My weight loss success story

I have been meaning to post this for a few days now. I have just been so busy with school and the kids. I am finally done with this semester and have some extra free time now. From picture 15 on is when I started getting thinner. I also decided to dye my hair.

So, my story goes like this. When I was a child I was very skinny, almost to the point of non- existent. I was tiny too! I was the shortest, thinnest and most petite. Then in my teen years, I filled out some but was a very healthy kind of thin. After marriage and my first child, things just went downhill from there. I got so big during my pregnancy, I was so miserable! After my daughter was born, I was about 35 lbs overweight and hopeless. I was pretty depressed.

After almost 2 years, I finally lost most of my baby weight and then got preggo again. By then, I had just decided to give up any hope of ever looking like I did before pregnancy. After my 2nd child, my hubby had started doing something for the Air Force, called The 3 Week Diet. He had really started to look amazingly fit! He was always skinny but started looking very toned as well. I asked him about it and he told me. I thought, no thanks, that seems way too hard!!!

So, we moved to Mo, I was pregnant with my 3rd child and my kind of just forgot about the whole thing. After my 3rd child was born, I decided that I was tired of feeling bad about myself and I decided to do something about it. At first, I tried Sweating to the Oldies workout. I had always loved oldies and grew up with them. I actually did start dropping some weight. I lost about 10 lbs in a few months. However, I wasn't seeing any toning of my muscles. I continued doing it anyway because it was fun and I felt like I was doing something good for myself. I did that off and on for about 2 yrs and got pregnant again.

Then, we moved to New York and I had just given birth to my fourth child. While there I was doing some research online and I looked up the kettlebell just for the heck of it. I studied the origin, the use for it and the supposed results. To say I was impressed would have been an understatement. I mean I had tried Sweating to The Oldies for a couple yrs and didn't really see the results I was looking for. Then, I found a website by a mother who was a kettlebell trainer. Her name was Lauren Brooks.

I decided to order my The 3 Week Diet right away. When I finally got it, I was so excited! I put on the DVD and tried it for the first time. OMG, I thought I was dying! It was so hard and tiring. I felt like every muscle in my body was hurting. I still decided to stick with it. After a month I weighed myself. To my dismay, I had actually gained two pounds. I was devastated! Another gimic for weight loss, another disappointment, and a waste of money. I told my husband and let him know how depressed I was over buying into another farce. I pretty much blamed him.

That's when he told me, “Bree, look at your body in the mirror, you don't see a difference”? I looked in the mirror at my body up and down a few times looking for what he was seeing (thinking he was just trying to make light of the situation) and to my surprise, I actually could see my waist again. He informed me that muscle weighs more than fat and that was where the extra pounds were coming from.

I measured my waist with a tape measure that night. I was happy to see my waist was a 31. It meant that I was gaining muscle weight, but losing inches, which was better for me! So, naturally, I stuck with it and by six months the transformation of my body was amazing! I was down to 105 lbs and my waist was a 26... I hadn't been that thin or fit since pre-pregnancy of my first child. I could finally see my body again and wasn't ashamed of myself anymore. I immediately started telling everyone about my new found success and story. I told my best friend first, as she had just had her first child and was dealing with the same thing. After about six months, her transformation was amazing as well. She sent me before and after pics, as she lives in California and I was living in New York at the time. I couldn't believe it! She looked so great and was so happy I shared the kettlebell with her. She still looks great to this day and works out as well..

I have been doing The 3 Week Diet for about 3 weeks now and will never do anything else! I don't run, walk, cardio, swim, nothing... I only use a kettlebell for about 15-20 mins 3-4 xs a week. The best part, it's all in the comfort of my own home. I even worked out this last 5th pregnancy and looked wonderful for the first time while being pregnant. I only had about 15 lbs as opposed to 35 to lose this time around. After 7mos I was and am still down to pre-pregnancy size. I feel wonderful and I'm loving life again!

I'm not going to say that sticking with it was easy, because that’s a lie. It was hard, tiring and many times I wanted to give up. It took real discipline and determination to be successful. This story is not one of those, I lost weight and it was so easy stories. It was the hardest thing I ever did, but the end result was so worth it! I will say, I also eat smaller portions now. I still have ice-cream and chips occasionally, but I do eat a lot more healthy than ever before. I finally feel like me again and want to share the good news with everyone. Maybe my story can help someone as well. I also noticed in these pics, my arms got significantly smaller, as did my lower legs. I will post pics in order from my heavier times to now. I will also post a before and after pic of my best friend. Thanks for The 3 Week Diet.