68 pounds down :(

Sooooo, I've gained some weight. Not a lot but at my highest, about 10 pounds from my last blog post. Why? Well there's a lot of factors. As I said in my last post 8 months ago, you get too comfortable and then you start slacking. You start eating more bad food than good. You start skipping days and weeks at the gym. You start buying more and more clothes in your current size making you not as motivated to lose weight and abandon them lol. So I had to say ENOUGH! Enough complacency, enough procrastination, enough denial/justification - it was time to get to work. I got two of my best friends on board and we've been at this for almost a month now. So I'm happy to say I've dropped about 8 pounds since we started and 3 inches in my waist and I feel like I'm getting my strength back again! I was so weak when I first started back at the gym with my strength training - now I'm close to where I left off last fall.

So I have a number in my head of the pounds I want to lose. But, more importantly, I've figured out that I need to lose about 5 inches in my waist to get into a size 10. So that's my goal by June 1st. So here's what I'm doing currently to stay on track this time:

1) Diet - If you've read any of my previous posts, you know this is my main problem. I will eat nonsense American food all day everyday without a veggie or fruit in sight. Of course I don't eat as much of these awful things as I used to, but a carb filled day is a carb filled day. So, I'm back to logging my food in the myfitnesspal app - the good, the bad and the ugly. Both of my friends I mentioned are also doing this and we check on each other to make sure we're logging daily and sometimes joke about what we're eating lol. It definitely makes you think twice about eating a cookie! Add me as a friend - cecie313!

2) Exercise - Now if  you know me at all, you know this is my favorite part of my journey. I'm so competitive from my background as a collegiate athlete that I'm always looking to run faster or lift heavier. It feels really good to be back in the gym consistently and I've even started going to my boxing class again (Al's Irish - Shut Up and Box in Royal Oak - www.alirishsuab.com), which is always an AMAZING workout! I'm exercising at least 4 days a week, sometimes I squeeze in one more. I'm working 12 hours a day, 4 days a week so that's somewhat of a challenge but I'm going to have this schedule well into May and my goal date is June 1st so I have to suck it up!

3) Mental - Now this is where things get kinda bipolar lol. On the one hand, I will find the perfect dress, slip on my 5 inch stilettos and feel like the sexiest woman in the building. On the other hand, I have days where I feel like my stomach is huge or my face is so fat and I'm cursing myself out for not finishing my journey all the way last year (2013). So I refer to this quote when I'm feeling like this: "You have to love yourself enough to want to be the best version of yourself". That means NO SELF HATE. No negative talk, no negative feelings - only positive encouragement and hard work allowed. Luckily I have such a great support system that's nothing to worry about from the outside. Also, every now and then I post a before and after pic to remind myself how far I've come. Yes, I could've done it faster, better, sooner, etc. But it's a journey and not a sprint - there's no rush! Yes, I want to get there before my 2 year Fitversary, but I will make it. And I will do it using the tools that got me this far. And if something isn't working, I'll adjust it and keep pushing. I encourage you guys to do the same - and email me if you need advice or support! scece19@yahoo.com

(Left: My 29th bday at my highest weight; Right: Me currently at 33 :) )

70 pounds down!!!

Hello everyone! It's been a long time since I've written a post, but I'm still on this journey! I am now officially 70 pounds down and I have learned a lot in the past (almost) year. I can't believe I'm coming up on my weight loss anniversary - I started my journey on July 9th 2012. Even though I wanted to be further along at this point, I'm very proud of my progress and I want to share some of the things that have helped and hurt me along the way.

1) Always keep your goals in the front of your mind!
So after I'd lost around 50 pounds, I started feeling like myself again. I liked how I was looking in my clothes, I was in good shape and I started dating again for the first time in a long time. And then, my weight loss stalled, lol. I got comfortable with the progress I'd made and wasn't so focused on keeping to my weight loss schedule, to counting calories or even to exercising as consistently as I was. So that's the bad part. The good part is that I had already been at this so long that I had developed some good habits and never went above maybe 3-5 pounds from my weight at the time. One of the most important things you can master on this journey is portion control. And even though, on my best week, I will eat McDonalds or any number of bad food, I never eat until I'm stuffed. NEVER! I never feel like I have to unbutton my pants or lay down or take a Pepto to relieve the pressure in my pants. So that definitely helps me stay in maintenance mode when I'm not losing.

2) Never forget the importance of fruits and veggies to your diet!
I love fruits but me and veggies have always had a difficult relationship lol. I only enjoy a few and somedays, the only veggies I may eat is the spinach I put in my morning smoothie. So I always have to force myself or remind myself to eat them. When I did this, I was losing 2-3 pounds a week consistently. When I stopped? I might lose 1-2 pounds in 2 weeks. If you're consistently ADDING fruits and veggies to your diet, then that means you're SUBTRACTING something too. So I'm following my own old advice and doing that moving forward.

3) Do not wear your old fat clothes - EVER!
I had a point where I was losing weight so fast that I was having to change clothes pretty regularly (every six-eight weeks). When I had lost 2 sizes, I was kind of bummed that my cute clothes I had just bought didn't fit so I kept wearing them. BIG MISTAKE! First of all, no one could tell I was still losing weight. Not that I need compliments from others, but I LOOKED like I had hit a plateau and I didn't, lol. Also, it makes you feel more comfortable when you're eating badly if your pants don't feel a little tight afterwards. So I made a resolution to only buy 4 pairs of pants in a given size. That way, when I lost weight, that's all I would have to replace. I found stores like Forever 21 and JC Penney that had good bargains and bought my temporary clothes from there. I also learned that some of my "bigger"shirts would still look nice with a well fitting cardigan so I did that to make my clothes last longer too. No one ever talks about the clothing issue with losing weight so I wasn't really prepared to be buying all new sizes every few months. If you're just starting on your journey, make sure you put up some money for the new  you!

4) Don't be afraid to challenge yourself!
For the first six months of my journey, I only worked out on one machine, the Arc Trainer. Now I increased the time I was on the machine, I changed levels and eventually worked out for an hour at the highest level, but I didn't touch a weight or get on a weight machine. So when I decided to get a trainer, I felt soooo weak! Now, almost six months after combining both, I'm in the best shape of my life and I am going to run in a 5k before the end of the summer, hopefully next month. Also, even though the scale hasn't moved much in the past few months, I'm down another pant size which means I'm losing inches. So challenging myself has definitely gotten me some great results!

I am still learning things about myself and I still get discouraged sometimes, either with lack of progress or just lack of discipline. But the important thing is to never give up and to keep trying your best, whatever that is at the time. Be proud of any progress you make and stay positive!

50 pounds down!!!

Hello everyone! Last week I hit a milestone in my journey – I am 50 pounds down! I’ve done a lot of hard work, maintained my self control and learned new things about myself in this short timeframe and I’m excited about what’s to come! I’ve added a personal trainer to my equation a month ahead of when I had originally planned to. I figured, why wait? I’m in good shape and maybe he can help me lose my next 50 a little faster than I did on my own. My first session was this past weekend and he killed me, lol. I am just now able to walk normally – until today, I was walking like a mummy! But I know that’s what I needed – I have focused so much on cardio that I need to tone up certain areas and just become a real powerhouse in the spring. I’m very excited about the second half of my journey and I appreciate all the supportive and kind words you all have given me!

I feel like I talk a lot about my own personal views on dieting and weight loss, so I thought I would include a quote from an article I saw on WeightWatchers.com today that was spot on...

“So how does success happen?

Everything I’ve seen from our successful members clearly shows that losing weight and learning to keep it off requires a combination of all of the following:

1.    Becoming more mindful of what we eat. Research has shown that keeping a food diary is remarkably effective in helping us tackle issues related to 200 daily food decisions.

2.    Learning to make food tradeoffs we can live with. Deprivation always fails us. There is only so much misery we can bear. However, if we start choosing foods that taste great, are naturally filling, and provide bulk, we can better avoid the misery.

3.    Taking accountability and control when we feel out of control by employing tools that give us a way to avoid being a victim to our food environment.

4.    Learning to rebuild our personal food environment, at home, in the office, in our cars etc., we can create a place where we avoid temptation.

5.    Recognizing that the best kind of willpower is the discipline to have a plan before we enter a scary food situation.

6.    Recognizing that simple, easy to do routines can help to make healthy behavior second nature. Boiling the ocean never works. However, implementing a few small changes at a time can have a profound multiplier effect on our other behaviors.” (Source: weightwatchers.com)

I’ve talked about these in different capacities over the past 6 months, but I think each of these is important for long term weight loss and maintenance. I have incorporated each of these steps during my 50 pound weight loss and I believe these are absolutely necessary for success. You can’t be unprepared, eat the same foods consistently and have lack of willpower and lose weight. Long term weight loss is a combination of planning and willpower and you need to plan to develop and maintain willpower. If you go back to my first few blog entries, I write about making food swaps, cutting out certain foods altogether and preparing ahead for my week (or at least the next few days). I was religiously recording my food in myfitnesspal.com and working out consistently 4-5 days a week. I don’t record my food in the tool now since I have a pretty good idea of what 1400 calories looks like, but I will still look up food if I need a calorie count, and I am not too proud to go back to logging my food if my weight loss stalls in the future. I am determined to achieve my goal by May and I am going to do whatever is necessary to get there in the healthiest way possible. I believe by adding a personal trainer and continuing to use the 80-20 rule (eat healthy 80% of the time and have what you want 20% of the time) that I will be just fine. I am still on track to lose 18 pounds or more for my birthday and will be working harder than ever starting next week when my classes end. I can’t wait to see what I can accomplish with a little more time during the weekdays! For those of you who have been working hard: keep it up! For those of you that have fallen off the wagon: get up, dust yourself, look at old pictures of what you want to look like again, and get started! No need to wait until Jan 1^st – you could be 10 pounds lighter by then! Eat healthy and keep moving everyone!

 

Weigh-in	Date	Pds Lost/Week	Weekly Goal	Total Lost
START	9-Jul	N/A	N/A	N/A
Week 1	16-Jul	-10.3	5	10.3
Week 2	23-Jul	3	3	7.3
Week 3	30-Jul	2	3	5.3
Week 4	6-Aug	-2.1	3	7.4
Week 5	13-Aug	-3	3	10.4
Week 6	20-Aug	-3	3	13.4
Week 7	27-Aug	-2	3	15.4
Week 8	3-Sep	-3	3	18.4
Week 9	10-Sep	-2	3	22.4
Week 10	17-Sep	-4.00	3	25.4
Week 11	24-Sep	-3.00	3	26.4
Week 12	1-Oct	-1.00	3	28.4
Week 13	8-Oct	-2.00	3	28.4
Week 14	15-Oct	-2.00	3	30.4
Week 15	22-Oct	-5	3	35.4
Week 16	29-Oct	-1.8	3	37.2
Week 17	5-Nov	-4.2	3	40.4
Week 18	12-Nov	-3	3	43.4
Week 19	19-Nov	-1	3	44.4
Week 20	26-Nov	-3	3	47.4
Week 21	3-Dec	-3	3	50.4

43 pounds down!!!!! Halfway to my end goal!

Hello everyone! I have knocked another 13 pounds off! I'm feeling really good about my progress so far and how I've stayed focused on my diet and working out. I've had my challenges but I have a really good support team that I can vent to and it really helps keep me on track! If you don't have friends or family that are trying to live a healthy lifestyle there are some really good support groups online that are helpful. It is good to talk to or read about others who have been where you are and are either on the other side of it (have met their goal) or are trying to lose now.

I finally have people saying they can tell I lost weight. It was kind of frustrating before when I was working so hard and it seemed like no one could really tell, myself included. I do wish I had measured myself instead of just relying on the scale. While the scale is definitely moving, the numbers would have made me feel better about my problem areas where the weight loss is a little harder to tell. I am finally having fun shopping and have bought some really cute clothes lately. I'm not buying too much because I'm having to buy new stuff every 2 months or so, but it feels good to fit in smaller sizes again!

I've made some changes to both my diet and workout routine (see below) since my last blog post. Like I mentioned before, I wanted to eat more vegetables daily, so I did add in a veggie for my afternoon snack. I also have been limiting processed carbs (bread, fries, candy, etc.) and, when I do have them, I am very conscious about when I eat them (before 7 pm) and how much I eat. I still have cheat meals, but I plan them out and eat them VERY slowly, lol. A cheat meal I have now is nothing like what I used to eat - whereas before I may have gone to a restaurant and eaten lasagna with bread or a double cheeseburger with fries and a milkshake, my cheat meals are McDonalds 6 piece chicken nugget meal with a small fry or a Wendy's Double Stack with a small chili. I don't really like going to restaurants anymore since I feel that I would have to order things I really don't want just to stay on my plan. When I have allowed myself to go to a restaurant, I only eat half my food and throw the other half away since I know the calorie count is much higher than what I would normally eat. So it's not really worth it to me. I still can't really handle the correct portion for certain things, like Italian food, so I eat them in the low calorie frozen format. If you only judged my diet from the type of Lean Cuisines I buy, you may think I wasn't trying to lose weight, lol. I really only buy the Italian ones (pizza, chicken parmesan) or Chinese food (sesame chicken, orange chicken) because I refuse to eat those otherwise. I love it too much and I would be upset I couldn't have as much as I want so I just avoid it. That's where the self control I've developed over the last 5 months really comes in handy. You will have to figure out what you can handle and what you can't. And whatever you CAN'T handle? Avoid at all costs! Otherwise, you'll be in a spiral of making more concessions for other bad foods, or feeling guilty, or working yourself to death in the gym. Not worth it!

My birthday goal is still 30 pounds away, which is a little tight since I only have 9 weeks (Jan. 15). I will be happy however close I get, but I would be SUPER excited to meet my goal and go on my birthday trip with 70 pounds total off of me! My classes are over the second week of December so I plan on hitting boxing class 4 days a week (plus extra cardio in the gym), the gym 2 days a week, and 1 day of yoga or pilates. That will give me about 4 or 5 weeks of intense exercise, so I may be able to do it. Wish me luck!

Here's a sample of what I eat on a regular day:

Breakfast: Smoothie (strawberries, raspberries, 1 banana, spinach, flax seed, oatmeal (sometimes), skim milk, 1 crystal light packet (Wild Strawberry)

Lunch: Lean Cuisine (since these are the only processed carbs I eat all day, I have whichever one I want: spaghetti and meatballs, pizza, chicken parmesan, etc.)

Afternoon Snack: Green Giant vegetable steamer

Dinner:  Tilapia fillet (baked) and another veggie. Sometimes a smoothie if I get home too late.

Beverages: Water, Green Tea, or Coke Zero (no more than one a day)

Workout: Mondays and Fridays: 1 hour of boxing/kickboxing + 30-45 mins of cardio on Arc Trainer (similar to the elliptical machine); Saturdays and Sundays: 1 hour of cardio on Arc Trainer.
I've been taking boxing classes all month in addition to my gym workouts. I can only workout 4 days a week now because I am subbing for a class on Thursday nights now, but I think doing the intense boxing for an hour twice a week is why I am still losing consistently. I also try to get in at least 30 mins of extra cardio on my boxing days to really get that high calorie burn.

Thanks for the support and I'll be back once I'm down another 10, which will hopefully be VERY soon :)

Weigh-in	Date	Pds Lost/Week	Weekly Goal	Total Lost
START	9-Jul	N/A	N/A	N/A
Week 1	16-Jul	-10.3	5	10.3
Week 2	23-Jul	3	3	7.3
Week 3	30-Jul	2	3	5.3
Week 4	6-Aug	-2.1	3	7.4
Week 5	13-Aug	-3	3	10.4
Week 6	20-Aug	-3	3	13.4
Week 7	27-Aug	-2	3	15.4
Week 8	3-Sep	-1	3	16.4
Week 9	10-Sep	-2	3	18.4
Week 10	17-Sep	-4.00	3	22.4
Week 11	24-Sep	-3.00	3	25.4
Week 12	1-Oct	-1.00	3	26.4
Week 13	8-Oct	-2.00	3	28.4
Week 14	15-Oct	-2.00	3	30.4
Week 15	22-Oct	-5	3	35.4
Week 16	29-Oct	-1.8	3	37.2
Week 17	5-Nov	-4.2	3	40.4
Week 18	12-Nov	-3	3	43.4

30 pounds down!!!!!

Hello everyone! I know it’s been a long time but I’ve been really busy lately with lots of fun things! I went to New York the first weekend in October and this past weekend I went up to Michigan State for my homecoming and I had a blast at both. Before I went to New York, I was really freaking out over my diet and not wanting to gain weight while I was there. I’ve gotten in a groove of eating pretty well throughout the week but it’s very structured. A green smoothie for breakfast, Lean Cuisine or homemade sandwich for lunch, an apple or veggie for snack, and reasonably healthy dinner. Going to New York, I had no idea of what I would eat for any meal and didn’t have my frozen meals to fall back on. I read a few articles about traveling and eating healthy and made sure I packed a few granola bars, apples and almonds so I would always have a healthy snack on hand. When I got there, there were plenty of BAD temptations. Those food trucks you see on tv are everywhere and they smell amazing! The good thing is that they have chicken kebobs, which are probably pretty healthy. They also have gyros and hot dogs which are definitely NOT healthy, lol. The thing I realized when I was there was how much my diet has become a lifestyle change rather than a fad. I have never been able to stick with a diet before and that’s because I always thought of it as something temporary – “Once I lose __ pounds, I can’t wait to eat __ and __ and __.” I have been conscious of what I eat for 3 months now and, even though I slip and eat things I shouldn’t, everything has been in moderation and a conscious decision. “I can eat __ now, but that means I can’t have __ later.” And that is what got me through my trip and a 2 pound loss for that week. My friend and I did a lot of walking, took subways everywhere and were always on the move which helped me also. I had planned on officially working out in the hotel fitness center, but all the walking had my feet so tired, I didn’t want to add to my pain! So now I’m not afraid to travel because I understand food, balance, and most importantly, I have self-control that I have never had before!

If you’re wondering how far I need to go, I have another 30 or so pounds to lose by my birthday (Jan. 15). I have 3 months to lose it, and I’m hoping I can do. I know I can get close, but I would love to actually meet my goal and celebrate with my friends on our yearly ski trip. After I meet that goal, I am thinking I’ll only have another 30 pounds to go before the final goal date of May 1^st. I want to go into the summer looking better than I have in a long time! For now, though, I’m splitting these next 3 months up into 2 parts. For the first part (Oct 15-Dec 1), here are some things I will do differently:

1.       I am going to focus on eating more vegetables each day. Right now, I consistently get 1 serving with my morning smoothie (baby spinach) and usually another 1 during the day, either for lunch or at dinner. I want to increase it to at least 3 servings a day, meaning I either need to eat a double portion at dinner or eat 1 serving per each meal. I also want to focus on eating a low or no carb dinner throughout the week. Because I teach part-time and workout on the other days, I get home pretty late. I need to eat light when I get home and I’m thinking that cutting off carbs at lunch time will help me lose consistently each week.

2.       I am going to consciously plan for a cheat meal on the weekends. Currently, I may have 3 or 4 cheat meals/foods throughout a given week – this could be a fast food meal, a milkshake, some pizza, etc. Moving forward, I want to eat almost perfectly on the weekdays and allow myself only 1 or 2 cheat meals/foods on the weekends.

3.       I am going to ramp up my workouts. I recently got a Groupon for 10 classes at a boxing gym and I’ve taken 3 classes so far. Those classes are super challenging for my muscles, but I can definitely do some cardio in addition to the class. So on the days I go to the class (2 or 3 days a week), I am going to also go to the gym and do at least 45 mins on the Arc Trainer. That way, I get the benefit of doing a fun, challenging workout and I get my intense calorie burn at the gym. The days I don’t go to boxing, I will keep going to the gym and doing an hour of cardio and my pushup/situp exercises.

After 30 pounds, other people are finally starting to notice my weight loss, which is definitely encouraging. I feel soooo much better and can actually see the changes myself. I wish I had measured myself so I could have that kind of information to report on, but I am down 2 pants sizes, 1 size down in my bra size (not the cup size thank God!), and my shoes are flopping around on my feet (not good L). When I started this journey, I was the heaviest I had ever been and felt bloated, fat and unsexy. Now, even though I still have a long way to go, I’m at a size now where I can at least put on some control top tights or a light girdle and look good. After 3 months of working out 3-5 days a week, I am in good shape and can keep up with the best of them in my boxing classes. I am looking forward to my birthday in January and then to May, when I can proudly report that I am officially in maintenance mode! In the meantime, keep setting small, realistic goals and knocking them out the park!

Weigh-in	Date	Pds Lost/Week	Weekly Goal	Total Lost
START	9-Jul	N/A	N/A	N/A
Week 1	16-Jul	-10.3	5	10.3
Week 2	23-Jul	3	3	7.3
Week 3	30-Jul	2	3	5.3
Week 4	6-Aug	-2.1	3	7.4
Week 5	13-Aug	-3	3	10.4
Week 6	20-Aug	-3	3	13.4
Week 7	27-Aug	-2	3	15.4
Week 8	3-Sep	-3	3	18.4
Week 9	10-Sep	-6	3	24.4
Week 10	17-Sep	-4.00	3	22.4
Week 11	24-Sep	-3.00	3	25.4
Week 12	1-Oct	-1.00	3	26.4
Week 13	8-Oct	-2.00	3	28.4
Week 14	15-Oct	-2.00	3	30.4