an inspirational weight-loss story from one of my readers!

I'd like all of you to meet an inspirational woman with an incredible journey to success! She is a reader of Lets Move It Mommas and has a fabulous blog, Just Another Mom On The Run, which serves as encouragement and motivation for all of us Mommas out there!! She has agreed to share her story with all of you and I hope you will go check out her blog and show her some love!

To get things started, I wanted to share her before and after pics...which are amazing!

I think I can speak on behalf of all of us that she looks AMAZING!!

Before:

After:

Here is her incredible story:

Kimert writes, Two years ago I decided enough was enough with this gaining weight or making attempts at losing weight without being successful. I was determined and motivated for the first time in my life to make an absolute lifestyle change. My best friend registered me just months before to run my first 5k and it took me almost 50 minutes to cross the finish line. Overweight and out of breath I vowed to beat my time the next year. In April of 2009 I went to one of those walk in weight loss centers (for the 2nd time) and started my journey to healthiness for the last time. Since that day I have lost a total of 60 lbs, but it was only 2 months after stepping foot in that center that I decided I wanted to do this thing on my own. I started eating healthy and going to my gym on a regular basis. I started the Couch to 5k running program for the 2nd time but also decided to make this the last time I started it. Running 3 days a week and going to the occasional BodyPump or Core Challenge class at my gym, seeing results from all those activities, kept me motivated and more determined to just keep going. Along the way there were many struggles. There were days I was exhausted and would rather not go to the gym and honestly I would make the worst excuses to not go. There were days I wanted to throw all the healthy food in the trash and go get a big fat burger and fries. Were there actually days that I took those excuses and didn't go to the gym? Yes. Were there days that I decided to forgo the healthy food and eat that burger? Yes. Do I regret those decisions? No. I feel that by allowing myself to mess up means that I am human, BUT was I gaining success from my mistakes? Nope. After 18 months my weight was at a standstill and I was frustrated. Rather than give up and turn my back on the success I had already had I sought help. I went to the dietitian at my gym and she put me on a program that would prove to be the ultimate success for me. While I have only lost 10 lbs on that plan I have learned a lot about counting calories, carbs, fat, etc but also how to use food to fuel my body for my running and workouts. I never in a million years would have guessed that I would be a runner. I started out just running 5k s and just last year I told my husband I was going to start looking past the 5k distance to the 10k distance but apparently running is a lot more fun for me than I thought it would be and here I am almost 2 years later 60 lbs lighter, 5 pants sizes smaller and training to run my first half marathon on April 3, 2011.
I still have days that I struggle with the girl I see in the mirror. Sometimes the girl I see in the mirror is the one that just 2 years ago weighed 230 lbs. Some days when I walk out the door I feel like that 230 lb girl. This has been my biggest struggle through my journey. People who see me say, "Oh wow you are so skinny. You look great." But I do not see a skinny girl and some days I am very afraid that I will never see what those people see in me. This is the part of my journey that I am still working on.

Kimert, thank you for sharing your story with all of us!

Congratulations to you, and your weight-loss success :)