130lb Journey Down the Scale

A

aussiegal

New member
Hi everybody!

My name is Lisa, I'm 21 years old and live in Australia. I started my weight loss journey at 127.7kg (281.5lb) in April 2009. So far I've lost about 2kg (4.5lb). I've gone up and down like a yo-yo, but I'm still determined to get this weight off. At the moment I have renewed motivation as I have been having a multitude of health problems (all to do with my immune system), and I'm sick pretty much every other week. I am sick of being sick, and I know the only way to make myself better is to make my insides and outsides healthy with diet and exercise. I can also feel all my joints hurting, and I know that it is because of my size and that worries me because I am still so young! So I want to lose weight at the same time as getting my body healthy! My goal weight is about 68kg (150lb), but I'm still tossing up if I should be going for more or less than this number, but I'll probably decide when I'm close to it. For now I just need to focus on doing stuff to get there, one pound at a time!

So far I don't really have an eating plan. I'm trying to incorporate healthier foods into my diet and eat less junk, but not calorie counting or tracking at this point. From my past attempts at exercise, I know that I'm the type of person who needs to be 'distracted' while I'm exercising (does that make sense?) - I like to do exercise when it's fun/I'm not aware that I'm really working out. I don't like to just walk or lift weights or cycle, I need to be with other people and have a good time. So, I am starting a 2 week gym trial at a gym nearby to see if I like the classes that they have available, and if I do I will be signing up to the gym. I want to get myself into an exercise routine first, where I can't live without exercising nearly every day, before I start to focus on food. I've usually done it the opposite way around - focus on food first - but I find that it then becomes an unhealthy obsession and I can't do anything except think about food, and then I end up hating the exercise part and then I just give up. So this time it's about loving exercise. I need to find the exercise that suits me first to keep me going, to give me something to keep me going even if the food area ends up a bust.

Anyway, I'm soo sorry about the ramble! I just have a very clear picture this time of what I need to do and where I need to go with this, it's so bizarre! I really look forward to chatting to everyone on here! I've read a few other people's diaries and they're soo motivational!! I put this diary up so that it keeps me accountable and motivated. I don't have anyone to really talk to about my weight loss honestly, so I'd like to do that here.

Cheers for reading!
 
Woop I'm so happy right now :)

I went to the gym today for my induction section (which was basically just to say hi and to show me around the gym), and I'm really looking forward to the next two weeks! This gym has sooo many classes it's just crazy, and there are soo many that really appeal to me!! They have all those Les Mills classes, as well as their own workshops, and also ZUMBA! So far the only day where there are no classes that appeal to me during the times that I can go are on Thursdays, which is fine by me! That can then be my 'rest day', or I can just go to the gym to do some light weights to tone up my body and increase my metabolism.

My first class starts in about 2 hours, and it's ZUMBA. I'm so freakin' psyched right now. I'm really hoping that the classes are for me. If the next two weeks works out well, and I enjoy the classes and I'm going frequently, then I will sign up for a 3 month membership, and then after that if I'm still going I'll sign up to a year long membership. I know I'll still be going, but my husband doesn't seem to have faith that I will! I quit going to the gym a while ago after I signed up for a year because I never went - my excuse was that it was too far away and I didn't have a car. Then I bought a Wii, completely convinced that it would make me exercise... instead I don't because I get bored on my own, and feel like an idiot jumping around by myself. Now I have a car, and hopefully the classes and the people will keep me into going. But this time it's not about losing weight... it feels totally different this time coz I don't have that huge wave of motivation where I'm like "YEAH! I CAN DO THIS!!", this time I'm more like "I just have to do this coz I need to"... I'm figuring that if I don't have any of that 'beginning' motivation, I can't lose motivation, so I'll just keep at it. Does that even make sense??

Yeah... I'm a rambler. I'm sorry.

Food-wise I've been doing ok. I'm not really focusing on it, not tracking or anything, just trying to be as healthy as I can, and so far it's been ok. I'm having baked chicken breast and salad tonight for dinner with Nando's peri-peri sweet chilli sauce with lime (which I'm loovving right now) for a bit of a kick.

Anywhoz, sorry for the loongness of this! If you got this far, I applaud you!

Lisa.

Oh yeah, I weighed myself officially on Monday morning, and I was 125.4kg, which is 276.5lb. Wow, sounds heaps bigger in pounds...
 
Hi,Looks like you're already starting to lose so once you start all that exercise there'll be no stopping you :) With all those choices of classes at the gym you are bound to find plenty to keep you interested. My sister goes to a gym like that and does loads of different classes. I go to a cheaper one which only has machines and no classes so she finds it a lot easier to motivate herself to go than I do.
You're right, you get to a stage where it's a case of - I have got to do this -and that is when it actually becomes easier as you make a change in your head about making a whole lifestyle change not just going on a diet. If you find that you aren't losing weight as fast as you'd like then start to keep a food journal and weigh your food and count calories. It is a bit of a pain at first but you soon get used to it.
Also one of the most important things is to not give up if you end up pigging out at any time. Just get straight back to healthy eating. In the past I gave up on so many diets after just one day of bad eating.
good luck and looking forward to reading about your progress :)
val
 
Hi Val,

Thanks so much for your kind words :) I've read some of your diary and I have to say - you are really an inspiration! I know what you mean about not giving up/beating yourself up when you pig out a bit, I've done that in the past and its ended up on a bad road of just constant binging for long periods of time! This time though, I'm trying not to focus on food. I had bulimia when I was about 16, and even though I got through it, I still sometimes slip into old habits and become verrryy obsessive, especially when I'm tracking. I'm still seeing a psychiatrist, and he's helping me get through the obsessiveness (coz it transfers over into other parts of my life as well, it's not healthy!).

I guess you could say that this whole journey is really about getting healthy -mind and body! I know everything wont be fixed once I lose the weight, which is why I'm not focusing on the weight either and just focusing on getting healthy - the weight loss is just a happy side effect :)

So I went to Zumba class tonight and OMG! I am sooo sore now! Every inch of my body got a workout! I really enjoyed it too - I'm a huge fan of music when working out, and usually when I listen to music I just want to dance and be crazy, and Zumba really allowed me to let go while also giving me a workout. I barely even noticed that I was exercising until my calves were burning toward the end of the workout!

Sadly tomorrow there are no classes that I'm particularly into. There is a cardio class, but from what I've heard it's verrry full on, and I'd rather wait until I'm fitter to do it. So tomorrow my plan is to clean up my bedroom and then get the Wii out again :)

Ok, off to bed now!

Lisa.
 
aussiegal said:
I guess you could say that this whole journey is really about getting healthy -mind and body! I know everything wont be fixed once I lose the weight, which is why I'm not focusing on the weight either and just focusing on getting healthy - the weight loss is just a happy side effect :)
Click to expand...
That's exactly how I approached it this time and it seems to work better as even if you stop losing weight like I have at the moment it doesn't matter as you are still getting healthy. I see it as a lifetime commitment to be as fit and healthy as I can but I wish that I had done this 25 years ago. Still better late than never :)
Have you got the Just Dance disc for your WII? It's a lot of fun, especially if you do it with other people.
 
Never fear, I am still here!

Val - No I haven't heard of the Just Dance on the Wii... I finally cleaned my room up today, so maybe now I'll have space to get onto it lol.

I haven't been exercising since I did Zumba last week, mainly because I have been having major sinus problems which affected my inner ear - I was getting dizzy and light-headed all the time, so it was hard enough to walk, let alone get to the gym. But I'm FINALLY fine now. My gym trial runs out on Tuesday, but I'm signing up to a 3 month contract because I do still really want to go. The whole time I was sick, I was just itching to get to the gym.

So, here is my timetable for the gym:

Monday: Boxing Circuit @ 6.30pm
Tuesday: Body Balance @ 9.30am
Wednesday: Zumba @ 7.30pm
Thursday: Rest day
Friday: Circuit @ 9.15am (I'm skipping a uni lecture to go to this lol)
Saturday: Body Pump @ 8.30am
Sunday: Body Combat @ 9.30am

Body Pump uses a lot of weights, so I'm hoping that for now that will solve any toning issues I might have for a while. If not, then Monday's I will also do a Weights Circuit at 9.15am, coz both the Boxing and Weight circuits are 30mins long, whereas the rest are an hour.

As for food, I'm doing ok. I'm not keeping track of calories, but I'm really trying to make healthier choices, and think about what I'm eating. I'm limiting myself to 1 high calorie meal per day. I am ashamed to admit that before I started thinking about this, I was eating probably 2 fast food meals a day, and then some ice-cream/chocolate, and something fairly heavy on the calories for breakfast - not very good nutritional choices at all! I have also been incorporating more fruit into my diet and getting 2 to 3 serves a day. In the past, I was only sticking to apples and bananas, but now I'm branching out into Mandarins and blueberries as well. I've also started drinking heaps of herbal teas, especially green tea and lemon and ginger tea with honey in it. I'm eating natural oats for breakfast (not rolled/instant porridge), and popping sugar sweetener or manuka honey in and some cinnamon to sweeten it and then adding some fruit such as apples or blueberries (or both!). My next step is to just get into a routine with the fruit and tea, make it my choice over sweets. My ultimate test will be coming soon with TTOTM lol. I'm really not trying to focus on it though!

I haven't weighed myself, and I don't plan on doing it again until the 21st of September - 1 month from my last weigh in. I really don't want this to become weight obsessed. If I've lost weight, that's great, but if not, then oh well - this about getting my body healthy at the moment. Weight loss will come later or as an added bonus.

Something else I really need to start doing is getting into a sleeping routine. I'm really bad when it comes to sleep. I have a bit of insomnia now and then, and sometimes I'll go weeks without sleeping at night, and only sleeping a few hours during the day, or I'll end up going to bed at 4 or 5am and end up waking up at midday. So once I get the fruit down pat, and I go to the gym 6 days a week, I will try to fix my sleeping pattern. Getting in regular exercise and eating properly will most likely help me in this area!

Ok, gotta run now. Sorry again about the super long posts!

Lisa.
 
I was going to suggest Zumba, but you found it already! It seems as though we're close in age/weight/goals and from reading your posts, I know that if you stick to your guns you will have no problem at all at reaching your goals.

You've got the right mindset to get healthy, and I know you can do it.

Its also great that you've given yourself a rest day. A lot of people dont think that it is important, but it is, or you'll burn out.

Great job so far, and have fun at the gym!
 
aussiegal said:
Never fear, I am still here!

Val - No I haven't heard of the Just Dance on the Wii... I finally cleaned my room up today, so maybe now I'll have space to get onto it lol.
Click to expand...
There is a new one out called Dance on Broadway which looks like even more fun. It's based on songs from Broadway shows.
You sound like you are doing amazingly well and I think should show a good loss when you weigh yourself.
Don't ever apologise for long posts, this is YOUR diary and you can write what you want :D
 
Ugh, I've woken up sick again today :( My nose is running, I'm dizzy, my sinuses are clogged and I'm running a fever again. I'm going to have to skip the gym again today :'( THIS IS SO UNFAIR! I was really looking forward to boxing class tonight ... I'm gonna do a bit on my Wii, just a bit of light exercise later to get me moving a bit, maybe for 10 minutes or so. Its better than nothing I guess, but I don't think I could do the gym just now. Its also probably better to not be around people - spreading my germies lol.
 
Ok, so in the last week I did about 10 minutes of exercise. I've had a bad sinus infection, which thankfully has cleared up now. My doctor is still exploring my ongoing sinus problems though, and I had a CT Scan yesterday morning. BUT, I went to the gym today and signed up. I got an offer in the mail from my old gym offering to waive the joining fee, give me a flexible contract, and take off $5 a week from the gym fee, so I went to my new gym and asked if they'd match the offer, and they did! They even gave me a 10% student discount ahaha. I am supposed to have an appointment there tomorrow night at 6pm for my first PT session, and then 6.30pm is boxing class, but at this point I don't know what's going to happen because I might need to take my brother-in-law to the doctor. I don't know what time his appointment is yet... but that's ok! I will get up in the morning and go to a class called 'Cardio Kick' at 6.30am, and then ask them if I can change my PT session to earlier in the day, or the next day. That's what I enjoy about classes at this place, there are plenty to choose from every day!! I love it!!

Anyway, I must be off!
Lisa.
 
Wowee... I just went to the gym for a mini PT session (half an hour), and OMG!! I loved it! It was absolutely awesome, despite kicking my a$$ lol. My sinuses are still not 100%, so I often felt dizzy, but my PT understood and let me call time-outs ahaha. When I get some money together, I will DEFINITELY be buying like 20 PT sessions! She did suggest that maybe making myself do 6 classes a week right off the bat might not be a good thing, especially if I'm still not 100%, so my goal for the short term is to work my way up to 6 classes a week, starting with 3 this week. So, this will be my classes this coming week:

Wed: Zumba (60mins)
Fri: Boxing Circuit (30mins)
Sun: Body Combat (60mins)

I've also got a couple of additional sessions this week with another PT to work out my 'exercise program'.

My WI is in a week, and I'm feeling a bit nervous. I seriously don't think I've lost any weight, in fact, I feel like I've gained weight! Oh well, I guess we'll find out next week.

I will keep you updated over the week about my classes and how I'm going.

Lisa.
 
Uugghhh... I just weighed myself and I am 128.6kg or 283.5 pounds, so I've gained 3.2kg. That's ok though... like I said, I'm not focusing on the weight. Although, I still feel bad... Guess I just have to work harder huh? My next weigh in will be 19th of October.

Last week I didn't get to the gym for all 3 sessions. After Monday's PT session, and then boxing, it took until Friday to stop hurting! I had a fairly busy weekend too, so I didnt get to the gym :( But I did an hour at the gym total in the week, so I'm good with that.

I'm now going to be integrating food into this, even though I haven't gotten into a 'routine' with the gym. I am still motivated to get to the gym though, and that's the important thing.

This week's goals are:

- Do 1.5hrs at the gym
- Get in at least 1 fruit and 3 vegetables every day
- Drink 2L of water a day

I think instead of saying "I will go to the gym on this day, and this day etc", saying that I will do x amount of time is better, coz at least then I have some flexibility and I can work upwards easily doing an extra half an hour each week. I will work up to 2 fruits and 5 vegetables a day, and then once I've done that, I'll start thinking about other areas that I need to focus on foodwise.

Anyway, I'm off. I have plenty to do today!

Lisa.
 
Hey Aussiegirl

I'm a kiwigirl, and I've just come back here after a break.

I've been to those Les Mills classes.... they are killer! I'm not surprised you were hurting. Back when I used to do them I started out doing part of a class (like 15 min to start with)and then went and used the cardio machines for the rest of the time. That meant I could go every day ( and you get to try out the classes while you're still so motivated). As you get more fit you can do more and more of the class.

If you can afford personal training its great. I never paid for many though. I felt too guilty over spending more money on me. (know what I mean?).

Anyway I just bought a skipping rope. I can't even do 2 minutes!

See ya round.

Ana
 
Hey Ana, I read your post a while ago and I thought about it while I've been in classes throughout the week... but honestly, I feel like such a slacker if I leave the class early :( But I guess that's why I started going to classes in the first place - something extra to keep me there and keep me interested. Even though it hurts now, I know that this is gonna pay off later. I think I'd rather every muscle in my body aching for days and only being able to do a couple of classes a week then not hurting and going every day - the pain almost makes me feel proud, like I've achieved something fantastic lol. I'm such a loser :p I know what you mean about not wanting to spend money on yourself too... I got an offer to buy 3 PT sessions for $99 the other day... I'm taking it into consideration, but $33 a session still seems like a lot of money to spend when in classes I basically get group PT sessions...

I did Circuit class on Friday and OMG... my upper arms and my back muscles kill STILL. I am going to Yoga this morning to stretch it all out and make my muscles feel good.

I've been doing pretty well with my goals this week. Some days I would eat my vegetables and no fruit, other days I'd eat my fruit and very few vegetables, and then other days I'd get them all in. I am pretty sure I got all my water in every day. I wasn't keeping track, but I've been drinking green tea like it's going out of style and I count that as part of my water intake. With the Yoga today I will have done 2 hours of exercise this week - above my initial goal :)

I'm feeling pretty good! This coming week I have decided that I'm going to track what I'm eating just to see what my average daily calorie intake is. My other goals are:

- Do at least 2hrs of exercise, but I'm challenging myself to 3hrs.
- Get in 2 fruit and 4 vegetables a day.
- Drink 2L of water a day.
- Track my calorie intake.

I also need to see a physiotherapist. Ever since I was a teenager I've had pain in my left calf whenever I exercise. It feels like the muscle is soo tight that someone is trying to rip it and burn it at the same time. It gets so bad that I can't walk. I always just ignored it, tried to stretch it out and keep going, but the other day in circuit I was told by the trainer that it could be a serious problem and I should have it checked out. I'm planning on trying to do that this week as well as I have uni holidays and I'm feeling well.

Ooh speaking of uni holidays - I'm so excited this week! I have Thursday night available to go try out Body Step!! I will probably fall on my a$$ a few times but hey, I'm looking forward to it!

Ok, that is all for now. I've gotta go to Yoga class now :)

Lisa.
 
Good for you staying for the whole class. That's awesome.

Just reading your posts makes me want to rejoin the gym. I love the motivation of exercise classes they're so fun.

Have a nice break from uni.
 
good luck lisa! Sounds like you are doing really well.

also, I think you should aim for at least 2L of water. Ive been drinking about 3L each day and I believe it helps with weight loss as your body needs water to use to lose weight.
 
Ana - The classes are so fantastic. They really keep me going - I actually find myself excited to get to the gym!

roysymmonds83 - apparently water helps speed up your metabolism as well as rehydrating you, so it's a pretty useful thing to include in your diet. The minimum recommended is 1.5L, but keep in mind that drinking too much can be harmful to you as well. Drinking water less than half an hour before eating disrupts the stomach's acid balance, and can make it less effective in breaking down and digesting food. If you're exercising hard every day and sweating a lot, or have an active life/job, then 3L might be right for you. At this point, for me, trying to get 2L in is a struggle.

Ugh, I went to Yoga earlier, and I really didn't enjoy it. I was watching the clock the whole time because it was just sooo sloooow. We were lying on the floor half the time with our eyes closed!! I like energetic classes, where the music is pumping, I'm sweating and puffing and then afterwards I get that massive rush of adrenaline. So I don't think I'll be going back to that class. I asked afterwards whether Body Balance (a Les Milles class) is a similar speed, and I was told that yes, it is. So instead there's additional 30min circuit classes now that I'll probably fit in. There's also Body Attack, which I've heard is very very full on cardio, so I might go for at least the first half an hour to see how I like it. I've seen it, and it looks like so much fun, but sooo hard! Anyone else tried it?
 
Sounds like you have some great classes available to you. I've got 3 friends that are going to come round to my house regularly this winter to exercise with me and we want to get some videos and do some of those sort of classes. I've been calling it boot camp and threatening them with all sorts of torturous exercising as they have all got a bit slack this summer :D
 
Well I tried body balance tonight. It was ok. It had music and was more fast paced than Yoga. I definitely enjoyed it more than Yoga, but afterwards I still didn't feel like I'd exercised, so I did the half hour boxing class as well. NOW I feel soooreeee but energetic :) I absolutely love the adrenaline rush after I get all sweaty and puffed... am I crazy? Does anyone else get that??

Eckymans - omg, I love the idea of getting together with friends to work out together! Lol you should do boxing, get some pads and gloves and just punch at each other, and then in between sets do some running. Or do like a mini-circuit, where you need to skip, then squats, then do dumbell curls, then lunges, then running, then tricep dips, then back to skipping. All you need then is some free weights, a skipping rope and a bench/chair. Circuit is HEAPS of fun!
 
We did the circuits a couple of times at the end of last winter. I have stairs going up one side of my garden and down the other side so we used to run round, then there was the static bike, gym mats, weights, skipping ropes etc and it was exhausting but a lot of fun as we poked fun at each other everytime we passed. We are going to put a T.V. and DVD player outside and do exercise routines in the open air. When the weather is rainy then we'll use the Wii or put Abba records on and dance like crazies. It's will all so much more fun than exercising alone. :D This year there will be 4 or 5 of us depending on my daughters Uni hours so should be even more fun. I like the sound of the boxing, I'll ask the others what they think. I think that we will probably laugh too much to actually do much good :)
If any of my neighbours has a video camera we could end up a laughing stock on youtube!!!!!
 
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