I uncovered the new THINNER me today!
 

Oh I'm sooooo happy! I'm not at goal yet but today, boy do I feel good!

I started out on Atkins at the end of June in a very tight 16. Most 16's didn't fit me. I'd keep trying on size 16 pants until I found ones that ran large and I could fit in (still very tight, mind you). I was actually more like an 18 but couldn't bring myself to go out and buy a larger size.

The last 2 months have been really slow for me in the weight loss department. I have managed to go down 2-3 lbs but no inches. I've been feeling kind of bummed about that lately. I also am STILL wearing my size 16 jeans. I didn't want to go out to buy new clothes just to have them get too big again in a few months (I'm cheap, what can I say!? Long sweaters cover the saggy butt!).

I was feeling down anyway and dumpy too because my clothes are soooooo baggy on me. I thought it may do me some good to go buy some new jeans. I was kind of playing with fire. If I got to the store and nothing fit, I'd be even more sad. I took the plunge today and went shopping anyway.

Good thing I did! I discovered I'm a size TWELVE!!!!! I even have some wiggle room in them! Little did I know, I must have been this size for the last 2 months! I had NO IDEA!

What's best is I look GOOD (and I usually NEVER think I look good -- even when I was thin in the past). I actually look . . . oh gosh, I can barely say it . . . THIN! Wow! Under all those baggy clothes I've been this thin for a while but it didn't notice because it was all covered up. It's amazing what clothes can do!

I'm almost at pre-baby weight and darn it, even though I was a tight size 10 then (at 150), I look and feel better now at a size 12 and 157! After all, the number does not really matter, it's how you look and feel that counts.

So I'm happy today. I feel like I unwrapped a present and it turned out to be the thin me that's been hiding away. And to think I lost the bulk of that weight in only about 3 months. Truly AMAZING!

Just thought I'd share my happiness . . . . .

(cue music) Congrats to you! Congrats to you! Congraaaaaats dear Sunspine17! Connnnngraaaats tooooo youuuuuu! :clap:

Well done you. :cheer: Its great to see how far you have come. Any before and after pics?

Oh what a great feeling to have :yay: :agree: :yay:
I know exactly how you felt going to shop for those first new clothes! I think I was paranoid it might jinks me, Good for you, you'll be at goal before you know it :thup:
Kathy

Thanks for the congratz. I actually wore my new jeans to work yesterday. A lot of people who had not commented on my loss before said something for the first time yesterday. And by the end of the day my jeans were all stretched out and baggy! Geez, I can't believe a 12 is BAGGY!

This is the only before and after I have. Not too great. If it were real life (or better pics) you could surely tell, but these-- ehhh. The before was taken after losing the first 17 lbs, not at my heaviest. Also DH took the after pictures too close up so I'm not the same distance from the camera, making it hard to tell anything. Well, at least it's something, huh!?

http://sunspine17.tripod.com/beforeafter.html

Thanks again for your kind words . . . . Here's to the last 20!

Congratulations!

I will let my shirts get a little big, but I am a firm believer in buying new, smaller pants to fit your current size. They look better and they are such a self-esteem boost!

Way to go!! :Party: I bet you were smiling so much in the store, that the staff thought you were nuts! :daze: Good for you!

Wow, Sun...I just found this post and looked at the pics! Huge difference in the far left before and the after immediately to the right of it!


Looking great! And...is that a tatoo on your back (last 2 pics)???

hmmmm???

:D

Sherry

Just wanted to give an update to my "success thread."

I went jeans shopping this weekend and (drum roll please . . . )

SIZE 10!

Yay!

:cheer: :cheer: :cheer: You're doing great. Keep it up :cheer: :cheer: :cheer:

As a fellow size 10 (who never thought I'd be wearing that number!) I give you hearty congratulations!

You might be surprised as the months roll on. I weigh the same in the red dress/Christmas picture in my gallery as I do in the recent photo titled (size 10 pants) yet I swear I look thinner.

Just a quick update-- although I haven't lost much pounds-wise, I'm in 8's now. Mind you, not ALL 8's fit well but most of them do! Now I'm shooting for 6 . . . . .

OMG!! that's awesome hun... really... doesn't it feel great to go down in sizes even if the scale is being stubborn??? I'm sooo impressed with your progress... Good For you :yay:

Yay! Congratulations! I remember being a size 12. That was the lowest I ever remember. I can't wait until I can fit into all my clothes again. I've even bought clothes that are like 5 sizes too small for me in hopes that I'll "thin in" to them again.
Congratulations! I hope I can lose the weight like you did!
Good luck

Another quick update. My size 8 Gap button fly jeans (I have a few pairs but I've been LIVING in them) that I was so happy to squeeze into this summer are now comfortably loose. I have a pair or 7/8's that have been too tight for the longest. I got them at the same time I got the Gap size 8's. I could barely button them at the time and they made me turn 3 shades of purple when I tried. Guess what? I'm wearing them today! And COMFORTABLY!

Still not quite in the 6 range but I'm working on it. Just NINE pounds till goal :)

Congrats!! :thup: That must feel great!! Time to update your gallery. ;)

I am starting where you began. May I ask how many grams of carbs have you been eating? What have you found has helped you the most when you wanted to cheat? What foods helped you find your way to thin? Any insight would be great.

Congrats!
 

You should be so proud!! Hope to join you at that size (6-8) in several months! Keep up the good work! This thread also reaffirms my belief that we shouldn't judge ourselves by the scale alone! Congrats! T :thup:

Wow!!! I was reading all your post in this thread and the result are so amazing!!! Im so inspired!!! I was a tight size 16 when I started doing Atkins, and after 10 days of induction im a lose size 16. Could you give us advices.... like aside from doing low carb diet... do you work out also? Advices please.

Oh boy! Thanks guys for your interest! I started out eating around 20 carbs and eat between 20-50 now depending if I'm in weight loss mode of maintenance mode. I did post all of my menus each day for induction in the beginning of my journal if you want to get and idea of what I ate each day there.

Gee, my secrets? Let's see . . . .

1. Lots of water - 100 plus oz per day.
2. Exercise HELPS! Unfortunately I'm not a regular exerciser due to time constraints (2 kids, hectic life, out of the home 12 hours per day, etc.). When I do exercise it's minimal -- 20-30 minutes of light resistance training, crunches and toning exercises every other day or so. I'll go on a exercise kick for a couple of weeks and then quit for months. I do walk a lot (2 miles per day??) and I make an effort to do extra little things when I can to make up for my lack of formal exercise-- like park at the back of the lot, take the stairs instead of the elevator, mow the lawn for the hubby, etc. I bet any money that if I did stick to the exercise everyday I would have hit goal by now.
3. Pure and natural foods. Not a lot of bars and franken foods. I try to stick to the least processed foods the majority of the time.
4. Lots of fat. Everything dripping in butter, blue cheese dressing, sour cream, oil, etc. Avocados too! This is not a high protein diet , it's a high fat diet. I do best when 70-80% of my cals come from fat.
5. Vitamins/supplements-- I feel better when I take them everyday and it seems that when I go into weight loss mode it's always when I'm remembering to take my vitamins. Nothing fancy-- Costco multi, 1000 Mg vitamin c, Mag/cal/zinc and potassium to prevent leg cramps. I dabble with other stuff occasionally but those are my regulars.
6. Veggies are really important. Don't miss them!
7. Not all carbs are bad. Fruit does me good and I can still loose eating an apple or peach each day. If I ate that many carbs in grains or franken foods I stop losing immediately.
8. Don't overdo it on the nuts. They don't work for me as an everyday snack. I don't loose well and I become obsessed and addicted to them.
9. No snacking/munching. 5-6 small meals does not agree with me. I can't stop eating when I start. I do 3 meals and a snack on work days. On weekends I tend to lean towards 2 big meals per day. I tend to stick with the same types of foods each day. For instance:

Breakfast: Usually light-- 2 oz cream cheese plain usually. I add some sausage or bacon on weekends. I used to eat pepperoni and cheese everyday. It was good, I just got burnt out. I also didn't think it was the healthiest having processed pepperoni everyday.
Lunch: BIG spinach salad with all the good salad veggies, a sliced chicken breast covered in Blue cheese dressing OR dinner leftovers (meat and a green veggie chopped up and nuked with a ton of butter melted over it) OR a bunless double cheeseburger with grilled onions and tomato and a pickle on occasion. lunch is usually my biggest meal of the day.
Afternoon snack: a string cheese or two.
Dinner: Meat and a green veggie. I add extra butter to my veggie serving on my plate and try to dip my meat in something like salad dressing or sour cream for the added fat.

Wow I've never put it all down like that before! :lol: This may not be what works for everyone but this is how things seem to work best for me. I guess we each have to do our own experimenting and tweaking until we're happy with our routine.

Well, thanks guys! I hope it helps!

I appreciate your letting us know your secrets. I will try and incorporate a few of them and see how it goes. Thanks!!!!

sunspine:
you deserve a standing ovation!!!! You are doing great. Thanks for the input!!!

wow, you are doing so good. thanks for sharing your story.