An in between post, 50lbs down! And some questions too! :)

Sparked

Sparked

New member
Hi :)

I have been lurking on this forum for a while now, daydreaming about the day where I would finally get to post my after pics! Well, I'm not quite there yet, but I thought it would be good for me to post some in-between pics and say hi, seeing as I've hit a rather frustrating plateau and could use the motivation :p I've lost 50lbs in about 4-5 months.






Yikes! I find it physically painful to look at this picture ... this was my highest weight, somewhere around 288 (I'm 5'11) and I was totally oblivious to how big I had become.




An in-between the in-between ;) around 260ish here


annnnnd current:



238 here (oh, fluorescent lighting, you are nobody's friend :p) obviously some more to go, but it's moving!





My bf says the biggest difference has been in my face, I'm starting to see that too.


So 50lbs down! I've still got, gosh, I don't even know how much left. I don't really have a goal weight because I've never really been a healthy weight so I don't know where I will feel good. Right now I'm aiming for about 170 and see how I feel there. My biggest issue is that I've hit a plateau and the only thing I seem to be losing is my mind! ;) Over the last 3 weeks the scale has not budged (wait, I take that back, sometimes it goes up! grr!) I have been hitting this thing hard to see some results, I started working out 3 times a day: doing 2 miles of interval running in the morning, the 30 day shred in the afternoon, and yoga and strength training at night, I drink about a gallon of water a day, and there isn't one single calorie or fat gram that isn't accounted for in my food diary - I don't know what to do, my scale even says that my body fat percentage has increased, I don't know how accurate that is, because really there's no humanly way possible that that could be true. So frustrating! I will say that I can see some success at least in my mental process, in the past I would have never had a 3 week plateau because I would have never survived through 3 weeks without losing, I would have given up the second the numbers weren't going my way, but this time I've kept going. And on the whole, this time feels different, I've wasted too much of my youth (I'm 26) being fat - every time I come across a temptation I think, "am I going to have a chance to have that at some other time in my life?" yes. "am I going to be 26 ever again in my life?" no. So this is it, I feel a difference, my bf remarks that he is blown away by my drive and that he can see it's different this time too... I just wish my body would catch up with my mindset! Any tips on getting through plateaus?
 
Wow! Great post! :hurray:


Firstly, welcome to the forums, Sparked!


Your pictures are amazing! You can totally see the difference and you look phenomenal! :biggrin:


Now, it's interesting you mentioned hitting a plateau as I recently fell into one as well. I've been getting some input in my diary (which I would recommend making one btw - they're great!) and it may be that you're not getting enough calories. You say you account for every single calorie? Can I ask how you determined what your calorie intake should be vs. how much exercise you're doing right now?


I think my problem is/was that I've been doing too much exercise and not fueling myself enough. As a friend on the forum once said, "The body is like a chimney. If you don't feed it fuel, it won't burn."


That mentality you have is exactly the same thought process I followed as well. You'll never be this age again, and you're only wasting time being unhealthy. That's great to have in your head each day to keep you going. A year is going to pass by one way or another, so why not utilize it to make the next 50+ years of your life happier?


Very inspirational, Sparked! Thank you for deciding to post
 
Hi Frogged :)


Thanks so much! I was so nervous about posting, but now I'm glad that I did :)


And wow, you look awesome yourself! Amazing!


So for my calorie intake I've been using an iPhone app called myfitnesspal (it's free!) you enter in all your info and it calculates what you should be getting on a daily basis (not just calories but fat, protein, carbs, everything.) I scan/enter in all the food that I eat and it totals it up -- it'll also adjust my daily totals as my weight goes down and it adjusts every time that I log exercise. I've found it an invaluable tool and the plan it has me on has really been working ... well up until now. Before I hit the plateau, I was faithfully hitting those marks every day, but currently, I think you might be on the right track here about not getting enough calories in, the thing is that I've been working out so often that it completely kills my appetite! I'll get to the end of the day and be way below my calorie level and have to force myself to eat. Usually I'm glad that I'm just in under my goal for the day, but it's possible that it's been too much... such a wacky idea that you have to eat more to lose more! Maybe in an attempt to break my plateau, I've actually prolonged it :p I am really enjoying having the exercise throughout my day ( ha! I can't believe I just said that! ;) ) so, I guess I should look to redesigning my eating schedule the way I have my workout schedule. Thanks for the insight, it's given me some good ideas :)


I like what you said about taking this year to make the other ones better, it's a great philosophy that really makes you want to get the most progress out of every day!


Thanks again for your reply!
 
Yeah, I was a bit scared as well when I first made my thread. I used to lurk for months prior to posting
smile.gif
But really, there's no need to be nervous on this forum. It's filled with so many supportive people that can relate to you in more ways than you think sometimes.


That iPhone app certainly sounds interesting! I'm not very groovy with phones though - I just recently got texting! lol, I'm really behind the curve. I have a Nokia E71x that a relative gave me because he actually upgraded to an iPhone. haha


Anyway, best of luck breaking your plateau
smile.gif
 
Congratulations on your weight loss! You are gorgeous. I had plateau in my weght-loss, to jump started again I added weights, more protein, and a lot of water (drinking 1.5 gallons/day). I don't know if you would want to try that
 
Originally Posted by Bouncewden


Congratulations on your weight loss! You are gorgeous. I had plateau in my weght-loss, to jump started again I added weights, more protein, and a lot of water (drinking 1.5 gallons/day). I don't know if you would want to try that
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Aww thanks so much! :) Yeah I have heard breaking up the routine really helps trick your body out of the plateau, those are some really manageable changes, thanks so much for the tip!
 
'I've wasted too much of my youth (I'm 26) being fat - every time I come across a temptation I think, "am I going to have a chance to have that at some other time in my life?" yes. "am I going to be 26 ever again in my life?" no'


i really like this!!!!!! i'm going to start using this.
 
Originally Posted by jamieliberty


what a difference!!!! great job :)
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Originally Posted by jamieliberty


'I've wasted too much of my youth (I'm 26) being fat - every time I come across a temptation I think, "am I going to have a chance to have that at some other time in my life?" yes. "am I going to be 26 ever again in my life?" no'



i really like this!!!!!! i'm going to start using this.
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Thanks Jamie! :)


I'm glad you like it, it really helps me -- the urge to binge on something can be so "living in the moment" and thinking like that really helps me organize my priorities :)
 
wowowosa! first of thanks for posting in my journal the other day;


secondly


WOW. You are very beautiful, weight or no weight. That is something nobody can deny, whether you are thin or a little bit bigger you are definitely beautiful.


AND... you've made great process and managed to make yourself EVEN HOTTER ;) so good on you.


Now you are just kicking butt and taking names.


I don't really have any special tips or tricks for plateau's since I am not a survivor of them yet, and I am sure I will have them. But I am here for support anytime. I just personally believe as long as you don't give up you will get through it. It sounds like you are doing all the right stuff!


KUDOS


I can't wait to see some more updates by Christmas! My bet is you will be rocking it!
 
You look great!.. Hitting plateaus can be so frustrating. Im currently stuck in one myself and so I can here for motivation too. It can be so hard, but even looking at past pictures and what you look like now, you should be so proud of yourself.
 
Originally Posted by MattHakor


^_^ Keep at it!
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Thanks! Down about another 12lbs or so, gonna take some more pics when I'm down 20!



Originally Posted by chunkmonster2


wowowosa! first of thanks for posting in my journal the other day;



secondly



WOW. You are very beautiful, weight or no weight. That is something nobody can deny, whether you are thin or a little bit bigger you are definitely beautiful.



AND... you've made great process and managed to make yourself EVEN HOTTER ;) so good on you.



Now you are just kicking butt and taking names.



I don't really have any special tips or tricks for plateau's since I am not a survivor of them yet, and I am sure I will have them. But I am here for support anytime. I just personally believe as long as you don't give up you will get through it. It sounds like you are doing all the right stuff!



KUDOS



I can't wait to see some more updates by Christmas! My bet is you will be rocking it!
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Well, gee, thanks Chunky! :blush5:

Luckily I broke through the plateau... or keep breaking through them rather, since I'm still getting mini ones :p I will definitely be posting some updates soon -- stay tuned! ;) hehe

Oh, and thanks for the support! :)





Originally Posted by meggie 3


You look great!.. Hitting plateaus can be so frustrating. Im currently stuck in one myself and so I can here for motivation too. It can be so hard, but even looking at past pictures and what you look like now, you should be so proud of yourself.
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Thanks Meggie! Plateaus are so freakin frustrating! I about threw my scale across the room a couple of times and definitely had some choice words for it! I was pushing so hard to break my plateau that I actually got an injury, which ironically enough was the thing that broke my plateau because I had to change up my whole schedule! I changed my calorie intake, the carbs/protein/fat ratio, and completely made over my work out routine - I was down 6 lbs the next week. Sometimes you just gotta mix it up a bit!
 
You look amaaaazing!!! Keep up the great work!!!!! :) :) I just discovered this forum today and it has been so inspiring for me. I am currently 208lbs and am aiming for 150-ish. I lost a ton of weight before but ended up putting it back on because I was simply careless. My advice to you is to never do the same exercise routine two days in a row. Your body and muscles need to always be surprised with different workouts because otherwise they get used to it and simply stop giving you progress. Also, try eating a lot of fiber. It helps your digestive system and sort of cleans you and makes you healthier. Try Zumba if at all possible!! I tried it and am completely hooked on it!



Hope you get to your goal weight and always keep your positive attitude!!! Best wishes
 
Wow girl, you look great! Well done on all your hard work. Super attitude: "I've wasted too much of my youth (I'm 26) being fat - every time I come across a temptation I think, "am I going to have a chance to have that at some other time in my life?" yes. "am I going to be 26 ever again in my life?" no." My mantra is something similar! :)
 
I've noticed I've started rationalizing things. If I'm craving something, like Chinese food, I just tell myself I'm doing really good right now and I can have it at a later date. Same with when I'm craving a candy bar or something. Usually it's when I'm already at my calories for the day, so I tell myself it'll still be there tomorrow.


I think I'm going to start one of these Sparked. A begining and almost there one! :) I'll get on that when i get home tonight!
 
You look so beautiful in your after picture! Well done! Thanks for sharing this inspiration! I'm 224 (5ft2) and just starting out now, it's kind of daunting but I'm going to try and go to the gym every day and eat better so hopefully the weight will come off. Maybe try introducing a new exercise into your regime? That might start challenging your body in a new way which might budge some weight? :) Either way, you look amazing and so very gorgeous! Keep up the good work! :) xx
 
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