Belinda's WL Diary

BelindaR

BelindaR

New member
I've read a couple of these and thought I'd start one. Not only do I want to share my accomplishments with others, but I want to be able to look back and read through this myself.

This is going to be a doozy of a post, so if you want the TL;DR version: I'm 24, 5'4'', and 195lbs. My goal is to be 50lbs lighter.

Longer version:

I'll start off with the basics: I'm a 24-year-old SAHM (stay-at-home mom). I've been with my husband for seven years, married four of them this year. We have a very energetic four-year-old daughter and live in a rural town in central KY. My day-to-day lifestyle doesn't contain much physical activity other than cleaning, whether it be our house or my car. With it being colder, outside activities with my daughter are pretty much non-existent right now. In my down time I either read or play video games.

I'm 5'4'' and since my daughter was born my weight has consistently stayed at 193-197. I don't smoke, and rarely drink. I don't diet--I eat whatever I want, whenever I want. And I drink very little water, choosing fruit juice or sodas to drink throughout the day. The one time I tried dieting was by drinking SlimFast and I lost 20lbs in three months. But I gained it all back. SlimFast is not a permanent solution when it comes to dieting. Also, I've been suffering from migraines for almost two years now and my doctor has me on Topamax. While scans didn't show anything, bloodwork did show some levels with my thyroid were off slightly, but not enough to concern my doctor enough to prompt action. So, other than that I have a clean bill of health. I've also been using Mirena as my form of birth control for over four years now. Thankfully I won't be on any form of birth control soon (my husband got a vasectomy back in November).

Now that all of that is out of the way... My long-term goal is to lose at least 50lbs. I would very much like to be in the 140s again (what I was when I graduated high school). I have no desire to be super-thin or bony. I want to look healthy and still have shapely curves. As an added incentive, my husband has agreed that if I lose the weight and keep it off for at least six months, he'll agree to me getting a breast augmentation--something I've wanted ever since high school.

Obviously I have a lot of ways to improve my lifestyle to get to my target weight and my thought is to do those changes one step at a time. Right now, I've begun incorporating bottled water into my day; but as I cut out my caffeine with that, I'm having to add Aleve to stave off the headaches.

I've purchased a membership to the local wellness center that will begin in two weeks. I've bought a Nautilus R514 recumbent exercise bike, hoping that will be more enjoyable to use than the treadmill I got rid of or the BowFlex PR1000 home gym that I don't care to use. So there's the second step.

I'm going to try to use the riding mower less this season, and the push mower more; park further from the entrances of stores--basically keeping in mind the little things are better than nothing. I'm going to have to shuffle around my day to make time to exercise now. I'll have to come to grips that I'll either lose some of my "me" time or some things around the house will be put off or have to be done more efficiently and not as thorough. This is going to tough for me, but I'll somehow make it work.

As for dieting... Oh jeez, this is going to be hardest and probably the last thing to change permanently. I'm not gonna lie, I enjoy food, especially my hubby's cooking. I hate the taste of low-fat foods and sugar substitutes. I hate counting calories. I don't want to be miserable while dieting, because that is not the way to motivate a person to make that change a permanent part of their life. So, I talked to a friend about this and he suggested one diet that seems to fit what I'm looking for: keto. I've been reading about it and see it work for some people, but I also see it leading to health issues with the added cholesterol if you're not careful. If that doesn't work out, my next thing to try would be eating what I usually do, but in waaaaay smaller portions. I really, really don't want to go the way of counting calories.

Anyway, yeah... That's pretty much the gist of where I am right now and my hopes and fears all wrapped up into a long-winded post. I'm planning to update this at least once a week, mainly because I don't like weighing myself daily and I feel more than that would be overkill for a goal that's going to take many months.

EDIT:
Here's me and the hubby in Hawaii in Feb 2013. I was 195.
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Here's mid-June 2013 at 180. 15lbs lost.
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Here's Sept 22, 2013 at 168.5. 26 lbs lost.
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Welcome to the forum! You and I have the same way of thinking. I don't want to be stick thin either. I just want to look and feel healthy. I have curves that I'd like to keep as well, just on a much smaller scale. :)

Now, a couple of things jumped out at me when reading your post. And, since you were honest in your post, I'm going to be honest in mine. ;)

Counting calories. I didn't want to count them either, but in all honesty I feel it's the best way - perhaps even the only way - to get on the path to losing weight. Weight loss is all about a calorie deficit I'm learning so the more information and numbers you have in your fight, the better. I would strongly recommend it. At least for the first few weeks so you can get better at judging proper portion sizes.

Soda. If you can drop it cold turkey, give it a try! I was a soda junkie for many years. When I decided I needed to cut back what I did was I allowed myself to have a single can on Saturday and Sunday. The work week, was all water. In the beginning I did have headaches, but eventually it got better. A LOT better! As addicted as I was to soda, I don't even miss it anymore. It actually tastes funny to me now. If I can do it, anyone can do it!

Exercise: Just a suggestion, how do you feel about DVD workouts? I recently tried Tae bo and I've fallen in love with it! I have a heart rate monitor watch which I'm not sure is 100% accurate or not, but if it is I'm burning at least 800 calories in one hour doing it. If you're game for it, I'd recommend it highly!

That's pretty much it for now. Best wishes on your journey! I hope you reach your goal. :)
 
Welcome to the forum!

I will say that I agree with Mandy. Counting calories is a good way to retrain yourself to think in terms of more appropriate portion sizes.

As for the busy schedule, you can make it work. I also had this struggle at first, but once you get in the swing of things you will find that if you miss a night, you feel like you have too much time on your hands and miss going.
 
Hey - welcome to the forum!

As for the calorie counting - it's a personal choice - most people here on this forum do that - I am an exception and a few more people. If you don't count calories - you really have to know what food you can eat and when you can you eat it. So it could be a good idea to start with counting - and see how your body responds :)
 
Weight Loss Tools

I'm feeling pretty pumped up today. I bought two more tools to help me out. One is UP band by Jawbone. The other is the Fitbit Aria weight scale. They both send info to an app/website so I don't have to constantly log that stuff myself. Because the UP works off an actual app, I think that will be where I keep track of the dreaded calorie-counting because I always have my phone handy. I've dropped quite a bit of money so far, but I view it as an investment in myself--it's up to me, and me only, to make a 'profit' out of this. Even more motivation!

And according to the Aria, I weigh 195.6lbs with 41.4% of that being fat. I'll weigh myself again the 23rd(?) when the challenge I joined is supposed to have the first log. Then it looks like weekly weigh-ins from there :)

Edit: I'll be taking the UP band back. Its app is so much more difficult to use than Fitbit's. Even doing something as simple as logging water isn't, well, simple. Fitbit does have a band coming soon (May), called the Flex. So I'll be going to that instead.
 
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I agree with you about investing in yourself. Sometimes you have to spends a little bit to facilitate your weight loss. :]
 
Cleaning Out the Fridge

Here we go with the weekly updates. I joined the 3-month WLF challenge and it started today.

Aria told me I was 193.1 lbs this morning. Down 2.5 lbs from two days ago :D

Yesterday I did a complete overhaul of the fridge (it was desolate by the time I finished) and then went grocery shopping for healthier food and plenty of water.

I also took back the UP band. Fitbit's version doesn't come out until May, so I went ahead and bought a Fitbit Zip tracker (pedometer) to get me by until then. I love the Fitbit app/website. It makes logging stuff so easy and it makes me think counting calories won't be as bad as I thought. So if you're one of those people, like me, who hates the thought of counting calories, I would definitely recommend getting a Fitbit device and going that route.

Overall, I feel really great and optimistic.
 
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Hey Belinda, it sounds like you are really gearing up for this weight loss effort. Great job!

As far as all the expenses associated with doing it: Although I don't believe a person needs any of it, I do think it's important to do everything you think is necessary to give it your all -- you don't want any convenient excuses for not committing fully. There are things i really want... like a $1000 rowing machine, but I'll get by fine without it.

I don't know what a fitbit is, but you have piqued my interest.... I'll check it out.

Good luck in the challenge!
 
I like that idea of doing the overhaul of the refrigerator. I know how hard it is to fight off temptation so it's best to get rid of the "bad stuff'. Hope you continue to lose weight. :)
 
Hey Belinda -

So happy you are here and joining in with us on the challenge!! You are proving to be a really awesome team member!

I noticed in your first post about not liking the taste of low-fat food etc. I am totally the same way! I have Lean Cuisine, Special K, any of it lol. Plus i never feel full/satisfied after eating any of it. One thing I have learned though, is that I absolutely love the taste of whole, organic food. Not only is it good for me, but I actually feel full, and am actually starting to notice the positive changes from switching over. My energy is way up and my skin is nice and clear. :) Maybe something to think about!

Fridge overhaul...oh yes!

~Camila~
 
Thanks, Camila :)

I've noticed while being careful about my calorie goal, I'm full after a meal, but it doesn't last long. Drinking the 3L of water helps, but then my stomach starts rumbling maybe an hour after eating breakfast/lunch. Last night I had grilled salmon, green beans and a small baked potato with some light/low-cal fixings. That was a filling meal. I think I may have to adjust to a much bigger breakfast vs a big dinner.
 
Hey Belinda -

If you are having trouble sustaining that "full" feeling, maybe add some more fiber into your diet? Google high fiber foods and you will be presented with a variety of options! :) Hope that helps some!

~Camila~
 
Hey Team mate

Welcome and I just caught up with your diary. You are gearing up for this journey and I can see you are gonna do very well. I believe the big breakfast instead of a big dinner is a better plan as your metabolism is slower at night than in the morning. We have a saying "eat breakfast like a king, lunch like prince and dinner like a pauper"!

Nice job on the fridge overhaul :)
 
Thanks for that saying, Mands. I'm still picking up tips along the way.

I look forward to being on the same team :)
 
Calorie Deficiency Plan

Just thought I'd do a quick update (not on my weight) to share what I've been doing.

I wrote previously that I have two Fitbit devices and I'm using that website/app. While setting up a profile, there's an option for a weight goal, which mine is 145. Then a calorie plan is picked. I chose "Harder intensity plan" which puts me at -1000 calorie deficit/day. In other words, buring 1000 calories more than I take in (it's projecting me to reach my goal in September, when I originally was only planning to have half that weight gone by then).

To a weight-loss newb, this deficit amount seems pretty daunting. I never really counted my calories before now and I've reached my calorie goal the past three days (yesterday, I ate about 1800 while burning 3500). Keeping track of this makes me wonder just how many I was taking in before I committed to this change. I mean, there were some days that I would, for instance, eat a McDonald's Double Quarter Pounder with cheese (750 calories), large fries (another 500) and large Dr. Pepper (270) and that wouldn't be my only meal for the day. And the extent of my physical activity as far as being on a regular daily basis was cleaning around the house and horsing around with my kid. Otherwise I sat on my butt playing video games or reading.

So with that picture of me painted... I've gotten 1 1/2 hours on the stationary bike over the last three days. I've drank at least 3L of water/day over that time as well. Pretty good for someone who used to drink sodas or fruit juice and skip the water altogether. And the change is not as taxing on me as I thought it would be. I mean, I ate ribeye steak last night (sure it was in a smaller quantity than what I'm used to, but it isn't cut out completely). I do feel hunger pains between meals, but I usually try to keep busy to ignore them (at least until I can find a snack food perfect for me).

Today was a chance for me to see how to fit in time to exercise around my daughter's preschool schedule and getting stuff done around the house. It wasn't as bad as I thought (I woke up at 6 and ate breakfast before spending 30 mins on the bike, getting her ready for school, and spending another 30 minutes back on the bike and doing the last 1/2 hour when she was down for a short nap), but it still needs some fine-tuning; I'd rather spend a full hour on it instead of these 30-minute intervals.

Joining the team challenge is also pushing me to keep this up. I'm very competitive (I used to play softball) and knowing that my teammates are counting on me to do my part will make the next 14 weeks interesting.
 
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Wow Belinda you are doing fabulous girl!!! Your hunger pains will eventually fade away. My first 2 weeks of dieting I went to bed with hunger pains and noises. But after 2 weeks it all went away. So hang in there.
 
Mands said:
Wow Belinda you are doing fabulous girl!!! Your hunger pains will eventually fade away. My first 2 weeks of dieting I went to bed with hunger pains and noises. But after 2 weeks it all went away. So hang in there.
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When I went to bed last night, which was about 5 hours after I ate, I actually had no hunger pains. It was pretty awesome. I'm really trying to get a bigger amount of calories in in the mornings and this morning I did 600 vs the 290 I had on Sunday. I'm hoping doing that will keep that gnawing pain at bay during the day when its the most distracting.
 
Belinda, you are doing fantastic! I really admire your determination to get your exercise in no matter what your hectic schedule throws at you, especially with a young child! It is actually very motivating for me to see because it gives me no excuse to cheap out on my exercise. So thanks for the awesome motivation :)
 
I spent an hour on the bike this morning at a more leisurely pace and burned 604 calories. I wasn't satisfied with that and did another hour. A more intense pace produced more than 2x that at 1228 burned. I also dug into my husband's Osteo Bi-Flex for my ankles and hips (my ankles grind and pop something fierce when I climb our stairs, and doing this repetitive exercise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours each day makes my hips hurt a bit).

Overall, I'm satisfied with pushing myself instead of just sitting around.
 
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