Beginning weight: 229#
Last weigh-in weight: 224.6#
Current weight: 220.2# (as of Friday 10/5)
Amount lost week 2: 4.4#
Goal weight 1: 205# (because it's one pound less than what my fiance weighs)
Ultimate goal weight: 140# (weight going into college)
Total # lost to date: 8.8#
Total # to goal weight 1: 10.6#
Total # to ultimate goal weight: 80.2#
I kept putting off writing this week, not because my weight loss didn't go well, but because I've been busy!! I weigh myself every Friday so the weight I posted was as of last Friday. But this last week I went back home to my Dad's because my brother is home!!! It was a little difficult to keep my calorie count in check because I didn't feel in control of my food even though I took some of my own with me. I think it mostly had to do with the temptation of the food that was available that I don't usually have at my house. But I think I managed to control my calories enough and I think I learned that even if my diet isn't perfect, every little bit helps...which is encouraging.
When I tried loosing weight in the past, I've quit because sometimes I end up having a binge session where I just crave a certain food so much that I end up binging on it...and then I'm so embarrassed and disappointed with myself that I don't want to write it down in my food/calorie journal and I just want to give up. I have been, no matter what, writing things down...even if I know I messed up a little. I don't think I could restrict a certain type of food, not right now anyway. I have a huge sweet tooth, and I've been craving sweet things all week. At work, we have to stock candy and it drives me crazy to have to smell the candy bars and feel them inside the wrappers as I'm putting them away. I know might sound like a fat-kid thing to say, but I was just having major cravings. If anyone has any suggestions for a healthy way of satisfying a sweet tooth, let me know. Peanut butter seems to help, even though I know it's still higher in calories, but I think it's healthier than binging on Snickers and Reese's. One thing I've managed to cut out though is Red Bull! I haven't had one all week.
One of my biggest accomplishments this week was getting out to the park and hiking. I hiked a good three or so hours collectively this week. It felt really good and the mornings are very pretty and a lot of critters are out and about. I recorded some footage of the park I usually go to, Woodcock Creek Lake. I think I'm going to edit it and post it some time. I also will post it on the Woodcock Facebook page once I get a chance to edit it.
So I guess my question to you this week is: is it better to cut out certain foods all together, like carby things, or candy and not have any at all? Or to satisfy your cravings in a controlled way by letting yourself have a little of those things just to take the edge off? I read an article about letting yourself enjoy a little whole grain bread with your low-fat soup, or some low-fat cheese on your salad. Let me know if you agree of disagree.
Kristen
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Friday, September 28, 2012
Week 1: Goals and motivation
Beginning weight: 229#
Last weigh-in weight: 229#
Current weight: 224.6#
Amount lost week 1: 4.4#
Goal weight 1: 205# (because it's one pound less than what my fiance weighs)
Ultimate goal weight: 140# (weight going into college)
Total # lost to date: 4.4#
Total # to goal weight 1: 19.4#
Total # to ultimate goal weight: 84.6#
Yes, I'm posting my weight. I think it's important not to feel ashamed and I think it's good to create this kind of accountability with a blog. I want to be able to see my accomplishments and I want you to see them as well, even if that means sharing my weight with you.
I had a blog all written out and ready to go but I changed my mind about the topic. I was going to talk about keeping a journal and calorie counting, but I was inspired by an article I read today in the October issue of Health Magazine (which I couldn't find on their website) about setting goals in a lifestyle aspect (there are similar articles on their website). The main idea of the article was to pinpoint the reason you are dieting (other than to fit into your skinny jeans) and let that reason motivate not only your diet, but the way you live your life.
Why do we diet? The women in the article outline what motivates them to loose weight and most of them find this motivation organically, or accidentally. One woman quit smoking so that she could have a healthier pregnancy and to distract herself from cigarette cravings, she worked out. She loved the results so she proceeded with other changes including her diet.
Another woman's motivation was simply about her dog. Her dog had way too much energy so she started walking him everyday and without realizing it, she lost 10 pounds. The weight loss made her take on more behaviors that promoted healthy living and weight loss.
My main reason for loosing weight, I think, is to be healthier for pregnancy. I expect to start trying in about two years (I know, the thought of it weirds me out a little too) and I want to be at a healthier weight and I want to already have a healthier diet established by the time I am pregnant. Not only that, but I want to get down a couple dress sizes in time for my wedding.
I also want to appreciate nature more; being outdoors is spiritual to me. I want to go on walks more to feel this connectedness with nature AND to exercise.
One good habit leads to another. All of the women in the article start with one good habit, one thing that motivates them. Eventually that leads to developing another good habit and from there they can't slow their momentum; they feel energetic, they feel positive, they want to try new things, and they have more confidence to do so.
I am anxious to see what kind of habits I might pick up from changing my life style. I already notice I have more energy to do household chores like cleaning up and doing laundry (weird right?) I also have an interest in cooking and in vegetarian cooking, so we will see where that leads me. I also kick my butt into identifying excuses I make up for not eating healthy and not exercising...so far I think it's working okay...I lost almost 4 and 1/2 pounds this week, and that's even with a little McDonald's slip up! Imagine what I can do if I make more changes and keep motivated. Before I even read the article in Health, I made a list of 100 reasons I wanted to loose weight (I know, 100 seems like a lot, but it can be any reason and once you get on a roll, you keep going. I probably could have gone over 100). Maybe I will post them eventually.
That's all for now,
Kristen
Last weigh-in weight: 229#
Current weight: 224.6#
Amount lost week 1: 4.4#
Goal weight 1: 205# (because it's one pound less than what my fiance weighs)
Ultimate goal weight: 140# (weight going into college)
Total # lost to date: 4.4#
Total # to goal weight 1: 19.4#
Total # to ultimate goal weight: 84.6#
Yes, I'm posting my weight. I think it's important not to feel ashamed and I think it's good to create this kind of accountability with a blog. I want to be able to see my accomplishments and I want you to see them as well, even if that means sharing my weight with you.
I had a blog all written out and ready to go but I changed my mind about the topic. I was going to talk about keeping a journal and calorie counting, but I was inspired by an article I read today in the October issue of Health Magazine (which I couldn't find on their website) about setting goals in a lifestyle aspect (there are similar articles on their website). The main idea of the article was to pinpoint the reason you are dieting (other than to fit into your skinny jeans) and let that reason motivate not only your diet, but the way you live your life.
Why do we diet? The women in the article outline what motivates them to loose weight and most of them find this motivation organically, or accidentally. One woman quit smoking so that she could have a healthier pregnancy and to distract herself from cigarette cravings, she worked out. She loved the results so she proceeded with other changes including her diet.
Another woman's motivation was simply about her dog. Her dog had way too much energy so she started walking him everyday and without realizing it, she lost 10 pounds. The weight loss made her take on more behaviors that promoted healthy living and weight loss.
My main reason for loosing weight, I think, is to be healthier for pregnancy. I expect to start trying in about two years (I know, the thought of it weirds me out a little too) and I want to be at a healthier weight and I want to already have a healthier diet established by the time I am pregnant. Not only that, but I want to get down a couple dress sizes in time for my wedding.
I also want to appreciate nature more; being outdoors is spiritual to me. I want to go on walks more to feel this connectedness with nature AND to exercise.
One good habit leads to another. All of the women in the article start with one good habit, one thing that motivates them. Eventually that leads to developing another good habit and from there they can't slow their momentum; they feel energetic, they feel positive, they want to try new things, and they have more confidence to do so.
I am anxious to see what kind of habits I might pick up from changing my life style. I already notice I have more energy to do household chores like cleaning up and doing laundry (weird right?) I also have an interest in cooking and in vegetarian cooking, so we will see where that leads me. I also kick my butt into identifying excuses I make up for not eating healthy and not exercising...so far I think it's working okay...I lost almost 4 and 1/2 pounds this week, and that's even with a little McDonald's slip up! Imagine what I can do if I make more changes and keep motivated. Before I even read the article in Health, I made a list of 100 reasons I wanted to loose weight (I know, 100 seems like a lot, but it can be any reason and once you get on a roll, you keep going. I probably could have gone over 100). Maybe I will post them eventually.
That's all for now,
Kristen
Friday, September 21, 2012
The first step...
I'm not a weight loss professional or a medical professional of any kind. I'm just a person struggling with weight and body image like many men and women. I need an outlet, a place to document my progress where I can get feed back and read others' stories.
My purpose on here is to talk about my achievements and struggles through my weight loss, what works for me, what doesn't work for me, and what could work for you. I want to be a voice for all those chubby girls out there and to tell them they aren't alone. I want to prove to them, and to myself that there is hope for change.
How I gained my weight: Going into college, I weighed 140 pounds and I am 5' 7". I was always thin. I could always wear whatever clothes I wanted, do any activities I wanted, EAT whatever I wanted. Life happened and I ended up on anti-depressants and over the course of the next year, I gained about 30 pounds, which put me up to around 160-170. After seeing after seeing my body change, I was eventually weaned off of antidepressants (only do this under doctor supervision) and I decided to make changes in my life to get over depression drug-free.
My brother introduced me to Eckhart Tolle books and I read A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose (2008) and it changed the way I looked at the world. I began listening to uplifting music, keeping a journal (online and in a private journal), meditation, hiking, and diving into my passion: theatre. I even managed to lose some weight one summer. For another year I struggled with overcoming the depression, I succeeded and relapsed many times. Eventually I found myself in a very healthy relationship with my now fiance, Chris, and became very content and happy with life.
Then mono hit.
Mononucleosis is different for everyone. Doctors told me it could last anywhere from 2 weeks to months. For me, it was a total of about 4 months of symptoms, one of those months being very severe, and an additional few months of recovery and watching my liver health and blood levels. I had to take horse-pill sized steroids for the swelling in my throat go down enough for me to swallow anything. Unfortunately those steroids caused me to gain weight extremely fast; I gained about 15 pounds in a month. By the time the whole mono ordeal was over, I was bloated and barely recognised myself, teetering on 200 pounds.
None of my clothes fit; I had to wear sweat pants the rest of the semester. I even had to cut a shirt off of myself once because my arms got stuck. I felt disgusting and it only got worse.
Where I am today: Mono was over two years ago and now I'm up to 229 pounds. Starting college I was in a junior size 9 or 11 jean, and now I'm in a women's 18. I wore a junior's medium top, now I'm in a women's plus 2XL, sometimes a 1XL depending on the brand. I graduated college a year ago and now I've just been working third-shift retail while i "figure out my life".
Part of that "figuring out" includes losing weight. I need to do it now before I keep gaining and before I have children and a real career to manage. While I am in a happy, healthy relationship, I began to feel stagnant and bored. Chris and I started learning German, and I started to do more theatre in the area....but that's not enough. I want to lose weight. I can't do some activities I used to anymore. I am always a tech person for theatre, but anytime I have to get in front of people or do actor warm ups, I become terrified. Getting ready to go out or go to an event is also nerve wracking and I hate shopping. I've tried weight loss before, but I always failed or quit....this time I needed to do something different, so I decided to create a blog about it like I did for my depression.
I want my life back.
Next blog, I'll talk about my attempts with dieting before and why it did or didn't work and what I'm trying now to change.
My purpose on here is to talk about my achievements and struggles through my weight loss, what works for me, what doesn't work for me, and what could work for you. I want to be a voice for all those chubby girls out there and to tell them they aren't alone. I want to prove to them, and to myself that there is hope for change.
How I gained my weight: Going into college, I weighed 140 pounds and I am 5' 7". I was always thin. I could always wear whatever clothes I wanted, do any activities I wanted, EAT whatever I wanted. Life happened and I ended up on anti-depressants and over the course of the next year, I gained about 30 pounds, which put me up to around 160-170. After seeing after seeing my body change, I was eventually weaned off of antidepressants (only do this under doctor supervision) and I decided to make changes in my life to get over depression drug-free.
My brother introduced me to Eckhart Tolle books and I read A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose (2008) and it changed the way I looked at the world. I began listening to uplifting music, keeping a journal (online and in a private journal), meditation, hiking, and diving into my passion: theatre. I even managed to lose some weight one summer. For another year I struggled with overcoming the depression, I succeeded and relapsed many times. Eventually I found myself in a very healthy relationship with my now fiance, Chris, and became very content and happy with life.
Then mono hit.
Mononucleosis is different for everyone. Doctors told me it could last anywhere from 2 weeks to months. For me, it was a total of about 4 months of symptoms, one of those months being very severe, and an additional few months of recovery and watching my liver health and blood levels. I had to take horse-pill sized steroids for the swelling in my throat go down enough for me to swallow anything. Unfortunately those steroids caused me to gain weight extremely fast; I gained about 15 pounds in a month. By the time the whole mono ordeal was over, I was bloated and barely recognised myself, teetering on 200 pounds.
None of my clothes fit; I had to wear sweat pants the rest of the semester. I even had to cut a shirt off of myself once because my arms got stuck. I felt disgusting and it only got worse.
Where I am today: Mono was over two years ago and now I'm up to 229 pounds. Starting college I was in a junior size 9 or 11 jean, and now I'm in a women's 18. I wore a junior's medium top, now I'm in a women's plus 2XL, sometimes a 1XL depending on the brand. I graduated college a year ago and now I've just been working third-shift retail while i "figure out my life".
Part of that "figuring out" includes losing weight. I need to do it now before I keep gaining and before I have children and a real career to manage. While I am in a happy, healthy relationship, I began to feel stagnant and bored. Chris and I started learning German, and I started to do more theatre in the area....but that's not enough. I want to lose weight. I can't do some activities I used to anymore. I am always a tech person for theatre, but anytime I have to get in front of people or do actor warm ups, I become terrified. Getting ready to go out or go to an event is also nerve wracking and I hate shopping. I've tried weight loss before, but I always failed or quit....this time I needed to do something different, so I decided to create a blog about it like I did for my depression.
I want my life back.
Next blog, I'll talk about my attempts with dieting before and why it did or didn't work and what I'm trying now to change.
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