So, when I was a young adult, I had a boyfriend whose mom had been a model at some point in her lifetime. She told me that the proper way to stand in a photo is to put one foot in front of the other with the bulk of your weight on the foot in the back. I guess it puts the larger proportion behind you or something like that. Bottom line, it is supposed to make you look thinner.
Ever since then, I have always tried to stand that way. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
I had a reality check yesterday. After posting the pictures of my before and ... uh, during, I was feeling pretty good about my progress. I took my daughter to a dance studio to sign her up for ballet and tap for the fall. Let me tell you, a full wall of mirrors does nothing to improve your figure. Standing before me in all my glory was the reflection of someone that still has many steps yet to go in her journey to peace with herself.
I needed that slap in the face. I suspect this will be the catalyst to my return to the gym.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Moving Down the Charts
So, I went to the doctor today and, while I'm sitting in the little room waiting for the doctor to come in, I began studying the Weight Chart. This one wasn't one of the BMI charts; however, it did have the areas shaded that would correspond with the BMI.
I was thrilled to see that in a couple of pounds I will be down to a 29BMI. This means that I will move out of the Obese BMI range and into the only Overweight BMI range. I have not seen this weight range in almost 3 years. Woohoo!
In my previous life, I would celebrate that momentous event with a trip to Starbucks or 31 Flavors or something like that. But, now that I am a new person in the middle of a new journey, I will celebrate by going to the high-end resale shop down the street to buy some clothes that fit. :)
I was thrilled to see that in a couple of pounds I will be down to a 29BMI. This means that I will move out of the Obese BMI range and into the only Overweight BMI range. I have not seen this weight range in almost 3 years. Woohoo!
In my previous life, I would celebrate that momentous event with a trip to Starbucks or 31 Flavors or something like that. But, now that I am a new person in the middle of a new journey, I will celebrate by going to the high-end resale shop down the street to buy some clothes that fit. :)
Breakfast Friends
There are just certain people who can make your day by just being there.
Yesterday morning, I had the pleasure of eating breakfast with one of my husband's cousins. She met us for breakfast to pick up her son who had spent the night. She walked in and gave my ego the boost it needed today. Some of the first words out of her mouth were "You're looking so skinny! I love it!"
She is actually the reason I am following the path I am with my weight loss. She has lost 75lbs in the last 15-ish months by changing her diet and exercising. She is the one that got me to join the gym I'm a member at. Now she has joined a new gym and she is taking kickboxing. She's trying to get me to switch but I need to get back in the routine before I can switch gyms. If I can't make myself go to the one I see every day, how am I going to make myself go to one I have to drive way outta my way to get there?
Regardless, seeing Megan's progress has definitely helped me achieve my weight loss so far. Thanks Meg for being such an inspiration!
Megan after
Yesterday morning, I had the pleasure of eating breakfast with one of my husband's cousins. She met us for breakfast to pick up her son who had spent the night. She walked in and gave my ego the boost it needed today. Some of the first words out of her mouth were "You're looking so skinny! I love it!"
She is actually the reason I am following the path I am with my weight loss. She has lost 75lbs in the last 15-ish months by changing her diet and exercising. She is the one that got me to join the gym I'm a member at. Now she has joined a new gym and she is taking kickboxing. She's trying to get me to switch but I need to get back in the routine before I can switch gyms. If I can't make myself go to the one I see every day, how am I going to make myself go to one I have to drive way outta my way to get there?
Regardless, seeing Megan's progress has definitely helped me achieve my weight loss so far. Thanks Meg for being such an inspiration!
Megan before (the one with CHI on her chest)
Megan after
Friday, August 21, 2009
The Proof is in the Pictures
So, I feel good enough about myself now that I can post the before picture. I'm not the after yet but I have faith that I will be there someday.
This picture was taken on our family vacation to DisneyWorld at the beginning of March, 2009. I looked at the pictures from our vacation and couldn't believe how big I'd gotten. When you're putting on weight, you know how much you weigh, you know what size you need to be comfortable but you don't fully know what you look like.
When I received the CD of our pictures from Disney, I sat down and cried. I was disgusting. I couldn't believe my butt was as big as Buzz Lightyear's chest and his was a costume. The weight was so out of my control and the efforts I'd made so far hadn't resulted in much. I was sure I was going to be fat for the rest of my life. For the record, my butt can actually be seen to the left of my arm and hand.
I am very happy with the progress I've made so far. The rate at which I'm losing my weight now has slowed down but that's OK. I didn't put most of this on overnight so I can't realistically expect it to come off overnight. I'm doing well. I'm staying positive.
Here's a picture that actually makes it look like I don't need to lose any weight. I like this one. :) Course, I know that my sister just got the right angle. I was only down 29 pounds in this picture. This picture was 3 months into the weight-loss effort.
This is where I'm at after 5 months of effort ... 39 pounds down. Who could complain? Note, you cannot see my butt to the right of my arm and hand. :) The pants in the first picture are almost too big to wear now.
I'm not disgusted with how I look. I'm not happy either but I'm not disgusted. I know it's a lifestyle change. That's the important thing, right?
My husband gave me a compliment the other day. He told me that I was getting a good shape to my butt again. People at work have begun to comment on my weight loss and want to know what I'm doing. I guess 35 pounds is the magic number to be noticed.
Addendum: OK, so I just looked at these pictures after I published. Just as when your weight is going up, you know how much you weigh and you know what size you need but you don't really know what you look like until you see a picture. Well, let me tell you, it happens in reverse too. I put this post together and really looked at the picture from March 5 in Disney and then looked at the picture from the zoo on Saturday, August 22 and I am amazed and thrilled at my progress! Yay!! And, if I can do this, anyone can.
When I received the CD of our pictures from Disney, I sat down and cried. I was disgusting. I couldn't believe my butt was as big as Buzz Lightyear's chest and his was a costume. The weight was so out of my control and the efforts I'd made so far hadn't resulted in much. I was sure I was going to be fat for the rest of my life. For the record, my butt can actually be seen to the left of my arm and hand.
I am very happy with the progress I've made so far. The rate at which I'm losing my weight now has slowed down but that's OK. I didn't put most of this on overnight so I can't realistically expect it to come off overnight. I'm doing well. I'm staying positive.
Here's a picture that actually makes it look like I don't need to lose any weight. I like this one. :) Course, I know that my sister just got the right angle. I was only down 29 pounds in this picture. This picture was 3 months into the weight-loss effort.
I'm not disgusted with how I look. I'm not happy either but I'm not disgusted. I know it's a lifestyle change. That's the important thing, right?
My husband gave me a compliment the other day. He told me that I was getting a good shape to my butt again. People at work have begun to comment on my weight loss and want to know what I'm doing. I guess 35 pounds is the magic number to be noticed.
Addendum: OK, so I just looked at these pictures after I published. Just as when your weight is going up, you know how much you weigh and you know what size you need but you don't really know what you look like until you see a picture. Well, let me tell you, it happens in reverse too. I put this post together and really looked at the picture from March 5 in Disney and then looked at the picture from the zoo on Saturday, August 22 and I am amazed and thrilled at my progress! Yay!! And, if I can do this, anyone can.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Update: 3mos later
Oops. I was going to update this blog every week or at least every month. I have failed to do that. I guess it was the idea that if I started posting every week, I would be embarrassed if I failed in my weight loss efforts.
Well, I'm here to tell you that I have not failed. I am doing very well. As of this weekend, I hit the halfway point. Yay me!
So, May progressed much the way April did. I lost weight at a reasonable, much slower pace than I did during the first month of my efforts.
In June, I fell down my concrete front stairs. I heard something, turned around and down I went. I landed on my left knee full force on a corner of a stair. I had it x-rayed to make sure nothing was broken. It wasn't but they diagnosed it as a sprain, advised me to stay off of it and told me to see an orthopedist if I was still having trouble with it in 7-10 days. Because of this, I didn't exercise ... like I needed an excuse.
I went through the next week not bending my knee which made going up and down the stairs a challenge. Because I was going on vacation, I scheduled an appointment with an ortho to make sure I didn't have any real damage before I walked on it for three weeks. The ortho said that it seemed to be OK but that I'd probably bruised the ligament. He encouraged me to use the knee but, if there was any discomfort, to take it easy and elevate it. He also cautioned me against using it too much. My translation: Don't exercise. So, I didn't exercise before vacation.
I went to see my sister and her family for a long weekend. We ate nothing but fast food. I tried not to eat the entire sandwiches. When I returned from vacation, I'd lost a pound. I went to my primary care doctor and, while he was not happy that I wasn't exercising, he was happy with the success I was having in the weight loss efforts.
Four days later, I left for fishing. Again, I tried not to eat entire portions since I was eating only fast food. I was successful in losing another pound. By this point, I was down 32lbs. I was feeling so much better about myself.
After vacation, I went through a junk food phase. I ate and watched my weight just sit. I kept saying I was going to exercise but I wasn't getting anywhere with that either.
At the end of July, I started really trying to stick to my weight loss plan at least with the food. Within 10 days, I lost another 3lbs. This means that I have officially reached the halfway point.
And, that brings us to the end of our posting. My doctor asked me what my goal weight was. I said that my most comfortable weight ever was 125lbs but I knew that was unreasonable so I was shooting for 150. He said he didn't think my body would be happy at that weight. The catch is that, if I don't make at least 150,I won't be happy with my body.
Whose happiness counts?
Well, I'm here to tell you that I have not failed. I am doing very well. As of this weekend, I hit the halfway point. Yay me!
So, May progressed much the way April did. I lost weight at a reasonable, much slower pace than I did during the first month of my efforts.
In June, I fell down my concrete front stairs. I heard something, turned around and down I went. I landed on my left knee full force on a corner of a stair. I had it x-rayed to make sure nothing was broken. It wasn't but they diagnosed it as a sprain, advised me to stay off of it and told me to see an orthopedist if I was still having trouble with it in 7-10 days. Because of this, I didn't exercise ... like I needed an excuse.
I went through the next week not bending my knee which made going up and down the stairs a challenge. Because I was going on vacation, I scheduled an appointment with an ortho to make sure I didn't have any real damage before I walked on it for three weeks. The ortho said that it seemed to be OK but that I'd probably bruised the ligament. He encouraged me to use the knee but, if there was any discomfort, to take it easy and elevate it. He also cautioned me against using it too much. My translation: Don't exercise. So, I didn't exercise before vacation.
I went to see my sister and her family for a long weekend. We ate nothing but fast food. I tried not to eat the entire sandwiches. When I returned from vacation, I'd lost a pound. I went to my primary care doctor and, while he was not happy that I wasn't exercising, he was happy with the success I was having in the weight loss efforts.
Four days later, I left for fishing. Again, I tried not to eat entire portions since I was eating only fast food. I was successful in losing another pound. By this point, I was down 32lbs. I was feeling so much better about myself.
After vacation, I went through a junk food phase. I ate and watched my weight just sit. I kept saying I was going to exercise but I wasn't getting anywhere with that either.
At the end of July, I started really trying to stick to my weight loss plan at least with the food. Within 10 days, I lost another 3lbs. This means that I have officially reached the halfway point.
And, that brings us to the end of our posting. My doctor asked me what my goal weight was. I said that my most comfortable weight ever was 125lbs but I knew that was unreasonable so I was shooting for 150. He said he didn't think my body would be happy at that weight. The catch is that, if I don't make at least 150,I won't be happy with my body.
Whose happiness counts?
Thursday, April 30, 2009
End of Month One
Well, as with everyone else, I have decided to blog. Do I really have anything exciting to say that anyone else will care about? No, probably not. But I've decided that I'm going to journal my weightloss efforts.
So, who am I? I'm a 41yr old mom to a beautiful little girl. Married to my husband for almost 10yrs now.
My weight story began in 2001. My son was stillborn on April 24, 2001 at 42wks gestation. During my pregnancy, I'd put on almost 70lbs. I wasn't concerned about what I was eating. I ate whatever I wanted when I was hungry. After I lost him, I didn't care about taking off the weight. My girlfriends convinced me to join them at the health club at work and I began WeightWatchers. I eventually took off 40lbs.
In March of 2003, I became pregnant with my daughter. I put on only 50lbs. Again, I didn't worry about taking the weight off although I wasn't happy with the way I looked.
In June of 2005, I and two friends from work were headed to lunch and we were t-boned by a punk in an SUV. My husband was not supportive during my rehab. He did not believe that my back was injured ... even after I brought home my MRI films and tried to show him the herniated disks.
A month later, my grandmother died. Between the lack of support from my husband and the loss of my grandmother, I became extremely depressed. During this time, I lost my appetite and began losing weight. To help me through this, I started seeing a psychologist. He recommended that I try the South Beach Diet. I lost all of the weight I'd put on with my daughter.
In January 2007, I began feeling tired and put on 10lbs. No big deal. I was 39 and I wasn't really doing much so I thought it was appropriate. By the end of the year, I'd put on 30 more pounds. I went to the doctor to find out what was going on. I had the fatigue weight gain plus I was emotional and had developed eczema. He ran bloodwork but it came back normal so I was diagnosed with Seasonal Affected Disorder.
Because I was now 40, my gynecologist ran bloodwork too. This time, my TSH level came back high indicating hypothyroidism. By this time, I'd put on another 10lbs. My doctor started me on .150mcg of generic Levoxyl but I was feeling no relief so I went to see an endocrinologist. He began adjusting my meds and we finally settled on a .150mcg of brand-named Synthroid. This has brought my TSH level to a number close to where it was in October 2005.
I got the call on March 30 that my TSH level was perfect. At that time, I weighed in at 221.
On March 27, I joined a health club. I do 20min of cardio training followed by 20-25min of weight training before work. I do this workout, 4-6 times per week. In the first month, I have lost 4" around my ribs, 2" around my hips and 14.5lbs.
Maybe writing it down like this will keep me from turning into Kirstie Alley.
So, who am I? I'm a 41yr old mom to a beautiful little girl. Married to my husband for almost 10yrs now.
My weight story began in 2001. My son was stillborn on April 24, 2001 at 42wks gestation. During my pregnancy, I'd put on almost 70lbs. I wasn't concerned about what I was eating. I ate whatever I wanted when I was hungry. After I lost him, I didn't care about taking off the weight. My girlfriends convinced me to join them at the health club at work and I began WeightWatchers. I eventually took off 40lbs.
In March of 2003, I became pregnant with my daughter. I put on only 50lbs. Again, I didn't worry about taking the weight off although I wasn't happy with the way I looked.
In June of 2005, I and two friends from work were headed to lunch and we were t-boned by a punk in an SUV. My husband was not supportive during my rehab. He did not believe that my back was injured ... even after I brought home my MRI films and tried to show him the herniated disks.
A month later, my grandmother died. Between the lack of support from my husband and the loss of my grandmother, I became extremely depressed. During this time, I lost my appetite and began losing weight. To help me through this, I started seeing a psychologist. He recommended that I try the South Beach Diet. I lost all of the weight I'd put on with my daughter.
In January 2007, I began feeling tired and put on 10lbs. No big deal. I was 39 and I wasn't really doing much so I thought it was appropriate. By the end of the year, I'd put on 30 more pounds. I went to the doctor to find out what was going on. I had the fatigue weight gain plus I was emotional and had developed eczema. He ran bloodwork but it came back normal so I was diagnosed with Seasonal Affected Disorder.
Because I was now 40, my gynecologist ran bloodwork too. This time, my TSH level came back high indicating hypothyroidism. By this time, I'd put on another 10lbs. My doctor started me on .150mcg of generic Levoxyl but I was feeling no relief so I went to see an endocrinologist. He began adjusting my meds and we finally settled on a .150mcg of brand-named Synthroid. This has brought my TSH level to a number close to where it was in October 2005.
I got the call on March 30 that my TSH level was perfect. At that time, I weighed in at 221.
On March 27, I joined a health club. I do 20min of cardio training followed by 20-25min of weight training before work. I do this workout, 4-6 times per week. In the first month, I have lost 4" around my ribs, 2" around my hips and 14.5lbs.
Maybe writing it down like this will keep me from turning into Kirstie Alley.
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