Mia lost 58 pounds

Today’s featured weight loss success story: Mia lost 58 pounds. She created a Facebook page to keep herself accountable  by publicly documenting her weight loss journey.  Here is what she shared with us:

Hello, my name is Mia. My motivation for losing weight came in 2011 after I had fallen up concrete steps while walking to my car on campus. I was at my highest weight of 239lbs (first picture), and it was a struggle for me to get up off the ground. Needless to say, I was completely embarrassed because of the fall and because of my size. It was that day that I decided to do something about my weight. That evening, I walked for 30 minutes on the track at our local YMCA while my son was taking swimming lessons. I gradually incorporated other exercise workouts (Leslie Sansone, Jillian Michaels, Biggest Loser workouts) into my at-home regimen and changed the way I was eating by watching my portions. The weight slow came off. The majority of my weight loss took place this year when I made a commitment to hold myself accountable by creating a Facebook page documenting my journey and my efforts to eat clean the majority of the time. Along with clean eating, I challenged myself to train for a 5K and completely it successfully in June of 2013 while weighing over 200lbs. I was determined to prove to myself that even though I was overweight, I could still run. To avoid getting bored with my routine, I began doing P90X and swimming 5 days a week. Along with clean eating, the weight began to fall off at a steady pace.

I went from a size 20 to a size 10 and am down to 181lbs and still working hard to achieve a healthier weight. I document my progress by taking before/after pictures on a regular basis. I have been successful on my journey because of my strong faith in God, supportive family and friends, and determination! My advice to others who want to lose weight is to start small by setting realistic goals, change your eating habits, surround yourself with positive and supportive people, join a weight loss support group (either in your community or online), and track your progress so that you can visualize what works and what needs improvement. The main thing is to realize that you can do it! I have never felt this level of happiness and peace in my life!  On my Facebook page, I share recipes that I try weekly! Here’s the link: facebook.com/miasfitnessjourney