F/25/5'8" 161 lbs to 134 in a little over 3 months

newstart2012

New member
Last post was deleted because I didn't give enough details I'm going to give it another shot!

Starting point:
When I started working out I was 161 and living an incredibly unhealthy lifestyle. I never cooked and only ate out which included a lot of fast food, and I never said no to sweets and would often find myself eating entire bags of candy. I also NEVER worked out and would get easily winded walking anywhere. I was also very weak and could barely even carry my laundry basket down the stairs to do laundry. So one day I realized I was unhappy and something had to change.

The changes:
First step for me was getting a gym membership. I was pretty scared to go in because i was so out of shape and clueless but once I was there the signing up for a membership the guy told me they were having a special on personal training. I agreed to sign up for 8 sessions and started immediately. This changed my life! I had no idea what I was doing and my trainer worked with me and taught me how to do things without hurting myself. Eventually when I was more comfortable with the exercises I started my routine:
Monday: Shoulders and Back
Tuesday: Biceps and Chest
Wednesday: Legs
Thursday: Cardio only
Friday: Shoulders and Tris/bis
Saturday: Legs and back

Before each workout I would do a bit of cardio. Usually I try to run 1-3 miles but some days I wasn't feeling it so I would walk on an incline or use the stairmaster for 10-20 minutes just to warm up. I love running but my body doesnt always seem to agree, so I try to listen when I'm feeling any knee or leg pain.
So after the cardio I would do at least an 40 mins weight lifting, my favorite is leg day so here is an example of one of my typical leg workouts:
Squats: warm up with the bar then usually about 5 sets increasing the weight after each set until I could only do about 3 reps. (recently I maxed out at 135 and this was really exciting for me)
Romanian deadlifts: 3 sets of 12
Cable glute kick backs: 7 sets of 15
Weighted walking lunges: 3 sets of 20

And then after weight lifting I try to do at least a bit of abs, usually I'll do variations of sit ups on the ab machine, hanging leg raises or i'll use the TRX bands.

So diet:
I have to cook all my meals because I have no self control when I eat out. Typically for breakfast I'll have a protein shake and a banana because I work early and am always running late. For dinner and lunch I'll usually roast a big tray of veggies and eat that all week with some protein (usually chicken or tofu) and I also eat a lot of fresh salads. For snack I like fruit and a healthy trail mix. For the first month or so I was really strict with all of this but now I realize that I love food and it's okay to cheat every now and then! But cooking my own meals has saved me a ton of money and the combination of everything has made me feel a lot better!
I'm still working on getting a little bit more toned and defined but I am so happy I made the changes and the hard work definitely paid off. I absolutely love working out and I feel amazing :)

Here are two progress pics (sorry for the awkwardness):
 
@newstart2012 We have almost the exact same measurements!

I'm 5'8" and I reached my heaviest at 184lbs after my son was born. A year later I'm working it off. I'm down to 174lbs but my goal is 135 and I'm gradually losing here and there. I just recently moved to Florida so I'd like to look slimmer in warm weather attire and healthier for my son.

Bonus goal: first Tough Mudder in November.
 
@newstart2012 Amazing! I'm three inches shorter than you and started around the same height, but I'm currently stuck between 145 and 150. Turns out losing weight is really hard! Lol. Congratulations on sticking with it!
 
@newstart2012 Your butt looks great! I noticed you said you like running but sometimes your knee/ankle hurts. I had the same problem! This set of exercises honestly solved my problem within a day when I thought my knee pain was because I was just not built for running!
Obviously your mileage will vary, etc, but if you like running, give it a try! :

 
@hester708 Not OP, but... I got mine pierced 2 years ago. You lie flat on your back and the piercer does their thing. Mine used a caliper type thing to pinch the skin and that hurt me more than the needle lol. Once the piercing is placed (and ask for a hoop/ring not a banana or bar) it basically doesn't hurt anymore.
 
@newstart2012 What amount of carbs did you eat? I'm around same age and height and I'm hovering at about 158, even after losing 5 from a 21 day fix but find it pretty hard to skip carbs
 
@debzy Not OP, but it sounds like her carbs came almost entirely from fruits and vegetables (based on the sample food she listed.) It's hard to cut out all carbs if you're a produce lover, but just scaling back on pasta, rice, beans, and bread at least helps you majorly cut back on your carb intake. And it's really not too hard (and I'm a HUGE pasta and bread lover!)
 
@newstart2012 That's fantastic!!! way to go you. Its incredible how your diet led tosuch a dramatic change in weight in such a short time. Always good to remember how important our fuel is :)
 
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