70 pounds down: Tiffany lost 30 more pounds

Update:  We shared Tiffany‘s journey back in January of this year. At that time she’d lost 40 pounds.  Now, she’s happy to share with us that with healthy eating and exercise she’s lost an additional 30 pounds, for a total of 70 pounds.  Check out what she shared with us about changing her lifestyle…

I don’t know if I would call this a Before and After, but I’d rather call my journey a Before and During. I can honestly say that I have been overweight for majority of my life beginning at age 8. I’ve also been told that I carry my “weight well” or that I “don’t look the weight that I am” when in all actuality I was lying to myself the entire time. In 2011, after a long back and fourth of trying out several failed diets, diet pills and exercise regiments, I decided that I wanted to undergo Lap band surgery. Anyone who has contemplated getting any type of weightloss surgery knows that there are several different avenues that you just take before actually being approved for your surgery.

I was at my last step on the approval letter which was being evaluated by a licensed nutritionist for approximately six months. I went into it thinking “Great, I’m almost there.” but not knowing that meeting this nutritionist would ultimately kick off a new weight loss path that would not involve me undergoing weight loss surgery at all.

At my heaviest weight, I was 284 pounds with high blood pressure and on high cholesterol pills with a BMI of 42% (almost half) at 5ft 5in tall. I told myself that day it was time to stop hiding it or telling myself that it’s not that bad and committee to becoming a healthier version of myself. I started my workouts by going to the gym 5 days a week and walking in the treadmill for 30 minutes. As I felt myself getting stronger, I began to do circuit training which involved the treadmill, elliptical and stair stepper with 25 minutes of strength training included.

As far as what I eat, I try to fuel my body with a lot of protein, eat green leaf vegetables and drink plenty of water or only 100% juice. I will occasionally have carbohydrates, but I make sure that I do not overindulge and listen to my body when I am satisfied not full. I track all of my meals and workouts using the MyfitnessPal App.

Today, with the help of my nutritionist and dedication to the gym, I have managed to drop 70 lbs. By far this journey has been the furthest from being easy, but everyday I’m reminded and grateful of not only who I was but whom I’m becoming.

Remember that the “rabbit didn’t win the race, the turtle did” so just because your weight does not immediately come off in the time period that you want it to does not mean that you should quit. This entire journey should not be looked at as a diet but rather a lifestyle change. If you are truly ready to make that commitment to your health then I have no doubt that you will be successful.

Read more about Tiffany’s weight loss journey and see earlier photos…