Who used to weigh 200+lbs and lost it?

[GetnFit]

Hey ladies,

Im just looking for some encouragement today. I weigh over 200 pounds (247 to be exact) and there are days, like today, that I dont think I'll ever lose this weight.

Two years ago I was busting out of a size 26 and weighed nearly 300 pounds and almost 60%bf. Today, depending on the clothes, Im wearing an 18-22, and weigh 247 with 49%bf. Ive maintained this weight and size for over a year now and I want to move on but I keep hitting a mental wall of discouragement.

Maybe Im scared. Im not sure.

Im just wondering if any of you started out this heavy and lost your weight naturally by proper eating and exercise and now look SMASHING?

Thanks!!

[Luvdogs]

Hi there,

It was a long time ago, high school to be exact, but I weighed 190 lbs! I gradually got into Jazzercise back then and lost a lot of wieght. That was my introduction inot exercise. I come from a family of obese, sedentary people. It CAN be done!! Through my 20' and 30's I mostly maintained my weight loss with the occaisional bout with 10-20 lbs here and there every fewe years usually brought on by stressful situations! Food is not a way to deal with problems.

I got married nearly 3 years ago and in my first 2 years of "newly wed bliss" managed to add 35 lbs back to my frame. I decided in Aug 2005 that that was enough and marched myself to Weight Watchers. It was just what I needed to get my act back togther. Now I am down 39 lbs and back to heavy training like I did prior to meeting my husband. So, yes it can be done with a focused plan! I've posted my before and after pictures!

[Shellie]

I use to weigh 268 pounds. That was 3 years ago. I got down to 153 pounds, then last year gained about 40 back and now i'm back down to 169. I've done this by cutting out my sugar and starches and eating lots of protein and veggies. Low carbing.

Try not to look at the big picture and how much you have to lose. It really is a day to day thing. I know how discouraging it is to need to lose so much. I use to have to think, "think about how much better i'll look at 240, 220, 190" etc.... I couldn't think about how I had to lose 100+ pounds.

You WILL lose the weight if you want it bad enough. But you gotta wanna. It's not impossible. Just hang in there and keep going. Perserverance pays off. Look at how far you've already come. You're doing a great job, keep it up.

A couple pics of me..

[daYDreAmErX]

You look great and beautiful !!!

Keep up !!!

[BlondeAmazon]

my workout partner is 5'6 and started at 299 and in 7 months has lost over 60lbs and 20+ inches- I train her with heavy weights 30-40 min a day on a 5 day split with 20-30 min of cardio a day- she eats pretty clean and is doing real well-- you will be FINE!!! keep up the GREAT WORK!! I was 245 of pure fat when I went into the hospital in 99 for major back surgery- Now- I am 200 lbs of solid muscle and prepping for my first contest in October- It CAN BE DONE!!!!! stick with it and good luck

[daYDreAmErX]

It's just an opinion, but I think that it's better to lose weight with a clean diet and with workout. Extreme diet aren't good, people lose fat too fast and gain it back really quickly.

That's what I saw on most people.

[Eileen]

From when I was 17, I weighed around 240lb, except when I was pregnant when I went up to 266lb. I don't know what my bf was, but it was high. Mind you, even at that weight I was always fit: I used to work out with the Irish rugby team, and I did the 206 mile Maracycle every year.

Now, I weigh 175lb and am 20% bf. Finding a diet that suited me was the key.

[Bluegrass]

I used to weigh 233+ lbs (I stopped weighing myself at 233 lbs but didn't start losing weight until a few months later and didn't weigh myself until I had already lost quite a bit so I never did own up to exactly how overweight I got).

When I first started I was so overweight for my frame that even losing 20 lbs didn't feel like it made that much of a difference. However, once I got under 190 lbs, I started to really notice the changes and by the time I got under 165, I was really motivated because I could see the progress weekly.

That was two years ago. By the time I reach my weight goal, which will be mid- July, I will have lost more than 100 lbs. I look great right now as it is and I'm really proud of the hard work I've put in and the results I've gotten.

I went slowly on purpose because I wanted to make sure that I was making appropriate lifestyle changes that I could maintain so that I would never yo-yo. I too hit a 'block' periodically where I just felt like it was all I could do to maintain the progress I had already made. Don't feel bad about this. In time you'll be prepared for the next step. The slower you take it off, the more permanent the changes will be in your life and the more likely you'll be to keep it off permanently.

Take your time and do it right (clean eating/exercise) so you only have to do it once. Think of it as a gift you are giving yourself. Love yourself enough to do the right things for your body even when it feels like the results are too far off in the distance to matter right now- because it does matter right now.

Maybe you could take a little 'maintenance break' and just focus on keeping where you're at while doing some soul-searching and nurturing to help you get emotionally ready for the next steps?


Best wishes,

Bluegrass


P.S. I used fitday.com (free) and recently bought fitday PC ($20) to track my nutrition and exercise. It has really helped me lately to get my eating in line. I highly recommend either.

[Rachel_n_SD]

i used to weigh about 215, i wore a size 15 at the time.

i am now 130 and a size 3. i got there via good ol' diet and exercise.

[daYDreAmErX]

i used to weigh about 215, i wore a size 15 at the time.

i am now 130 and a size 3. i got there via good ol' diet and exercise.

Do you have pictures before/after ?

[daYDreAmErX]

my workout partner is 5'6 and started at 299 and in 7 months has lost over 60lbs and 20+ inches- I train her with heavy weights 30-40 min a day on a 5 day split with 20-30 min of cardio a day- she eats pretty clean and is doing real well-- you will be FINE!!! keep up the GREAT WORK!! I was 245 of pure fat when I went into the hospital in 99 for major back surgery- Now- I am 200 lbs of solid muscle and prepping for my first contest in October- It CAN BE DONE!!!!! stick with it and good luck

I'm just curious... What do you eat ? And how many calories ? You're really bigger than me

[Rachel_n_SD]

Do you have pictures before/after ?

i can get some this weekend and post them-my mom's got some at her house... i think the fattest pic of me that i have is when i was about 180 or so-i wouldn't really let myself be photographed at 200+.

in my signature you can see my current pics-the most recent one is in my MP/Sesamin log.

[daYDreAmErX]

You look great

[Rachel_n_SD]

You look great

thanks, i appreciate it

i encourage anyone over 200 lbs to keep at it, it takes a really long time, but success is possible!

[BlondeAmazon]

I'm just curious... What do you eat ? And how many calories ? You're really bigger than me

I eat about 3000 cal a day to maintain and have cut back to 2700 or so'ish as start to taper for the contest- Im 19 weeks out and dont want to cut back too fast and would rather do it slowly- I am averaging 45% protien, 35% carbs and 20% fat.
its working for me so far and I am right on track for contest--

[Outdoor Girl]

Hi, GetnFit.

Having lost quite a few pounds myself, I really believe that if you truly put your mind to something, you can accomplish it! The key is the motivation to do it and the knowledge how. This site is a great place to get the correct knowledge! I too use Fitday.com which has made a tremendous difference by educating me about the foods I eat. I stopped using it for about six months but am trying to lose the last 10lbs, so am logging almost every day again - my macros are right on and I'm seeing results.

You can do it, good luck!

[Lionfish]

Hi Getnfit,
I weighed 308lbs back in July, I now weigh 210lbs. I lost most of this weight on a very low carb diet this was before I started bodybuilding, the diet was extreme and probably not ideal for lifting or much else for that matter I also did 45 mins cardio for 6 days. I suppose I lost the weight naturally, but certainly not with proper eating. Eileen has suggested Keto, it does work, but careful the weight will come back faster than you can pick-up a $100 dollar bill from the sidewalk (perhaps not so fast) unless it's kept at bay with proper food and exercise. I started bodybuilding 3 weeks ago and the struggle with keeping the weight off and losing more has got a bit easier, although I'm eating clean my nutrition is not what it should be but that's definitely inexperience. Anyway I do empathize as I have been there, am there, so girl I think we're in the same boat, and if we don't lose the fat soonish we may just sink!....Although we'll be ok, they say fat floats.
Wishing you well. Yours in the same fight.