Elizabeth lost 38 pounds

Update Aug 2020: Shout out to Elizabeth. She has lost a total of 60 pounds and improved her health. Check out her update.

My name is Elizabeth (IG: @gritandgrace__). I’m 29 years old now. I was featured on Black Women Losing Weight before at 28 years old, with a starting weight of 245 pounds. Since losing 60 pounds, reversing my kidney issues, and minimizing my PCOS symptoms, I wanted to give you all an update! It’s now a year later, and for the most part, I have been able to maintain my strength and my curves.

Being a firefighter, physical fitness is imperative. However, what’s been most important is what I put in my body. It’s easy to become complacent, as the quarantine has affected us all! I still eat lower carb meals, but I give myself the grace to not deprive myself of a dinner with family or a date night.

Our bodies will fluctuate, and that’s ok. Whenever I become discouraged, I look at my before and after.

Transformation of the Day: Elizabeth lost 38 pounds. Keto and fasting worked wonders for this proud Firefighter after she experienced weight gain following ACL surgery. She is also the founder of Black Girls Fight Fire. Check out her story.

After an ACL surgery in 2018, I lost the confidence to workout. I didn’t trust my body anymore. I’ve always been active, and as a Firefighter, I’m always moving around or doing something. However, ACL surgery really slowed me down.

As a result, I gained 60 pounds. 245 pounds was the heaviest I’d ever been in my LIFE. I couldn’t breathe. I developed sleep apnea, and I was literally busting out of my station uniforms. I knew I was putting myself and my coworkers at risk by not being able to perform. I got tired of being tired of myself.

So, in July, I started utilizing Keto, intermittent fasting and extended fasting. I also worked out 6 days a week, doing 2 hours of exercise. I do a one hour HIIT class every day, followed by an hour of steady-state cardio.

I’m 5’6,” and I currently weigh 207 pounds. In nine weeks, I’ve lost nearly 40 pounds. I still have a ways to go, but I feel better, stronger, and I’m more capable. I LOOK better too. The people in my before and after photo look like two completely different people to me.

Tell us more about your eating routine.
My intermittent fasting schedule is 16:8 – 16 hours of fasting followed by a window of 8 hours for eating. I don’t have a daily goal for calories now. In the beginning, I stayed at 1700 per day. Now I’m more into intuitive eating. I eat to satiety, and then I stop. However, I stay under 20 grams of carbs always.

What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned so far?
The biggest lesson I’ve learned is consistency and patience. You will see the results of your actions with consistency. Whether that’s consistently not taking care of yourself or consistently putting your health first, eventually it shows.

What advice would you like to share with women who want to lose weight?
Just start somewhere. You don’t need diet pills, some expensive program, or even a gym membership. Instagram is free. YouTube is free. There are a ton of resources out there to help you at least get started.

Instagram: @gritandgrace__

 

 

 

 

 

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Transparency: @blackgirlsfightfire was birthed from a place of anxiety. Entering into a career where most of the people didn’t (and still don’t) look like me, or come from the same kind of background as I do, was a culture shock. Being one of few women, and even fewer women of color in a profession like the Fire Service, I was experiencing sexism and racism on a level I had never been confronted with before, and these things began to take a toll on my perception of self. Was I really capable of being a firefighter? Was I ACTUALLY good enough to be here? Did I DESERVE to be in this space? Why couldn’t I just FIT in? I found myself conforming, and MISERABLE. Being quiet when someone disrespected me, so I wouldn’t seem thin-skinned. Second guessing myself when I knew I had the right answer and someone told me I was wrong. I tried ( and failed) to be more like what people said I SHOULD be, and less of what I desired to be. I walked around depressed, paranoid, and angry all the time, and eventually I no longer recognized myself. I felt empty. At that point, I knew I HAD to make a conscious decision, to either live in a prison made for me by others, or to allow myself to experience something different. So I made the choice to become COMMITTED to being the version of myself that was the most authentic, the most pleasing, and most encouraging to ME. I made a decision to begin to fight the “fires” I was dealing with, within myself. The anger and anxiety. The uncertainty of self. The wishing I was a part of something that just wasn’t meant for me. Black Girls Fight Fire is about more than being a black female firefighter. It’s about empowering women of color to fight and effectively extinguish the fires that we are faced with in our daily lives. For some of us, that may BE running into a burning building, professionally. For others, your fire might be low self esteem. Lack of motivation. Past trauma. Racism. Sexism. Loss of direction. Depression. Whatever your fire may be, my mission and desire for you, is that you become empowered to not only fight it, but extinguish it altogether. Collectively, we’ll save our own lives.

A post shared by A Black Girl Fighting Fire (@gritandgrace__) on Mar 9, 2019 at 10:44am PST

Update: Shout out to Elizabeth. She lost another 22 pounds for a total of 60 lbs gone. 

 

 

 

 

 

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In 2019 discipline was always the problem. ⁣ In 2019 discipline was always the solution. ⁣ ⁣ 60 pounds lost this year, and a whole lot of mental strength gained. ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ I know I haven’t posted much in the last few weeks, but yes I’m alive, yes I’m still pushing, and YES I’m still on my #75hardchallenge. ⁣ ⁣ 2019 I became the best version of myself yet in MANY different ways:⁣ ⁣ I did the work to help heal my body. ( I no longer have kidney failure.)⁣ I lost a significant amount of weight and gained a lot of strength. ⁣ I raised ALL of my Fico scores to OVER 700. ⁣ I saved more money than I ever have by thousands. I cut off toxic relationships with toxic family members. ⁣ I learned the power of staying quiet sometimes.⁣ I learned how to say NO. ⁣ Looking forward to transforming even more in 2020!⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ #nye2019 #2020 #75hard #stlfitness #stl #mentaltoughness #fortitude #weightlosstransformation #ketotransformation #blackfitness #melaninfitness #ketoweightloss #lowcarbweightloss #blackgirlinspiration #firstresponderfitness #shemakesmestronger #weightlossmotivation #fitnessmotivation

A post shared by @ gritandgrace__ on Dec 31, 2019 at 4:31am PST