Monday, January 19, 2009

Weight Loss Success Stories

If you're looking for weight-loss inspiration, you'll find it here. These 18 people dropped a total of 1,895 pounds—almost a ton of excess weight. And while they all had the same ultimate goals—lose weight, look better, feel better and live longer—each took a different path to success.
Read through to find how they did it
Sharlynn before weight loss (© MSN)

Sharlynn: Before

"My dad had a heart attack and that scared me. I think most of all it was me being tired of being fat. I didn't want to be the fat girl. I wanted to date, be happy inside and out."

Sharlynn after weight loss (© MSN)

Sharlynn: After

"One day I was walking past a mirror, I took a double-take and started to cry. I called Kelly and said, 'Guess what?' He said, 'What?' I said, 'I'm pretty,' with tears in my eyes."

Read Sharlynn's full story.

David R. before weight loss (© MSN)

David R.: Before

"At my maximum, I was wearing pants with a 60-inch waist."

David R. after weight loss (© MSN)

David R.: After

"The support I get from my family and from the Weight Watchers meetings has been key. They give me support when I am having trouble, advice when I need it, and overall it makes it easier to do this with a bunch of friends cheering you on."

Read David R.'s full story.

Shaby before weight loss (© MSN)

Shaby: Before

"The doctor told me I was considered obese at 22, and that was the last straw!"

Shaby after weight loss (© MSN)

Shaby: After

"Every girl keeps a pair of skinny jeans tucked away in her closet in hopes to fit [in] them again. I had these size 7 jeans that one day I decided to try on for the heck of it. THEY FIT! AND WITH ROOM TO SPARE!"

Read Shaby's full story.

Tim W. before weight loss (© MSN)

Tim W.: Before

"After a while you start noticing the little things that you used to be able to do that you can no longer do. Little things like tying your shoes, sitting in the floor, turning your head at a stop light, etc. Then it only takes one call from a friend saying, 'I think you need help' to put the rubber stamp on it."

Tim W. after weight loss (© MSN)

Tim W.: After

"As the pounds fell off, people around me began to notice and encourage me to stick with it. I was feeling better, looking better and gaining a whole new perception of myself. I found myself looking in the mirror more and caring about the way I looked."

Read Tim W.'s full story.

Daphne M. before weight loss (© MSN)

Daphne M.: Before

"I started out as a 9-pound baby. At age 6, my parents sent me to Weight Watchers because I was 15 pounds overweight. Can you imagine, a kindergartener on a diet of carrots, clear broth, and cottage cheese (Weight Watchers has come a LONG way since the early '80s!)."

Daphne M. after weight loss (© MSN)

Daphne M.: After

"I won the battle over obesity by losing more than 200 pounds, but keeping it off has proved to be an ongoing war that I have to face and fight every day for the rest of my life."

Read Daphne M.'s full story.

Robert H. before weight loss (© MSN)

Robert H.: Before

"The main motivator for me was to no longer be the 'fat friend.' One day after dinner, I just decided it was time for a change."

Robert H. after weight loss (© MSN)

Robert H.: After

"I enjoy being healthy and feeling good about myself, and that is enough to keep me from going to the drive-through."

Read Robert H.'s full story.

Stacy S. before weight loss (© MSN)

Stacy S.: Before

"I was at my heaviest and completely miserable. I was getting really depressed and was just sick of myself and the way I looked."

Stacy S. after weight loss (© MSN)

Stacy S.: After

"I no longer eat just because I'm bored. I turn to God instead to fill me up when I'm not physically hungry, and definitely pray for His guidance."

Read Stacy S.'s full story.

Rishi S. before weight loss (© MSN)

Rishi S.: Before

"Food for me was like a good friend. I always carried it with me, ate it and enjoyed it. As a result, I was massively overweight throughout my school days and all through college."

Rishi S. after weight loss (© MSN)

Rishi S.: After

"I feel like I'm born again. The pride I get on a daily basis from people makes me work more on the cause of losing weight. The humorous part is that my own relatives do not recognize me. :)"

Read Rishi S.'s full story.

Christina after weight loss (© MSN)

Christina: Before

"When you want nothing more than to be the best mother/parent for your child, the reality is that if you are not at your best, you can't possibly be at your best for them."

Christina after weight loss (© MSN)

Christina: After

"A setback is only there as long as you allow it to be. I do my best to not see it as a 'setback' but more so a challenge."

Read Christina's full story.

Dylan F. before weight loss (© MSN)

Dylan F.: Before

"Many months ago I was known as 'Puddin.' Guess the name really went with my appearance at that time. I never really showed it, but it hurt inside to think that is what people thought of me."

Dylan F. after weight loss (© MSN)

Dylan F.: After

"I just know that I never want to go back to where I was."

Read Dylan F.'s full story.

Vanessa before weight loss (© MSN)

Vanessa: Before

"I started putting on weight slowly (about 8-10 pounds per year) in my early 20s as a result of poor eating habits, too much alcohol, and a sedentary lifestyle combined with hours of sitting and studying. I was a smoker and it hurt my lungs to engage in physical activity so I just got lazier and lazier and fatter and fatter."

Vanessa after weight loss (© MSN)

Vanessa: After

"People I have just recently met are stupefied when they find out I used to be a fat smoker. People I meet these days assume that I've always been an avid runner, and that makes me feel really great, too."

Read Vanessa's full story.

Terry C. before weight loss (© MSN)

Terry C.: Before

"When I got out of the Navy I weighed 310 pounds."

Terry C. after weight loss (© MSN)

Terry C.: After

"I stay motivated by remembering where I started, and realizing what kind of hard work it took to get to where I am now. I have decided to never be the 'Fat Guy' again."

Read Terry C.'s full story.

Tammy before weight loss (© MSN)

Tammy: Before

"I married in 1986 weighing about 105 pounds. By our third anniversary I had given birth to our second son and was very close to the 200-pound mark, if not over it."

Tammy after weight loss (© MSN)

Tammy: After

"My wardrobe now consists of so much more than sweats, shorts and T-shirts. I have more energy, feel younger and look younger then I did in my 20s and 30s."

Read Tammy's full story.

Robert M. before weight loss (© MSN)

Robert M.: Before

"I know people judge you by the way you look and I had to ask myself, 'What do people see when they look at me?' The answer is what got me motivated."

Robert M. after weight loss (© MSN)

Robert M.: After

"My brother was in a bad car accident in November 2007 which left him as a paraplegic (people, please wear your seat belts). To help deal with it, I would go run. I would just run and pray for him and not even realize I was running for a few hours."

Read Robert M.'s full story.

Samantha before weight loss (© MSN)

Samantha: Before

"I started putting on weight when I was a young child. I always thought I would eventually stop gaining, grow taller, and become skinny. As I entered my later teen years, my misconception looked farther and farther from coming true."

Samantha after weight loss (© MSN)

Samantha: After

"Staying healthy and never going back to worrying about my health keeps me going. Also, being able to wear the cute clothes I have bought since losing weight."

Read Samantha's full story.

Caleb M. before weight loss (© MSN)

Caleb M.: Before

"My father always put me down because of my weight. This made me even more depressed and made me learn to hate myself, so I just didn't care anymore and ate more. "

Caleb M. after weight loss (© MSN)

Caleb M.: After

"I keep setting goals for myself, where I want be in like a month or what I plan on doing with my life. For example, I planned on joining the military, so that drives me to get in better shape."

Read Caleb M.'s full story.

Rita T. before weight loss (© MSN)

Rita T.: Before

"I can never remember a time when I was thin."

Rita T. after weight loss (© MSN)

Rita T.: After

"I consider myself a thin eater now. So if I mess up, I just do what a thin eater would do and that is wait for the next hunger signal and eat until I am politely full!"

Read Rita T.'s full story.

Prath R. after weight loss (© MSN)

Prath R.: Before

"It was in college where I realized that in today's modern world, everyone looks at imperfections first in another person. It's human nature. I decided I was not going to let people judge me for my weight, but rather for my other qualities."

Prath R. after weight loss (© MSN)

Prath R.: After

"The strength in knowing that your life will change for the absolute better is what made me kept going every step of the way."

Read Prath R.'s full story.

 
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