From Obese to Extremely Fit

Randall weighed 270 pounds when he decided to get in shape. One and a half years later he was extremely fit and participating in an Ironman competition. 
Thanks much for sharing this!

Hi Isadora!

I made this video just for my friends, family, and relatives as a reminder that it's never too late and anything no matter how difficult is possible if you believe. I'd like to share it hoping it would help other people believe in themselves as well and lead towards a healthier and happier lifestyle.

For me, I can still remember like it was yesterday 270 lbs I attempted to run not even 1/4 of a mile I was winded down like I was going to have a heart attack and every car was stopping asking if I needed a ride. A year and a half year later I was treading water in Ironman Cozumel about to embark on a 140.6 mile journey, smiling and thinking to myself how I enjoyed everything along the way.

One Very Successful Year of Weight Loss

 Megan Marquez and her husband lost a combined 174 pounds in one year. The first photo here was taken at Christmas in 2010 and the lower photo is from Christmas 2011. Thanks much for sending in your story!

Good Morning,

My name is Megan Marquez.  I have been morbidly obese since I was a teenager (I’m 36 now).  My husband and I have been married for 16 years.  We have two amazing, young children.  We decided to finally take control of our weight for our children’s sake and for our own health.  We did not use any pills, tricks, concoctions or fads.  For the first time in our adult lives, we simply did what every doctor tells their patients to do; maintain a better diet and get regular exercise.

We started slowly, cutting out junk food completely and taking short walks.  We both used an app on our phones to log our food intake every day.  As the weight started coming off, we increased our exercise.  I now use an elliptical machine every evening for 30 minutes.  I couldn’t have done 2 minutes in 2010. 

It has been an unbelievable year of weight loss and personal growth.  Combined, my husband and I lost about 174 pounds in 2011.  We are continuing our new lifestyle into 2012.  We both feel and look substantially better.  We had the greatest support of our families and co-workers.  My weight loss caused two co-workers to also improve their diets.  For the first time in my adult life, I am able to shop at non-plus size stores.  Our young children are very proud of us.  What a great feeling!

The reason I am contacting you is that I truly believe changing your life is in your own hands with real support.  I promise, if we can do it, anyone can.   

Electric Bikes and Weight Loss Success

Traci Brown is a coach with Optibike. This pricey electric bike (costing about $10,000), "the Ferrari of electric bikes", is hand-made in Boulder, Colorado. Traci sent in the following story about one of her clients. 

Bob Brewer was a regular guy. He spent his life building a successful family business. The money was good and all the perks that came with it were even better. Then at 53 he found himself overweight. Way overweight. And diabetic. He was 5’7” and 270lbs. The doctor called him ‘morbidly obese’.That’s when the fear set in.

A young death just wasn’t an option for Bob.  So what’s a guy to do?  A little exercise for a few days wasn’t going to fix the problem.  An entire lifestyle shift was in order.  But it sounded so hard.

That’s when Bob joined the Optibike weight loss challenge with coach Traci Brown.  It’s a year long coached lifestyle and fitness program.  Community is created around the enthusiasm for weight loss and cycling.  And Optibikes are electric. They give you a push when you need it. And you still get a great workout.

Bob found the fun in community and started riding his bike every day.  He followed the program:  Riding every day with a specific plan, walking if he couldn’t ride,  eating lower carbs, less meat and more fish,  cutting out soft drinks and alcohol.  As a matter of fact, Bob has only had water to drink for a year.

What about the results?  Bob’s lost 87lbs and he’s still going.  He’s exercising every day, riding his Optibike or walking, and totally off all medications.  He’s excited about life and he still hasn’t had anything to drink but water.  And all this happened because he decided to save his own life with the Optibike Weight Loss Challenge.

Losing 80 Pounds in Eight Months

Maria weighed 210 pounds eight months ago. She is 5'4" tall. A Zumba class inspired her to start her weight loss journey and now she feels fantastic at 128 pounds. Thanks much for sending in your story!

Hi, my name is Maria.  I am 40 years old and I am a Physical Therapist Assistant. I live in Wilkes Barre, PA. My before weight was 210 pounds and my after weight is 128 pounds, I am 5'4". 


In April of 2011 my friend asked me to go try out a Zumba class which I was reluctant to do but after she persuaded me to go I immediately fell in love with it, I was going 3 days of week. 


Towards the end of April the instructor opened her own studio and started offering more classes, at that time I decided that was it, I was sick of my weight and wanted to lose full force, I went on my own diet with an app on my phone counting calories(1200 calories a day). 


Jessica Sands, the owner of the studio S.W.E.A.T. Fitness Studio, helped me in every sense of my weight journey answering questions I had on food decisions, what classes to take, etc. I really owe it all to her for being my inspiration in this past 8 months, even though she will say it was all me. I am totally in love with eating right and exercising all the time, I take as many classes as I can, sometimes 1-3 classes a day, every day of the week. So after 8 months of losing 72 pounds and dropping from a size 16 to a size 2, meeting the most amazing people ever, and developing friendships I feel will last a lifetime, I am the happiest ever in my life. 


I finally feel good about the way I look and feel. My husband, Jim, of 18 years and my children, Patrick, 17, and Katie, 13, are very supportive in my new way of life, and I wouldn't be able to do any of this without them either. I am very thankful every day that Jessica took the courage and many pitfalls, even surviving through a flood, to keep her studio open to give me a second home to go to every day to achieve my goal. I LOVE S.W.E.A.T. FITNESS STUDIO, ALL THE INSTRUCTORS, AND ALL THE FRIENDS I HAVE MADE ALONG THE WAY!!!!

Reduce Cravings with Meditation

Here's a really great 5 minute video instruction on how to meditate for a minute in your day.

Meditation has been proven to reduce stress and cravings. All you need is one minute to feel better. Check it out!

From Obese to Ultra Fit

Drew used to be big and tall. He is 6'4" and weighed 340 pounds not too long ago. One day he decided to get super fit and choose a healthy lifestyle. He never went on a diet, just started making different eating choices and doing a ton of running, starting with baby steps and stepping it up to the point where he is now doing 'ultramarathons'. See his inspiring story at Running Runners.

A Very Inspirational Weight Loss Video

Wow! check out this wonderful video of a man who has lost 270 pounds. It's so optimistic and inspirational.




Bryan Ganey, age 39, also has a very helpful blog (My Lifestyle Change) about his weight loss journey. Check it out for some great motivation.

Kale Chips: A Super Nutritional Low Calorie Snack

Here's a fast and easy recipe for a really tasty and super nutritious snack. These kale chips are made with just three ingredients (kale, olive oil and nutritional yeast). (PS I know the picture I took looks awful, and you can't see that they are crunchy and dry..)

My nephew told me about this recipe. He's a vegetarian and it's hard for him to get enough B vitamins. One super food that contains tons of these vitamins is nutritional yeast.

Nutritional yeast (amazon link)
contains 18 amino acids (forming the complete protein) and 15 minerals. Being rich in the B-complex vitamins, it is vital in many ways and particularly good for stress reduction. The B-complex vitamins help make nutritional yeast such a valuable supplement, especially to the vegetarian. One element of yeast is the trace mineral chromium, also known as the Glucose Tolerance Factor (GTF). This is necessary to regulate blood sugar and is important for diabetics and people with a tendency toward low blood sugar.

Kale is one of the world's healthiest vegetables. (The other two hugely nutritious greens are swiss chard and collard greens.)

So this recipe combines two of the world's healthiest foods and it's really yummy. It does taste a bit like thin crisp chips. The nutritional yeast has a nice nutty flavor. Hope you will give it a try.

Kale Chips Recipe:

Ingredients:

- a bunch of raw kale (tear into bite size pieces)
- nutritional yeast
- olive oil

Place the kale on a cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil and then sprinkle a good amount of nutritional yeast over it. Bake it in the oven for about 15 minutes at 375 degrees. And voila!
You have kale chips.

If anyone would like to figure out the calorie count, please let me know! I figure it is about 200 calories at most for a heaping bowl full.

Best Way to Lose Weight - Poll

What is the key habit keeping me from losing weight?

Is it eating too many sweet foods? Or too many fatty foods? Is it mainly a matter of not exercising enough? Or is it too much soda/pop or alcohol?

It's been a few years since I did a poll. It would be interesting to see which habit people feel is the most responsible for their weight gain.

Please vote on your best habit breaker to lose weight. See it on the sidebar to the right.

The poll starts today January 1st and closes in six days. See how other people have voted so far.

And if you can contribute any help (encouragement, tips, advice), please leave your comment below.

Also, if anyone has a success story with before and after pics of your weight loss and would like it posted here, please let me know!

33 Real People Tell Their Weight Loss Story

This website is mainly focused on true weight loss stories by real people who lose weight the natural way - via a change in diet or exercise.

You can scroll down through the posts and at least half of them deal with life stories (while the other half are related to tips about weight loss).

But here's a faster way to get to the latest 33 stories posted on this blog.

Before and After Inspirational Weight Loss Pics

Here's a video showing some inspirational before and after photos of a couple of dozen people who've lost a lot of weight. Hope you enjoy.

23 Pounds Lighter, A Few More to Go

Jennifer has lost 23 pounds since she started her weight loss blog about three months ago. Check out her fun and honest blog at Diary of an Even Fatter Girl.

Here's an intro from Jennifer:

I'm a 57-year-old clinical counselor and social worker who's been overweight since 1985. That was the year that I successful quit smoking and transferred my addiction to food! My highest weight since smoking was 255 ---- 125 pounds more than the morning I smoked my last cigarette! Of course, adding to that weight was having a child (now 25 years old but I PROMISE, I still carry my pregnancy fat), getting divorced, living life.


I've tried so many weight loss strategies in the last 26 years - once eating no solid food for three months, only Optifast shakes. I took doctor-prescribed diet medication for a year and gained a heart murmur, but lost no weight. I've tried it all.

But...... on September 19, 2011, I started a blog in order to keep myself focused, accountable, and conscious of who it is I want to become. Since that date, I've gone from 244 to 221! I've still got "miles to go before I sleep" but I feel that blogging is the most nurturing thing I've done for myself in years. Having a place to document my fears, my musings, my successes and failures has kept me more motivated on my weight loss journey than anything else. I feel like, after 57 years, I'm beginning to know myself and what makes me tick (and eat). I have begun to live my life transparently - and in the process, I've discovered that, though we all fight different battles, our "insides are the same". We are all brothers and sisters of the heart.


Diary Of An Even Fatter Girl is an honest, funny blog about losing weight and living life.

I've Kept the Weight Off

I thought it was time to give an update on my own weight loss situation. So here goes, it's a happy story over all...

I started this blog in November of 2005. I had my first (and only) baby at the age of 42 in January 2004 and had gained 65 pounds through the pregnancy. Just before my son was born i weighed 215. Soon  after the birth i weighed about 200 for a while and then got down to the high 170's within a few months without doing any kind of dieting or exercising. I was not focused on weight loss at this time and found motherhood all consuming and exhausting (even if pleasantly exhausting).

Two years after birth i had stabilized at about 165 pounds which put me near the top range of the 'normal bmi' for my height of 5'9  (maybe almost 5'10"). I stayed at this weight throughout 2007. In the spring of 2008, i decided to get fit and began walking much more. Later that spring i was down to 150 pounds. I've been walking regularly for about four years now and am thrilled to say that i am fitter and slimmer now than I was in my 30's. I've weighed about 145 pounds for a long time now and i think this is the ideal weight for me.

My son is sensitive to wheat and dairy so I've drastically reduced my bread and cheese consumption. This used to be my mainstay snack (with lots of butter,--  i've kept up the butter habit and added more good fats because i think this is important). Otherwise, i am usually very good at staying away from any processed foods and eating vegetables almost every (every other?) day. I'm also a big fan of beans (lentils, chili beans, etc.) and brown rice.

Walking has been my only exercise. In a typical week I usually walk about six or seven hours. So, this would average about one hour a day though my typical route now is 1.5 hours (about six miles of brisk walking) and I do that about four times a week.

I'm super happy with the benefits this regular walking has brought to my life. But I've been negligent about regularly replacing my walking shoes and I am starting to feel a bit of pain in my knees. So this has got me thinking i need to switch up the walking with at least one other alternative exercise.

I am not a gym person. I'm quite sure that if i bought a gym membership the money would be wasted. So i've been thinking about what else i could do.

A friend of mine bought a beautiful rowing machine about a year ago and uses it regularly. Rowing is supposed to be a fabulous all round exercise, not just for the legs but for the whole body. He did a lot of research before buying one, and he chose one of the more expensive models - the WaterRower {Amazon link}
This rower is really fun (almost soothing!) to use and it looks really aesthetically spectacular and folds up easily against the wall when not in use.

So it is very expensive, but I have been thinking this over for a while now and I've decided to take the plunge and buy one. I look forward to being able to exercise at home on rainy days and to listen to podcasts while i row.

Will let you know if this was a good idea in a couple of months or so.

Visual Motivation for Weight Loss

For any of you who have an iPhone, iPad or iTouch, check out these new updated apps on 'virtual weight loss'. They are a great way to track your weight loss progress and help inspire and motivate.

There is a male version and a female version. You can see your weight loss progress with a virtual model of your heaviest weight, your current weight and your ideal, goal weight (based on your height).

Too Fat for the Gym?

Meet Tiff. She started off her weight loss journey weighing 352 pounds. The top photo you see above is one she considers her 'wake up call'. In the last photo she weighs about 225. Though her plan for exercise initially was just to walk a lot, she decided to face her fear of joining a gym and went ahead and started working out regularly at her local community center. She's lost about 130 pounds so far! Check out her story at Project 365.

Obese at Age 29, Super Fit Now

Thanks much to Luis for sending in this story and for sending in these before and after pics;

Here is my weight loss story.

I was born and raised in México until the age of 12. I have always been a tall person, but I was a skinny and tall kid while growing up in México. Food did not come around as easy back then.

When we moved to the United States it became a whole different world. The first meal I had in the new country was a Big Mac at McDonalds. The meals kept coming in the form of pizza, hamburgers, hot dogs, burritos. Everything you can possibly imagine. I started getting bigger and bigger. My weight did not register at that time because by the time I was an 8th grader I was 6'5'' and weighted 285 pounds. I never got picked on because of my size, instead I got idolized. They looked at me as the big football player. I kept eating and lifting weights. By the time I was 21 I was 6'8'' and weighed 370 pounds. I struggled to get in shape for football and my weight was holding me back from excelling in the sport I thought I was made for. Well, I played division two college football and got a career. After all was said and done I still had the weight. I did not need the weight anymore. I tried a bunch of different diets and exercise regimes and none of them worked. I thought I was an athlete and should have been able to shed the weight easily. Nothing was working and I just kept eating. Before I knew it I was 400 pounds and was on a second medication to control hypertension at age 29.

I felt like I was changing for the worst. I was losing my friends, my family, my loved ones. I was losing myself. That's when I decided to fix me. I started working out with a video game on the XBOX Kinect. I lost my first 50 pounds within 3 months. I was hooked. I played that game so much that I broke it. I must have scratched it or something. It forced me to look for something else.

I started doing research on Google and looking at fitness and diet videos on YouTube. I also started purchasing equipment. Before I knew it I had my own gym in my garage and friends joined in to workout with me. I have lost 140 pounds in 10 months and got my health back. I am not taking any pills anymore. My blood pressure is normal. I tell people that my physical change is about 10% of the change I have made. I tell them that the real change happened inside. I now love myself. That is where it all began.

Taking that First Step

This is not a success story. This is the story of a first step to weight loss. Here I only point you to one woman who has decided she really wants to lose weight and she is starting on her goal of losing 130 pounds now.

She weighs 260 pounds now, wants to lose 100 pounds over one year, and then 30 more pounds after that. See her initial thoughts about why she wants to lose weight and how she thinks sugar (including fake sugar) is the culprit. Check out her new start at The Journey of a 100lbs.

Help Motivate Diminishing Lucy

In 2008 Lucy made the decision to transform herself from an obese 275 pound goddess to "a lithe and supple goddess of healthier proportions". She has lost about 85 pounds so far and feels she has about 38 more to go.
She has a great blog at Diminishing Lucy. Please go visit and give encouragement.

AOL Success Stories - Submit Yours

I've just stumbled on a great selection of weight loss success stories at AOL's "That's Fit" website. Check it out at That's Fit: Success Stories. They have motivational stories from a diverse range of people of all age groups.

If you would like your weight loss story profiled at this AOL website, please contact Martha Edwards there. They have also put out the call to feature and link to bloggers who have weight loss success stories.

Weight Loss Success Stories on Reddit

Reddit.com is a great source of genuine weight loss success stories. The photos shown here were submitted by jxmac just seven hours ago and she has already received over 2,000 comments. She has lost 65 pounds. Check out her weight loss story and other people's comments here.