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Precious lost 107 pounds

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Update: Shout out to Precious. She lost the weight and has kept it off for more than 4 years.

Today’s featured weight loss success story: Blogger Precious lost 107 pounds.  She changed her eating habits, worked out regularly and found a love for running.  Here is what she shared with us:

What was your motivation? I come from a family with lots of health issues ranging from diabetes to cancer. My Dad died in 2007 due to complication involving diabetes and it still didn’t hit me then that I needed to change my lifestyle. I would just keep making that same I’m going to lose weight New Years resolution. Finally, In January 2010 I was going into my final semester in college and just didn’t want to start my next chapter in life being so overweight and out of shape so I finally committed myself to becoming a better me. I wanted to be an inspiration. I wanted to be someone else’s motivation. I think the best thing for me that kept me going the most is when people took note of my weight lost and complimented me. Sometimes you just feel so defeated when losing weight and just to have someone take note of your hard work makes you feel awesome. It made me feel good and allowed me to keep pushing forward. Also I have a small shopping problem so it felt awesome to shop and be able to pick up smaller sizes. I love fashion and finally I can wear clothes that I love and not just wish they made them in bigger sizes.

How did you change your eating habits? I changed my eating habits by cutting back on the sweets, not eating fast food (i.e McDonalds, Burger King), no fried food, and drinking only water and green tea. I learned new ways to incorporate more vegetables like through green smoothies as well as healthier recipes to help satisfy my sweet tooth. I now stick to a more 85/15 rule. 85% of the week I eat healthy, 15% maybe not so much but still within reason.

What did your workout routines look like? Because I was so overweight and out of shape I started simple. I used my Wii to help me get in shape through the use of Wii Fit. I stuck with this for the first 6 months and lost about 40lbs. The summer of 2010 came and I decided to join a fitness center. I started working out 5 – 6 days a week and varied between weight lifting, zumba, belly dancing, and cardio. After losing 90lbs, I decided to try something more intense and started at Forte Fitness Bootcamp as well as joined Black Girls Run and found my love for running which helped me reach my 100lb weight loss goal.

What was your starting weight? What is your current weight? The highest weight I recall is 267 pounds. I am currently 160 pounds.

How long did your transformation take? My transformation was one that involved a long hiatus because of working two jobs. I started in January 2010. By January 2012 I had lost 90lbs. I stopped working out in February 2012 and started back in September. By December 2012 I had reached the 100lb lost mark. Currently I am still on my journey however my focus is now toning and getting my body fat percentage below 25%.

I hope to inspire people through my blog: http://thecoilybombshell.blogspot.com as well as my facebook page www.facebook.com/thecoilybombshell

Thanks for reading & remember if it’s important to you, you will find a way. If not, you will find an excuse!

precious weight loss before & after

Update July 2014: Precious is now down 110 pounds.  Check out this video all about her journey.

Lashonda lost 145 pounds with weight loss surgery

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Let’s show some BWLW love to Lashonda who has lost 145 pounds with gastric bypass weight loss surgery.  She was motivated by her diabetes and her family history of it.   Here is what she shared with us:

Hey, I lost 145 pounds from Gastric Bypass surgery.  I’m striving to lose more.  My motivation was that at 27 years old I was diagnosed with diabetes and both my parents passed away with it.  I changed my eating habits to smaller portions.  My workout routines: At first my exercise routine was only water aerobics.  That was the jump-start.  Now I do cardio exercise and some weight training, but I do need more in terms of my workout routines.  Thank you for sharing my story!

Lashonda weight loss surgery

Jasmin lost 35 pounds

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Today’s weight loss before & after featured story: Jasmin lost 35 pounds.  This mom of six changed her eating habits and focused on burning calories to lose the weight.  Here is what she shared with us:

I’ve lost a total of 35 pounds. After having 6 children, I wanted to challenge myself to get back to my original size before having children. My target weight is 179 pounds.  I’m 195 pounds now. Almost there!. First, I changed my eating habits. I ate all my heaviest meals in the morning.  This means I ate my dinner in the morning. After 12 noon I started to slow down and eat very light, like crackers, boiled eggs, fruits, etc.  Anything lite.  I was in the gym everyday, except Sundays, for 1 hour.  I ran on Elliptical for 30 minutes to tone and the other 30 minutes in another  area of the gym. When you first start out on your weight loss journey,  just burn calories don’t worry about toning until you have lost your desired weight or close to, then tone and burn.

jasmin weight loss before & after

Ernestine lost 100 pounds with weight loss surgery

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Let’s show some Black Women Losing Weight Love to Ernestine.  She lost 100 pounds with bariatric weight loss surgery and it has changed her life and her health.  Here is what she shared with us:

Hello, my name is Ernestine, I was 244 pounds last year until I had Bariatric surgery done called the sleeve.  I had the surgery on April 17th 2012 and it has changed my life. It took one year to lose 100 pounds and I would like to lose at least 9 more pounds more.  The reason why I had the surgery was because I had sleep apnea, high blood pressure and sugar diabetes.  I could not stand for a long period of time, my back was always hurting and I couldn’t enjoy life. For 20 years I tried to get pregnant and the doctors kept saying that I would never get pregnant because I had polycycstic ovarian syndrome.   The weight was no help.  I prayed to God for a child and I finally got pregnant in 2004, but my weight kept going up.  I decided to have the surgery because I needed to start taking care of myself and to also be able to take care of the child I always wanted.  I wanted to live, but I was literally dying on my feet.

I’m thanking God everyday for a second chance, I’m learning how to eat healthy and I’m learning how to make the right choices when it comes to eating. I walk everyday with a DVD that my mom got me called “Walk away the Pounds” and I also work out with my stationary bike. I lift 4 pound weights to build up the muscles in my upper part of my body, especially underneath my arms.  I’m also taking karate class and I’m learning how to do kick boxing. Before I lost the weight, I couldn’t shop, do hair, try on new clothes or couldn’t play with my son because I was so tired all the time.  I was sleeping at red lights and sleeping on the job.  I had no energy and now I’m moving much, much, better and I’m getting much sleep without the machine on my face every night.  I’m very blessed and again I’m thanking God for a second chance.

So to anyone who is reading this story I’m asking you to not give up, ask the Lord to guide you in all your decisions and he will. The only reason why I don’t have a picture of me standing when I was heavy was because I did not like taking pictures and I was ashamed of my body, so this was the only one that I could find. Again thanks for giving me the opportunity to tell my story.

Ernestine weight loss surgery

Charlotte lost 60 pounds

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Today’s featured before & after weight loss story:  Charlotte lost 60 pounds.  She was motivated by the possibility of having diabetes to change her eating habits and get healthy.  Here is what she shared with us:

I’m down 60 pounds so far since July 2012! I have more to go. I was borderline diabetic.  I didn’t take it seriously until the doctor said she was more than sure I was over the borderline, because of all the signs and symptoms I was having. The day she tested me I prayed and told God if He would spare me from this disease I would start working out and lose the weight. I’ve seen my aunts and sisters deal with diabetes. Losing their sight, their limbs, kidney failure and having to stick themselves daily. The day I got my results I cried. Cried tears of joy because I didn’t have diabetes. As I cried and while thanking God, I popped in a workout video and haven’t stopped yet.

Along with working out I also used the loseit.com to keep track of my eating. I noticed that when I began cutting back on how much I ate the bulk of the weight began melting off. I stop eating beef years before the weight loss, never ate pork, let the sodas go, cut way back on the sweets and began eating more fruits and veggies. I love my veggies now.  Now, I carry a bag of fruits with me in case I get hungry when I’m away from home. It keeps me from stopping for fast food. Don’t get me wrong, I do have my weak points but I don’t over do it and don’t do it often! When I get to that “I don’t feel like doing this” point, I have my before picture handy and it quickly motivates me to keep moving!  I was at a weight loss plateau for a long time so I decided to join Weight Watchers recently to get the remaining weight off.  I was in a size 24-26 at the beginning of my weight loss journey and now in a size 12!  Fit&Fabulous at 40!

Charlotte weight loss before & after

Share Your Weight Loss Story

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We are looking for great weight loss success stories because we want to inspire women to eat good food, embrace fitness and live vibrant, healthy lives. We want sistas to know that their weight loss goals ARE possible! Send us your story and before/after photos today! (NO COST! NO FEE to post your story.)

You’ll find our interview questions below. If you would like to be considered for a feature, you can submit your information one of 2 ways:

  • Via email – This is the best option and the quickest way to be considered. Send your photos, answers to the questions below and other story details to info@blackwomenlosingweight.com
  • Via Facebook inbox to our page – If you are submitting your story this way, please include your email address for contact as well.

Before and After Photos: We need photos of where your face and body are visible in both shots (no sunglasses or phones in the way of your face).

Interview Questions – The more details, the better! The goal is to help other women understand what you did to release the weight. We want to know how you changed your life. Please include the following…

  • What was your motivation? What inspired you to keep going, even when you wanted to give up?
  • How did you change your eating habits? (What foods did you stop or start eating? Let us know if you used a specific plan or program.)
  • What is your workout routine? (Cardio, weight training, Zumba, etc.)
  • How often did you work out?
  • What was your starting weight? What is your current weight?
  • What is your height?
  • When did you start your journey? How long did your transformation take?
  • What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned so far?
  • What advice do you have for women who want to lose weight?
  • Is weight loss surgery part of your journey? If so, what procedure and when did you have surgery?
  • What is your social media info? (Instagram, TikTok, etc.)

Please provide as much detail as possible in your answers. We review all of the stories we receive. and post 99% of them. Thank you so much for you interest in sharing your story with our readers.

Disclaimer for Use of Submitted Photos and Information: By submitting the photographs to Black Women Losing Weight (BlackWeightLossSuccess.com), you grant Black Women Losing Weight and its employees acting under its permission or authority, the right to publish, reproduce, distribute, and/or otherwise use your name, statistics, the story you share with us and your photographs in any media now known or hereinafter devised, in such manner, for such purposes, and with such frequency as Black Women Losing Weight shall determine in its sole discretion without further compensation or consideration to you and without further authorization by you. We also reserve the right to omit any advertising, product information, product endorsements or information that could make a reader assume that we endorse a product. Please share only photos you have taken personally or for which you have permission from the photographer or copyright owner to share.

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Today’s Inspiration: Black Health Champions Living Long Lives

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Today’s Inspiration:  I want you to take a look at two videos this morning featuring 2 of my favorite Black health champions.  One is from 112 year old chef Bernando LaPallo (He is 109 in the video). LaPallo attributes his health and longevity to a mostly vegetarian and raw food diet and various other natural and alternative health habits.  The other is of the amazing Annette Larkins, an avid raw food vegan at 71.  She was interviewed by the Tom Joyner Morning Show in this clip.  These amazing people are two examples that show us how important healthy eating is to our longevity and that we can grow old without thinking that chronic disease is inevitable.  They are Black Health Heroes to me.

Check out his YouTube channel for other recipes.

There are many other videos of Annette on YouTube and you can visit her website.

Ashli lost 116 pounds

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Today’s featured weight loss before & after story:  Ashli lost 116 pounds over the course of 4 years by changing her eating habits, working out and watching her calorie intake.  Here is what she had to say:

My name is Ashli T. I have struggled with weight my entire life. I was a 10lb baby and by the age of 8 I was litterally 207 pounds. I had always said that I would not be that overweight forever. In 2008, my father passed away of a sudden heart attack. He was seemingly healthy, active and not at all overweight.  It began to scare me so I decided I wanted to do something.  After several attempts, I finnally buckled down around April of 2009 and I am still at it today.  I began to eat between 1200 calories to a max of 1500 calories per day while trying to burn at least 1000 calories.  At my “best” I do this 5-6 days a week and at my “off the wagon” times at least 2-3 days a week. I’ve had incredible results and incredible defeats.  I have plateaued and I have pressed harder. I would never say it was or is easy, but its the best decision I have ever made! I’ve lost 116 pounds.  The process has been over the course of four years..and it will last a lifetime! I often say if I can do it, anyone can!

Ashli before after weight loss

Roxanne lost 25 pounds

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Update: We shared Roxanne’s story back in 2013, and a little more than 2 years later she’s happy to let us know that she’s still crushing it! She down 25 more pounds for a total of 50 lbs gone. “I been walking 3 to 5 miles a day using the Run Keeper free mobile app. I also changed my eating habits and my lifestyle. I went from a size 18 to a size 8. I weighted 215 pounds then and now I weight 165 pounds. I went from sodas and juice to pure water, 84 oz a day. No eating after 6pm too. I’m not on a strict diet, but I’ve found that eating the right portion sizes really works. Healthy snacking has been hard for me, but it’s definitely worth it. Your page and seeing your posts has kept me motivated. I would tell others that a good support team is a must and BWLW is definitely that. Thank you.”

roxanne before and after

Let’s show some BWLW love to Roxanne who is down 25 pounds and has a goal to lose 10 more.  

May 2013– Hello! My name is Roxanne W.  I started working out, walking and jogging 2 to 7 miles a day (with 2 days off)  I also did a few workout DVDs.  Of course I embraced eating better and drinking water only.  I started  on Jan 26th of 2013 and as of today I have lost 25 pounds with 10 more pounds to go.  Your page really inspired me and I love what the BWLW page is about.

I use to eat everything..anything…and was a heavy snacker.  Now, I only eat baked fish and chicken.  I also eat a lot of veggies and only snack on fruits.  I was motivated by the awful way being overweight made me look.  I’ am only 5″1 at 210 pounds and to me that looks bad.  Also, I was borderline high blood pressure.  I knew that having the right eating habits and losing weight would help.  Thank u and have a blessed day!

Roxanne weight loss before after

Britt lost 50 pounds

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Update 10/5/13: Britt is now down 85 pounds.  See the photo of her progress below.

Let’s show some Black Women Losing Weight love to Britt on her 50 pound weight loss.  She has dropped carbs, embraced clean eating and green smoothies and exercises regularly, such as taking Zumba classes.

I have lost 50 pounds in four months by reducing my carbohydrates, incorporating green smoothies made of fruit and vegetables, and exercising. I’m still in the process of working hard and learning to eat clean as I continue to lose the remaining pounds.  To lose the weight, I did Zumba twice a week and did cardio and lifted weights at the gym 3 times a week. I used Instagram as a tool and receives tremendous support from there. As far as my eating habits, I followed the Atkins diet initially.  I’ve recently changed to clean eating and have incorporated green smoothies into my life on a daily basis.

Britt lost 50 pounds
Updated Photo

Britt weight loss story