Weight Loss Journey: Stephanie’s Story

EmilyTransformations2 Comments

Before and 52lb down!

Before and 52lb down!

My name is Stephanie, I just turned 30 and I run a small business from home. I have two amazing children and a super supportive husband.  I was a thin healthy active teen.

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I started to gain weight in my early 20s after having kids going through a divorce and the depression that followed my divorce. I gained my weight very fast food became my best friend, my go to for everything.  I can honestly say I have tried every crash diet out there. I  would lose 40 pound and gain back 50. They don’t work! I also was never doing it for the right reasons. I wasn’t thinking about taking charge of my health or being a stronger happier me. I would try to lose weight because i didn’t want to be ” the fat friend” or I would try to motivate my weight loss by wanting to look good for my husband.  About 5 months ago,

I realized I want to change for ME! I want to feel good in my skin.

Reading this blog, helped me feel like I could do it. I could take charge of my health and reach my goals I was willing to doing it for the right reasons.  Reading the unfiltered truth about how you lost your weight and had imperfect moments but never gave up, empowered me to get real with myself. I knew that if I mad up my mind that I was willing to work hard for it and throw away all the excuses that, I use to validate my wight, I could not only love my reflection again but feel stronger and happier in my everyday life.

I have made a huge change in my diet.  I eat 1200-1500 calories a day: breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, and dinner.  I eat a lot of fruit and veggies.  I’m not a big meat-eater but, I have learned to love fish so I eat a lot of that. I don’t eat red meat but that’s mostly because I don’t like it. I am also getting a gym membership to help me reach new goals.  Some of my quick snack grabs or go to foods: I LOVE zone, protein cookie dough, bars. They are my absolute favorite snack. 

I alway keep fresh fruit and veggies cut up so that when I want a snack it’s ready and just as easy to grab as a bag of chips.

Experiencing setbacks… Oh boy, have I ever experienced set backs!  I used start a “diet” on a Sunday and the mess up by Sunday afternoon and then quit. would tell myself “I’ll start over next Sunday”, I don’t do that any more.

 If I mess up and pig out well,  it’s not the end of the world!                                                                       I just keep on trucking and I don’t “restart”ever,  I just keep on going.

I also used to really beat my self up when I messed up and ate a half a gallon of Ice-cream instead of just the one serving I had planned on.  It’s hard not to get discouraged, but I have learned to move on and keep my goals in mind. I also learned I will get more out accepting that I am not perfect and then I do out of beating myself up over it. Giving myself a break and keeping my goals in mind makes it easier to brush it of and just get back on the horse.

I stay motivated by rewarding myself with new clothes or digging out an old favorite pair of jeans and enjoying the victory of pulling them back on for the first time in years.  I also find things like this blog, with a REAL woman,  who lost weight the right way and worked hard to got real results.  Reading your post makes it okay to not do everything perfectly and at the same time I can see the reward of sticking with it and taking charge of my health.

The greatest reward, I have experienced with taking charge of my health,would be that I can keep up with my kids now!  We are all more active and eat healthier. I am also am planing on taking family pictures soon. This is a big deal because I have  refused to pictures in the past because I was so embarrassed about how I looked.

My next goal is to take off 40 more pounds and start to shape my body into the strong, healthy and sexy bod I know it can be. My  number one goal, is to be happy with me, inside and out. I want to be a good role model for my children.

Advice I would give to someone who feels to overwhelmed to start or like it is too late to change: it’s never to late!!  Take it one day at a time and have reasonable small and longterm goals.  it won’t happen over night, but every small change will add up to a healthier stronger happier you.

Its hard, it’s so hard, to mentally make the change. I can’t tell you how emotional it has been for me. I would get so frustrated or unhappy about something and catch myself go for some thing to eat. I had to find other ways of dealing with my feelings. That has been the hardest part for me, changing the bad habits that are so easy to fall back on. I am not perfect but, I’m learning to identify my emotions and not look for the quick fix of comfort foods. I am halfway to my goal and I can honestly say all the progress made so far has been worth it.I am never going back, as good as I feel now, I can’t imagine how great I will feel when I reach my final goal. I will send in my final progress picture when I reach my goal. Thank you for the inspiration and support.

52lbs down 40 more will be  a breeze

52lbs down 40 more will be a breeze

 *Update: this amazing woman is down to 188 now.

nothing can stop her progress! Will power and goals will trump instant gratification a every day!!

Down yo188 before I could even publish the original post????????

Down yo188 before I could even publish the original post????????

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