Losing 60 Pounds in Six Months

before losing 60 pounds

after losing 60 pounds

Thanks much to Teresa for sending in her story. She is 5'6" tall and used to weigh 255 pounds. She was able to lose 60 pounds in six months. 


How being a loser made me a winner
by Teresa Profiri

At the time that I lost 60 pounds, I was a 37 year-old woman and I had accomplished most of that weight loss in a 6 month timeframe. It was one of the most difficult, and one of the most satisfying things that I have ever done.

My weight loss story began when my workplace sponsored a “Biggest Loser” style contest for weight loss. With a $20 buy-in per person at the initial weigh in coinciding with New Year’s resolutions and an ending weigh in scheduled for June, enough people had participated that the first place prize would be $750! That was a big motivator, but the task of losing the highest percentage of weight was daunting. My starting weight was 255 and I was 5’ 6,” grossly obese according to BMI charts.

One of my good friends and coworkers was tall, beautiful and a lean 20-something compared to me. She wanted to participate too, and we decided to compete with and support each other in our efforts to lose weight for the contest. When she weighed in she was over 200 pounds and I hate to say it, but that number was just so satisfying for me to see. She looked healthy to me and had a figure that I wished for. Her “number” seemed attainable to me and so now I had a goal to shoot for. I know that this is not necessarily rational, but this mental shift was key for me.

Although several factors helped me to lose the weight, the main one that helped me was a shift in my thinking about food and exercise. I knew that I would have to reduce calories, learn to be okay with my stomach rumbling, educate myself about nutrition and add daily workouts. The achievement of this goal would require me to change many areas of my life.

Knowing what would work for me was important. The exercise had to be something that I wouldn’t dislike and could do without feeling self-conscious in workout clothes at the gym. I was almost 40 years old and felt like a whale in Spandex. I started using the recumbent exercise bike that had become a clothing rack in my bedroom. I moved it into the living room where I could sit and watch TV. The best part of this was being able to wear comfortable clothing (even going braless!) and not having to worry about going to a gym and feel like I was being judged by others.

Making exercise a rewarding experience would be a challenge because I had been inactive for a long time. I began by listing ways I could improve the experience and make it more pleasurable. Music was something that gave me great joy so I listened to Christina Aguilera. Being alone at home was private and convenient for me so I had fewer excuses not to workout, plus I was already sitting and watching TV. I focused on doing activity that didn’t involve a lot of sweating or pounding of my joints so I avoided pain and discomfort. Variety in my workouts kept me engaged and sticking to 30 minute durations kept me from getting tired and giving up. Activities like crunches felt good because I could feel and see the results of the workout.

Adjusting my diet was more difficult since food is by nature a reward for me. A technique that I used was to give in to my cravings, just a little. I love bread. If I had to follow a diet that said I could never have bread, I would be bound to fail. I know that I’ll crave it and binge on Olive Garden breadsticks one day and hate myself the next. But if I told myself that I could have 2 breadsticks as long as I stick to one bowl of soup and salad after a workout that day, then I could feel satisfied by having eaten what I crave and not having overdone it. Making these kinds of “bargains” with myself with “if, then” rules was very helpful. For example, “If I finish this 45 minute workout, I can have 2 Dove dark chocolate squares.”

My weight loss started slowly but had built to about 10 pounds lost by the second month. This was when I ramped things up with my workouts to compete with my coworker who was trying the diet shake and starvation method of weight loss. By the end of the 6 month contest, I had lost almost 60 pounds and although I didn’t win the contest, I came in second place and won $500! My friend came in third place and was as thrilled for me as I was for her. But even more rewarding than the prize money, I was ecstatic with my new leaner, more healthy body and I was inspired to share my success with others by starting Her Weight Loss Blog.

Losing the Belly and 80 Pounds

Rob between two sumo wrestlers

Rob after weight loss

Waist back to 34 inches

Thanks to Rob for sending in his success story. He has lost 80 pounds and at least 10 inches off his waist and no longer has a 'beer belly'.


Hi Isadora:

I found your blog and wanted to add my story to it.

Growing up in high school I was a track athlete. In college I walked on the football team for a semester. I had always considered myself an athlete. Until I was in my 30's, I was active by playing basketball with friends. Around my late 30's early 40's, I reached the point however where I "let myself go" weight-wise.

I am just under 5 ft 11 inches tall and I weighed around 270 pounds when I was at my heaviest. I call that my "Sumo" weight because I took a picture in Japan in between 2 Sumo wrestlers when I was at that weight!

I lost a total of 80 pounds in 3 phases. I initially lost 30 pounds in 4 months without dieting (no pills, no drinks, no calorie counting, no surgeries, no injections, no "guru" diets, etc.) and without exercise. That prepared my body to lose the rest of the weight through exercise which are the other 2 Phases that I discuss on my blog (along with Phase #1) at My Sumo Weight Loss.

Recently, I read #13 of one of Dr. Oz's greatest health tips: lose the beer belly. I never drank alcohol, but I had a belly as you can see in the Sumo Wrestler picture. According to the tip, I measured my belly, which should be less than half my height or around 35.5 inches.

In the Sumo Wrestler picture, I was wearing size 44 pants. With the hanging stomach, the measurement is obviously over 44 inches.

I'm about to turn 50 years old, and now I'm a Master's Track athlete. As shown in the picture, the "belly button" measurement is about 34.5 inches. That's at least 10 inches, gone! No wonder people who haven't seen me in a long time remark that "half of me has disappeared!"

My hope is that people can read my blog, see what I did, and hopefully get similar results!

To a Healthy Lifestyle:

Rob Chambers

Working out at the Gym to Lose 55 Pounds

Ramona has lost 55 pounds after starting to work out at her favorite gym. Thanks much for sending in your story, but for future references, please folks, do not send me promotional emails that center on pushing a specific product/service..

My name is Ramona Tiberia and I’m a 34 year old hair stylist from Michigan. I've struggled with my weight on and off and while I’ve tried other gyms in the past I've never truly attained the success I want. That is until I started to hear great things about a new gym called Art of Strength from my co-workers. The day AOS West Bloomfield head trainer Mike Knight came into the salon changed my life.

My personal workout preference is that I need someone to yell at me. I don’t want anyone to sugarcoat it, I want someone to get in my face. While I wanted that feeling, I also wanted to be a part of a communal environment where everyone is working hard. Art of Strength was just what I was looking for. It’s really like working out with your family, everyone wants to see you succeed and they offer a good support system.

As for my workout regimen, AOS isn't an average workout. It's much more intense. You’re burning a lot of calories and having fun while you are doing it. The trainers don’t throw you on a treadmill for a half hour and that’s your session. Every visit is better than my last and that type of variety is what keeps me on my toes.

Since I began working out at AOS, I have lost a total of 55 pounds and am still going strong.

Reversing Sleep Apnea with Weight Loss

Michael, who is 5'8" tall, weighed 245 pounds when he was diagnosed with high blood pressure and sleep apnea.

His doctor told him he could either have esophageal reconstructive surgery or sleep with a (CPAP) machine. He said if he didn't choose one of these options he could die in his sleep or a have a stroke or heart attack.

At first Michael slept with the machine but continued his sedentary lifestyle and nutrition void eating habits. But then he decided to get active and gradually change his diet away from junk and processed foods. Within about 9 months he was at the ideal weight for his height (165 pounds) and felt like a completely new person.

Check out his inspiring story here.

Amanda Has Lost 130 Pounds

Amanda during pregnancy

Amanda after losing 112 pounds

Amanda at 256 pounds

Thanks much to Amanda for sending in her weight loss story. She weighed 383 pounds at the end of her pregnancy and has since lost 130 pounds. She has not reached her goal yet, but can be very proud and happy with her progress so far.


I've always been overweight.  At the start of my second pregnancy I
was 333lbs.  Through the course of 9 months I managed to put on 50lbs
and get gestational diabetes.  The diabetes scared me.  A lot.  The
weight gain itself was a whole new kind of awful.  Even though I've
always been fat, I've never been disabled by my weight.  I never had
trouble DOING things.  Until I reached the point where I was closer to
400lbs than 300lbs.

Everything on my body hurt.  I couldn't walk; really I could barely
move.  Rolling over in bed hurt.  If there was ever going to be a wake
up call this was mine.

Most of the baby weight came off pretty quickly.. well, quick(ish).
By 3 months I only had about 15 more lbs to go to get to my
pre-pregnancy weight.  The rest stayed on til my girl was 6ish months
old.  In April 2011, I had a very short lived attempt at a workout
program.  I think I held in there for about a week!

When my girl was 7 months old (May 2011) I really committed.  I had
joined a weight loss challenge for moms and I REALLY wanted to win! I
started working out with my (now-ex) husband.  He had been doing P90X
for 5 months.  I started doing it with him.  If I ever got more than
3-4 workouts done in a week it was a small miracle! "I do my best and
forget the rest"  (You hear that a lot on the P90X dvds)  I lost 22lbs
that month, and still came in 5th lol

I took a hiatus in December 2011 and January 2012, but I'm back on the
wagon.  In Feb 2012 I started doing the program.. Really doing it.  As
of this writing I'm on day 22 and I've lost 80lbs doing P90X.  From
the day before my daughter's birth (17 months ago) I've lost 130lbs.

I'm documenting my progress and keeping myself accountable on my blog A Real Woman's Sweat Journal

Going From Size 12 to Size 0

Jocelyn lost a lot of weight and changed the shape of her body and has maintained this weight loss for four years. She used to wear size 12 pants. When these started to feel snug, she decided to change her lifestyle. She's wearing size 0 jeans now. Check out more pics and her blog at Habitual Weight Loss.