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 weight health

weight health

Lorraine lost 204 pounds

by 31 Comments

Today’s featured weight loss before and after story:  My Sigma Gamma Rho Soror Lorraine lost 204 pounds.  She has transformed her life and her health by eating clean, learning how to make the right food choices, walking and doing Zumba on her Wii.  Here is what she shared with us:

What was your motivation? My father died at 39 of a diabetic heart attack. I was in my late 20’s and 400+ pounds. I was completely uneducated about food. I thought I was eating well and because I am tall (6’0) I felt like I could carry ” a few extra pounds” Knowing that my little girl is learning how to care for her body and feed herself and one day her family keeps me going

How did you change your eating habits? I eat very clean. High protein low carb, low processed diet. I no longer eat dairy, red meat or pork. I learned that the western diet doesn’t give us what we need to be healthy. We eat more calories yet our bodies starve. So with a mix of healthy plant based eating and supplements my body is a fat burning machine. I learned to recook all of my favorite southern dishes in healthy ways. I LOVE the farmers market and I have worked hard to retrain my body that food is fuel and not my friend. This has been a revamping of everything I thought I knew about nutrition and cooking. Outside of seafood..Im a Florida girl I don’t eat anything that had parents. We will spend years learning our hair and have no clue how to feed our bodies.

What did your workout routines look like? As a single mom I don’t always have time for the gym. I walk an hour a day with our dog and I LOVE MY WII Zumba

What was your starting weight? 410.6lbs 
What is your current weight? 206.2

How long did your transformation take?
I lost the first 130 in about 8-9 months. I then became pregnant and started back about a year ago. So total just under two years. I was told I could never have children.  However, because of the the initial loss of 130 pounds, I was able to conceive.

Photos: Black hat 410 pounds, Black dress 260 pounds and  white dress 206 pounds….

Lorraine weight loss before and after

Constance lost 138 pounds

by 6 Comments

Today’s featured weight loss before and after story:  Proud mom Constance is sharing her weight loss journey with us this morning.  Over the course of 6 years and having 2 children, she has brought her weight from 280 pounds down to 142 pounds, losing a total of 138 pounds.

I think her story is realistic, because many moms who have had more than one child face gaining more weight with each child.  Constance was able to lose weight over time and not retain a lot of baby weight while losing weight between pregnancies.  Here is what she shared with us:

I would love to share my story.  Over the past 6 years, I’ve lost a total of 138 pounds. I’m 5’4 and now weight 142!  My motivation was my child and being able to play with her at the park. My eating habits were transformed when I noticed that I was eating 3 snickers bars in one sitting, then McDonalds at night and still never felt full. I started out by walking a mile everyday before work, 5 days a week.  Then a friend got mw a membership to 24 hr fitness and I went everyday for a year. In total, in 2006 I delivered my 7 year old at 280 pounds. I had another baby in 2011 maxed out at 190 pounds.  Now, a total of 7 years later, I am 142 pounds and a size 6 when I was a size 26 in the past. It has been a complete lifestyle change.

Constance weight loss before and after

Renee lost 147 pounds with weight loss surgery

by Leave a Comment

Renee weight loss before and afterLet’s show some BWLW love to Renee who lost 147 pounds with gastric bypass weight loss surgery.  This is what she shared with us:

Hi, just wanted to write to you about my journey. I was always a big girl and then through some years of just not caring, I managed to gain up to 400 pounds. Having just turned 40, I panicked and started getting very concerned about developing more serious health problems. As it was, walking a couple of blocks was difficult and forget about walking up and down stairs. I have tried almost every weight loss plan. I always managed to lose a little weight and then ultimately ended up gaining back more. Another obese friend of mine had weight loss surgery and as hard as it was for me to admit that I need surgical intervention, I got real and started looking into it.

Folks that feel that weight loss surgery is a “quick fix” or “the easy way out” obviously have not gone through the process. Emotionally, psychologically, physically and medically, it is a lot to prepare for, a lot to go through, recover from and maintain. With the Lord’s grace, I had successful gastric bypass surgery back in 2004. I would have been happy to just lose 100 pounds. To just be under 300 pounds would have been a blessing. However, I developed ulcers (where I couldn’t eat hardly anything for weeks) and ended up going down to as low as 210 pounds but it was a false low. Once I got healthy again, I gained some weight back and settled at about 225 pounds for years. For a while, I started slipping again because even though weight loss surgery is a great tool, diet and exercise is crucial in order to KEEP the weight off. I ended up gaining back to 265 pounds and fought back. I went down to 245 pounds and now I am back up to 253 pounds and fighting back once again. The journey is endless. It’s a lifestyle issue, but when I see myself creeping back up, I keep fighting the good fight. It is difficult, I admit but I tell myself that NO FOOD tastes as good as feeling healthy feels. Thank you for reading my story. I just want others to know that this is no perfect science and even with WLS, it is possible to backslide. No matter what, it is not over and you can always get your focus back and recommit to health!

Renee weight loss story

Brandi lost 44 pounds

by 2 Comments

Let’s show some Black Women Losing Weight love to Brandi who has lost 44 pounds.  She was motivated by being borderline hypertensive and as an EMS it is hard for her to eat right, but she is DOING it!  Here is what she shared with us:

I was 194 pounds and now I’m 150 pounds. I lost weight by changing my diet and switching from regular soft drinks to water and diet drinks. The picture where I’m in the uniform was taken 2/12, the one on the right was on June 5, 2013…44 pounds lighter. I work in EMS so it’s very hard to eat sensibly…but I did it and am maintaining my 150 pounds proudly.

My motivation was being borderline hypertensive and wanting to feel and see a healthier me. I stepped on the scale one day and was devastated that I was only 5 pounds lighter than I was when I was 9 months pregnant with my son.  That was 14 years ago!!! I had to make a change. So, I decided to start drinking water first and weened myself off the Mountain Dews. I switched to drinking Diet Mountain Dew and limited myself to 2 soft drinks a day. Then, there was my eating habits. I stopped eating fast foods and started eating subs and salads for lunch. I was snacking healthy and watching my calorie intake. I gradually noticed that my uniforms were getting larger to the point that I could slide my pants straight down from a fastened position. I went from a size 16 uniform to a size 10.

Brandi weight loss before and after