galen
New member
Hello all, I'm Galen. I'm 23 years old, 5'6" and currently 144 pounds. My highest weight when I was a teenager was 163 and I gained it fairly quickly when I was 13. My starting weight then was 107, at this height. I know I was a kid then, so I don't expect nor want to get down to that weight again. But I haven't been happy with my body at all for the past 10 years and I've decided that needs to change right now.
At my wedding I was 137 pounds. After my divorce (yup, that sucks) I gained 10 pounds due to being miserable and stressed. I've never been one for exercise or eating healthy. Sweets, pizza, fried foods... They've tended to be my comfort. I was part of a pre-professional, competetive dance company as a teenager, but my diet was horrible, so my weight stayed consistant.
Well, now I'm dating a wonderful guy, who happens to be a personal trainer. He's the sweetest thing and adores my body the way it is and is not shy about expressing that. Awesome! But he understands my desire to become comfortable with my body for once and is amazingly supportive. And it's lovely to go out to eat and get a salad and not feel deprived -- because he's eating a salad, too!
He helped me get over my gym intimidation and I've now been going for over a month. I've lost 6 pounds (hence, my current weight of 144) and my body has responded so well to the exercise. Like it's saying, "Thank you! Thank you!" My arms have gotten so toned and even the abs under my stomach chub are stronger. My legs have always been really muscular, so I'm hoping that they slim out during this process. To my surprise, I actually love going to the gym. I've been taking a lot of classes (Ashtanga yoga, Pilates mat and hip hop) and trying to get in 30 minutes of cardio on the elliptical when I can.
I'm restricting calories to 1,200 per day, at his recommendation. I eat one real meal per day (with veggies, lean meat and usually a salad with oil and vinegar, though I'm not always perfect with it) and the rest of the calories are filled up with balanced meal replacement bars. This feels not so balanced in the long run, but they're so incredibly easy and portable. I eat one every three hours.
I've dieted before without exercising and the weight just flew off. Now, combining a quite restricted diet with a lot of exercise, I'd expect it to be even faster. This is so not the case. But, I have gone from a 30 waist to a 28.5 waist. I need to train myself to look at my measurements and how my clothes fit (I bought two pairs of jeans recently, size 10, and now they're much too big). So, I'm definitely seeing a difference, but not on the scale so much. I don't know, I just want the weight to go away NOW! Haha.
My goal weight is the weight my mom got married at. We are the same height with the exact same body type. She was 118 when she got married. However, she never exercised. She looked beautiful and was naturally thin. Not too thin at all, but thin. I want to go from the top of my healthy weight range to the bottom, while still staying within it. But, since I'm exercising so much, I think I'll look like a toned version of my mom before I ever get down to that weight, so we'll see. That weight is just a target, the ultimate is how I look and feel.
Okay, I just took pictures of myself to compare along this journey. Hrm. I don't think I look any different than I did at 150. I don't see the muscle tone that I feel. This is so frustrating. My torso is thick, I think that's just how I'm built. My chest is a bit flattened by my sports bra, but by the time I'm as thin as I'd like to be, I'm pretty sure I won't have much of a chest. It's already smaller than it was. My thighs feel toned, but they don't look it at all.
This is going to be tough.
At my wedding I was 137 pounds. After my divorce (yup, that sucks) I gained 10 pounds due to being miserable and stressed. I've never been one for exercise or eating healthy. Sweets, pizza, fried foods... They've tended to be my comfort. I was part of a pre-professional, competetive dance company as a teenager, but my diet was horrible, so my weight stayed consistant.
Well, now I'm dating a wonderful guy, who happens to be a personal trainer. He's the sweetest thing and adores my body the way it is and is not shy about expressing that. Awesome! But he understands my desire to become comfortable with my body for once and is amazingly supportive. And it's lovely to go out to eat and get a salad and not feel deprived -- because he's eating a salad, too!
He helped me get over my gym intimidation and I've now been going for over a month. I've lost 6 pounds (hence, my current weight of 144) and my body has responded so well to the exercise. Like it's saying, "Thank you! Thank you!" My arms have gotten so toned and even the abs under my stomach chub are stronger. My legs have always been really muscular, so I'm hoping that they slim out during this process. To my surprise, I actually love going to the gym. I've been taking a lot of classes (Ashtanga yoga, Pilates mat and hip hop) and trying to get in 30 minutes of cardio on the elliptical when I can.
I'm restricting calories to 1,200 per day, at his recommendation. I eat one real meal per day (with veggies, lean meat and usually a salad with oil and vinegar, though I'm not always perfect with it) and the rest of the calories are filled up with balanced meal replacement bars. This feels not so balanced in the long run, but they're so incredibly easy and portable. I eat one every three hours.
I've dieted before without exercising and the weight just flew off. Now, combining a quite restricted diet with a lot of exercise, I'd expect it to be even faster. This is so not the case. But, I have gone from a 30 waist to a 28.5 waist. I need to train myself to look at my measurements and how my clothes fit (I bought two pairs of jeans recently, size 10, and now they're much too big). So, I'm definitely seeing a difference, but not on the scale so much. I don't know, I just want the weight to go away NOW! Haha.
My goal weight is the weight my mom got married at. We are the same height with the exact same body type. She was 118 when she got married. However, she never exercised. She looked beautiful and was naturally thin. Not too thin at all, but thin. I want to go from the top of my healthy weight range to the bottom, while still staying within it. But, since I'm exercising so much, I think I'll look like a toned version of my mom before I ever get down to that weight, so we'll see. That weight is just a target, the ultimate is how I look and feel.
Okay, I just took pictures of myself to compare along this journey. Hrm. I don't think I look any different than I did at 150. I don't see the muscle tone that I feel. This is so frustrating. My torso is thick, I think that's just how I'm built. My chest is a bit flattened by my sports bra, but by the time I'm as thin as I'd like to be, I'm pretty sure I won't have much of a chest. It's already smaller than it was. My thighs feel toned, but they don't look it at all.
This is going to be tough.
