relientkrox

So a couple of weeks ago I was grocery shopping with my fiancé and was just putting whatever in the cart. That night when I went to go eat a yogurt I was shocked that I had bought ones with 110 calories each! Here was my reality check, I fell so away from eating healthy that I wasn’t even checking the nutrition labels before buying a product.

So here’s the cycle I figured out. We start with eating healthy, checking labels, counting every calories, and working out (yay! good stage for losing weight). After a while, we get tired of this and maybe drop working out because life gets busy (still losing weight because of eating right). Then, we have a day or two where calorie counting is impossible because of eating out or eating at someone else’s place or whatever. Motivation does not return to count calories. Still we’re eating healthy and looking at nutrition labels to make the best choices. For me, this stage maintains my weight, but I don’t lose anything here. Finally, the worst stage happens… eating healthy gets swapped for making batches of cookies and snacking all night long and we overeat not caring at all about eating healthy. When the stage happens (as it did for me a few weeks ago) where nutrition labels are forgotten and we eat whatever we feel like, the weight comes back one. Boy, I hate that stage. Stepping on the scale after a few weeks of this and realizing that weight has creeped back on really sucks.

I was down to about 170 and maintained that for most of the winter. However, I was shocked that I went back up to 184. Many of my jeans stopped fitting, this really hasn’t happened at all since I lost all of my 130 pounds. So I went back to counting every calorie and going to the gym twice a week with my fiancé (who recently gained a bit of a belly himself). I lost about 3 pounds in three weeks (yay! go me!). I just started a new job last week working nights for a marketing company, basically rearranging a grocery store. The 10 hour nights keep me really busy so I’m not snacking or realizing I’m hungry. I pack tons of healthy food, but it’s all measured out and counted. Even though I’m working so hard, I’m having trouble taking in more than 1400 calories (which is 500 less than my calorie needs for a day of sitting around doing nothing). The great thing is, I’ve lost 5 pounds in the 5 nights I’m working. But, I am thinking this probably isn’t too good for my body. I’m loving that my jeans are fitting better, my belly is getting smaller, and I’m almost brave enough to wear a bikini again.

I have a small request. For the next month I’m participating in a fast, which consists of eating vegan and only between the hours of noon and midnight. I’ve done this once before, but I found it very difficult to cook healthy while not taking in very much protein. Any vegan dieters out there with advice for me? Do you have any healthy recipes I could try? I love cooking and will basically try anything you throw at me. During fasting I usually have toast and peanut butter for breakfast/lunch. Is this a good idea? Or is there a lower calorie option for me?

Thanks in advance for the advice and thanks for listening to my mini-rant about healthy eating.

Hey buddies,

I’ve been pretty m.i.a. lately and have gained back some of the weight I worked so hard to take off.  My lowest weight I saw was 160lbs and now I’m back up for 179lbs.  I just came back from a week in Quebec City and then a week in Mexico and definately gained weight there.  I had my week of all-inclusive food and drinks and need to get back to work.  School is really busy at the moment, but I can’t wait another 3 weeks to get back to my “diet”. 

Please pray for me that I don’t fall into bad habits again.  Even though it’s busy and I may not have time to work on for 3 weeks, at least I can eat well.  Yesterday I went to bulk barn and bought alot of easter chocolate and candy on sale.  I spent 7 bucks on it, so it feels a little like a waste, but should I just toss it all?

Thanks in advance for any advice and encouragement

So I just put two and two together yesterday and realized the reason I have been sooooo hungry lately is because of the Pill.  I am still keeping track of calories and yet every night I am so hungry that I eat over 1000 calories worth of unhealthy snacks.  I’ve had food cravings for basically anything sweet lately.  I’ve gained 9 pounds from the lowest weight that I saw :O:O:O:O:O:O eeekkk!!!

So how can I avoid this? Any helpful tips? Maybe I’m on the wrong brand of birth control and need to switch it up to one that doesn’t have these side effects. I’m on Apri right now, any ladies out there on something different? Please help me!

Hey buddies,My “easy” weight loss has come to a halt over christmas break.  For the first time in my journey I’ve gained weight between weekly weigh-ins…. 5 pounds to be exact. I know this is because of christmas treats, dinners, and alcohol.  Also, haven’t worked out in 3 weeks and really have no motivation to go to the gym :(  what’s ironic is while i’m in school I go to the gym all the time because its on campus, but now that i have plenty of free time being on break from school I haven’t gone to the gym.  I’m hoping this lack of motivation will subside once school starts up and I’m in close proximity to the gym once again.  How was everyone else’s christmas? Did anyone else fall off the wagon like I did?

Laura

Hey buddies,

I was looking through old pictures on facebook and I came across a picture from halloween last year.  It was crazy to see the difference just one year makes.  I showed this picture combo to my mom and she pointed out that there wasn’t just physical differences, but a drastic difference in confidence : )   

(top Halloween 2008, bottom Halloween 2009)

Hello Buddies,

I haven’t posted a weight in over 2 weeks because I was on vacation.  The looming weigh-in I knew I’ve have to do this morning was a little nerve racking.  My vacation was not the best for eating and exercising.  I over-indulged and rarely worked out (although does shopping count :P).  So I stepped on the scale this morning, thinking for the first time since I started I would probably have gained weight.  However, I was pleassantly surprised that I lost 1.6 pounds within the two weeks yay!! I was even more surprised and overwhelmingly happy when I computed my bmi.  I am officially not obese :D:D:D:D!!!!  With a bmi of 29.9 I am finally in the overweight category.   Never have a been so happy to shout that I am overweight, in the sense of bmi that is.  Another crossroad passed in my goal of being in a healthy weight zone.

Hi Buddies,

I’m posting my writing assignment for school that I wrote tonight.  The task was to write a narrative about anything really and I chose to about my weight loss journey.  I struggled when writing this because I was torn on whether I wanted my classmates to read this or not.  In the end I handed it in … *fingers crossed* that it turns out alright. 

One life, one body is all we get.  How did I let mine go to waste?  How did I let my body, one that should be healthy and strong at my age, become so unhealthy?  Was it too late to turn it around?  For me, this was not an option I was willing to accept.

When given the task to write about an interesting story, I had difficulty thinking of a major event that occurred in my life recently.  When attempting to think of a story I shared recently with my mom, sisters, or close friends lately, nothing but everyday mundane events came to mind.  After brain storming for awhile, the most important “everyday mundane event” stood out in my mind as what I should write about.  Losing over 100 pounds is what my life has been about in the last nine months.  This is a story of my weight loss journey.  One that has come a long way, but is still not complete.

January 19^th this year was a Sunday.  It was a Sunday like all others, except that I had a profound realization.  I realized I can do anything, I can change my life, and that I could change my body.  There was nothing special about January 19^th, nor did any big news or events trigger my realization.  I just remember that when lying down for sleep that night I decided that from that day on I would change and become healthy.  I remember that night clearly, a strong feeling of excitement mixed with wonder for why the idea had never hit me before.  This simple idea was that I could limit calorie intake and increase exercise and weight loss would surely follow.  I had never attempted this before, but somehow I knew that I could succeed.  The next day started a new chapter in my life.

The following morning, I started my day with a bowl of cheerios as I do every morning.  Except this morning I took out the measuring cups and measured a proper serving size.  For how was I supposed to keep tracker of how many calories were in my bowl if I didn’t measure out the cereal.  Eating healthier foods and limiting junk food allowed me to eat plenty of food, which made it easier to stay on track.  The most important thing I learned was that I had to write down everything and become accountable if I was ever to achieve my goal.  After the first month, I became more confident that I could do it, which was verified by a nine pound weight loss.  I also noticed that it became habit to write everything down and it became easier to eat healthy.  For someone who rarely exercised before, I found being active and exercising was a big part of my life.  Inspired by my new healthy lifestyle, my sister and mom joined me.  This made my goals more attainable, as the people I live with were also keen on cooking healthy meals and keeping junk food out of the house. 

I mentioned attaining my goals, but I realize these are not clearly defined.  Some I have already reached like my goal for having all of the clothes in my closet not to fit, some are in progress like my goal to lose 150 pounds, and some I have yet to complete like my goal of biking in the Ride-For-Heart.  However, I am now more positive than ever that I can reach all of the goals I set for myself.  I know that am doing my best to be as healthiest as I can possibly be.  Now nine months later, I’ve lost over 100 pounds and am well on my way to making my one body healthy and strong. 

Hey Everyone,

So I’ve been very fortunate to not experience any plateaus in my journey so far, which is pretty fantastic considering 95 pounds has come off easily.  However, in the past 2 weeks I’ve only seen a pound or less loss.  I’ve been staying right around 200 pounds and I can’t seem to go under the 200 pound milestone.  I increased working out A LOT lately, since I’m back in school and have easy access to a gym.  Am a gaining muscle which is slowing my weight loss? Should I cut back on the workouts to see results again? Do I need to stick to my 1200 calorie goal even on days that I work out? Anyone experience a plateau lately? If so, please tell me how you were able to overcome the plateau.

Many thanks,
Laura

Yay!! I hit 200 pounds today and I couldn’t be more ecstatic!! I just had to share some progress picture with you all.  First picture was taken today, followed by previous “before” pictures.

So I had a goal in the back of my mind to be out of the 200s by my 20th birthday.  Currently I am 218lbs and there is about 6 weeks until August 29th (my 20th birthday).  This means 3 pounds a week … is this still a safe amount of weight to lose each week?

I know being 206lbs on my birthday is really good progress for me, but still I would love to say I accomplished my goal!