Cheese

I've been maintaing for about 4 months now. At the beginning of March I was 206 and currently the lowest I've clocked is 197. Comparatively speaking, that's the slowest weight loss rate I've seen (the most I lost in a month was 12lbs). It's refreshing to maintain. I've got more to lose, and a certainly plenty of areas to tone, but I've never been at a point where I'm comfortable enough to just stick around the same weight for a bit.

My goal a few months ago was to find some mental balance, and I think I've had success. I am no longer counting calories, I only weigh myself a few times a week (coming down from 14 times a week), and I allow myself to have a variety of foods. Now, one might think "well, you're not losing and isn't that bad!?" Nope. I'm totally ok with it. In fact, I'm gaining. Gaining confidence and a healthy mental perspective on weight loss/nutrition, and it feels GREAT.

Throughout my climb towards health, I'll be honest to admit that it hasn't been what I thought; health is much more of a battle than what I thought it would be. Once I'd reach the end of really tough goals I set, (you know, a 5k, or 12 weeks w/ a personal trainer, or 2 months of Paleo shizz) I'd discover that there are so many more battles for me to fight! And they're hard. Every one of them in a different way (mentally, physically, emotionally, financially). But I look at it like this (and here comes the cheese): I started at the bottom of Mt. Yazvac, made up of tons of tiny hills to climb. The first hill was hard, the second hill was a little harder, and on and on I go. But with each hill, the peak of Mt Yazvac in clearer sight with the final ascent in reach. Along the way I continue to shed garbage, which makes the hardest, steepest, most intense hills actually attainable for me to summit. If I were still battling the mental/physical health that I started with, I could not succeed at the peaks I'm challenged at now.

I'm fired up to reach that peak!!!!

March 2012   -   June 2013

Paleo: Month 1 Overview

Weight loss: 

January 5th: 216.8 lbs

February 2nd: 207.0 lbs

Rest days: 10 of 28 days

Exercised: 18 of 28 days

I think it's fair to note the food items that I still consume that aren't Paleo:

-85% dark chocolate sweetened with sugar

-A tablespoon or so of 1/2 and 1/2 every day in my coffee

-Cheat times: I ate two chocolate chip cookies on January 11th, and a brownie on the 16th

BEFORE: Nuts, cheese, fruit, and 85% dark chocolate for snacks at work between meals.

AFTER: Mostly veggies and some fruit between meals. 

BEFORE: Hair dry and wouldn't hold curl for more than 2 hours.

AFTER: Hair shiny and healthy looking, will hold minimal curl for days.

BEFORE: Dinner plate would be 1/4 meat, 1/2 'healthy' starch, and 1/4 veggies.

AFTER: Dinner plate is 1/2 meat and 1/2 veggies.

BEFORE: Never noticed being dizzy

AFTER: Dizzy/black out multiple times during the day for a second at a time. Normally happens when I bend over and stand up quickly. 

BEFORE: Healthy snacking all day between meals, resulting in a lower caloric intake at meal time.

AFTER: No snacking between meals, but eating same amount of calories spread between three meals. (Note: I started this approach on week 4 of Paleo.)

BEFORE: Snacking on fruits and nuts after dinner for night-time snack.

AFTER: No eating after dinner or before breakfast the next day.  (Started on week 4)

BEFORE: Regular menstrual cycle.

AFTER: Menstrual cycle came twice in one month.

BEFORE: Painful bowel movements at times.

AFTER: Smooth moves! (No, not even with the help of Traditional Medicinal's)

BEFORE: Small breakfast, medium size lunch, and large dinner. (calorie-speaking)

AFTER: Even amount of calories/protein at each meal. 

BEFORE: $75 per week for groceries (for two of us, of course)

AFTER: $100 per week on average 

Thoughts to note:

• I have been pretty strict with staying on track with Paleo... mostly because I really wanted to dive in and make sure I have a realistic idea of the way this works with my lifestyle/body.
• It's been easier than I thought it would be, but I still have to remind myself daily that food will not control my life. 
• I've enjoyed making lots of new recipes, and not feeling bad about eating a lot of healthy food at each meal. 
• I'm going in another month at this, and I will be just as strict! However, I'm still not committed to make Paleo my lifestyle after month two. 
• February is now the beginning of month 12 of my strict weight-loss/health journey, and last month was certainly my most strict. I really stayed on track. Interestingly enough, I also lost the most amount of weight so far last month. Here's to reaching my weight loss goal of under 200 this month!!!!!

Yay for healthy hair!

 Note, the lower picture is also 3 days post-wash! 

September 2012           November 2012           February  2013

November 2011: Before & Afters

I finally took some more before/after pictures, and had another cool moment to go along with it..... 

Tonight I carried that jug in from our van and thought, hey! I should....

Yes, I weighed it.

Any guesses? 

44.8 lbs! 

Never again do I want to carry that jug around all day. 

I decided to snap a picture (remember my last a-ha picture with the 20lb dumbbell??) of that milestone weight loss that I've finally jumped over- 50lbs!

Changes

Wowzah.
It's been a while, but I feel even closer to my goal than ever before! I'm a mere 18lbs away from my 2012 goal- under 200lbs! I couldn't be more motivated.
Since I broke off the training with Lydia, I've developed some healthy habits of my own, of which I think are really helping me kick it in gear.

Breakdown:

• As mentioned in an earlier post, I'm not eating bread. I'll have the occasional small taste of something, but I'm specifically cutting out as much of gluten as possible. In the month of October, I made it through the end with only eating bread twice. Piece of cake. (Ha, figuratively!) Of course at times I wanted it, but it was really much easier than I thought it would be. 
• I've been working out about 4-5 times per week- and included in that, I'm lifting about 1-2 times, but I'm mainly focusing on low-impact cardio machines to help me burn calories. I really enjoy the rowing machine and this elliptical-like machine. I can do some high intensity at night and wake up the next morning without my heels or knees hurting. That's huge! 
• I found that the high intensity:low intensity intervals on the cardio machines produce the best results in weight loss. It's like doing sprint/jog intervals--without the impact on my joints! For example, tonight I did the elliptical as follows: 1 minute of the machines highest settings and then 1 minute of a mid-range setting, repeating for 30 minutes. I burned 500 calories, and my heart rate averaged around 155 the whole time. 
• I'm really noticing the difference in my appearance. I actually didn't even recognize myself in the mirror at Macy's one night. I mean, I was looking right at myself, but I still have a different mental picture of what I look like. Exciting stuff!
• I'm trying to eat my heavy foods before 6 or 7pm. And by heavy I mean meats and other healthy fats. 
• I won't go into much detail, but I've noticed a difference in my digestive tract.
• At night, I'm trying to focus more on how I feel. Do I feel tight? bloated? light? energized? exhausted? And then I ask myself why? Did I exercise? eat bad? eat good? After recognizing this, I let myself get on the scale and normally have a pretty good idea of the numbers that will appear. 
• It seems normal, but my body weight throughout the day does not fluctuate as much as it did earlier. In May, my weight would fluctuate about 4 lbs from morning to night, gaining as the time goes by. Today, my weight has fluctuated about 1.5lbs from this morning to 8pm. Interesting. 

This is what works for me. Everyone's different, and we all have different motivators. I'm so blessed to have the opportunities available to work towards a life goal of mine, and I couldn't be more excited. 

Four Goals

Oh my!

It's been a while, but no worries. I've still been up and at 'em with my health.

First, I should note that last week was an all-time high for me. In fact, higher than ANY OTHER WEEK yet! I lost five pounds and I'm certain I know why. In addition to my efforts that are in place, I decided to tack on four goals last week:

1. No bread

2. Walk 2 miles over my lunch break

3. Stop eating after dinner

4. Only 3 sweets a week 

I'm telling you, those pounds were just shedding off! I literally was nervous that the success might be at an unhealthy rate... but I think I was just surprising myself. I am on my second week of no bread, which is going ok. 10 days in I gave in and had a grilled cheese. Gr. But I'm back on track and will continue to reach my goals! On the 15th of this month, I'm going to try to cut out gluten. Whew! That will be hard, for sure!!!! But I'm determined. I've proved to myself that I am capable of a lot more than what I give my body credit for, and there's no stopping me now.

Bike Rides and Picnic Tables

I went on a really long bike ride recently and realized how much I enjoy exercising now. I mean, it's not like I love it and look forward to it like I would going to a concert or something. Ha! So I guess it's the mental and physical feeling that is so pleasing. I got half way done with my bike ride, sat on a picnic table, bathed in the sun for a while, and then did some ab workouts. Since when do I do ab workouts on a bike ride!? I then hopped back on my bike and rode for another hour. No, I don't have time to do cardio exercise like that every day, but when I do get the chance, I really, really enjoy it. It's such a good feeling to (know your alive....?) know that I'm making a choice to be healthy, and that if I keep up the work on all sides, I will continue to see results and restore my body to a healthy state.

Potatoes

Today marks a pretty significant point in my weight loss journey.... I've lost 40 lbs!

You know, like 4 sacks of potatoes....

Trainer-less

After 29 weeks, I'm saying goodbye to the luxury of a personal trainer. I thought about it for a long time before I made the decision, but I knew that I would need to move on by myself eventually, and it just seemed like a good transition time. When I first signed on with her at NFPT, we started with a 12 week contract and eventually kept going because we saw great results. Now, I've absorbed a wealth of knowledge about weight lifting, cardio, and nutrition, and I'm ready to soar on my own wings. Or at least I'm hoping something like that works out.

So what's my plan?

Well, I still want to keep up with lifting weights, and I have a membership at the gym at Purdue, so that should help. They have a TON of equipment and it's in a fairly convenient location. I have the training schedule that I used from NFPT and hope to knock out the weights as often as possible. I have to admit, I will really miss the motivation and the accountability that Lydia provided. Not to mention her help with proper form! Ah, her role in my weight loss has been priceless and I know there will be a huge void as I transition. I'm thankful that we're friends and I'll still see her around Lafayette!!!!

So I guess I'm excited and nervous all at once. I have confidence that I can do this on my own, and really, there's nothing on my mind that even hints at quitting or or giving up.

Goals#2: Revised

I've had these plotted out for a while now... truth!

This time I broke them up in three categories, as follows:

Short term:

• Learn how to swim for exercise
• Complete the Rossville 5K (and I've thought, perhaps, that maybe I'll try doing one 5K each month, and at each one trying to beat my time on the previous.... hm. maybe.)
• Complete the Steps to Life 5K (and you should, too! It's cheap and donations are for a GREAT cause!)
• Learn how to do the rowing machine with correct form
• Get in the 220's by September 1st

Ongoing: 

• Yoga once a week 
• Cross train for cardio three times a week 
• Blog a minimum of once a week 
• Fun a new friend to trail run with once a month
• Find, try, and post successful recipes
• Limit sugar intake to around 30-40g per day
• Drink 64oz of water, and at least 1/2 of that before lunch

Long Term (well, by the end of 2012)

• Under 200lbs by new year's eve????
• Coordinate a family 5K
• Research more about nutrition's impact on weight loss
• Throw out the birth control!
• Prepare, prepare, prepare for Christmas & Thanksgiving holiday eating (start new trends in healthy holiday meals????) 
• Finish a 5K in under 30 minutes

Pictures: Week 23

29 lbs lost!!! 

5K: 2011 | 2012

I started training for my first 5K in March of 2011. I hadn't been running at all, and really wanted to incorporate exercise into my weight loss journey. I found a 8 week workout plan online that would take me from running 1/4 mile up to 3.1 miles.

Our race day came on May 7, 2011 and I was all too nervous. My dear friend Hope was running her first 5K right along side of me, but I knew she would pass me up right away. My goal was to finish in (prepare yourself!) under 40 minutes. Yep. I hadn't accomplished that time yet, but I thought it was possible. In fact, I hadn't even run 3.1 miles up to race day. 

I got out there on a beautiful morning and ran my heart out. I'll never forget rounding that last bend and seeing my husband out there practically jumping up and down saying "Hurry babe! You're going to make it in under 40!!!!" WOW! What a rush of adrenaline. I finished in 63rd place, in 39:15. I was so so so so happy! I made my goal! 

(((the difference in our faces makes me laugh so hard!)))

Fast forward 14 months and here we are today! I've accomplished one of my long-term goals. I just got home from finishing my second 5K and had a blast! I got to run it with another friend, Katie (it was her first race!!!), and a few ladies from work. 

What are my feelings? Wow. I'm feeling so different in comparison to last year. I feel faster. Stronger. I've got more endurance. Probably more motivation. I've lost stinking 25lbs since then too, which is crazy inspiring. There's no way I'd want to run today's race with two- ten pound dumbbells in my hands. That weight is shed and lost forever. 

While I didn't make my goal time today, I'm still really happy I competed. My final time was 33:16, knocking off 6 minutes from last year I would have liked to finish in under 30 minutes, but I honestly didn't do great on my first mile. There were probably 300 people competing, and I couldn't run my normal pace in the beginning. But, nevertheless, I'm proud to say that I finished the race, and want to give all praise to the Lord. He has blessed me with wonderful encouragers in my life and I couldn't be more thankful!

Ketchup

I'm not really sure if there's a definite reason as to why I haven't been updating this blog for the past month. I had a lot of time to think about what I should post, but I guess I never felt motivated to do so. There weren't any drastic improvements during the month of June or really even any days where I felt like I was doing my absolute best to accomplish my goals here. Admittedly, I think a huge part of that was because I wasn't seeing any results on the scale every day. (Funny how those last two sentences are so heavily cause & effect!) 

For most of us, when we don't see results, we slowly start moving back to where we started... looking for some satisfaction. We tell ourselves that we deserve to cheat for the weekend, because we've worked so hard and it won't really make a difference anyways. I listened to voices come back and tell me that I'll always be overweight and could never be health, and that it's all my fault. I slowly started eating for pleasure instead of fuel for my body. UH! This makes me angry just typing this! But this is good... I mean, sucks that I have to continually go through this, but it's good that I'm realizing the pain and dedication it is to set myself apart from what America thinks is a clean-eating, healthy person. (I have this huge picture of Jared from Subway in my head.) Looking back, I realize that I have a greater desire to become healthy with each year that goes by. And even now, month to month, I can see the affects of what I've been learning. In fact, I have a specific, first-hand encounter! Read on. 

From February to the end of May, according to my results, I had lost 20lbs of fat and gained 1.5 lb of muscle. Cool. At that measurement in May, my trainer told me I should up my caloric intake as well as my daily dose of protein. I took heed to her suggestion (Sounded great! More food!) but was kinda unsure on how my body would react. 

Well, by mid-June, it was time to once again do some calculations with my weight loss. In just a few weeks, I gained EIGHT pounds of muscle!!! How crazy! I also brought my total weight loss up to 25lbs as well. I am now 1/3 of the way to my goal weight! This was perfect timing for me to find out this news, because like I said earlier, I wasn't seeing any change on the scale, and was really starting to lose motivation.

So, here are some pictures that I took about 3 weeks ago. The physical difference is encouraging, and certainly a motivation to never go back!

Pictures: Week 9

I'm mustering up the guts to post these. Maybe because I see progress? Maybe because I'm shedding pride? Maybe because I still need accountability? Still not really sure, and I certainly have a long way to go...but these results are pretty inspiring.

And just for kicks, above is a picture of me and Lydia, posing for a photo op at her recent boot camp that I attended. The weight I'm holding represents the weight I once was carrying- 20lbs heavier!

Success

Well, I'll just get right down to it.

I've lost 20 lbs!!!!


When I stepped on that scale on Wednesday, I literally had to step off and step back on again to believe myself. The thought of it still makes me smile! I mean, not that five or ten pounds isn't a great accomplishment-- I guess it's probably because it's the biggest weight loss I've had yet in my life, and I feel confident I can lose even more.

Everyone always says that you plateau at some point in your weight loss, right? Week 7 and 8 really proved that for me. I didn't lose one pound during the course of those two weeks...I only fluctuated like two or three pounds between days. I was a bit discouraged because I was eating really clean and getting out almost daily to put in some cardio. When I got on the scale, I had to keep telling myself that this must be plateau time and to keep pushing through and to not give up. Of course, on week 9, I was able to shed like 4.5lbs in four days. I certainly need to give credit to my love, Lydia, and my wonderful support group of friends that helped me through those rough weeks.

Changes

I was talking to my trainer yesterday about how  from just 6 weeks ago my mindset is different than what it is now. Six weeks ago I still had a good idea of what healthy food was, or so I thought. I probably would've gone to Chipotle and ordered a burrito bowl and thought I was doing well. Six weeks ago, if I was playing a game of volleyball and two games of Frisbee golf, I was doing good on exercising for the week. Six weeks ago, I was still making 'healthy' spaghetti, because I used whole wheat pasta.

Now, six weeks later, I'm thankful to see how both my mindset and body has changed. Sure, I still have a long way to go, and many changes to be made, but all in all, I see a steady incline of progress.

Last night I ordered a simple turkey sandwich on white bread from Jimmy Johns and added spinach, tomato, avocado, and some goat cheese when I got home. Sounds ok, right? Hm. Before, I probably downed that sandwich and would've been ready for more food to follow. But last night, after finishing the entire sandwich, I felt really bloated and it almost stopped me from going out on an evening jog.

I've Lydia's been pushing my body to go farther than I would ever have pushed myself before during my workouts. That being said, this whole week, whether I work out at the gym or not, I've been going outside for some cardio work as well. Normally I'd think that just one work out a day is sufficient, and that my body couldn't physically handle more. While I do think that one work out per day is great, it's encouraging to know that at this time, my can still handle more and it's helping me to see results.

Progress is encouraging.

Inspired

Just got back from a wonderful 45 minute jog/walk at a local State Park. I've been dreading taking another jog, as the last one really wore me out. I can actually say that this one really did feel great! I surprised myself with how long I was able to jog before walking- 7 minutes! (I know, I know, I have a long way to go) BUT. This is a huge accomplishment for me, since last year at this time I could hardly finish a 2:1 jog/walk ratio 5 times.

This definitely makes me think.... maybe another 5K? Hm. I'll do some research. 

I have a few goals for this week, as I'm really going to try to make it my best week yet. 

1. Lose 3 lbs!!! 

2. Do cardio 5 times during this week (outside of the training at NFPT)

3. Post progress pictures. I'm not really looking forward to this goal, but I think it will encourage me even more to keep up the shredding. 

Lastly, here's an inspirational gal that I've been watching on this season of The Biggest Loser. She's eliminated now, but her starting weight was 264, and is now 190!

picture credit: 

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20579192,00.html

Too good to be true?

I've been seeing a lot of improvement since I started trying to lose weight again. I know I shouldn't be suprised- I mean, really, most poeple who improve their eating habits and are exercising five to six times each week should be seeing results in some way. I guess I just didn't think mine would come so quickly. My scale at home tells me I've lost 9 lbs so far in just four weeks of this journey- an average of 2.25 lbs per week! Of course, I'm overjoyed and would love it if this rate continues over the next 38 weeks so that I could be down to 19% body fat in just 10 months. Hm... sounds too good to be possible. Then again, so does 9 lbs in four weeks.

Mission Accomplished

Week 3 of training is gone, and week 4 is underway!

I made some personal goals for week 3, which I was able to accomplish, for the most part. I wanted to exercise every day, and to stay under 1500 calories each day. Here's the breakdown:

Monday:

Work out at NFPT

2170 calories. (outch....)

Tuesday:

Bike to work, Frisbee golf

1376 calories

Wednesday:

Work out at NFPT

1000 calories

Thursday:

20 minute walk/jog

1460 calories

Friday:

Work out at NFPT

1340 calories

Saturday:

15 mile bike ride, 3 mile walk

1800 calories

Sunday:

A relaxing game of frisbee golf at Ross Camp!

1600 calories

Average of 1526 calories per day!

Overall, I've been feeling really good, and although there are times when I really REALLY REALLY want some delicious sweets, I'm suprised at how much easier it's been to say no. For example, on Friday, a patient at work brought us a box of donuts from Mary Lou's! The smell instantly made my stomach growl! But, in an effort to stay accountable, I sent out some picture texts to some friends, and I was able to resist the entire box! Not going to lie, there were times where I thought "Hm, maybe just a sliver..." But, I knew that once I started, I wouldn't be able to stop easily.

Mission accomplished!

Goals

Week 2.

Starting out with a bang!

I had a great workout yesterday with Clay (super nice!), another trainer that works at NFPT. Lydia is out on vacation, so he generously stepped up to the plate to help me out. I was breathing pretty hard and my heart was a-pounding after the 45 minute work out, but once I got home, I realized that it was the first time I didn't feel like I should be puking! Which must mean.....(drum roll) improvement! Exciting stuff.

We mostly worked on core exercises, which were all difficult to finish, but the most strenuous was the one that worked my back muscles. It's so hard to keep good form and use the correct muscles. Took a lot of concentration. Good news is, my back was sore today, so I must've done something right.

Before I get too far into the start of my blog, I thought I'd share my goals that Lydia had me create before our first workout. I think it's good for me to get them out there. It gives me some sort of feeling that more people must be keeping me accountable to them. (Right?)

Here we go!

Short-term goals:

• Make weekly goals and share with Lydia to help me stay accountable
  
• Weigh 235 by mid-June
  
• Find cardio exercises that I enjoy (possibly biking outdoors, zumba, yoga, or hiking)
• Bike to work as often as possible
• Bike to NFPT as often as possible
  
• Journal my journey on blogger at least once a week
• Work on curbing/decreasing my food intake by: eating more raw veggies, juicing, portion control, and controlling special occasion meals (that last one is my vice....)
  
• Research & study! The more I know, the easier it is for me to say no!

Goals with Lydia:

• Push and stretch me beyond what I think my capabilities are
• Find exercises that target areas of my body that need focus
  
• Learn more about food from her (and her influence's) perspective
• Keep me accountable to my goals (for both workouts and diet)

Long-term goals:

• Reach my target weight by June of 2013 (means an average weight loss of 1 1/2 lbs per week!)
• Compete in a race?
• Find an enjoyable cardio workout during the winter (swimming indoors?)
• Find a work-out buddy for accountability and encouragement
• Possibly go gluten-free?

And that's that.

My weekly goal for this week is to eat healthy snacks between meals.

Onward!