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| Name: Jen
May 2008 I’m working on eating more. It’s still an odd concept to me…eat more to increase your metabolism so you can lose more weight. Apparently I’ve been exercising enough that my food intake was low enough to cause my body to go into starvation mode. So maybe that is part of the reason for the slow weight loss lately. This weight loss thing is tricky. When people tell you that it’s simply calories in vs. calories out, that’s a bit of an oversimplification. Yes…overall that’s true, but nobody tells you that your calories out can vary so greatly because your body is trying to maintain the status quo. I’m so glad that metabolic testing is part of the program here, because without it, I would have been much more likely to *decrease* my food intake to speed up my weight loss rather than *increase* it. Which, according to my recent testing, would have been the wrong way to go. After one night of playing around with it, I declare myself a Wii Fit addict. My Wii Fit was delivered yesterday, and I spent last night setting it up and trying it out. What a fun way to get in some extra exercise while having fun. My husband and I tried out the ski jump game, and I can see us being very competitive about this in the future. As someone who does not possess an incredible amount of balance, I love the idea that this little board can tell me if I’m leaning one way or the other when I’m doing an exercise, so I can correct itas I’m doing it. April 2008 I have muscles. I know everyone does, but I’ve found some that are emerging from their hiding places, and I love it. I’m almost more tickled by having hard, firm shoulders than I am about the fact that my jeans are six sizes smaller than when I started. When you’re used to your body being soft everywhere, it feels really good to find places that aren’t soft…where you can see the results of your hard work. I still have plenty of soft spaces left, but it gives me hope that eventually there will be a lot more places that are firm and toned than aren’t. That’s a pretty exciting thought to me, and it keeps me going when I don’t think I can lift that weight one more time or do that last squat – you know, the one with the 50 pound weight. So, muscles are a good thing. April weight: 232.8 March 2008 My weight loss is pretty slow right now…about a pound a week or so. It means I’ve had to adjust my timeline somewhat. I thought I would be upset about having to push back my goal date, but it’s okay. I look at this as the rest of my life and it’s not like I got to my original weight in a few years…so if it takes a few extra months to get where I want to be, that’s fine. This is much different from how I felt last summer when things slowed down. Don’t get me wrong…I’d love to be back to losing 2-3 pounds a week, but I know I’m doing everything right, so I figure it will come as it comes. I see success in other areas though. My tennis game is better. I run faster. My dress size is smaller. These are ways I’m going to have to measure my progress when it seems like the scale isn’t moving very fast…and that’s okay. March weight: 234 February 2008 Thank goodness for tennis. I know I’ve mentioned this before, but finding a sport that I actually enjoy doing has made it so much easier to get in my workouts each week. I find myself playing three or four times a week for an hour or an hour and a half, and getting in a great deal of cardio without having to make myself do it. So if you can find something you love, I think you’ll find that you stop thinking of it as working out and you start thinking of it as playing. Tennis works for me, but it might be running, or golf, or swimming, or whatever. I just know I don’t have to try to schedule time on a treadmill, which I do not enjoy, because I know I will run around the tennis court for several hours a week voluntarily. (On a side note, picking up a sport has been a great way to meet some really cool people, which I’m sure is not unique to tennis.) February weight: 237.8 January 2008 Someone asked me the other day if I have splurge days where I just eat whatever I want. Honestly? No, I don’t. I have days where I allow myself to eat a little more than I normally would, but I don’t have days where I am not totally conscious of the food I put into my body. That conversation made me realize that I probably will have to be very thoughtful about what I eat for the rest of my life. Even though the way I eat now has become something of a habit, I still have to think about exactly what it is I’m eating every single time I have a meal or a snack. It made me a little bit sad to realize I will never be one of those people that just eats whatever she wants and never gains weight. However, it’s okay, because there are just some realities that I have to accept if I want to be healthy. January weight: 239.8 December 2007
At some point, this became my lifestyle. I work out, I play tennis, and I eat pretty well. I’m not perfect and I’m definitely not like the people in magazines whose typical meal is 3oz of salmon, a few carrot sticks and a mini bran muffin. I eat real food, which includes pizza, french fries, and ice cream. But I eat less of each of those things than I used to and I don’t eat them all the time. Most of the time I eat pretty healthy, but in a way that I think I can maintain for the rest of my life. December weight: 244 November 2007 The weird thing about weight loss has been that the changes in my dress size haven’t always correlated to the changes on the scale. When I first began losing weight, it took a long time before I had to buy new clothes. Mine fit differently, but I couldn’t quite buy the smaller size for about two months. Over the summer though, when the scale was up and down and up and down, I went down at least one size, and in some clothes two. I’ve gone down another size during the fall, and some of the clothes I’m wearing now are just a big bit and I will most likely buy any new clothes one size down. (For the record, I wore a size 28 and now wear a size 20…sometimes 18.) The downside of losing weight is that you lose your entire wardrobe. I’ve spent a lot of money on clothes over the years and I never kept anything that was too small for me to wear. So now, I really don’t have many clothes, and I constantly have to buy something. I don’t have a lot of clothes at my transition sizes and they are all seasonal, but if anyone is looking for clothes sizes 24-28 (I sort of skipped 22), ask Denise how to get in touch with me. I have a big closet full of clothes that I can no longer wear. The way I figure it, you can use them while you need them and then give them to someone else. November weight: 247.4 October 2007 I think support has been a huge factor in how this whole thing has worked out for me. I have an amazingly supportive husband who has had to change his eating habits to fit with mine. No longer do we have Tostitos and Chips Ahoy in the house. Instead we have Baked Lays or Kashi Cookies. We don’t go out to eat as much, and when we do, we choose places that have options that work for me. Having someone there who doesn’t ask me to make cookies or cake or things like that has been really helpful. As a nice bonus, my husband has lost some weight too just by changing his eating habits to fall in line with mine. My friends, coworkers, and family have also been fantastic. People know not to push donuts on me or get upset if I don’t want to try a piece of the cheesecake they made the night before. Additionally, I’ve received many kind remarks, which feels fantastic. October weight: 252 July 2007 I’m running into the weirdest problem. Karen is theorizing that I’m not eating enough to lose weight. How weird is that? Intellectually, I get the fact that your body will react to a lack of food by going into starvation mode and will attempt to keep everything you’ve got. However…I spent the first 35 years of my life eating too much…and it’s really hard to wrap my head around the idea that I’m eating too little. It’s not like I’m one of those people who will starve myself. I eat 3-6 times a day. I eat lunch out pretty much every day. I eat regular food. So this idea that I don’t eat enough when I don’t feel deprived is pretty odd to me. So it’s something I’m working on. So while this hasn’t been a great month for me in terms of weight loss, I still have some successes that I’m really proud of. I’ve seen a lot of the weights that I’m using for my workouts go up quite a bit. I gauge my success on whether or not I can do things that I couldn’t do before and moving up to the “big girl” weights on some of my exercises is really motivating for me. I’ve really got to give Denise credit for that. I love that she pushes. I guarantee that as motivated to succeed as I am, I would not have made the progress I have without someone telling me that I could, in fact, push that big weight up over my head or hold that plank for a little bit longer. I’ve also started taking tennis lessons this month…which is something I never would have done last summer. Amazingly for me, I can totally keep up. And even better…I really enjoy it. I want to plug a website that I absolutely love…www.hungry-girl.com. This website is fantastic. I don’t remember where I ran across it, but I’ve been hooked ever since. There is a daily newsletter that could include food reviews, food comparisons, calorie counts for restaurant foods with recipes for making similar items in a healthier way, etc. And for me, the reviews have pretty much been spot on. (For example, Fat Free Redi-Whip really is better than Fat Free Cool Whip, and less calories per serving, too!) The best part is that the whole website is put together with a fun attitude and a great sense of humor. June 2007 Yay…I’ve finally lost weight enough weeks in a row to say that I’m no longer on a plateau! I started interval training for my cardio days. Wow…it’s really tough. I like the fact that I’m always counting down to something…which makes time go by quickly. During the two minutes at the intense setting, I’m counting down to when I get to go back to the cool down and the two minutes of cool down flies by. All in all, I like it and hate it at the same time. J I think it’s a great workout though and I’m definitely going to keep it up. I’ve even started to incorporate jogging into my intervals – two minutes at a time, but I’m still pretty happy about that. I don’t think I’ve jogged since high school! We’re on a cycle of more intense workouts during my personal training sessions now. Everything is heavier or longer or somehow more difficult. It’s good…and I always feel like I’ve had a good workout when I’m done, but I’m always sore somewhere now. Protein drinks are part of my current food plan. They aren’t bad, but they certainly aren’t something I would eat for the fun of it. So now I’m using them for my mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack…replacing the things I would normally have at that time. So I’m actually struggling with eating enough food. This has happened a few times throughout this process – and it’s so weird. I never would have thought I would have to push myself to eat enough. And I’m sure I could…it’s just much harder to do it if you’re eating the right foods. Current Weight: 268.2 May 2007 Plateaus still stink, but at least I seem to be making some headway in that regard. I even lost weight on vacation…and I went to Las Vegas, where there is a ton of great food everywhere! I went there last year and was pretty tired from all of the walking. This year, I felt great! This is probably the first time I could really tell I difference in how I feel since I’ve been working out. I took a week off of working out while I was on vacation because Denise made me. I was fairly skeptical about the idea of taking a break (particularly because I’ve been so slow on the whole weight loss issue lately), but she said that it was time for an “active rest”. So, I did what I was told…walked a lot, as most people do when they are in Vegas, but that’s it. I was very surprised to find how much different I felt at the end of the week. All those little aches and pains that I’ve learned to take for granted just went away. It was pretty cool. May Weight: 274.6 (-70 pounds) April 2007
That being said…it still stinks. The only positive thing I can say is that overall, I’ve still lost weight…it’s just been really slow. Oh…and I’m finally down another size. April Weight: 281.0 (-63.6 pounds) February-March 2007 I’m still struggling with eating enough fruits and veggies. I don’t dislike fruits and veggies…I just don’t like them as much as other things, I suppose. I’ve now tried dried fruit, smooshed fruit, and freeze-dried fruit all in the attempt to get more fruit into my diet. Dried fruit is quite yummy…but has a ton of sugar (which is probably why it’s yummy). It’s kind of like eating candy. So if I have a hankering for sweets, a bit of dried pineapple, papaya, or mango will usually do the trick. Smooshed fruit comes in strips kind of like fruit roll-ups. I like to keep them in my desk drawer at work for mid-morning or mid-afternoon snacks. They’re pretty good…and no sugar added. I really like freeze dried fruits, but they’re hard to find and fairly pricey. I’ve found a few types at Strawberry Fields (I like the peaches) and a friend of mine found some in the baby aisle at the grocery store (they’re cut into tiny bits and come in banana, apple, banana-pineapple, and apple-berry). I’m not where I should be on the fruits yet, but some is more than none. March Weight: 283.4 (-61.2 pounds lost) January 2007
I really do not like cardio workouts, but if I bring some music, it’s easier to think of the workout in terms of how many songs I have left to go rather than how many minutes. After about the first 15 minutes or so, everything gets a bit easier. I cannot stress enough how much having a food log has helped me. I’m so conscious of my portions now because I know I’m going to have to write things down. It has really helped me make the right decisions too. If I know I’m already at my limit for carbs or fats for the day, then I just don’t have any more. I’ve also found that asking for help and feedback has been really good for me. When I’ve dieted in the past (and it was dieting rather than a lifestyle change) I usually didn’t really talk about it with anyone. That way if I failed, it wasn’t like anyone would know about my failure. This time I’ve been pretty open about the fact that I’m trying to make a life change. And the people around me have been incredibly supportive. January Weight: 299.8 (-44.8 pounds, 1st Goal Weight Reached!) November/December 2006 Holidays…I was very worried about the holidays. Everyone says that on average you gain 7 pounds or some other ridiculously high number over the holidays. I love Thanksgiving…I love Christmas dinner. My office has a number of events that involve lots of home-cooked goodies. I found that I just didn’t want them bad enough to side track all of the work I’ve done so far. If I wanted something, I had a small portion of it and then passed on something else I didn’t want as much. Karen and I discussed options for the holidays well in advance, so I was prepared with ideas and tips before I was actually sitting in front of the food. What I’ve discovered:
December Weight: 310.2 (-34.4 pounds and -31.5 inches) October 2006
Wow, I love having an appointment to work out. There’s someone waiting for me and I’m accountable for not only showing up, but putting forth effort. That’s huge for me. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has great intentions when they sign up for their fitness membership only to find that working out ends up lowest on the priority list when things get busy. I have been pleasantly surprised to find that the food hasn’t been as much of an issue as I thought it would be. The biggest challenge for me has been getting the right amount of fruits and vegetables in. Right now, I’d have to say that writing everything down has been so good for me. October Weight: 330.6 (-14 pounds)
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So I finally hit 100 pounds lost. I had hoped to get there a couple months ago, but my progress, while steady, has been slower than I had originally hoped. Here’s the thing though…I’m fine with that. I’ve gotten to the point where I’m not as concerned with whether or not the numbers are dropping quickly. It always goes down, and that’s really all that matters.
Plateaus stink. I am working as hard as I ever was, eating as well as I have been and yet my weight is fluctuating up and down by a few pounds. It’s very demoralizing. Two things are keeping me on track.
I’m really pleased that my weight loss has been pretty steady. I work out 6-7 days a week and I’m really pretty good about my food, so it’s nice to have the results match the effort. I’ve finally had to start buying clothes in a smaller size. Yay! I was pleasantly surprised to find that the holidays were not as much of a challenge as I thought they would be. I think having a plan in place for dealing with holiday parties and dinners helped a lot.
My 35th birthday is around the corner and I felt like it was time to make a positive change in my life. There are a number of things I’d like to work on, but I can really only focus on one major change at a time. I have a friend who has been working out at I-Power since July and she is really happy with it, so I decided to give it a try. I know it’s going to be tough…I kind of think of this as a full time job, but I think I’m really ready for it. |
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