, Twerk, Socasize, Jillian Michaels Banish the Fat and Leslie Sansone workout videos. I joined bootcamps too. I did strength training and pull ups as well. Now, I workout everyday for 1 to 2 hours.

Advice:
My advice for anyone who is trying to lose weight: Start Now! Change your eating habits. Don’t eat fried foods and stop drinking soda or alcohol. Go hard! Start with walking and if you can afford it join a bootcamp. Invest in your weight loss journey and don’t be afraid to try something new. For example, I tried hot yoga, which helped with my plateau.

Exercising is key, along with eating clean. Also, I suggest that you change your exercise routines up from time to time. If you weigh 250 lbs for example and get down 240 lbs, to get to 220 lbs may require a tougher exercise routine. Embrace the challenge and go for it. I failed a million times to get to this one success. You must believe in yourself and see the vision. It’s possible through hard work.

Instagram: @beautifuljlj

Update: Michelle lost the pounds and transformed her body

by Leave a Comment

1 Year & 1 Month Update – We shared Michelle’s story back in August and now she’s celebrating a whole year of transformation. Check out her update.

michelle before and after

1 year ago, I started my journey. After being overweight all my life, I decided to stop my weight from going up and down and adopt a lifestyle change. I decided to try something different this time around with weight lifting/strength training and small bursts of cardio. I absolutely fell in love with it!

More importantly, nutrition was a big part of my success. Nutrition is 80% of the equation when it comes to how you look. It gives you the fuel to get the results you want and then training comes into play (for the other 20%). In the beginning of my journey, I ate healthy. It was about 85% lean/clean eating with consistent exercise/lifting 5 days per week. That regime helped me drop fat and build muscle, which was great.

To go next level and start to reveal my muscular development, I realized that eating 85% lean wasn’t going to be enough. I started tracking my macros and got extremely serious diet wise! I wanted to take it to the next level and the changes started coming quick!

My exercising has always been consistent. I workout 5-6 days per week. I am on a lifting rotation, so I work a different muscle group each time I workout. The biggest key is finding the right balance of cardio with strength training.

People often ask me how I lost my stretch marks. I use coconut oil on my skin and also I lost the marks from “body recomposition.” That is the attempt to lose as much fat while building lean muscle (swap). Due to how I train, I’m able to lose fat at the proper speed each week and give my skin enough time to tighten around my body over the new muscular growth. That is why my skin and body looks tight and smooth! “Cardio only” training will not do this for you!

My biggest learning lesson was understanding patience. You can’t be on “Your Time” when trying to do this. This generation has been led to think that wraps, waist trainers, 21 day fixes, smoothies and 30 day challenges will help you obtain these results. The only thing that gets this type of results is adopting a lifestyle change. The biggest game changer for my success was changing my mentality. I listen to audio recordings and feed my mind with success principles. My mind is so strong and sound now that no matter how hard it gets and long it takes, I don’t care anymore! I just keep going. I tune out the critic in my mind and just like that, it becomes so easy to wake up ready to crush my goals!

I actually tracked my entire journey on my Instagram page @fitmelle from day 1 until now. I will be tracking my entire journey to fitness modeling, which is my goal! You can do it, Queens and Kings! I tell the community that follows me all the time that you have to treat each day like a new day and push forward. Remember that time is going to pass anyway, so who cares how long it will take to obtain your dream body! Why not go for it? Change your mind and your body will follow.

Instagram: @Fitmelle

Check out the other post we did about her story to hear about how she lost over 50 pounds and transformed her body.

Candice lost 135 pounds

by 2 Comments

Transformation of the Day: Candice lost 135 pounds. The pounds started to pile on during her college years and the methods she tried to lose weight didn’t bring lasting results. She found the help she needed while working with a trainer who provided direction and accountability. Check out what she shared about her journey.

candice before and after

Hi, My name is Candice. I’m a 32 year old woman and I am 5’6″ tall. I started gaining weight at a rapid pace when I went to college. I was doing all the wrong things when it came to trying to lose weight. At my highest weight, I weighed 300+ pounds. I tried doing tons of cardio, and even tried drastically cutting calories in an attempt to lose weight. I’d lose a little at first and then hit a plateau. I would end up quitting after a while, because of feeling discouraged with the lack of progress.

I finally made the decision to be more consistent with eating and exercise. I was tired of not seeing my efforts pay off and tired of not really committing to my goals. At first, I started out with Zumba on my Xbox360 to get moving, which helped a lot. After I lost the initial 30 or 40 lbs, I hit another plateau. Something needed to change. I finally signed up at a gym and sought out a personal trainer.

She was a great motivator and ultimately helped keep me accountable for my fitness journey and my eating habits. She incorporated weight training as the bulk of my workout, along with some cardio. I started getting involved in kickboxing classes as well. I work out at least 4 times a week, including weight training and a couple of group classes.

I had to totally revamp the way the I was eating too. I started logging the foods I ate and how much I ate with MyFitnessPal. I found out that I wasn’t eating enough at all. More vegetables and protein were added to the mix, while simple carbs and processed food were brought to a minimum. I do allow myself to indulge in a cheat meal once a week. Meal prepping for the week has really been helpful as well.

I currently maintain my weight at 160-165 pounds. I learned that this is really a lifestyle change and it’s not just about losing weight or numbers on a scale. The main thing I learned is that this whole process takes time and effort. You have to be patient. I was empowered with tools to change my health for the better by my trainer. I also had people motivating me along the way. It took me a couple of years to reach my fitness goals, but this is a lifelong change that I plan on sticking with.

Instagram: @kandyice1

Taneka lost 60 pounds

by Leave a Comment

Taneka lost 60 pounds. This mom of two found victory after years of struggling with her weight. An emotionally painful family interaction served as a catalyst for her weight loss journey. Check out her story.

taneka before and after

My name is Taneka D. I have struggled with weight loss for about 18 years. I have two children, ages 11 years and 8 years old. In my before picture, I weighed 250 pounds and I am 5’3″ tall. My kids and husband motivated me during my mission to lose weight.

I am literally the only overweight person in my family. My mother’s side of the family, my aunts, uncle, grandma, and mom were large, but with age I suppose they have all slimmed down. My mom got the gastric bypass procedure. Last year, I attended a family wedding on my dad’s side of the family and was actually cropped out of a family photo! My feelings were so hurt, but with the pain I knew I had to make this change.

I went to my doctor and told him about my goals. He started me on a prescription medication called Phentermine 37.5 and advised me to make small changes in my diet. I followed up with him monthly. I took Phentermine from November 2015 through January 2016. During that time, I lost 25lbs just by making the changes in my diet. I stopped taking it in January and started walking. From February and March with my healthy diet and walking, I lost 20lbs. In April, I started back on Phentermine and with my diet, exercise, and the medicine I have lost another 15lbs.

In the beginning, I slowly stopped eating beef, pork and bread. Next, I stopped drinking soda and cut out sugar completely. I eat lean turkey and chicken breast. Instead of eating side dishes, like mac and cheese or potatoes, now I have a side salad or fruit. I also drink lots of water.

For exercise, I walked daily for about 30 minutes. I am currently doing a 30 day challenge that includes squats, lunges, crunches, and push ups. I’m trying to incorporate more exercises into my routine that will help me to tone up.

When I started my journey in November of 2015, I weighed 250 pounds. As of today (April, 23, 2016), I weigh 190 pounds! I haven’t been in the 100’s in years!

The best advice I can give about weight loss is to set a lot of smaller goals instead of working towards one large goal. For example, set a 5 or 10lb goal instead of setting a goal to lose 100lbs. Because with the smaller goals you are getting your reward sooner and it gives you motivation for the next 5 or 10lbs. That has really helped me stay on track.

Instagram: @Booney25

Robyn lost 170 pounds

by Leave a Comment

Transformation of the Day: Robyn lost 170 pounds. At 25 years old, her weight reached 500 pounds and she questioned whether she would reach her 30th birthday. Now it’s 5 years later, her 30th is approaching and she’s walking into this birthday healthier and happier. Here is what she shared with us.

robynmay15blog

My name is Robyn and to date I have lost 170 pounds! My motivation was life. Weighing over 500 lbs at 25 years old, I just knew I wouldn’t live to see my 30th birthday. As the years flew by, I realized I was wasting precious years of my life. All through out my childhood and teens, I was obese At one point, I told myself that I will not be an overweight adult. My motivation kicked into overdrive when I thought about my family. I feared the headache they would face if I was no longer around. I knew it was time to make a serious change.

I stopped eating fried food, junk food and stopped drinking soda. Soda was my kryptonite! I started eating fruits veggies and whole wheat foods. I workout 3-4 times a week. I do a lot of strength training because I’ve learned that muscle burns more fat at rest. I am 5’9″ tall.

Technically, I have been on this journey all my life but I’ve officially started losing weight 2 1/2 years ago. Within the first month, I lost 35 pounds and that was enough for me to keep going! This journey has not been easy. I yo-yo’d for a very long time and struggled to lose my first 100 lbs. That was a true victory. At times I was very frustrated with myself, but I kept on going because I knew I could do it. I’d spent so many years angry and depressed, but I knew that I owed it to myself to try.

Although I am still on my journey, with about 150lbs more to lose, I am more dedicated than ever to reach my goal. My dream is to be an inspiration to America. I love the People Magazine “Half My Size” editions. I have faith that one day I will be able to inspire the way the people featured in that issue have been an inspiration to me. I look at my future with joy knowing that I am six months away from celebrating my 30th birthday. That is a day I thought I’d never see.

My advice to others who want to change their lives is that it’s all TEMPORARY. You say when enough is enough.

Instagram: @ichoosechange

robynmay16blog2

Daisy lost 87 pounds

by 2 Comments

Transformation of the Day: Daisy lost 87 pounds. She has transformed her body over the last 2 years. Her story shows that you can workout out at home and get great results. This journey is not easy, but this mom knows that being healthier and loving what you see in the mirror is worth it. Check out her story.

daisy before and after

My name is Daisy C. After birth of my last child in 2013, I didn’t like what I saw in the mirror and I wanted to change. In 2014, I embarked on a journey to create a healthier me. I’ve had the full support of husband who is by my side and always pushing me harder.


advertisement

I purchased Biggest Loser Ultimate Workout for my gaming console to start the exercise portion of my journey. I wanted to feel comfortable and that meant working out in the privacy of my own home, instead going the gym. Now, I’ve also incorporated Zumba Core into my workouts. With those two great programs and by switching up my meals, I’ve seen great results. I worked out 7 days a week for 45 minutes a day doing muscle confusion exercises that target every area of the body. This has been a major factor in how the weight fell off.

I cut back on junk food and sweets. Instead, I started drinking more water than sodas and started eating what would typically be thought of as healthy foods. I start out my day with a light breakfast. For example, I might have eggs, toast and orange juice. For lunch, I’ll usually have a salad and fruit with lots of water. Dinner could be a nice meal of baked chicken and veggies. Whatever I eat in a day, I burn off those calories the next day with a strength and training exercises that cause me to sweat.

I continue to do what has been working for me. My starting weight was 242 pounds and I currently weight 155 pounds. My height is 5’7″.

I never had surgery or took diet drugs to lose the weight, because I felt that would be cheating. I had to fall in love with the process and begin loving the woman I saw in the mirror again. I eventually captured the attention of friends and family via Facebook and created a fitness page called Carr-dio Fitness, where I share my workouts. Now that I’ve reached my goal, I want to help others reach theirs.

The advice I would give to other women who want to lose weight is to keep pushing and never give up. This journey is hard, but nothing in life that is worth having comes easy.

Facebook: Carr-Dio-Fitnes

Amber lost 35 pounds

by Leave a Comment

Transformation of the Day: Amber lost 35 pounds. This amazing wife and mother of 2 was faced with depression, addiction and stress after becoming a stay at home mom without the right support system in place. She found a great exercise program and online coach to help her on her journey to be the best mom she could be. We are so happy that she is sharing her story in such a transparent way so that others can be helped.

april before and after

Height: 5’7
Starting weight: 200 pounds
Current weight: 165 pounds
Duration: 8 months with a lot of falling off the wagon and getting back on.

I was motivated to lose the weight, because I had lost a sense of who I was and was using food and alcohol to comfort myself. I had become a stay at home mom  after having my second child in 2012. This created a big shift in me mentally. I was very depressed, lonely, stressed, and become dependent on alcohol to get through most days. Before this change, I was not necessarily overweight, but I was definitely not in good shape.  When you don’t have a support system in place it can be very difficult as a new mom to try and balance everything. At the end of most days I had nothing left to give and was exhausted.

With depression came drinking alcohol, from the moment I woke until the night. I was the most dangerous kind of drinker, a closet drinker. No one knew that I hid vodka bottles under the bathroom sink from my husband. Somewhere along the way, I had lost who I was, but I knew something had to change. I didn’t like who I had become and if I wanted to be the best wife and mother I could be I had to start within. My kids were my inspiration to change. I knew they deserved better than what I was giving them. I knew I couldn’t be the best mother to them if I didn’t take the time to get healthy, lose the unwanted weight, stop drinking and get HAPPY ABOUT LIFE!

So, I researched and found a program that’s was 90 days long (P90X3) that I could do at home. With the program, I got an online coach who gave me the support and accountability I needed since I really didn’t have it at home. This accountability made all the difference in my journey. I figured the worse that could happen was I wouldn’t lose the weight and I could always go back to eating and drinking. However, I owed myself 90 days to give it my all. I started on June 8, 2015 at 200 lbs, the heaviest I had ever been. I worked out for 30 minutes 6 days a week. The program involves burning fat while building muscle. That meant lots of push-ups, squats, resistance training and plyometric exercises.

When it came to eating, my issue was not eating enough food and eating junk when I did eat. I first cut out soda pop and coffee. I started drinking a nutrient dense shake in morning as my breakfast because I wasn’t much of a breakfast eater. I also began eating 2 meals a day and 2 snacks in combination with the shakes. I focused on whole grain, lean protein, limited sugar, and a ton of WATER!

Now, here I am now 165 lbs. I not done yet! The thing I want women to know is that it’s ok to take care of yourself, in fact it’s NECESSARY! This journey is so much more than wanting to fit into a pair of shorts. It is 90% mental. Many of us spend our days pouring ourselves into our careers, relationships, children, friends, or family. We leave little time and energy for us to just care and nurture our soul and bodies. Also, be patient with yourself, stay consistent, and don’t let the number on the scale define you!

Make a commitment to yourself and get your mind made up that you are going to do it no matter how long it takes. Don’t focus on the number on the scale. Believe in yourself and have patience. Trust the process and focus on cleaning up your nutrition… which was the most challenging part for me.

Instagram: @AmberMFitness
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ambermfitness
www.ambermfitness.com

april before and after

Britt lost 49 pounds

by Leave a Comment

Transformation of the Day: Britt lost 49 pounds. This young lady was determined to become a healthier version of herself. Clean eating and consistent exercise have been key to her journey. Check out what she shared with us.

britt before and after

My weight has always gone up and down, but when I turned 21 years old it seemed that I was just stuck at a weight of 220 to 237 pounds. I have many health issues that don’t make working out easy at all, but I was determined to be healthier and a better me.

My transformation has taken 7 months so far. I’m 25 years old now. Today, I’m down to 188 pounds at 5’6″ tall and can’t stop now. Healthy living is for me! I’m loving this journey of eating clean and working out consistently.

I completely stopped drinking any soda and sugary juices. I only drink water,  green tea and infused water.  As for meals, I only eat lean meats (no fried or smothered) and fresh veggies. Once I changed my diet, the weight seemed to just drop off.  It isn’t easy and I’ve used many cheat days. However, I eventually had to stop that and really dedicate myself.

Screw being cute while working out. I sweat! LOL! I’m working for this. My workouts are 5 days a week for an hour. That’s 30 minutes of cardio (1,000 burn in under 30 minutes) and strength training. Instagram was also a big help to me when it comes to finding workouts. I’m always taking on a challenge, like the 30 day squat or the 30 day ab challenge. I use the 1,000 calorie burn plan and the weekly planner. I always switch up what I’m doing. It keeps you going.

My motivation for losing weight was simply wanting to be a healthier me, all around. I’m not even close to where I want to be, but I’m further than I was and that’s progress.

Instagram: @LYRIC_MUSICISME