Theodora Swapped Takeout for Workouts and Lost 50 Pounds

Theodora Before

Every week, we introduce you to bloggers who share their weight-loss journeys and hefty doses of inspiration with their readers. This week's featured blogger is Theodora from Losing Weight in the City.

Name: Theodora Blanchfield

Age: 27

Height: 5 feet, 5 inches

Start Weight: 189 pounds

Current Weight: 135 pounds

My Weight Loss Approach: Until I went to college, I was always active and athletic. I was on the tennis and gymnastic teams in high school. I never had to worry about what I ate since I was so active. I went away to college and discovered takeout (the Chinese food deliveryman knew me by name! Not a good sign) and beer. Without being on an organized team, I didn't have the impetus to exercise. After college, I preferred happy hour to an hour at the gym.

Then, one of my best friends asked me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding in Aruba. "I will not be the fat bridesmaid on the beach," I told myself. This was the third wedding I was going to be in over a span of a year and a half, and I'd unsuccessfully tried to lose weight for the first two. I knew I didn't want spend a week on the beach in Aruba thinking about I how wished I'd lost weight. After a long weekend of eating too much, I walked into my gym and asked for a trainer who'd help me get my act together.

I started working out with Joel, my personal trainer, twice a week doing intense strength workouts. I did cardio on my own three to four times a week. Before I started going to Joel, I was a takeout queen. I literally had my neighborhood establishments on the speed dial of my iPhone. I started cooking home more and eating clean -- lots of fruit, vegetables and lean protein. I cut way back on dairy, red meat and grains, and I dropped weight quickly but still in a healthy manner. I never lost more than one or two pounds per week.

After a few months of living in the gym, I started feeling like a hamster on a wheel that wasn't going anywhere. At this point, the weather was starting to warm up, so I started running outside. I could barely run for more than a minute or two at a time, but I would run/walk until I was running more than I was walking. I had run a little in the past, but I signed up for my first "real" 5K last June. It was the first race where I had ever run the whole thing. A little over a year later, I now have two half marathons under my belt and am training for my first full one -- the Chicago Marathon! I no longer eat quite as restrictive a diet as I did while I was trying to lose weight, but I still maintain a healthy, balanced diet.

Theodora Now

Why I wanted to blog about it: I'm a writer, and I work in media, so I knew I wanted to learn more firsthand about how powerful social media can be. I started my blog on Tumblr because I knew Tumblr had a great community. I knew getting healthy was something lots of other people struggle with, and I was learning a ton through my own experience that I wanted to share with others. That, and I think my friends and family were getting sick of hearing me talk about healthy foods and great workouts!

The best part of blogging is: Sharing the journey with others -- both by sharing my experience and learning about others' journeys. A little while ago, I attended the Healthy Living Summit with 225 other health-focused bloggers. It was amazing being around hundreds of other bloggers who were as interested as I am in learning about health and sharing it with others.

Best comment I've received: Most of the comments I receive are amazing, but the ones that really resonate with me are
either ones from someone whom I've inspired or from someone who's going through the same struggles as I am.

What's next for my blog: I'm hoping to redesign my blog soon and make it a bit more organized. I'd also like to start doing
interviews with other bloggers and health experts.

Theordora has maintained her 50-pound weight loss for more than six months now and was recently profiled in Woman's Day magazine.

More Success Stories:
How Susan Lost 250 Pounds
Moderation Helped Tony Reach His Goal
Caroline Won Her Life-Long Battle with the Scale