Saturday, 13 April 2013
Then and now
Photo on the left was my first 5k and I was already excited that I had lost about 20 lbs. :)
Thursday, 28 February 2013
TOP 5 CHANGES That helped me lose 160 lbs.
TOP 5 changes that I've made that I believe are here to stay and have contributed immensely to my success in having lost 160lbs.
1. Going out to eat is no longer an exciting, wonderful experience. In fact, it is much more of an annoyance. I have so much mistrust in the restaurant industry. Fake food, fake ingredients, unnecessary ingredients, ridiculous calorie content. I just dread the thought of one meal out meaning that I've eaten half my days worth of WW points on 1/2 a restaurant portion of something I could easily make at home for 1/4 the price, the sodium, calories, fat, and who knows what else they've hidden in there for "flavor." My list of acceptable restaurants is very short and therefore, is fairly boring. Being invited out to restaurants that aren't on my acceptable list is anxiety provoking. I hope that will change as times goes on so that I will be able to relax more in these situations. I will say that in the past few months I've chosen to, instead of ordering an entree' that I will pay a lot to just eat half of, I use these times to indulge in dessert for dinner. I usually order a slice of pie. It's a special occasion, and it's likely that I am saving calories and definitely $$. An added bonus is that one piece of pie fits into my belly much easier than a full dinner, so my skinny jeans stay skinny and I don't feel too full or bloated to enjoy the rest of the evening. ;o)
2. I plan for everything. I used to just fly by the seat of my pants. Eating whenever and wherever food was offered. And exercise? What's that?! Now, I keep a fully stocked gym bag in my trunk. I keep a bag of apples in the backseat. I pack my breakfast, and lunch, and dinner, and snacks for the day. I make gym rolls of my clothing as soon as they come out of the dryer and keep them ready to grab. I like cooking and prepping at this point. It was very difficult for me to start doing this, in the beginning it seemed like on overwhelming amount of work to be thinking so far ahead. Luckily, I stuck with it long enough to realize that the benefits FAR out weigh the effort. And it gets so much easier over time. At any moment in the day I can tell you what my next meal will be and what my exercise plan for that day is. I have superimposed the schedule of 3 of my local YMCA's so that at any point in the day I can jump into a class.
3. I lost the all or nothing attitude. I can't tell you how many times I failed at dieting because of one bad meal or day. Any little obstacle was a good reason to blow my whole diet out the water and start the next Monday...the next month,... the next New Year's resolution... Now, I still have good days and bad days when it comes to food and exercise, but I've realized that just making a conscious effort at all on a daily basis means that I have way more good days than bad. I do still succumb to the occasional binge. I recognize that they are mostly boredom driven. I forgive myself as quickly as possible and try to pick myself up, dust it off, pop my collar and move on like a boss...
4. I make time to be sweaty. I remember thinking that sweating and heart pounding were signs of a body in distress and should be avoided. Now, I feel that way about sitting in the movie theater so long that my legs get stiff. I get such an endorphin rush from killing it in my exercise routines. I notice very quickly now when my body is changing, for better or worse and can make adjustments. I used to be embarrassed about huffing and puffing and being sweaty, but that was because I was so out of shape. NOW my huff and puff, and sweaty is sexy as all get out! I WORKED OUT!
5. I talk about my struggle and success. I have found such an amazing support group of women who are so encouraging. We are able to be open and honest about our struggles and successes. I used to hide and cover up my feelings of failure and anxiety. I just stuffed food in to try and keep the disappointment I felt down. Being able to talk about how I'm feeling about myself has been such a relief. I don't have to make the world believe I am perfect. In fact, I don't even have to BE perfect! Being able be honest about who I am and what my flaws are has let me really focus on the things that are WONDERFUL about me. The things that ARE within my control and that has led to confidence, which I believe begets more success.
1. Going out to eat is no longer an exciting, wonderful experience. In fact, it is much more of an annoyance. I have so much mistrust in the restaurant industry. Fake food, fake ingredients, unnecessary ingredients, ridiculous calorie content. I just dread the thought of one meal out meaning that I've eaten half my days worth of WW points on 1/2 a restaurant portion of something I could easily make at home for 1/4 the price, the sodium, calories, fat, and who knows what else they've hidden in there for "flavor." My list of acceptable restaurants is very short and therefore, is fairly boring. Being invited out to restaurants that aren't on my acceptable list is anxiety provoking. I hope that will change as times goes on so that I will be able to relax more in these situations. I will say that in the past few months I've chosen to, instead of ordering an entree' that I will pay a lot to just eat half of, I use these times to indulge in dessert for dinner. I usually order a slice of pie. It's a special occasion, and it's likely that I am saving calories and definitely $$. An added bonus is that one piece of pie fits into my belly much easier than a full dinner, so my skinny jeans stay skinny and I don't feel too full or bloated to enjoy the rest of the evening. ;o)
2. I plan for everything. I used to just fly by the seat of my pants. Eating whenever and wherever food was offered. And exercise? What's that?! Now, I keep a fully stocked gym bag in my trunk. I keep a bag of apples in the backseat. I pack my breakfast, and lunch, and dinner, and snacks for the day. I make gym rolls of my clothing as soon as they come out of the dryer and keep them ready to grab. I like cooking and prepping at this point. It was very difficult for me to start doing this, in the beginning it seemed like on overwhelming amount of work to be thinking so far ahead. Luckily, I stuck with it long enough to realize that the benefits FAR out weigh the effort. And it gets so much easier over time. At any moment in the day I can tell you what my next meal will be and what my exercise plan for that day is. I have superimposed the schedule of 3 of my local YMCA's so that at any point in the day I can jump into a class.
3. I lost the all or nothing attitude. I can't tell you how many times I failed at dieting because of one bad meal or day. Any little obstacle was a good reason to blow my whole diet out the water and start the next Monday...the next month,... the next New Year's resolution... Now, I still have good days and bad days when it comes to food and exercise, but I've realized that just making a conscious effort at all on a daily basis means that I have way more good days than bad. I do still succumb to the occasional binge. I recognize that they are mostly boredom driven. I forgive myself as quickly as possible and try to pick myself up, dust it off, pop my collar and move on like a boss...
4. I make time to be sweaty. I remember thinking that sweating and heart pounding were signs of a body in distress and should be avoided. Now, I feel that way about sitting in the movie theater so long that my legs get stiff. I get such an endorphin rush from killing it in my exercise routines. I notice very quickly now when my body is changing, for better or worse and can make adjustments. I used to be embarrassed about huffing and puffing and being sweaty, but that was because I was so out of shape. NOW my huff and puff, and sweaty is sexy as all get out! I WORKED OUT!
5. I talk about my struggle and success. I have found such an amazing support group of women who are so encouraging. We are able to be open and honest about our struggles and successes. I used to hide and cover up my feelings of failure and anxiety. I just stuffed food in to try and keep the disappointment I felt down. Being able to talk about how I'm feeling about myself has been such a relief. I don't have to make the world believe I am perfect. In fact, I don't even have to BE perfect! Being able be honest about who I am and what my flaws are has let me really focus on the things that are WONDERFUL about me. The things that ARE within my control and that has led to confidence, which I believe begets more success.
Tuesday, 8 January 2013
The Best Christmas Gift
...that I received this year was from my husband, who gave up his home office so that I could have an area at home to work out in. And all the equipment I needed for it from my sister in law and Mom...
We live in a small loft, 750sqft. So space is limited and we have to be very careful about the amount of things we bring in. When new things come in, old things have to go out lest we end up on an episode of hoarders. And, I'll be honest, clutter makes me antsy. Growing up in a family that moved a lot turned me into a minimalist.
With my crazy work schedule, it is sometimes VERY hard to get to the step aerobics classes I love so much because they are only offered 4 days a week and there are plenty of times that I would be working during all four class opportunities. I wanted to be able to step at home but I didn't think I would really have enough room.
I told my husband about my frustration and he went right to work. He said, "you would use that space much more often than I do and you would get much more out of exercising than I do playing computer games and studying." Yeah, he is wonderful like that...
When word got out about what I wanted before Christmas, under the tree was an aerobic step and DVD from my mom and a set of free weights and stability ball from my sister in law. :)
We got rid of a large desk and book case, and repurposed an armoire from upstairs to provide storage. This is what we started with (well, also imagine that to the left there is a large bookcase too):
And this is what we ended up with:
This is how it looks stored and stowed away. Please don't mind the fire hazard cords, this apartment was NOT built for modern electronic demands... ;-) I'm not sure what I'll use to ad some beauty to the area on top of the armoire, but for now, Hubby's RC helicopter is holding it down.
This is what's inside:
A TV and DVD player to play an aerobic DVD, an aerobic step, a set of hand weights, and my sneakers (and LOTS of Nanny craft supplies that won't be needed for my home gym, but still needed a home.) The stability ball won't fit. LOL
This is how it looks when it's all pulled out and ready to be used:
The mirror on the wall helps me keep an eye on my form, the bulletin board holds my notes that I got from my trainer (going to ad more motivation there too) and the framed poster up top is a "word cloud" of saying my Dad said that my sister made. ...I love it.
This was a major over-hall for our apartment seeing as it's a small area. It ended up changing things in every area of the house but the kitchen! I've used it about 5 times now and am still adjusting things to be just right, but I am so excited to have the space and I love what it's done for the rest of the house too. :)
We're already in day 8 of 2013. Are you on the right path to achieving your goals?
We live in a small loft, 750sqft. So space is limited and we have to be very careful about the amount of things we bring in. When new things come in, old things have to go out lest we end up on an episode of hoarders. And, I'll be honest, clutter makes me antsy. Growing up in a family that moved a lot turned me into a minimalist.
With my crazy work schedule, it is sometimes VERY hard to get to the step aerobics classes I love so much because they are only offered 4 days a week and there are plenty of times that I would be working during all four class opportunities. I wanted to be able to step at home but I didn't think I would really have enough room.
I told my husband about my frustration and he went right to work. He said, "you would use that space much more often than I do and you would get much more out of exercising than I do playing computer games and studying." Yeah, he is wonderful like that...
When word got out about what I wanted before Christmas, under the tree was an aerobic step and DVD from my mom and a set of free weights and stability ball from my sister in law. :)
We got rid of a large desk and book case, and repurposed an armoire from upstairs to provide storage. This is what we started with (well, also imagine that to the left there is a large bookcase too):
This is what's inside:
A TV and DVD player to play an aerobic DVD, an aerobic step, a set of hand weights, and my sneakers (and LOTS of Nanny craft supplies that won't be needed for my home gym, but still needed a home.) The stability ball won't fit. LOL
This is how it looks when it's all pulled out and ready to be used:
This was a major over-hall for our apartment seeing as it's a small area. It ended up changing things in every area of the house but the kitchen! I've used it about 5 times now and am still adjusting things to be just right, but I am so excited to have the space and I love what it's done for the rest of the house too. :)
We're already in day 8 of 2013. Are you on the right path to achieving your goals?
Sunday, 6 January 2013
Staying Busy
I broke out of the 1-7's and weighed in at 169.4 this morning. WHOOOOOO!!! That means I am 9.4 lbs away from being at the top of what a doctor would consider being a healthy weight for my height and age. I have never been closer to achieving that goal than I am today and I want to celebrate that in itself. :)
Lots going on over here as usual. My father died in October, and my maternal grandfather died January 3rd. It's a whole new world I live in emotionally right now. I have decided to not let it devastate me, but I still have a deep sadness inside when I dwell too long on them. It gets hard to climb out of sometimes, but I'm still walking along the edge of the precipice most days. That all might not make sense to anyone but me, but there it is. I've never suffered more loss than I have in the past few months. It is proving to be a growing experience for me.
We did put a memorial up for Dad at our wild life preserve. It's run by our school system, so Dad got sent out to work on their computers some times. Dad always had an affinity for eagles, so we put it right in front of the eagle enclosure at the preserve.
Staying busy seems to be the answer to both weight loss and grief right now. I do my best to not spend a whole day at home. I like to find something to go out and do. I've been cooking lots of recipes out of the cook books I received for Christmas. I've been able to cook and bake non-weight watchers foods for Hubby and not indulge in them myself. I'm finding I enjoy cooking right now, spending time in the kitchen and it's not so much about the food as it is about being up and about concentrating on something. Helps the time go by.
My new favorite is salmon. We didn't really eat much fish growing up unless Dad caught in on a fishing trip (which he did a lot of when I was a small child, but not much of at all later on.) I knew I wanted to start eating more fish, because it's a very healthy, nutrient dense food, but also because I wanted to have other options of "white meat" other than chicken. (I really don't eat pork because it just doesn't agree with me.) So I bought some garlic-herb seasoned salmon that was wrapped by the grocery store and had it for dinner just last night. SO yummy! I'm looking forward to the other portion of it later today. I love trying new foods! Opens up whole new possibilities!
Cupcake, Monster, their mother, and I took a spontaneous 3 hour road trip to the Charleston Aquarium and to see Rainbow Row. We had a GREAT time. This is my Monster driving the boat in one of the aquariums interactive displays. He's just over 2.5 years old right now and I love everything about him. :o)
Cupcake, Monster, their mother, and I took a spontaneous 3 hour road trip to the Charleston Aquarium and to see Rainbow Row. We had a GREAT time. This is my Monster driving the boat in one of the aquariums interactive displays. He's just over 2.5 years old right now and I love everything about him. :o)
Monday, 31 December 2012
Focus for 2013 & Restaurant Difficulty
Last year at this time I was searching in my life for ways to feel satisfied. I had gained back about 30 lbs of my 140lbs weight loss and was trying to figure out why and what to do about it.
This year I am at my lowest weight (172 for easy fact finding later on) and attempting to figure out where I will set my goal weight to be. I have a feeling that I'm pretty close to it, maybe about 10 lbs away? Guess we will find out when I get there...
Focus for 2013?
To exercise more often than not.
To maintain a portion appropriate diet.
To appreciate my husband for what he does and not complain about what he doesn't.
To positively effect the lives of any child that passes my way.
To travel to at least one place I've never been to before.
So that's that. "Resolution" is too strong a word for me, set up my all or nothing attitude which will leave me worse off by next December. Just stating a few things I would like to focus more on for the next 12 months. Much less pressure!
Also wanted to talk about something that I'm wondering if anyone else is dealing with? With my sister being in town, my family has eaten every meal out for the past 3 days and I gotta tell ya, chicken salads are wearing thin. Yesterday for lunch we went to a seafood restaurant on the beach that I had never been to and before arriving I was excited, thinking that I could order some point friendly fresh fish and rice (a seafood staple in my opinion) but when we got there everything was fried and my only other option was boiled shrimp, which I'm not a huge fan of. Totally ruined my mood!! I get so stressed out at restaurants! I get so mad at my limited choices eating out. What the hell do they put in that food to make a recipe I could easily make healthfully at home into a calorie laden fat fest in their restaurant kitchen?! Anyway, I ate the chicken salad again, and it was good and I left full, but still angry. I excused my husband and I from dinner with the rest of the family and came home annoyed, which triggered a binge. I ended up eating way more food at home! I would have been better off just eating the fried fish but I put so much pressure on myself when I know other people (my family) are watching me eat. Why do I do that?!
Anyone else dealing with the anxiety over eating out, mad about the limited healthy options, and dealing with the pressure of eating in public?
Hoping to get some good insight. But mostly wishing you all a VERY happy and successful year to come. What will your focus be in 2013?
Again, been getting messages almost every post now from new readers! So exciting! Want to welcome BEE and Poochie Ponder's to my ramblings. So happy to have you here! Welcome!!
This year I am at my lowest weight (172 for easy fact finding later on) and attempting to figure out where I will set my goal weight to be. I have a feeling that I'm pretty close to it, maybe about 10 lbs away? Guess we will find out when I get there...
Focus for 2013?
To exercise more often than not.
To maintain a portion appropriate diet.
To appreciate my husband for what he does and not complain about what he doesn't.
To positively effect the lives of any child that passes my way.
To travel to at least one place I've never been to before.
So that's that. "Resolution" is too strong a word for me, set up my all or nothing attitude which will leave me worse off by next December. Just stating a few things I would like to focus more on for the next 12 months. Much less pressure!
Also wanted to talk about something that I'm wondering if anyone else is dealing with? With my sister being in town, my family has eaten every meal out for the past 3 days and I gotta tell ya, chicken salads are wearing thin. Yesterday for lunch we went to a seafood restaurant on the beach that I had never been to and before arriving I was excited, thinking that I could order some point friendly fresh fish and rice (a seafood staple in my opinion) but when we got there everything was fried and my only other option was boiled shrimp, which I'm not a huge fan of. Totally ruined my mood!! I get so stressed out at restaurants! I get so mad at my limited choices eating out. What the hell do they put in that food to make a recipe I could easily make healthfully at home into a calorie laden fat fest in their restaurant kitchen?! Anyway, I ate the chicken salad again, and it was good and I left full, but still angry. I excused my husband and I from dinner with the rest of the family and came home annoyed, which triggered a binge. I ended up eating way more food at home! I would have been better off just eating the fried fish but I put so much pressure on myself when I know other people (my family) are watching me eat. Why do I do that?!
Anyone else dealing with the anxiety over eating out, mad about the limited healthy options, and dealing with the pressure of eating in public?
Hoping to get some good insight. But mostly wishing you all a VERY happy and successful year to come. What will your focus be in 2013?
Again, been getting messages almost every post now from new readers! So exciting! Want to welcome BEE and Poochie Ponder's to my ramblings. So happy to have you here! Welcome!!
Saturday, 29 December 2012
Family
My sister is visiting from Texas. Most of you know how much she means to me, I've talked about her here many times.
I weighed in at 172.2 yesterday, though I won't be weighing in today after a day full of family food fun that may or may not have included an entire Gigi's cupcake to myself (SO good!) and some late night over indulging back at my house while I worked up an appetite moving things around with Hubby to create my very own, in-home gym! Santa brought me a step for step aerobics! Whoop!
I new have a step and two DVDs for it, a stability ball, 3,5,&8 lbs hand weights, and resistance bands. I am SO excited to create the space needed to use them! We are converting our office (which is really considered the dining room in our loft apartment). I will post pictures once its ready, but until then, here's my sister, me, and my mom yesterday. :)
I weighed in at 172.2 yesterday, though I won't be weighing in today after a day full of family food fun that may or may not have included an entire Gigi's cupcake to myself (SO good!) and some late night over indulging back at my house while I worked up an appetite moving things around with Hubby to create my very own, in-home gym! Santa brought me a step for step aerobics! Whoop!
I new have a step and two DVDs for it, a stability ball, 3,5,&8 lbs hand weights, and resistance bands. I am SO excited to create the space needed to use them! We are converting our office (which is really considered the dining room in our loft apartment). I will post pictures once its ready, but until then, here's my sister, me, and my mom yesterday. :)
Wednesday, 19 December 2012
Too thin?
I'm weighing in at my lowest weight now, this morning, 173.4. It's exciting watching the scale go down, but looking at pictures, at this point, I tend to like how I look around 180 more. I am a shapely woman, having developed an hour glass figure as a pre-teen, and I can see that fading into a more sharp, boney shape. Also, I feel my face is looking a bit gaunt. Too thin? Not something I had ever considered struggling with...
According to the doctors' charts, my height and age indicate that I should weigh between 140lbs and 160 lbs. I don't trust my BMI because I have so much loose skin, so I don't believe that number is accurate. When I tell people I still have weight to lose to be in the prescribed weight range, people laugh? Most of them tell me "Oh, you should just do what feels best to you." Well, how will I know what feels best if I never try to be between 140 and 160? I'm not naive I know that doctors are really only giving their best guess of what would be healthy for a wide range of people, but why shouldn't I fit into that range? I do think that I probably have about 10 lbs of skin to be removed at some point. Taking that into account, I could really weigh around 163, which would make my BMI to be about 26, which is still considered overweight. It's extremely frustrating. Will I ever be considered healthy?
My work schedule is completely crazy right now due to some unforeseen obstacles and I have not been able to get to my step aerobics classes nearly as much as I'd like to be lately. I miss it!!! I've asked Santa if he might bring me a step and a few videos for Christmas this year. :) I really and truly HATE the elliptical and 45 minutes on it barely creates a dent in my activity points. I earn just 3 activity points on the elliptical for 45 minutes compared to 8! for 40 minutes of step aerobics. And, I just don't feel quite confident in my weight lifting ability to continue doing it on my own with the personal trainer quite yet. Also, on the days I do weight lifting with the trainer, I feel hungry ALL DAY afterwards and struggle not to overeat. It's an excuse, I know, but it's the truth.
So that's where I'm at right now. I really appreciate those of you who enjoy reading my occasion weight loss ramblings. I've even gotten message from a few new readers. HI!!! I'm so glad you're here!!!
According to the doctors' charts, my height and age indicate that I should weigh between 140lbs and 160 lbs. I don't trust my BMI because I have so much loose skin, so I don't believe that number is accurate. When I tell people I still have weight to lose to be in the prescribed weight range, people laugh? Most of them tell me "Oh, you should just do what feels best to you." Well, how will I know what feels best if I never try to be between 140 and 160? I'm not naive I know that doctors are really only giving their best guess of what would be healthy for a wide range of people, but why shouldn't I fit into that range? I do think that I probably have about 10 lbs of skin to be removed at some point. Taking that into account, I could really weigh around 163, which would make my BMI to be about 26, which is still considered overweight. It's extremely frustrating. Will I ever be considered healthy?
My work schedule is completely crazy right now due to some unforeseen obstacles and I have not been able to get to my step aerobics classes nearly as much as I'd like to be lately. I miss it!!! I've asked Santa if he might bring me a step and a few videos for Christmas this year. :) I really and truly HATE the elliptical and 45 minutes on it barely creates a dent in my activity points. I earn just 3 activity points on the elliptical for 45 minutes compared to 8! for 40 minutes of step aerobics. And, I just don't feel quite confident in my weight lifting ability to continue doing it on my own with the personal trainer quite yet. Also, on the days I do weight lifting with the trainer, I feel hungry ALL DAY afterwards and struggle not to overeat. It's an excuse, I know, but it's the truth.
So that's where I'm at right now. I really appreciate those of you who enjoy reading my occasion weight loss ramblings. I've even gotten message from a few new readers. HI!!! I'm so glad you're here!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)