Since I put this out in Facebook land, I figured I should put it here also. Its kind of long but worth the read.
So here it is. 30 lbs lighter. It has been a lot of hard work and I never thought I would ever be able to do it. It seemed so impossible to me. The saying is true, if I can do it, anybody can. It is not just based on the numbers on the scale. I have lost 7 in off my waist, 4.5 in off my hips, 1.5 in off my arm around my bicep, 1.25 in off my calf, 2.5 in off my thigh, and 3.5 in off the roundest part of my belly. I even lose off my chest but I will keep those numbers to myself. I went from wearing an XL shirt to a M. Size 14 pants to 8-10 now. You can see it in my face and neck also. So here is the whole naked truth. I am really baring it all. I can't believe I am putting this on FB.
Right after I had Rowyn, my last kid, I was 198. I was in the mind set of "I don't look that bad but could stand to lose a few pounds." I knew that I needed to lose more then a few but it seemed so impossible and that it would take FOREVER! I started working out about a year before we left dental school but I really didn't see the weight come off. I realized that I needed to change how I ate. I worked on that and lost 10 lbs. I didn't track the time frame, so I am not sure how long that took. (you can now start doing the math)
Once I moved to Wyoming, I met two really great friends. Each one was in excellent shape. Nicole has a degree in exercise physiology and physical therapy. Suzette has a B.S. in Health Promotion/Lifestyle Management with an emphasis in Nutrition and Exercise Physiology and also a minor in Nutrition. Nicole decided to start a Biggest Loser type program. We would workout as a class once a week and then weigh in each week and take measurements once a month. Suzette when then talk with us about nutrition and other helpful topics like protein and calories intake and fiber. This really got me motivated because I had to weigh in each week. I started at 188 (do some more math here) They also did this for us for free. I can't even explain the impact they have had on my life.
We started this program in October but I was really struggling to get the weight off even with all my hard work. I went to my doctor because the December before dental graduation I had to have my thyroid oblated and I realized that I needed to start taking medication to regulate it. Once I got on the medication, things started to click.
I then found two other friends, Kristin and Olivia who without them I would not be where I am at today, who wanted to work out with me each morning. Friends are great motivators because they hold you accountable and since we work out at my house, I had to be up and ready. The videos we use are P90X plyo, cardio and core. We also enjoy Jillian Micheals 30 day shred and Fat burner. We tried the 30 day shred for one full month. There are 3 circuits on this video and each one is about 24 minutes long so we would do 2 a morning. We measured ourselves before we started and then 1 month later to see if there really was a difference. I think I lost 1.5in off my waist, .5 in off my arm, and 1.5 off my thigh that month.
In addition to working out every morning, I took up running in March. I hate running. I never ever thought I would be a runner. My friend Olivia, who has lost 50 lbs!, and I would run at the gym each Tuesday night and Saturday morning. My goal was a 5K (3.1 miles). At first it took me around 45-50 min. We ran a 5K here in town in April and it took me 31 minutes! I still run at least 3 times a week with the weather being warmer. Once I started running, I really saw the weight start to come off. my new goal is a 10K. I can also do push-ups and no girly ones. My new goal is to do 1 pull up.
Now to the food part of the journey. I eat and look at food in such a different way now. I already knew that I was an emotional eater. I eat when I am bored. I am bored a lot as a stay at home mom. I would wander into the kitchen and just start eating as something to do. To get out of that habit, for 1 month I tried this diet, for lack of a better word, called the No S diet. There is no eating snacks, sweets or seconds except on S days, Saturday, Sunday and Special days (birthday, parties, anniversaries) . I would only eat 3 meals. Now I got hungry but being hungry is not bad. I was not starving. It pushed me out of the habit of just eating to eat. It really helped me. I still do some of this but not as strict. I do not have seconds for dinner any more. It is my 1 plate rule. If I want seconds, I take one last bite and put all my dished in the sink. I also try not to eat a lot of sweets during the weekdays or have unhealthy snacks. I also look at food and think, "Is it really worth the calories?" I don't have hamburger buns when we grill at home. I put it between romaine lettuce leafs. Now you probably think I am crazy but it's not worth it to me any more. My favorite snack is french bread. I only let myself have it once a month. For you LDS people, it is fast sunday when I get my french bread. I still eat french fries but I only get the value size. I still enjoy sweets but in moderation. I am not going to deprive myself or I would go insane! I have learned that I can have bad days where I eat too much but that does not knock me off my track. I do better the next day. I can still have a candy bar or a cookie once in awhile and not gain 10 lbs.
Suzette says weight lose is 80% nutrition and 20% exercise. That really sucks! I don't mind the working out but it is the calorie counting that i absolutely hate but it is a MUST! If you don't count your calories and watch what you eat, things are not going to move in the direction you want. I use loseit.com. It is a great website where you can put in your weight, your goal weight, and how much you want to lose each week and it will tell you how many calories you should eat. It also adds in your exercise calories that you burn. You can plug in the ingredients from your favorite recipes tell it how many servings you get out of it and it will tell you how many calories it is. I try really hard to eat smart during the day with breakfast and lunch. Then for dinner, I eat what I make for my family. While dinner is cooking, I put in the recipe and decide how much I can eat of it. It keeps track of your food so you don't have to type it in all the time. You can also become friends with people and see how they are doing. Let me know if you start to use it and I will become your friend. You can share receipts also.
I also started to drink more water. I hate water. I have to flavor it. I use Mio and the crystal light type packets. Instead of driving around with my diet coke, I drive around with a huge thing of water.
So there it all is. I was fat. Yes, go ahead and think it because it WAS true, just look at the picture. Now it is not. If you have not done the math yet, I am 158 right now. WOW! Seriously, is that really me?! My goal is to loose 15 more lbs and see how that fits on me. I don't think I weighed that even in college. I want a weight that is easy to maintain. I want to cut out working out 7 times a week. Yes, you read that right, Monday -Saturday and 2x of Tuesday. I don't want to have to work out 2x times on Tuesday and I want to cut out Friday. You probable think I am crazy again, but if you really want to lose weight, you have to make it a priority and make time for it. It does not happen on it's own. You need friends to push you along. You need to make the changes in your eating and habits. If I can do it, so can YOU! You really can because I was the queen of excuses but each excuses is a choice to fail. You can choose to change or you can stay the same. Every time I want to stop and give in I think about where I can be in one month. I could be 5-10 lbs lighter. If I would have done nothing for the last 5.5 months, I would not be typing this note. I would still be fat wishing it would come off on it's own. Time is going to past, you might as well do something to change while it is passing.
