Whats your Success Story?

There are a few of us here that have finally reached that goal of Maintaining, so we come to the forum sometimes to see whats going on, if there is anyone that we can over advice to, or just see how friends are doing with their weight loss. I was thinking tonight about what is the best way to help someone get motivated, know that they can do it if they take the time and effort- They WILL Reach their goal!!!

There are soooooo many success stories on this site that are amazing to hear and see the results. Some of these are at maintenance level and some aren't.

To be a success at something doesnt mean you have to already "BEEN THERE, DONE THAT" type of person. To me it means you have AMAZED yourself in what you have accomplished.

The success stories that are shared on here are a way for each of us to support, motivate, encourage and meet each other. Everytime someone comes to the forum and says they broke a 2 week plateau- we cheer! Or 1lb lost!!! we cheer! AND WE SHOULD!!! it is awesome! We came to this site for the support and we are getting it! We should continue to give our support to one another and know that we too will be where that person is when it is the right time for us. We all started at different times, different heights, different weights,....you get my drift.

The stories aren't here for us to compare ourselves to someone else, noone shares their success to "rub it in others faces" they do it because this is a place where they know they can be honestly excited about their loss, jump up and down for it and not have to be quiet about it- they are among friends!! The stories are shared to help motivate each other so don't compare yourself to any of the stories told, use it to motivate you. Find one that you can relate to...maybe you dont have 100lbs to lose but only those last 15lbs to get rid of- wouldn't it feel great to hear someone say they did it! See how they did it! Wouldn't it motivate you, give you hope that you can reach your goal?

So with All of that said, yes I had coffee late at night and can't go to sleep, I would love to hear what your success in YOUR journey so far has been.

Did you go a full day without a soda?

did you stick to your goals for last week or last month?

Did you lose 1lb or 100lbsso far??

They are all wonderful success stories, those are what motivate us, the person sharing gets motivated and the person reading will get motivated.

There are alot of us here that are Maintaining, Almost there, some that are half way, and some that are just starting or even starting over, thing is we all have a story of Some type of success, maybe yours will help someone else? :)

So what is everyones story????

-slappy(nope, not going first :P)

mine is a mixture of success and hard stuff. I weight 180 on August 1st 2004 I am 5' 1" and small framed. I was sick of being sick (MS< migraines, high cholestorol, sllep apnea etc,. etc. I joined Curves and changed my eating habits completely. I lost fifty pounds in four months. I then had a tummy tuck (7 lb twins and weight gain/loss will do a number on the tummy!) and lost another25 lbs. At my lowest I was 105 but due to shoulder surgery losing muscle mass not fat. I climbed back to about 110 and went to Louisiana with the Red Cross after Katrina/Rita. I gained about six lbs then a few more. I was at 119 and not happy. In Decemeber I hit rock bottom emotionally and was diagnosed with severe depression, OCD, ADD and a severe anxiety disorder! (long story not worth telling here)

I got back to working out in February of this year and got down to 109 for a cruise I took with my DH. I even worked out while vacationing and gained no weight.

However toward the end of June I noticed that I was really obsessing on my weight and exercise. I started to use laxatives. I was not in a healthy place even though my weight was pretty much where I wanted it to be. Good thing I catch on fast, started back in therapy, was brutally honest with her and started back to health (I hope).

I stopped taking the laxatives two days ago cold turkey. I am giving myself some leeway with exercising and eating. I am trying not to binge (my binges are usually small ones, lol) and I am struggling staying away from the sweet stuff (tryglcerides are too high).

My weight fluctuates btween 108/9 and 115. I prefer the low end my doc wants the high weight.

So success mixed with some issues.

Louise.

nods

it's the binging that has surprised me so much. I have never had this issue even while actively losing weight. Now I binge (small ones for sure but still binges in my opinion). I am figuring out it is about control, my need for it and lack of control in the real world. I have always been a control freak but I used to put my efforts elsewhere. Kids, pets, volunteering, all about binges just about different things. It is hard for me to admit I even binged on kids. We have seven, three by birth, four adopted, two with special needs. And a binge even though it was a *good* binge. And it has worked out really well. The kids are all doing pretty well and we make for an interesting family, lol. (BTW, I have stopped the kid binge, we were offered and eight year old to adopt earlier this year and I actually made my own decision to say NO)

So now I deal with the food binging!

Louise.

Hi all!

I started watching what I ate and exercising this past April, officially joining CC in June, because my bf found out he has congestive heart failure and I found out I had high cholesterol.  I'm 34, and he's 42, and we didn't want to die young, so major changes (doctor's orders for him) were in store.  We're cooking/eating differently and learning portion control.  We've been eating lower calorie (I'm 1300-1500 a day, and he's 2000 a day), low sodium, and low fat, too, and since May he's gone from 315 to 280 (35 pounds), and I've gone from 284 to 236 pounds (48 pounds).  :)

My bf can't do much exercise yet because of the weakened heart muscle, but I've been walking, doing yoga, and doing some toning/weights stuff. Together, we've lost 83 pounds (so far!).  His goal weight is 180, and mine is 150, so we've got a ways to go . . . but we'll make it!! 

CC has really been a big help to me, and I'm so glad all of you are here!  Your posts are inspirational!  :D

I hope to hear more about other people's success stories, too!  Good thread! :)

this thread is so inspiring to me!  i think anyone who is feeling down about their weight loss struggles should be made to read it.. it's amazing what we've all done.. and i KNOW there are more stories out there. so keep them coming!  :) 

totally agree!  It just proves that we stumble but we can always pick up and start back over!

Thanks to everyone that is sharing!  This is what its all about!

I just started here the end of July so I still have a way to go but I LOST 10 POUNDS and I FEEL GREAT!!! I felt hungry the first couple of days but all of the support here really helped me through it. Reading the success stories is a true inspiration. I also had to share this site with someone at my work who was drinking her lunch :) She knew that I had started a new "lifestyle change" and wondered why I was able to eat cottage cheese and cantaloupe for lunch. This site has really changed my life in a few short weeks. Thanks!

bumping this up!  Add your story!

In high school, I was on the dance team for all four years and consistently weighed around 115 lbs. (5 foot 1 and three quarters), mostly muscle......When I went to college I decided to stay active and curb the "Freshmen 15"....I even got the job to coach my old team at only 19 years old.

 Then, as fate would have it, I started dating the love of my life, and winded up pregnant......He is a bit of a bigger guy, and throughout my pregnancy he also put on the "sympathy" weight.  I was a spoiled rotten pregnant brat.  I was depressed about my situation, being in the spotlight as a coach of a team of high school dancers, I was an emotional eating machine, and put on over 55 lbs. 

I was around 170 when after my wedding, (I cringe at my wedding photos) I found myself pregnant again.  My daughter was only a year old and I was only 21.  I was happily married, but nonetheless, the pounds just kept a-comin......I fooled myself into believing that I was happy, but mostly I was just defensive......I had my second daughter, and again, last summer found out I was expecting my third. (I think finding out it was a boy was the only thing that kept me sane) I wound up at an all time low. 

I fell down the stairs during my fourth month of pregnancy, and with a condition known as placenta previa on top of that was put on extended bedrest on and off throughout the pregnancy.  When I was 7 1/2 months along I had climaxed to about 192 pounds when my son decided to make an early, very unscheduled and emergency appearance.  I found out my water had been broken for three days.  My son and I were in the hospital for four weeks....you guessed it....on bed rest.   I know I must have had some sort of post partum depression, but instead of letting it get the best of me.....I decided to fight it head on. 

The hospital allowed you to call in and order your meals three times daily, so I made an effort....small as it was.....to eat healthy, although I needed calories to nurse my sick baby.  When I left the hospital I thought I might kill myself when I found out I had only lost 9 pounds even after delivering a 6 pound baby.

My best friend was getting married in July, and as her matron of honor, I knew that I wasn't about to put on a strapless dress with my linebacker shoulders and under arm fat that could you could swing off of.  I enlisted my lovely younger, and much fitter sister to help me with taking care of my kids so I could exercise, and on days when the hubby was home, she'd take me to the gym and be my trainer.  I had ordered a size 18 dress for the wedding while I was still pregnant, and through all my hard work, I gave the seamstresses a run for their money ending up in a loose 10 by July.  I was down 46 pounds.....Now only a month and a half later I'm down to 135 pounds with only 15 left to go.......I was starting to feel complacent with my efforts (a little self defeatist when the summer ice cream dude comes around to my toddlers), when I stumbled onto CC and have gotten the new motivation to make it to my goal. 

such inspiration... love it... here's my story:

Was always pretty much in shape while growing up and through the teenage years and early 20's... got married and pregnant at 26.  Pregnancy was a license for me to eat everything in sight and I gained 52 lbs (up to 175) and I'm 5'2"... not good... told myself that it was "baby weight" and it would come off when the baby was born... what a lie!  Did lose some weight but when she was 10 years old, decided that I couldn't call it "baby weight" any more. 

Started Weight Watchers about 15 years ago at a whopping 162 ... and over a period of about a year lost the weight and maintained 126 for a few years... well, that started to creep back... but since I did learn a lot from WW it never got back to the 162.  I pretty much maintained at about 140-145 ... still too much for my body type. 

Nearly 5 years ago I survived the attacks on the WTC and became determined to live my life to its fullest.  In that first year after 9/11, my husband started an affair (although I didn't know about it until after I told him to leave...LOL).  Anyway, as a result of the stress of divorcing - I lost weight without even trying.  I was back down, but didn't know what I weighed...just kept buying smaller clothes (was wearing a petite size 4) and loving it.  Over the course of the past couple of years have put the weight back on.  When I first started to put it back on, I told myself that it was my body adjusting to its proper level... which is really about 130... not 145... What brought me up short was when the size 8's were not fitting and I had to buy some size 10's (gave away all my big clothes) and didn't want to keep going in that direction. 

Didn't want to go back to WW because I'm trying to save money and I knew what I needed to do... limit the portions and eat healthy foods... not massive amounts of candy and baked goods (could eat just pastries and coffee all day on Sundays...LOL)... Kept trying but couldn't find the motivation. 

Did a search for the calorie count in a particular food and MY LUCKY DAY!!!! Found CC website... that was in July '06 ... and since July 10, 2006 I have lost 6.2 lbs... I'm down to 138.6 and loving it...

I love this site and all the great stories, people here are so incuraging it is great. Here is my story.

One day I woke up and said I was going to start watching what I ate and how my surgars were doing ( diabetic ) I couldn't believe how high they were running. I was 232 lbs at the time. I said I didn't want to be like my younger sister and have like 6 stints in her heart or my dad who passed away of a heart atack at the age of 44. I am going to be 44 this Sept.
So I said enough is enough, so in April I made a life stile change an just took control of my eating. Went out an got a real good diabetic cook book, started eating right and about a month ago found this site and I just love it. I love reading how you people are there for each other though the good and the bad. I love when people say it is not a cheat day it is a treat day.
I am now at 179 and on my way to a health life. I love working out and I think that is what has helped me the most.

Once again thanks everyone for your words.

Oh yea and the best part is I am off my diabetic, blood preasure and colestol meds

Wow! You guys are awesome, and so inspiring to!

I'm definitely tagging this thread; the stories here are incredible, and great to read when you're feeling down!


(and in case anybody feels bad about them: Just think- the next one could be you! ; )


Thanks so much for posting your successes, everybody, and congratulations on accomplishing them!!

It all started in the spring of 2006, when i tried out my old summer clothes, and not only did they not fit, i even tore one of my tops trying to get it off! and now...they dont fit (again) but for a completly different reason. Since i started CC i have lost more than 25 pounds, and want to lose another 10 more. however, the biggest gratification came the other day....

i have a sister who is a year and a half older than me. growing up, people ALWAYS either used to think we were twins or i was older, as i was both taller and "bigger". The other day though, somebody met us both for the first time, and recognised imediatly that i was the younger one. i guess because my face has gotten thinner... this is not an age thing, as i am only 24, but i always felt terrible because of it. i dont know how corney the sentiment is, but i was literally reduced to tears.

These stories are truly inspiring...and bring tears to my eyes.

Thanks!

First post here.  I moved to the DC area in March '05.  Back then I was around 215lbs, but weight was the last thing on my mind.  Around my 26th birthday (May '06) I decided to start working out (partially motivated by a recent break-up ;)  At this point I was 5'4", 202lbs, at about 33% body fat, which I didn't know until I went to the gym and they measured me.

Needless to say they required doctor approval before I could start working out (boy is that an embarrassing conversation), since I was well into the obese range for men.  When I saw the doctor (which included blood tests that showed high cholesterol in addition to my high blood pressure), she gave me an ultimatum: get healthy or get on meds (another embarrassing conversation).  Well, I decided that no 26 year old should have such problems, so I resolved to make a lifestyle change.

3.5 months later, I'm still 5'4" (doh), but 170lbs @ 24% body fat and feeling great.  I'm aiming for around 150#@13%, so I've got some work to do, especially since my rate of loss has, predictably, slowed.  I won't be done at 150 either; still plenty of bulking up to do after that (gotta develop those mus-kuls).  I hope to be at that stage by the beginning of next year.

p.s. getting a lower pant size doesn't excite me as much.  I just got down to 34s (from 42s), and the first thing I though was "great, MORE money on pants" :P

wow! wow !!!! WOW!  Great stories everyone! 

Im like Phoenix- tag this thread so you can add your story when you are ready!  Or just to read them to remotivate you!

I've only been doing CC for about 2 weeks, so I don't have that amazing weight-loss story to tell...YET...

So far tho' my big success is overcoming my diet coke addiction...4-6 cans a day was normal for me and I drank ZERO water...now I'm practically drowning myself in H2O and actually have had a couple of "diet-coke free" days! (now I usually can limit myself to 1 or 2 a day max)

My new addiction is the gym...exercising makes me feel a whole lot skinnier, even if I don't look skinnier...YET!