Update...

So, summer is over for me... it officially ended when school started back up last week. It was hard to go back to work after being a student myself for the entire summer. I made it through my summer classes with all A's, putting me 1/3 of the way through my grad program. I just wish I had been able to have more down time.

On the weight loss front... things are still at a frustrating standstill. I am starting the Biggest Loser diet to see how things go. I haven't really counted calories the whole time I've been losing weight... so I think it's time for me to start doing that. The Biggest Loser diet is still fairly low-carb... it allows 2 servings of whole grains per day. It is similar to South Beach in that it allows some fruit as well. I am going to give it a go for the next month or so and see how my body reacts. Hopefully some of this weight will come off!

Sloooooooow Scaaaaaaaale....

Is there anything more annoying than painfully, excruciatingly slow movement on the scale? That's what I've been going through for the past few months. I'm down to 255, which I'm thankful for. But it's really hard to see such slow losses. I've tried changing things up with my eating and my exercising... but nothing is really helping too much. Yes, I know that a loss is a loss and at least I'm not gaining, right? And I am really thankful for every pound that comes off.

I started grad school this summer... so I'm really busy. I have so much more on my plate than weight loss... which is good, in a way, because it helps me not obsess so much.

Plateau Woes...

Well, it really was bound to happen. I haven't lost any weight in about 5 weeks. I know, I know... this is expected to happen when your body does amazing things like lose 140 pounds in barely more than a year. But I don't like working hard and seeing zero results. It really isn't the most encouraging thing.

So, last weekend my trainer gave me permission to eat, eat, eat... well, to not go crazy, but to up my carbs and calories kind of significantly. I did that during the weekend, then went back to my phase 1 South Beach-ish diet. Yes, there was a weight gain from the indulgent weekend... but as of Wednesday most of that was off. I'm hoping that my weigh-in tomorrow morning at the gym will show a loss of some virgin fat. Please!

It's funny, though... even though the scale is super stuck, I'm getting more compliments on my weight-loss than ever!

Update and rant.

I'm doing well... April hasn't been the best month for me weight-loss-wise, but I'm okay with that. After busting my tail at the beginning of the month to finish up that weight loss competition (we placed 3rd, which did not come with a prize), I felt so burned out on diet and exercise that I relaxed a bit with my strictness. I kept up my healthy eating, but I've had a few cheats this month which is really unlike me. One of those cheats was really worth it, though, so that's okay. :)

Today in the grocery store, I overheard a conversation between and mother and her teenaged daughter that really bugged me. The girl was probably 14 years old... she was cute and seemed at a healthy weight to me. I don't know how they got into the conversation of the girl's weight, but I heard her mother tell her that they had an agreement about her weight that she wasn't keeping up with. The girl said "but you keep telling me that I'm fat." And the mom said "because you are." Because you are. It took everything in me not to say something to that mother. She could stand to lose weight herself, and here she was saying something so horrible to her daughter who obviously doesn't need to lose weight. The girl got angry and said to her mother, "I only weigh 100 pounds... are you not going to be happy until I'm 80 pounds? What do you want from me? To be anorexic?" The mom started telling her not to speak to her that way. The girl was upset... and I could tell that this wasn't the first conversation like this that they'd had.

I was a heavy child and my parents weren't so nice to me about it. They would tell me that I needed to lose weight and they would tell me to go on a diet. What does a 10 year old know about dieting? All a kid knows is about eating the food that is brought into their home... eating the food that is prepared by their parents. If parents wants their child to eat better, it is their responsibility to bring better foods into the home... to cook healthy meals and pack healthy lunches for their children. Children learn their eating habits from their parents. If parents want their children to exercise, they need to teach by example and exercise too. They need to plan activities where the family is being active together. My parents didn't understand this... neither does the mom at the grocery store... and neither do lots of other parents today. It's really sad.

1 Year Progress Pic...

I finally got around to taking my one-year progress picture. :) Yes, my head is cut off. Don't worry, though... you aren't missing much. You can see my face when I convince Oprah to have me on her show when I get to goal.





Oh, look... you get to see some chin. :) If you want to see the before pic, scroll though old posts and you'll find it. I don't want to post it again because... well... because I really hate seeing it.

So... one year, 135 pounds. It's a big accomplishment... it's over a third of my starting weight! Despite the fact that I wish I could be at goal yesterday, I am proud of myself. I think I've finally got things figured out after years and years of failed attempts to lose weight.

I appreciate all of the wonderfully sweet and supportive comments that I've been getting from everyone. It isn't necessary for you to say anything to me... but I do appreciate it very much when you do. :)

One Year...

Well, today was the one year anniversary of the day I started eating better and losing weight. It's really hard to believe that I've stuck with it for a whole year. In that time I've lost 135 pounds. That's 1/3 of my starting weight! One hundred and thirty five freakin' pounds!

I plan on taking one year progress pics... I just didn't get a chance to today. I hope to have some ready by the end of the week.

There is a week left in my county's weight loss competition. I received an email today that said that every person who loses over 12% of their starting weight for the competition will receive some sort of cash prize. I feel bummed because in order to hit that 12%, I'll need to lose 7 pounds this week. Seems impossible because I just lost 6.4 this week and I never have big loss weeks back to back anymore. I don't want to not try, but I don't know what to do to get that kind of loss. But I don't want to almost get there. I'm trying not to feel discouraged. :(

Checking in...

Well, February turned out to be an okay month with an 8 pound weight loss. I think that 5 of those pounds came off within the same week... the other 3 inched their way off. I've lost 4 more pounds since the last day in February, though... so maybe March will be a bigger loss.

Sometimes it gets so frustrating when those slow weeks come along. I start to feel like I'm working my tail off and getting nowhere. Then, out of the blue, I'll lose several pounds overnight, it seems. Then I start to feel like maybe my hard work isn't for nothing.

My trainer has really started pushing me harder lately. More cardio, especially. I am up to doing an hour of cardio each session. It's hard, but if it's what I need to do to keep the weight moving off, I'll do it. Last Monday, the day before the weigh-in for the competition I'm in, my trainer had me strength train, do an hour on the elliptical machine... then he told me to go home, have dinner, rest for a little bit, then come back and do an hour in the treadmill! I thought he had lost his mind because I didn't think I could manage 2 hours of cardio, but I did it.

So, since yesterday was the day before a weigh-in, I tried the crazy 2 hours of cardio thing again. Only I decided to break it up a little more by getting up at 4:30am to do an hour before work. Then I did another hour after work. Today was weigh-in, and I thought that it wasn't going to be good since the scale at the gym had me stuck at the same weight all week. But, I stepped on the scale and it showed a 4.4 pound loss! I was so surprised that I made them weigh me again to make sure.

I bought two new shirts at Target last week... I was excited to fit into a size 20/22 stretch v-neck tee. I've also bought a pair of stretch jeans from a store that are a size 22. I haven't changed my stats to a size 22 jeans yet, though, because I want to fit into different brands in a size 22 before I consider myself there. But I sure do love wearing those jeans! :)

I'm going to keep chugging along... you do the same!

Oh my gosh, it's been a while...

I know it's been a while since my last post. But sometimes life and busy schedules get in the way of blogging. :)

So, I'm down to 278. It's been slow-going lately, but I really can't complain much when I'm down 122 pounds in less than 11 months. I am still in that weight loss competition I mentioned last time. My team isn't doing so hot... but some people aren't as committed as they said they were in the beginning. If there's anything I've learned on this weight loss journey, it's that you have to want it. Some of my teammates obviously don't want it. If you don't want it, it isn't going to happen no matter what other people say to you. There's something that clicked inside for me last April and I haven't looked back. I made a commitment to myself and I will never look back.

My losses for the competition haven't been too impressive lately. But, it's hard for me to compete with the people who are just starting out with their weight loss. My body used to lose 5-6 pounds in a week... it just can't do that all the time anymore. I haven't hit a plateau, because I am always having some kind of loss each week... even if it's 1/2 a pound. I should be more grateful for those little losses, but it's hard. I want to be under 200 pounds now. Not later, but NOW. Ugh. I'll get there eventually.

I don't have any recent progress pics to post. I think I might take some when I hit 275, which will be 125 lbs gone. That's a nice milestone to mark with progress pictures.

Quick Update...

I know I haven't updated all month, but there isn't much to report on the weight loss front. The scale isn't moving! Well, it did dip down to 289 one day, but was back up to 290 the next day. It's frustrating, but I'm not letting it derail me.

One thing that I think it going to get the scale moving again is that my county is having a weight loss competition. The first weigh-in was last night. It's like a Biggest Loser type thing but you register with a team of 5. My trainer put together a team and I'm on it. So, I'm looking forward to shaking things up a bit... nothing like a little competition to motivate me! And there are cash prizes, so that's good motivation, too. I'm not sure how much money will be awarded because it depends on the number of teams who sign up. The competition lasts for 12 weeks and you pay $5.00 at each weekly weigh-in. If you miss a weigh-in, you owe an extra $5.00. And if you gain weight, you pay $1.00 per pound gained!

So, here's to working hard for the next 12 weeks!

Before/Current Picture...

Thank you to everyone who has commented on my progress lately. It's really encouraging for me to know that people are reading and are being inspired by what I've done. So many people are inspirations for me, so it's nice to inspire even one person.

Someone asked me about my height... I am short, 5'4". You wouldn't think that someone who is 5'4" and weighs 290 pounds would be able to fit into a size 24 women's jeans and a 2x shirt. But, for some reason, I am so much heavier on the scale than people think when they look at me. When I started working with my trainer and he weighed me for the first time and I was 400 pounds, he couldn't believe it. He said that he never would have thought that I was over 350. He says that it's most likely because I have a lot of muscle. But, I know I still have a lot of fat, too!

According to medical charts, for my height, my "healthy" weight range should be between 108 and 145 pounds. Yeah right! According to my trainer's fancy scale, I am carrying 133 pounds of muscle and 7 pounds of bone. That means that at 0% body fat, I would still weigh 140... the higher end of that "healthy" weight range. A healthy body fat percentage for women my age is 21%-33%. So, it's possible that I can weigh 200 pounds at the end of all this, and have 30% body fat, which is healthy. I think I'd look pretty good then! Of course I won't know until I get there. :)

I didn't mean to go off on a tangent... I was just trying to say that I can't really go by the medical weight charts for my height because my body composition doesn't seem to be in line with the "average" person's.

On to a progress pic!