Nicole lost 27 pounds

Weight Loss Success Story of the Day: Nicole lost 27 pounds, going from a size 16 to a size 10.  This petite diva says, “One pound is equal to 3500 calories – so remember whether you have lost 10 or 100 you’re still a success story!”…and we agree. Every pound should be celebrated and Nicole is doing just that.  She’s not waiting to shout victory at the finish line.  She is enjoying her journey, every step of the way.  Check out what she did to lose the weight:

Name: Nicole Slater-Yarbrough
Age: 37
Height: 5’2″
Starting Weight: 199
Current Weight: 172
Starting Size: 16
Current Size: 10
Biggest Motivation: Wanting my “outside” to reflect the woman “inside”

Summary: “I was not always overweight. I was very athletic and conscious about my size and weight growing up. Time went on, I had a child, got married, went thru a divorce, got married again and then got “comfortable”. The weight just started to add up right before my eyes – but I never really wanted to “see” how I looked. Last year I finally started looking at current pictures and knew I had to do something.

I began drinking more water, working out on my treadmill, then adding Zumba videos, Jillian Michael, Billy Blanks videos and Circuit Workouts along with tracking my calorie intake. I also decided from the very beginning of my journey to begin a Facebook page support group for women over 30 years old looking to support, motivate and inspire each other. The bond and chemistry all the ladies in my group share is awesome. We keep each other on track and motivated as well. I had done some dieting in the past – very quickly and successfully lost weight – then gained it all back because I was refusing to make it a LIFESTYLE. This time around the weight is coming off slowly and steady – I sometimes get frustrated at the slow pace and then I realize this is the ONLY way I will keep it off for life – slow and steady will win the race. This time around I incorporate nothing in my plan that I cannot do for life. This means no “fad” diets, no shakes, no pills, no “theme” diets. Eating better and eating clean most of the time, water, regular workouts and plenty of rest are the only things I will incorporate into my plan now.

I do all of my workouts at home or outside. I will not purchase a gym membership until I prove to myself I can do this. My goal weight is 135 and I know I will make it because my whole mentality has changed when it comes to health and fitness. I used to think it was a race…there was a finish line…there’s no finish line. This is my life. The ladies I lead in my support group know this as well. I have currently hit a plateau with almost 40 more pounds to lose, so I felt submitting my story to Black Women Lose Weight would help reignite the passion and reason I started in the first place. BWLW and the stories featured always give me and the ladies in my FB group an extra “push” to keep going. Maybe my story will do the same for someone else. I’m almost half way to my goal weight and I look forward to coming back to post a follow up story on BWLW after I get there. I wasn’t going to submit my story because I haven’t MADE IT to my goal – but this is what it’s all about – our JOURNEY to get there – I always tell my ladies to ENJOY the weight loss journey – because then comes MAINTENANCE…lol…we’re in this for LIFE! Every success we share becomes the success of every woman trying to get to their goals! One pound is equal to 3500 calories – so remember whether you have lost 10 or 100 you’re still a success story!”