Weigh-in: Fourteen Months

nobody@vox.com(Terri) — Mon, 04 May 2009 09:34:11 -0400

Blerg! Is one of the best words to describe how I'm feeling about my weight loss.

Somewhere along the line I fell off the wagon, I stopped watching what I ate and I stopped going to the gym. Its so hard to admit this out loud because I've felt so inspired and motivated this past year and I worked so hard. I finally got within five pounds of my goal weight, so I thought I could slack a bit and reward myself but dammed if the weight didn't pile right back on. The fact that I gained back so much weight makes me feel ill and flat out ashamed. I know better, I know that my food choices are a lifestyle change and I went right back to that quart of chocolate ice cream without hesitation.

So now that I've realized my mistake, I have to pick up the pieces and double my effort. I hope that writing this down and putting my shameful weight chart up for display, will help me hold myself more accountable because right now I need all the motivation I can get to hop back on that bandwagon and reach my goals.

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One Year Later

nobody@vox.com(Terri) — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 08:40:46 -0500

I'm just amazed at how quickly time has flown... today is my one year diet-versary! My journey started after having spent a week in Florida with my family for the Christmas holiday. I was so excited to get home, unload the memory card and review the hundreds of pictures I had taken during my vacation. But I found myself in tears as I photoshopped the fat from my body. The camera was showing the real me, the obese me, and I was so embarrassed that I was manipulating the truth. It was the breaking point for me, things had to change.

A month later I took my first steps towards healthy living. Of course they were baby steps but they were in the right direction and week after week I found it got easier, I was even enjoying myself. I used MyFoodDiary to track my progress, I realized I didn't need to eat such large portions, I fell in love with fresh vegetables, I taught myself how to run and I even purchased a gym membership. I now felt fresh, healthy and energized, to top it all off I needed a whole new wardrobe because during that time frame I had gone from a size 14 to a size 10! I had lost 26 pounds and 19.5 inches!

A Year of Progress

Some days I wake in the morning, step on the scale and half expect my weight to be back to 170, like this whole thing was a dream. But I look down and see 147 pounds and my heart skips a beat because it's real. With each pound lost I get closer to my goal, I still have another 12 pounds left but I know that I'll reach it soon enough and once there I've promised myself to maintain my healthy weight for the rest of my life because this isn't just a diet, its a lifestyle change. So here's to a lifetime of a healthier me and a happy diet-versary.

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Weigh-in: Ten Months

nobody@vox.com(Terri) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 11:52:36 -0500

Nine Month Chart

Even with the holidays in full swing I still feel confident that I'll reach my target weight zone by my one year dietversary in February. I get giddy just looking at my chart and seeing that blue target zone only a few pounds away!

I also hit another milestone this weekend; I went shopping for jeans and to my absolute joy I realized I've gone from a size 14 to a size 10! I now beam with pride in my new skinny jeans. And for additional motivation, here is my most recent before and after shots from my birthday pictures in Nov 2006 (178 pounds) and Nov 2008 (144 pounds). I'm so glad I didn't delete all of my overweight pictures, its just so gratifying to see the difference. There is no denying how much happier and healthier I look.

Farewell fat face... 34 pounds lost!

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Weigh-in: Nine Months

nobody@vox.com(Terri) — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 14:19:09 -0400

Weight & Measurement Chart

It's that time again and I'm happy to report things are going well. I stepped on the scale this morning and realized I haven't been this small since my wedding day, five years ago. I'm only 11 pounds away from my goal weight and what had seemed so unrealistic when I had begun is now just within my grasp. It would be an absolute dream come true if I could meet my goal weight by February, exactly one year since starting my new lifestyle. It seems like plenty of time but as I had expected my progress has slowed, I've gone from losing 4 lbs a month to 2 lbs and there isn't much I can do about it since my body has gotten used to my new activity level.

I'm worried about how this change in weather will affect my exercise routine. No matter how hard I try, I just can't get myself to run in 40 degree weather, so my 3 day a week jogging routine is out of the window except on the rare mild evening. I'll have to find alternate ways to exercise. I'd love to join the gym at UK, I can get a deal as the spouse of a student but I'll have to wait to sign up until the spring semester starts. In the meantime, I'll be taking those six flights of stairs at work every day and popping in an exercise video at night. I'm sure these last 11 pounds are going to be a real struggle to lose but I know I can do it, I've already lost three times that amount ( 32 lbs )!

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Weigh-in: Eight Months

nobody@vox.com(Terri) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 05:47:47 -0400

8 Months

Month seven was an absolute bore in terms of weight loss. Each of my weekly weigh-ins ended in disappointment, the scale was stuck at 150 for 4 weeks straight. I had hit a dreaded plateau and in order to fight the flat-lining chart I had to up my exercise. Thankfully once I took up jogging three days a week I was finally able to watch the chart drop again. So now that I'm back on the downward trend I'm finding more motivation.

February is just around the corner and it would be an absolute dream if I were to meet my goal weight within a year. I'm really going to have to kick it into high gear to make it. Twelve pounds to go!

Now and Then

For even more motivation... here is my latest progress picture. Last weekend's trip to the falls sent me digging though photos from my last visit, almost two years ago. I came across a photo of that I had hidden in shame and now 30 pounds lighter I can happily use it to show the weight loss that I've worked so hard to achieve. <*beams with pride*>

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Exercise Ball Phenomenon

nobody@vox.com(Terri) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 08:07:36 -0400

Exercise Ball

A few years ago I bought an exercise ball. One of those gigantic, brightly colored, plastic bouncy things that everyone was raving about at the time. It took fifteen minutes to pump the thing up and after spending so much time in preparation I had lost all interest in actually exercising with it. Truthfully, I've only used it a hand full of times since then, but last week I pulled the deflated plastic ball out of the closet and decided to give it another go.

I had a lot less trouble with it this time around, since I'm in better shape, I was able to balance myself much easier. I started using it on my resting days, in between running.

After only one week of doing crunches on the exercise ball I'm happy to say I've lost 1" off my waist and another 1/2" off my hips. All the proof I need to stick with the exercise ball from now on.

And if your keeping count, that's a total of 5" off my waist, since starting my new healthy lifestyle 6 months ago. Just shy of half a foot off my waist! <* beams with pride *>

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Weigh-in: Six Months

nobody@vox.com(Terri) — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 11:35:22 -0400

Six Month Chart

It's the peak of summer and along with the sweltering temperatures I find my my motivation for exercise lacking. I ate right, only exercised twice a week and the pounds just melted off. Unfortunately in April I hit a plateau and I've been stuck on it ever since. I tried my best to mix up my calorie intake to boost my metabolism, I even tried drinking more water, anything I could do without having to exercise more. But after two months of stagnant charts I realized if I really want to lose these last 15 pounds I'm going to have to work hard for it.

Last night, I did something I've never done before, I ran! I strapped on my HRM, plugged in my headphones, leashed up Luna and went for a run around the neighborhood. 30 minutes later and I've burned 526 calories! I was amazed, I'd known that running was the best way to burn calories quickly but I really had no idea it was that effective.

I'm going to set aside three nights a week to run, which should really get my weight charts back on a downward trend. The goal was to have lost a total of 40 pounds by my wedding anniversary. I'm only 5 weeks and 15 pounds away!

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I though I'd never say...

nobody@vox.com(Terri) — Mon, 19 May 2008 14:04:20 -0400

It sounds like a silly thing to complain about, but since losing all of this weight, I’m having a real tough time fitting into my usual clothing. I’ve lost close to four inches off of my waist and another 3 inches off of my chest in the past three months! My nice khaki pants are literally falling off and my favorite blouse slips down into the “not work friendly” range. A few weeks ago, I had gotten so desperate that I had to purchase a couple pairs of jeans just to be presentable. Now these very same jeans are feeling slightly loose already. I don’t want to spend money on new clothes until I hit my goal weight, but does that mean I have to wear saggy clothing for the next five months while I lose the remaining 18 pounds?

Did you see how I slipped that in there?
Only 18 pounds to go, not too long ago that number was doubled! Which means I’ve lost 25 pounds since I left Florida. 14 of that since I began my diet three months ago. I’m staying at a slow, healthy, pace of 1 pound per week but I’m proud to say its working. Very well in fact!

Now back to my predicament...
Ladies I am accepting clothing donations. Size range between 9 and 12, PM me for contact information. :) te-he.

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Weigh-in : Week Four

nobody@vox.com(Terri) — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 08:52:04 -0500

The results are in, these past two weeks I've lost 3 pounds and 4 inches!

Which would make a total of 7 pounds and 9.5 inches lost this month!
I'm bouncing off the walls with excitement.

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Weigh-in : Week Two

nobody@vox.com(Terri) — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 10:29:26 -0500

I justified the purchase of my HRM, telling myself that it would be an excellent motivator to exercise and the key to getting me off the couch. Since using it for the past two weeks, I've managed to find the time to exercise an average of twenty minutes, two days a week. I wasn't quite sure what kind of impact that would have on my weight loss.

I just did my two week weigh-in and measurements. The results are in:
I've lost 4 pounds and ~~6 inches~~ (whoops) 8.25 inches!

That is twice as much as I was going for, my goal was 1 pound per week! I'm thrilled and so unbelievably happy to have such a great little gadget as a motivator. I can't wait for my next weigh-in and measurements, in another two weeks. At this rate I may meet my goal weight quicker then expected, I'm shooting for August.

If you could only see my beaming smile.

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