Weight Loss Success Stories - Mary Ellen Lost 60 Pounds

First Name: Mary Ellen
Age: 55
Family Status: Married
Occupation: Administrative Assistant
Hometown: Milford, Massachusetts
Pounds or Inches Lost: I lost 60 pounds! Waist 46" to 29.5", hips 47" to 35.5", bust 40DD to 34C!
Height: 5'2"
Waist: 29.5"
Starting Weight: 210 pounds
Current Weight: 150 pounds

Mary Ellen's Weight Loss Story!

When did you become unhappy with your weight?

20 years ago. After 3 children and losing all my pregnancy weight, I started to slowly gain it back over the years.

What made you decide to lose weight?

I was inspired by others in my family who were losing weight after many years struggling with losing it also.

What were the most important changes you made to lose weight?

I cleaned up my diet and began regular vigorous exercise and weight training workouts.

What was most challenging about losing weight?

My first program of weight loss was not that challenging. The challenge now is to lose the last 25 pounds. I actually gained a little over this past winter and now I have to lose 25 pounds more to hit my goal weight.

How long did it take you to start to see results?

My weight loss program came off in 30 day rounds. I noticed after the first 15 pounds, but others did not see it until I had lost almost 30 pounds. I hid it very well.

How long did it take for you to reach your current weight?

1 year.

How long have you maintained your weight loss and how do you do it?

I maintained for 9 months, summer of 2011 until the fall of 2011. Then I began to gain weight after eating more carbs than I should have and more than I actually needed. I was eating because I could after such a long time eating such a low fat, low calorie diet. I am still losing my last 25 pounds. I had 9 pounds to go, and then gained some back. I now eat a full variety of all healthy unprocessed foods, as organic as I can, and I exercise 6 days a week for 1 hour and 20 minutes a day.

How has your life changed now that you've lost weight?

I feel fabulous. I feel like I did when I was a kid in my 20's. I always had energy and I always moved at a very fast past, even when I was heavy, but I feel very different now. Everything is as easy as it was before I gained weight. Somehow it feels even better, but it's probably because I have been working so much harder all these years.

How did ShapeFit help you reach your weight loss goals?

I read ShapeFit's weight loss success stories everyday. They are wonderful. I love seeing others at my same height, and learning what weight they got to. It helps me to judge if my goals are on target or not. I read all the assorted health and fitness information I can find on ShapeFit. I haven't read them all, but I'm making my way through them. I also use all the fitness calculators.

Mary Ellen's Weight Loss Tips!

Weight loss tip #1:

Clean out your kitchen and eat only clean unprocessed foods.

Weight loss tip #2:

Drink, drink, drink water!

Weight loss tip #3:

You have to move every single day.

Weight loss tip #4:

Measure and weigh yourself, weekly.

Weight loss tip #5:

Realize you will have good days and bad ones, so focus on the good days and keep going.

Mary Ellen's Weight Loss Eating Plan!

Breakfast:

An organic, gluten free cereal, skim milk, banana, coffee with cream and real sugar (I only have one a day) or 2 poached eggs, 1 oat bran galette (pancake) and coffee.

Lunch:

Big helping of organic greens, 3.5 ounces of protein (tuna, chicken, or turkey), dressing and fruit.

Dinner:

Protein (from veggie or animal source), green vegetable, occasional starch like a sweet potato.

Snacks or Mini Meals:

Dark chocolate (93% or higher), nuts, yogurt, fruit, and occasional home baked goods with tea in very small amounts (because I LOVE them).

Mary Ellen's Weight Loss Workouts!

Weight Training:

30 minutes doing workout DVD's with hand weights and stretch bands for resistance training. I alternate different DVD's such as CORE workouts, Prevention workouts and Jillian Michaels workouts.

Cardiovascular:

30 minutes on the treadmill alternating built in programs of inclines and speeds. I do this twice a day for 1.5 miles at 3.5 mph and higher.

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