EXERCISE VIDEO SUCCESS STORY
I lost 38 pounds and I feel terrific!
Name: Adele
Forum screen name: None (not a forum member)
Location: Manhattan, KS
Age: 22
My story:
I was 21 years old, and I was lucky enough to go on a dream trip to San Diego over Christmas break with my two best friends. Unfortunately, there's nothing like California to make you realize how big you are. I was 5'2" tall, weighed over 160 pounds, and was wearing a size 11. This was the biggest I had ever been, and it definitely couldn't all be blamed on the Freshman 15. Maybe it was the Freshman, Sophomore, and Junior 15 combined! I was complaining constantly, tired all the time, and I didn't even have the energy to do things I wanted to anymore. I felt like my mother--or even my grandmother--and I realized that I was way too young to already be feeling like that. I came home from California, and I cried for a few days as I came to terms with the fact that I had let myself go. Then I decided it was time to do something about it.
I started taking advantage of the rec. membership that my college tuition was already paying for. I began dieting, counting my calories, and watching what I ate. I also went online and ordered exercise videos. I had always been curious about them, and I decided it was past time to force myself beyond my comfort zone and see what they were all about. Tom Holland's Total Abs video rocked my world! I weighed in every Friday, and once the pounds started falling off I couldn't be stopped. I was like a work-out force to be reckoned with. I had never done anything for my body or my self-image before in my life, and I couldn't believe how amazing it felt. I would go to the gym in the mornings, pop in an exercise video in my spare time, and ALWAYS adhere to my rules: 1200 calories a day, no beer, and at the very least 30 minutes of exercise every day.
The results were amazing. I started my diet in the middle of January, and by the time May rolled around and I was completing my college finals, I had lost 38 pounds. I had dropped from a size 11 to a size 3, and my final weight was about 123. I felt sexy, refreshed, full of energy, and I exuded self-confidence! It had taken a semester, and it had taken dedication. I had to wake up early every morning to make it to the gym before class. I had to control the amount of time that I spent going out to the bars with my friends. I was forced to go to bed earlier, in order to have the energy necessary to stick to my guns day after day. In short, I not only became a weight loss success story, but I grew up and I grew into myself. I no longer have to fear mirrors, car windows, and my peers. I can dress confidently and walk across campus or through the bars feeling the way I have always yearned to feel. I can smile, I can persist, and I can be a beautiful woman. Now, I force myself to maintain my success. I am allowed small indulgences, but as a rule I still shop healthy, eat healthy, and workout 5 days a week. It IS possible. I was a sedentary young woman, full of self-loathing and intimidation. I made the transformation that I never dreamed was possible for me. You can do it too!!