ltbustle's looooong trip down weight loss lane

L

ltbustle

New member
Hey all! I have been coming to this site for quite some time, gathering motivation from all your successes. Sometimes I use that motivation for 3 months, sometimes 3 weeks, sometimes 3 days :blush5:

So here's my long story made short: I weighed in the 150s (probably... it's been so long, lol) throughout high school. I always thought I could stand to lose a few pounds, but overall, I was comfortable with my weight and my body. I had my daughter shortly after my 18th birthday, and gave birth at 205 lbs. It took about 6 months for me to get back to 155 lbs, and then I started drinking a lot of beer :( I crept up to about 175 and stayed there for a few years, and then, one day I weighed myself and I weighed 205. Overnight! Yeah, right. I thought I could eat all the Arby's roast beef sandwiches I wanted and not gain weight, but here I was at my highest pregnancy weight with no bun in the oven... well, actually, lots of buns, but none of them were babies. Sooo, at about 22, I exercised and dieted my way down to 160, and felt great! So great, in fact, that I stopped exercising and dieting, and one year later, was back up to 200. I resigned myself to the fact that I was going to be fat forever, and stayed at that weight for probably 2 years. It sucked. My best friend is very flashy and confident, and she got all the attention, and I fooled myself into thinking that I was okay with that. At 25, I got fed up and repeated the process, losing weight down to about 160 again. I stayed around there for probably a year, and then... yup, you guessed it. Back up to 195. And then, at the beginning of 2007, my horoscope told me that this was the year I really needed to watch what I ate, and that January 6 was a good day to start. So I did. It has now been about 2.5 years, and I have done my best to stay consistent, but I have had several snags along the way. My lowest weight during this period was 157, and my highest was probably 180. Right now I am at 167 lbs, and my ultimate goal is 145. I don't want to be model-thin; I want to keep whatever curves I can. I would like to be a size 7 or so, ideally. That would be a first, and it would be nice.

Okay, so maybe I didn't make that story so short :ack2:

I'd like to update this journal daily, but I know that's probably not going to happen. But here is day 1:

I've been exercising and watching my food for the past few months, with a 3 week hiatus in there, during which I gained 5 lbs. I'm starting to try and mix up my workouts; the other day I went for a 2-hour hike, and yesterday I ran along the river. Today I'm going on my regular route, just walking today. For breakfast: 1/2 grapefruit, 1 frozen waffle, 1 piece whole grain toast w/ 1 slice swiss cheese, coffee. Lunch: ramen noodles (I know, I know...), salad. Okay, going for my walk now!!
 
Good luck! :hurray:

I love hiking and walking by the river. I'm so focused on the pretty scenery that I dont even realize how far i've gone.
 
Your story sounds a look like mine - yo, yo dieting! I'm here to do it for life now and really feeling like it's going to happen! 140-145 is my goal also and I'm currently 161.2 however this morning I saw 159.6 but I'm not getting to excited and wait till weigh in day to see if it sticks.
How tall are you? Just curious since we have the same goals.
Looks like you are on the right path - keep it up. I'm looking forward to seeing you accomplish your goals!
 
chubbygirl: I am about 5'6, give or take. All my weight seems to accumulate in my midsection and upper arms, so at my heaviest, I resemble... a candy apple? With wings?

How tall are you?
 
yesterday was good... for some reason, my daughter has been begging me to make FRENCH FRIES and GRAVY (????) for the past few weeks, so i finally decided to humor her. i made stuffing, baked chicken, squash, and yes, french fries and gravy. i ate white meat, 1/2 c stuffing, 1/2 c squash, and about 2 tbs gravy on the stuffing. also, i did my usual walk of about 3 miles, with some pretty steep hills in there. i also had an "icee" free-z-pop after dinner, which have 60 calories and are soooo good!

this morning, i got on a social website and looked at pictures of some of my friends who have good figures. is that weird? i don't think so. heck, every one of us on here looks at strangers' bodies, so... wherever you can get motivation, right? anyway, so yeah... i was peepin'.

for breakfast, had 2 slices whole grain toast w/ 2 slices swiss cheese, 2 cups of coffee w/ non-dairy creamer and splenda. today's my brother's 32nd birthday cookout, so i plan on stopping at the market (haha, just kidding, i HATE when people say "market"... it's the damn GROCERY STORE) and buying some fat free hot dogs. did you know that you can eat 4, yes FOUR, of those things and have the same amount of calories as 1, yes ONE, regular hot dog? simply amazing, no??

update more latah!!
 
Log your food on and ensure that you get enough of all nutrients. Make sure that you get enough protein, fibre, calcium, healthy fats etc as covered in the nutrition section of this forum.

Be wary of advice to cut out all dairy since research has shown that calcium can have a beneficial effect on weight loss. I have low fat yoghurts each day that provide me with calcium, protein and some fibre.

By analysing food content on fitday you will see whether foods that are labelled low in fat are also low in calorie. I am perfectly comfortable in eating foods that tick both these boxes if I want to have them.

The reaction of your own weight is the ultimate expert in such matters.
 
omega: thanks for the advice. i've actually been on fitday lots throughout my weight loss tenure.

this weekend was much better than last. i didn't get any fat free hotdogs on saturday, but i think i did okay. i ate well all day, but at dinner i had some french fries, a hot dog w/ bun, chili, ketchup, coleslaw, mustard, and onion, and i drank quite a bit of beer (too much, hehe), but that was my one free meal for the week, i guess. i got right back on the horse yesterday, and was proud of myself, because usually when i'm hungover i want to eat like a horse, but i kept my calories to about 1600. i see a lot of people on here restricting themselves to 1000-1200 cals per day, but i just can't do that. at 1600, i figure i can lose about a pound a week, and it's much more realistic for me. of course, i realize i'll have to gradually cut them back if i want to keep losing weight. i didn't exercise saturday or sunday, though. but i'll make up for it. i plan on going for a run and exploring new territory in my 'hood today :)

i have to keep exercising or i'll fall into a huge depression. i graduated with my bachelor's in accounting in may, did an internship that ended in july, and have yet to find a job. i'm borrowing money from my parents to pay bills, my car's about to die, i have no spending money, and can't even afford to pay for my daughter's school lunch. i thought that if i went back to school and got my degree that my life would magically change for the better, that it would be easy to find a job with an accounting degree, that i'd finally be able to enjoy the good things in life... but i was wrong. i know that i will eventually find a job, but i need one right now. on top of that, both of my good friends got married recently and moved away, and i have no one to talk to anymore. i haven't had a boyfriend in, oh, 9 years, give or take, and i can't figure out if i subconsciously make up excuses for why i don't have time for one or don't deserve one, or if i am just not supposed to have good things happen to me. i know i'm not ugly, i'm just barely overweight these days, i'm smart, honest, fun, accepting, and loyal... i deserve to have good things happen to me, but every time i get my hopes up, i end up getting rejected, whether it's a job or a guy that's doing the rejecting. i probably shouldn't be posting this stuff here, but i need an outlet. things need to change before i go crazy.
 
I am 5'6 also and gain in the same areas as you. My arms are the worst! I haven't worn a tank top in my life because of it - it's also because these areas are covered in stretch marks.
Looking forward to reading more. I didn't have a good weekend and am mad at myself today for the consequences - tired, sore stomach, headache, lazy and wanting to go home to my bed.
Glad your weekend was better than last - hope mine is better next time around.
 
YAY!!

Since i'm not having much success in terms of actual weight loss, i have decided to gauge my success in as many different ways as i possibly can. my reasoning is, if i'm having all these successes, the weight loss will eventually follow.

success of the day: i jogged for 26 minutes straight!! i am currently walking/jogging 3 miles a day/ 6 days a week, and have been doing this for a couple months. when i started, i could barely jog for 3 minutes... i was constantly checking my watch to see when 3 minutes had passed so i could start walking again. well, i have been working my way up, and today i was pleasantly surprised! i began with a 5 minute walking warmup, then 4 minutes walking up a steep hill, then 3 minutes walking, then 26 minutes of jogging, then 7 minutes of walking for a cooldown. I actually felt like i could have kept jogging, but needed to head home... awesome, go me!!

also on the agenda: this saturday i'm planning on starting the atkins diet. yes, i've heard all the negative publicity, blah blah blah. i did south beach last summer, and had success with it, and although i did not stay on the plan, i have not regained the weight. both atkins and south beach stress the importance of getting carbs from healthy veggies rather than from sugars and starches; both stress the importance of good fats (olive oil, lean meat) over bad fats (trans fats, processed oils); both discourage the consumption of basically anything white (white bread, white rice, etc). I know that there has been a lot of confusion as to whether Atkins is healthy, but as long as you don't eat greasy hamburgers loaded with cheese and mayo and bacon and chili every day and think you're okay because you forgo the bun, then i think there's no way this is not healthy! the only difference between atkins and south beach is that, on south beach, you are allowed to eat unlimited amounts of certain foods with no counting, whereas on atkins, you actually have to count the carbs. i think this will be a good approach for me, because i have killer carb cravings... bread, pasta, ice cream, yum! i am staying within my chosen calorie range, but am not losing any weight, and i think it may be WHAT i'm eating as opposed to HOW MUCH i'm eating that's impeding my progress. so i'm going to give it a shot... i'll keep this thread updated on my progress!
 
Congrats with the working out so far :) I'm currently doing some interval training that is designed to build up your running ability to 2 miles straight (it is an 8 week program). Here is the link if you might be interested (I've had some great treadmill workouts so far!):



As far as the Atkins diet goes... I suppose that if you follow it as is it might work wonders. I tried the whole "no sugar, no carbs thing" for 2 weeks and was really happy because I was able to shed 10 pounds just like that (no working out either). However, I was super crabby and not myself (my friends had pointed that out to me) and I wasn't eating much other than cheese, hot dogs, eggs, cottage cheese, celery, meat, and pickles. I felt like I was snacking throughout the day instead of having consistent meals, which really left me feeling unsatisfied. PLUS carbs are essential for energy. So it could be stressful if you're running on empty during workouts. I have found that by simply counting calories and being conscious of my eating habits, mixed with regular exercise, has worked out BETTER than any other diet. I've lost almost 9 pounds by doing so (in just about a month), and it feels great to be able to eat those carbs that I love still (I am the carb queen). Just as long as you consume them in moderation, and try to stick to PROTEIN at dinner time. Don't pack on those carbs before bed! BUT... I'm not here to tell you what to do.... just here to give suggestions :) Everyone has their own preferences, and some things work better than others.

Whatever you choose to do.... good luck. Keep it up with the work outs.... you'll notice the difference sooner than you expect!
 
question: how is it possible to lose inches without losing pounds AND without gaining muscle? my pants are getting too big but i haven't lost any lbs... i haven't been strength training, either, and i don't believe that one month of jogging has caused me to build enough muscle to offset any fat loss... in any case, i'll take it!

today i ate about 1500 cals, jogged 1.5 miles, ran 1/4 mile, and walked 1.25 miles.

i have a pair of really cute navy blue j. crew pants (that i got at the GOODWILL brand new for 4 bucks!! love it) that i would like to get into by halloween. i can button and zip them, but they are supposed to be loose-fit, lol. they make my butt look good, too, which is definitely what i look for in any pants!

write more tomorrow...
 
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