LaToya lost 137 pounds

Weight Loss Story of the Day: LaToya lost 137 pounds and today is her “fitiversary”.  She really embraced healthy eating and regular exercise, creating her own weight loss and exercise plan by learning what works for her.  Here is what she shared with us about her journey:

Hello, Ladies. I have pondered whether or not to submit to any of these beautiful inspirational pages, but hearing the word inspiring of inspirational referred to my journey thus far I decided part one was ready to be shared. I am Toya and 32 years old, but have lived life as a “big girl” since birth popping out at just over 9 pounds. So why now? Better question, why not now? At thirty-two, I am happily married, with a Master’s degree, plenty of supportive friends and family members, but most importantly, it was time for me to start taking care of me. There are no sudden medical issues or anything like that, I truly woke up one morning and felt it was time for a change. I decided to use that time and energy on me so I could do some of those things that were taken off or slowly fell off my list of adventures like sky diving, parasailing, horse back riding, and zip lining.

My mental transformation journey began on March 15, 2013 (my mother’s birthday) and the first two weeks I kept a log of what I ate on myfitnesspal.com. I got to see what I ate and how it affected me.  I also learned how a little exercise can really make a difference. After two weeks of birthday celebrating for my husband and myself, I decided that on April 7, 2013 I would detox. The detox I chose to do is found in the book, Lose Weight Without Dieting or Exercising by J. J. Smith (jjsmithonline.com). Her method is called the DEM (Detox, Eat, and Move method). She made this weight loss thing make more sense by emphasizing that exercise is everywhere and eating is fun especially when done right.

Now, please know that in the past I did the FenPhen thing, no carbs, low carbs, Atkins, South Beach, Lose 21 pounds in 21 days thing (Martha Vineyard diet — too strict for me but did work). I read Fat Smash, Extreme Fat Smash, another Dr. Ian book, and the South Beach diet. I started exercising daily eventually joined a gym (four months in for weight training and aerobic classes…i.e. Abs sculpt, core and more, boot camp, Foxylicious, kickboxing, and spinning (almost)). Actually started working out twice a day — AM workout before work (yup, usually late to work) and PM workout right after work before dinner, sitting down, etc.  I learned to play tennis, went bowling with My best friend regularly, and did numerous workout tapes consisting of; Hip Hop Abs (1& 2), Core Pilates (can’t do this one yet..still finding my core), Sizzling Salsa, Yoga Booty Ballet, a kick boxing tape, Zumba, P90X (not yet tried), Asylum (not yet tried) Insanity (one month completed), Taebo, Turbo Fire, Bellydancing, Core Rythms, T25 (not yet tried), Billy Blanks Jr. workout tape, Jazzercise Burlesque, and possibly a few more that I often rotate.  I also went walking at the park.

From my start date to now (a year later), I am down 137 pounds. I have at least another 100 to go but I am SO happy with my progress. I am much healthier in my food choices (although food was not my biggest enemy) such as brown rice, whole wheat bread, turkey, water mostly, lean cuts of meat, cooking at home, fruits and vegetables. I also do the six or seven times a day eating thing. My current workout routine is still five to seven days a week of classes, DVDs and strength training found from Pinterest or other supportive networks.  I am in week 5 of T25 beta for a.m. workout, and gym or tennis for evening workout.  I’m also completing Hoopnotica (have three classes left on my group on) and will start the Flat Belly challenge (JJ Smith’s newest book) tomorrow.

Ladies, this journey is definitely hard but doable. Realize why you want to do it, and start small towards that. For me, it was parasailing on my next cruise and now I can due to losing the weight. Feel free to check my blog http://bringingsassycaramelback.blogspot.com to keep up with my craziness and best of luck on your transformation journeys.