Journey to a Healthier Me by Jen

jenuine23

New member
I'm 30 year old female, living in southern California. I feel like it's a good time to start losing weight. I've tried many times in the past and it just didn't work out because I gave up. I really don't want to give up, so I'm going to watch my triggers that cause me to give up.


I'm 5'6 and weigh 306.4 lbs and my goal is just not to weigh this anymore. I don't want to put a goal on it. I'm just going to make mini goals and try to get to that. My first mini goal is simple enough- get out of the 300s!!


I also want to stay away from fast food, which I have a huge problem with because of it's convenience. I eat fast food about twice a week which is pretty terrible. I need to definitely cook and prepare my own food every day and count every calorie that goes in my mouth.


I'll be back later to write down what I ate today and my exercises and all that.
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Weight

8-05-12 - 306.4

8-12-12 - 302.8

8-19-12 - 302.8

8-26-12 - 295.6

9-02-12

9-09-12

9-16-12

9-23-12

9-30-12
 
So far today....


Breakfast:

Cream of Wheat with Cinnamon & Honey: 425 Calories


Lunch:

Skipped - But I grabbed 4 cookies without thinking. They had a total of 200 calories!! So, that might as well be my lunch. Ugh. Oh well.


Dinner:


Feta Cheese Turkey Burger with homemade baked potato chips.


Turkey Burger: 400 calories

Potato Chips: 250 calories according to an online calculator



I plan on having a snack later tonight. And I'm about to go do my aerobics and then walk around the block. I'll update later with my totals. My food right now sucks because I haven't been able to grocery shop yet. I need to not eat so many processed foods, especially the cream of wheat in the morning. I'm thinking I need something like egg whites, toast and some fruit.
 
Hey Jen,

I'm new to the forums, but a long time weigh lose loser. Thought I'd say hi, and give you some support! :D


I used to be 330+lbs and I'm now down to 210lbs. So it can definitely be done!


I will follow you! GO Jen GO! Raa Raa Raa! :)


If you want tips let me know.


Your friend,

Peter
 
Originally Posted by weightloser1986


Hey Jen,

I'm new to the forums, but a long time weigh lose loser. Thought I'd say hi, and give you some support! :D



I used to be 330+lbs and I'm now down to 210lbs. So it can definitely be done!



I will follow you! GO Jen GO! Raa Raa Raa! :)



If you want tips let me know.



Your friend,

Peter

Thanks Peter! And congrats on your weight loss success, it's really inspiring. I've been trying to find similar people on here that have as much weight to lose or have already lost a significant amount of weight. So thanks for stopping by.


I would love any tips that you can give. =)
 
Ok. So I did 30 minutes of aerobics that nearly killed me, lol, but I did it. Then I walked half way around the block.


I had a snack of crackers and a low fat pineapple popsicle for a total of 265 calories.


So, the days calories are 1540 calories. My calories should be at about 2000 calories probably, but I'm not going to worry about it right now. If I start focusing too much and being strict on myself I'll probably give up. It's one of those triggers that I had in the past and I want to be completely honest with myself this time.


As long as I got my exercise in and I ate relatively well, that's all that counts.


It's 1 am and I'm about to turn in. :)
 
Not much to report, but I wanted to check back in with my journal.


Not much exercise yet today, just walked my dog, but it's 108 degrees so we didn't walk far. My food has been pretty much identical to yesterday so far.


I'm going to do aerobics later and I'll report my totals later.
 
Tomorrow I'm going to dinner with a friend. So this will be a test. I think I might eat very little tomorrow that way I won't worry too much about what I'm going to eat at the restaurant. I'll see if I want to eat something from their low calorie section - if they have one. Or if I can substitute something for vegetables.
 
Hi Jen


thanks for stopping by my journal I feel like the support everyone gives and gets here is soooooo helpful.


After being AWOL for a year coming back and seeing how much people have achieved by sticking around and sticking with it has made me realize that being here is only a positive thing and nothing to be ashamed of. We all slip up and no one here is going to judge you (I hope :) )


I think making the decision and starting is one of the hardest things we have to do - so congrats you've done that!! :)


About going out for dinner with friends I don't recommend starving yourself the day before - just from my personal experience I find when I do that I am so damn hungry by the time dinner comes that I loose it and I feel justified "because I didn't eat anything all day" and then afterward I feel horrible. I also agree with what you said about not fixating on everything too much I find that if I am too strict then I fall of the wagon very quickly.

I think it is about making reasonable choices - I mean even if you don't have something from the low calorie section it's about proportion you can still choose something reasonable and not go for the craziest most fattening thing on the menu.


Disclaimer: I hate it when people give me unasked for advice but I feel like being here is actually me saying give me advice, so please know that my giving you advice is done totally in the spirit of support and care and feel free to ignore it :)


I hope you have a great evening out and I am looking forward to sharing our weight loss journey.


Take care

xxxx


PS about Bikram Yoga - yes it is CRAZY hot and you sweat like you never believed possible but WOW the feeling afterward is amazing.

And yes my thoughts are even if I don't manage to do 100% of the class and I only burn say.... 800 calories - I'll take that thankyouverymuch!

You should see if they have a studio in your area - they usually have a trial week where you pay a small fee and can come as many times as you like in that week. You will be AMAZED at the results even in one week. And also by the different types of people you will see there - young, old, fat, thin, crazy in shape people and people who can hardly touch their knees never mind their toes.
 
Thanks for stopping by silash. I welcome advice of any kind, so no need to feel like you can't in my journal. I REALLY want to succeed this time around and need support and advice. And I will definitely see if they have that yoga class. It sounds super fun and a new experience. I might drag my friend along to join me.


Dinner hasn't come yet, but I did decide to eat today and not starve myself. I figured it might be a bad idea. Instead I think that I'll order what I want and just eat half of it. The portion sizes in restaurants are SO huge usually.


I didn't give my calorie totals for yesterday, but it was 1650 calories. I had cream of wheat for breakfast again, a leftover turkey burger for dinner, crackers, banana, and had a late night snack of special k cereal with skim milk. I usually skip lunch because of my weird sleeping habits. I usually wake up at noon and eat breakfast, then I'll eat dinner at about 5 or 6 pm. and then a snack around midnight and I'll go to sleep at like 3 or 4 am. I work from home so I work at night. Lunch never seems to fit itself in unless I'm super hungry.


Anyway, I'll report back later how the rest of my day goes.
 
Busy, busy me!!! I've been pretty busy these last few days but I've been staying on track pretty well. Just wanted to report in to my journal.



Tuesday

2690 Calories - Bad me. Had dinner out and ate the whole thing. But it could have been worse I guess.

30 minutes of aerobics


Wednesday

1620 Calories

Skipped exercise because I was so exhausted from cleaning my whole house from top to bottom. But at least I got exercise from doing that.

I had a weak moment when I was out and hungry and I wanted to stop by McDonalds and grab something. I pulled mindlessly into the drive-way and was like "OMG, oops, I can't!!" LOL, then I quickly drove back out and went straight home and made myself some spaghetti using very lean meat and low calorie spaghetti sauce. Woot!


Thursday

1630 Calories

30 minutes of aerobics
 
I ordered a cute new Vera Bradley wallet last week. But I decided that I'm not going to use it until I get under 300 lbs. It will be my reward once I reach 299 or less.
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ah, see, that's the spirit! Nothing better than buying yourself rewards for hard work! Hopefully you'll be able to use it very soon!


I've read that house cleaning is supposed to burn a very healthy amount of calories too, so all is well! On a downside, means there's no excuse to NOT do it, haha!


Looking forward to your updates! I know you've only just started, but have you noticed any changes so far? Stick to it!
 
Hi Sarah,


Thanks for dropping in. I have noticed a tiny difference in the way I feel already, especially after I exercise. I feel more energetic after exercising and just generally happier. The only physical changes is that the muscles in my thighs hurt. lol. But that's a good thing, means they're getting a nice workout.
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Hi Jen. Sounds like you are you are really putting the effort in. Catching yourself and being able to change your "normal" eating is great. Getting out of McDonalds' without giving in is a huge step. YEAH!!!


One suggestion that might help you is to set a few micro-goals. Like this week I will have 3 salads, walk a total of 3 miles and eat at least 3 apples. If you can make little improvements that you can track very easily - that might help you stay focused. Give yourself a little non-food reward for hitting your goals. Something like a new pair of earrings, a new nail polish or even a new song or two from i-Tunes.


Sometimes focusing on the scale and calories gets depressing. If you can keep hitting little micro goals, you will get a little better every day. All those small things will add up big in the long run.
 
Thanks Julie Ann Price.... Good advice.


Right now I'm counting down the hours to my weigh in tomorrow. I'm excited and I can't wait. I made a chart with each pound for the next 40 lbs and I can't wait to start crossing them off. I made the square for 299 huge for my first goal which I should meet next week, hopefully. If not then the next week. I'm just trying to keep myself realistic and optimistic so I can keep the weight off and stay committed.


Yesterday I ate 1730 calories. Special K, Skim Milk, Spaghetti for lunch, Turkey Burger for Dinner... then I got hungry later and ate a lean cuisine pizza. But I'm still in a good caloric range. I also did my 30 minutes of aerobics.
 
Gah, exercise today almost killed me. Every leg movement I do hurts. I know it's nothing but tight muscles, but my goodness. I also started to get a bit lightheaded while doing it so I had to stop. I ate something and then went back at it. I didn't get a whole 30 minutes in.. it was more like 20 minutes, but at least I did it for as long as I could.


Food today...


Cream of Wheat with Honey, Subway Turkey Sandwich (foot long) with a bag of chips - I shouldn't have ate the chips, but oh well. I ate the 6 inch for lunch.. and then later ate the other 6 inch for dinner.Filled me up and had a low fat cheese stick later with a glass of pure cranberry juice.


Total Calories: 1770

20 Minutes of Exercise



I can't wait for weigh in day tomorrow!! :)
 
So, weigh in day today!!! I lost 3.6lbs and now I'm 302.8!! Woot! I'm that much close to my mini goal of 299 hopefully I'll easily hit that next week!
 
Wow Jen!!!! 3.6 pounds GOOOOOOOD JOB!!


I Googled Vera Bradley because I didn't know the brand and they have such cute stuff! I'm sure that you will be using your new cute wallet VERY soon!

Very inspiring keep up the good work. I think I am going to try that too maybe set my self mini goal and set myself a reward to work towards.


Have a wonderful day!!


xxxx

Silash
 
Great job Jen!!!!


Your biggest win is that you didn't give up. Even when you were hungry or didn't feel great - you stuck to your bigger goal. That is awesome.


Your mini-goal is only 3 pounds away. What are you committed to doing workout-wise and eating-wise to hit that goal this week?


Put something out there that feels like a small stretch but that you know deep down you can do .
 
Thanks Silash & Julie...


I have not been writing everything down, BUT I have been counting calories & making sure that I exercise daily. My calories are well and I'm on track.


I don't have much else to say right now, it's 3 am and I should get to bed, just wanted to check in my journal to keep myself accountable. =)
 
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