Felicia lost 90 pounds

Transformation of the Day: Felicia lost 90 pounds. Like so many other people, she would start each year with a commitment to lose the pounds and eventually give up on her efforts. She took the time to explore options for weight loss and her journey has lead to to a passion for exercise, especially running. She shared her journey in detail, so make sure that you check it out.

Hi, my name is Felicia A. and I would like to share my weight loss story! My motivation was not to weigh 250 pounds. I wanted to get under 200 lbs and stay there. At one point, I knew that I was well over 250 pounds, because I started wearing a size 22/24. During that time, I didn’t get on the scale.

Each year, beginning in 2009 when our state started annual health program called “Scale Back Alabama“, I would attempt to lose weight. It was a four person group effort, because that allowed me to get motivation from others while using the program.

Each year, I would lose a few pounds, get down to a size 18 and become satisfied with that. It became a rollercoaster cycle. I only weighed in at the start of each year for 4 years and never finished the program, because my team never finished the tasks and never went back to weigh out! I never knew how much weight I lost.

In October 2011, I got on the scale and my weight was 247 pounds. I said to myself, “I will not weigh 250 lbs.”, so I started losing weight on my own. I made a commitment that on Jan 1, 2012 I would go to a weight loss clinic for help, and I did just that! During the first week, I lost 10 lbs and my motivation flew out the roof, but they were providing diet pills to help the process. I did that program for three weeks and lost total of 24 pounds without exercising, but I was paying a large sum of money each week. From there, I decided that I didn’t want to have to take pills and I really couldn’t afford the program forever, so I stopped going to the clinic. I kept following the meal plan they’d given me and I continued to lose 1-2 pounds a week. In a year’s time, had reached my goal of being under 200 and had gotten down to 190 pounds.

I changed my eating habits by cutting out fast food, soft drinks or anything sweet. I only treat myself to sweets every now and then. I never ate vegetables before starting this journey. My diet consisted of eating McDonald or Chick-Fil-a daily. I knew I had to cut that out, although it was a hard task, I began to try different vegetables, but my diet consisted mostly of proteins and water.

As I stated before, I did not work out and when I got down to 190 lbs, people told me not to lose anymore weight because I wasn’t looking healthy. I had loose skin and was just a skinny person who still had a lot of fat. This was discouraging. Decided to go to the park and walk and that’s where I saw a friend who was working out in a boot camp with a trainer. I joined them and went 3-5 days a week. I maintained my weight loss and started to look better. The joy and the feelings I got from exercise turned into a passion for working out.

However, when it began to get cold, my exercising decreased and I was at a loss. I wanted to take my toning to another level, so the same friend introduced me to a personal trainer who was doing a free bootcamp at a gym and I went. The motivation and inspiration he gave us just gave me the feeling that I could do more. He included weights in every session of my workout. Even though I wasn’t eating completely clean, after 6 months of working out with him the weight began to come off. From there, I joined that very same gym and begin working out twice a day, 6-7 days a week. My body began to really transform. He introduced me to running too. My first time running, he ran with me and told me that we would do 2 miles, but it actually was 4 mile. I did it, only stopping to walk for about 1/2 mile. Now, I run 5 miles non-stop and have run in our city’s annual 10k Azalea Trail run. I’m decreasing my time every year.

My starting weight was 247 pounds and I now weigh 157 pounds. I am 5 ft, 5.5 inches tall. My transformation took 3 years and I have maintained my success for a year. My advise to others is to be consistent with your eating habits. When it comes to exercise, do not comprise yourself for a moment of pleasure. Believe in you and work on you at all times.