Kat's weight loss diary

K

KytteeOne

New member
Hi Everyone

I am 28 and 5'6" and 160 lbs.

I have never truly been on a diet before. I always just ate whatever I wanted and thought I looked fine. My weight slowly rose from 125 (when I thought I looked the best) to what it is now. Ever since I got up to about 145 I started to not feel very good about my looks and would decide to start a diet but didn't really stick with it for more than say a day. I would just give up and say I looked fine but really didn't. So I've been slowly creeping up these past few years, feeling terrible and feeling even worse when relatives would ask if i was pregnant.

Once the scale topped 160, I decided I needed to do something. Not so much because of the weight itself, but the fact that the weight gain had accelerated quite recently and it alarmed me. I believe it has been due to a promotion and a sudden increase in stress and responsibilies. So I didn't say anything to anybody the first day, I just mentally said to myself "okay starting now, you're changing the way you eat." I was in the middle of a cookie and just stopped eating it. It's been a week, and my resolve is as strong as it was that moment. 1.5 lbs. lost so far...

I think my biggest weaknesses have been alcohol and my morning bagels. I didn't feel like I was consuming that many calories, until I thought about it. A daily routine might consist of a bagel with cream cheese for breakfast; an average lunch of a salad or sandwich with a coke; an afternoon snack of one (sometimes two, yikes) candy bars or bags of chips; and dinner would be some rich, delicious homecooked meal with several glasses of alcohol. My overall eating habits had stayed the same, but those little habits had sneaked in. So I broke down the problem areas: too much alcohol (3-600 extra calories a night), soda and sweets (empty calories), and that daily bagel (i just found out that one plain is over 300 calories).

I haven't been doing anything crazy. I just decided to cut way down on my carbs, eliminating soda and candy altogether, no bread and very little pasta and rice, plus no more than one alcoholic beverage a night (if at all). I have been concentrating on eating plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, lean meats, yogurt and cheese, and drinking tea and coffee with no sugar (in lieu of all that soda) and snacking on nuts here and there. Then for mindless snacking I keep the fridge stocked with sliced raw veggies. The first two days I craved bagels and pizza, but stuck to my guns. It got easier as the week progressed. Yesterday I realized I wasn't really craving anything of the sort. I was just like, "ok i can do this." It's really just a matter of making a series of healthy choices

I had a few weak moments. Tuesday I had a croissant, and yesterday I had a cookie. but other than that it's been great. I look forward to the coming months and getting to that ideal weight and hope to be able to incorporate those other foods back into my life in a healthy way. However, long term goals are no more soda ever, and no more bagels (at least not as part of my regular routine, 350 cal. yikes!)
 
Sounds like you are ready to make some changes. Good for you for putting the brakes on at 160 and not letting the weight keep creeping on.

I hope you stick with it and stay here a while. Good luck to you!! You can do it!
 
Day 7 - One full week in

Hi, thanks for the encouragement.

I decided to weigh myself this morning with no clothes (I haven't been doing that) And will do that every morning to be consistent.

155 lbs. (so this will be my new starting point)
130 lbs is my goal
25 lbs. to go

Still not eating carbs, and it's actually been pretty hard to achieve the amount of calories I need in the day, with out added sugars.

11:00 breakfast (200 cal.)
1 poached egg
1.5 slices bacon
1/2 orange
1 cup coffee with milk no sugar

I'm pretty full off that so I'm gonna grab a yogurt and some fruit in a little bit. Cause that is a sad amount of food, and I don't want to pass out before lunch
It's hot today and we are going to the beach. I will be passing hot dog vendors and ice cream vendors and well as daiquiri stands. Temptation will be everywhere. But I would rather lose weight than have any overpriced, low quality junk food. So wish me luck. Like I said, I will be grabbing a snack to bring along.
 
Have fun at the beach! It's a great idea to bring along a snack to eat that instead of that unhealthy food. Is your goal to get to 125? If so, we have similar goals. Good luck, you can do it, one day at a time
 
Beginning of week 2

So my weight is still hovering at 155.

I wonder if I will still be able to stick to my guns this week at work. It may be hard since candy and food are always readily available.

Then again, i've just decided to do this, so quitting's not an option.

I hope to drop 1.5 pounds this week.

Breakfast is

cottage cheese 1/2 cup
1/2 apple
cup of coffee

I'm not sure of the calories, not much I am sure, but will add that in later

Now I have to leave for work.

UPdate:
Surprisingly I was really energetic at work today. I guess maybe just deciding to drastically change my lifestyle has had an invigorating effect on my attitude. Or perhaps not putting all that junk in my body is having an added benefit of making me physically feel better? Anybody else notice this after say, a week or so??

Snacks for the day
1/2 apple, and 1/2 oz almonds
2 stalks of celery

Lunch:
mixed greens salad with oil and vinegar
broiled white fish
broccoli (1/2 cup)
sliced potatoes and onions (1/2 cup)

Also after work I treated myself to 1 square of dark chocolate. I don't feel bad, it was 30 cal. worth. And apparently dark chocolate (not milk) is supposed to be good for for helping to flatten your abs. Okay, I'll bite. :) the article below:
 
Last edited:
Thanks! I feel pretty confident. I just have to keep in mind I may not lose weight consistently or every week, and that's okay. I did get a pizza craving today, but I was good.
 
It's been a few days since I've posted. I have been walking everyday. And I am trying to slowly increase my activity each day. Also, I have been consistently eating around 1200 calories, and staying away from refined sugars, bread, and fatty foods. I had a treat yesterday, another square of dark chocolate.

This morning the scale read 153. Which is great. I am on track for my goal this week. By next Friday, I would like to weigh around 151-152. However, I am going on a week-long business trip so this will be a bit of a challenge, as every meal is eaten in a restaurant. My plan is to bring a calorie counting book with me and write down all my food in a book.
 
I just want to say, I withstood the candy this week. I went to one meeting and they had put FIVE bowls piled high with hersheys kisses on the table. I tell you, all that shiny silver beaming from the table, it was like light from heaven was pouring out of those tables. But I just worried that if I had one, I would be tempted to have ten. So I kept my hand out of the bowl, and quickly forgot. out of site, out of mind.:hurray:

Update: Foods eaten today:

Breakfast:
Oatmeal with blueberries
Skim Latte

Snacks: 1 carrot, nectarine, nuts, yogurt with blueberries

Lunch:
Lettuce wrap with chicken salad (made with nonfat yogurt instead of mayo)
sliced cucumbers
Tea

Dinner :
baked chicken with bbq sauce
green beans
black beans
1 pickle

Total calories for the day so far are 913. I do feel like this is low, but I am definitely getting full. My meals are small, but I am eating every few hours, constantly snacking on fruit or veggies. But here, I still have room for more calories tonight. So I will have another lite snack and maybe some ice cream or something sweet to get closer to my 1200 for the day.

It is a little embarassing right now to eat my meals in front of people, especially at work. I feel like a freak. This week I have been eating these wraps, where I use sandwich ingredients but wrap it in romaine lettuce leaves. I actually picked that up from an asian restaurant where they made little appetizers with the filling wrapped in lettuce. It's actually a crisp, refreshing change from a sandwich (plus really good in this summer heat!) or another boring salad. People who have seen what I've been eating just keep making comments that it's REALLY HEALTHY (almost like it's a bad thing).

Well, on this business trip, I'm going to be with my colleagues 24-7 and I am a little worried that they will be annoyed when I order everything with no sauce, no bread, sub steamed broc, etc. etc. But, you know what, it doesn't really matter, because it's my body and I'm just trying to take better care of it.

Measurements:
Bust: 39"
waist: 31.5"
hips: 40"
 
Best wishes to you! I hope it goes well on the business trip. I am proud of you for stopping the gaining before it got too out of hand. You will be lookin better in no time at all. I wish I had stopped the gaining many pounds ago and at least kept it in check there instead of continuing on gaining - but it's not too late to fix it now - just a long road ahead!

Yay for you for the first pounds lost!!
 
Been awhile since my last post. I got back from my overseas trip on Monday, and wasn't totally perfect. I haven't dropped a lot more weight, but have managed to maintain.

I had some french fries one day, and some fried food a few days. I gave up trying to count calories because it was just too difficult since a lot of times I'm not really sure what I was eating. Yes it was dim sum a few days, but what counts as a portion of noodles? Or dumplings. Instead I tried to focus on limiting my portion sizes and stopping when I was full. Breakfast's were easy. I had fruit and yogurt or an egg poached and some fruit. One day I drank too much wine. (Grr) But oh well.

I realize the key here is to not feel guilty for this perceived "failure". After all, nothing is truly off-limits, right? It's all about moderation, and in that area I considered myself successful, except of course the overindulgence in the wine. But, first day back, I had very sensible meals, and counted every calorie.

In the end, I weighed myself and realized I am still on track to reach my goal on time. So I'm still losing, even with loosening up a little bit. It's reallly all about making those little decisions every day, which add up to progress.

There is however a new challenge in place today. I have company and the temptation is in front of me to drink too much, yet again. Of course they like cocktails are super sugary and full of calories. And we can't forget about the key word "moderation". Argh: I slipped last night. ha ha. today is a new day and I can always join them without getting plastered. It's healthier anyways.

Food today:
oatmeal with bananas and walnuts, tsp of honey
2 cups coffee
lunch was scrambled and corned beef hash (! not the healthiest choice !)
Snack of a handful of grapes
Dinner:
Mixed greens with walnuts, broccoli, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms and nonfat yogurt dressing
Japanese tea
 
Waiting for the next pound to drop off

Still at 150. I have been hovering at 150 for about a week and a half now. I should probably add in some cardio since I have been slacking off on my excercise. I am continuing to eat an average of 1200 calories a day, so I feel like I should be losing something. I am not giving up hope however, as I am still somewhat ahead of my schedule for now. My goal was to lose 1 pound a week and I exceeded that in the beginning.

I also realize that I drank a little too much this weekend and was way over on my calories one of the days (about 1700). So perhaps this week my body is just trying to recover from that. I also had not gotten a proper night's sleep for two weeks until this past monday night. It was always clumps of three or four hours if any at all. I know sleep affects weight loss, correct?

So perhaps it would be helpful to kind of consider 150 my starting point for Monday and try to be at 148 or 149 by Friday.

STill about 20 lbs. from my goal. At 1 lb. a week that's only 20 weeks. At 2 lbs. a week that's only 10 weeks. I know I'll feel and look awesome when I've achieved my goal.

I didn't think I would get discouraged this early on, and it just makes me realise how daunting it must be to want to lose a large amount of weight. The daily struggle is hard.

I must say, it's much easier while I'm working since I'm so busy, food is really just fuel for me. I don't even care what I'm eating.
 
Feeling Better

So I have lost another 2 lbs. to be at 148. And people are starting to notice the change, when I'm wearing form-fitting clothes (which I don't often do)

I also went out yesterday and bought two pairs of size eights to motivate myself to stick my plan. I was going to try them on once a week until they fit, to have a benchmark to track my progress in addition to the scale. I pulled them on last night expecting to not be able to button them. But I zipped em up and buttoned them! They are still a little tight at the waist, but in a week or two they will be perfect. I was so excited I put on a tight tank top and ran out and showed my husband!

I haven't been working out per se, but this past weekend I walked a lot because I had company and I was guiding them around the city, which is a lot of walking and stairs on the subway. And I went shopping twice this week for my job which accumulated several miles of walking (and sweating!) But it's been kind of sporadic so I do want to join a gym or something so I can tone everything up. I don't have a regular routine so once I start eating more calories, the weight might creep back on.

This morning for breakfast:
1 egg scrambled with onions, tomatoes, and green peppers
1/2 banana
coffee
180 cal

Snack before lunch
Small yogurt with raspberries
140 calories
 
A good reason not to...

Weigh yourself every morning. My weight seems to be coming off in chunks. I have been eating pretty much the same amount of calories every day but for example: My weight hovered at 150 for about two weeks. Then I went from 150 to 147 in just a few days. I am definitely guilty of stepping on the scale every morning (sometimes once or twice in the afternoon as well). And I saw that number sit at 150 (then 151, gasp) then thursday 148, now this morning 147. It's interesting. If I had been weighing myself once a week, I would only be seeing a difference of 2 lbs. a week.

Although, had I seen 151 after two weeks, I might have been a little discouraged having only seen that number. Whatever, either way, you just have to stick to your plan. It takes a long time to lose weight, it also took a long time to put it on.

I am going to try to focus on excercise this week. I will get off the subway earlier than my stop and walk the rest of the way to work, which should add an extra mile a day to my walking (during the day, I usually get a small amount of walking in just through my job)
 
Walking

So after work today, I walked one mile to the next express subway station before I got on the train. I was going to do it first thing this morning, but I woke up late and was late to work, so I was just rushing rushing rushing. No time for a work out. I still got it in anyway (really 1.2 miles). I am going to try to do it again tomorrow morning. Then, I'll also be able to do it after work as well and get twice as much excercise.

Still at 147 and holding. Hope to be at 146 or 145 by Friday!! Almost looking good in that swimsuit!!
 
Last edited:
Still not losing

I've been a little lax I think with my diet this past week. Mostly everything has been really healthy, but I haven't been as stringent about measuring and estimating my calories. I haven't lost weight this week. Had a slice of pizza last night and a few beers. I just don't want to become that person that can't eat anything because they are on a diet.

It's been about a month and half so far. At first my results were great. I am actually feeling pretty good about the way I look, but I really want to drop another size, and another ten pounds. But I think it will come off more slowly than those first ten did. So I need to set new goals. By the end of the summer, I want to lose another five pounds. To do this, I want to focus on walking or running more, as well as adding some weightlifting into my routine. I think adding walking by getting off the subway a stop early, and getting off a stop later has helped this week. But I didn't do it every day.

Another thing I may need to look at is my alcohol consumption. I know a girl that goes on a month long "detox" where she doesn't drink alcohol for a month and she does it four times a year. Very admirable. I haven't been drinking a lot lately. But it has been almost daily. A glass of wine with dinner. They are just extra calories. I think I might try this girls' idea. Starting tomorrow, no alcohol at all for a month, until August 12th.
 
:(

Feeling a little discouraged. Still hovering between 147 and 150. I am trying to be patient, but I feel like I should have lost more at this point. The scale is not moving. Boo....

It's been two days since my last post?? I keep going back and forth between optimism and discouragement. Right now, feeling pretty low. Just annoyed.

I'm also kind of scared because I'm getting ready to go on a week vacation to visit family. A family reunion, and I'm sure that unhealthy foods will abound. Fried chicken, potato salad, etc. Oh man, the temptations will be many.

The plus side is that I'm sure my diet is healthier than it's ever been (except maybe when I was really young). And I do want to try (try REAL hard) to get my good habits to rub off on my husband. He's tall and thin, but loves bread, meat, ice cream and cookies. I can barely get him to eat any veggies. I just worry that his diet will begin to effect his health.

I'm still committed. Don't worry everyone, I won't be giving in just yet. I'll even skip the chocolate fountain that my work is treating everyone to. sucks.:drool5:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top