Hi everyone! I'm Phoebe, and I'm 34, and 5'4". I started losing weight in May, when I hit 197 pounds. That was the heaviest I've ever been, although I will confess to having seen 194 as a high the last time around. That was right before I started trying to get pregnant - I decided I wasn't going to get pregnant at 200 pounds, and lost back down to 145. Got pregnant, gained a lot of weight while pregnant, and it all fell off without any problems after my daughter was born. When she was 2, I started taking medication known for causing weight gain, and got up to 150 over 9 months. Stopped taking it, and gained 40 pounds in 6 weeks. 
A few weeks before my daughter turned 4, I was at 197. Going up the one flight of stairs to my office winded me. I had weight-related nerve issues that caused shooting pains in my feet whenever I stood up, much less walked. In the past, I'd always been able to say that I was overweight, but could outwalk anyone - that wasn't the case anymore. So I decided that I was going to lose 52 pounds before DD turned 5 - a pound a week seemed reasonable, and that would take me down to 145, which is right at the border between normal weight and overweight for my height.
I started off just weighing myself every morning and making a conscious effort to eat healthier foods and reasonable portions. No exercise, because a) I hate exercise and b) when I've done it in the past, it's made me ravenous, so I wanted to work on establishing good eating habits first. No calorie counting, because I'm lazy.
It took a long time (at least a couple of weeks) to lose the first pound, but then I started losing quite fast, and two months later, I was down 15 pounds. Changed my long-term goal to a total 70 pounds of loss, which would put me at 127 - a good healthy weight for my body, but one I haven't seen in at least 10 years and maybe longer.
Two months after that, I was down another 12 pounds, and a month after that, only another 5. And I still got winded working in the yard or playing with my daughter. So I figured it was time to bring in some exercise and some calorie counting to keep things on track.
Never one to begin in moderation, I started off by walking 9 miles on a trail where there are only opportunities for someone to come rescue you every two miles. If those Fat March people can do it, by gosh, I can too. Apparently, walking 9 miles, even if it takes you all day long, only burns about 600 calories. Which is half a slice of cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory they just opened in town. Not worth it!
Switched my exercise goal from "burn calories" to "get in better shape." I had a bunch of people recommend weight training and , but weights are still too scary for me. I really like the Hacker's Diet theories, so I decided to give his exercise plan a try. Not boring, not hard, gets you going in the morning, and it only takes like 5 minutes at the low levels. (If anyone else does it, I'm now up to level 6, although I do all the exercises except pushups the regular way, rather than the introductory way. I can do my girly pushups just fine, but can't do a straight-leg pushup at all.)
I also started tracking calories with FitDay, which works too well for me - I ended up with something like 1,200 calories a day, whereas going by weight loss, I'd guess that I was getting more like 1,500 before. Lost 8+ pounds in a month, and ended up constantly cold, tired, and grumpy. Am now trying to move back up to 1,400-1,500 calories a day. I generally aim for 1/3-1/3-1/3 for macronutrients, and 25g of fiber from food.
A few weeks before my daughter turned 4, I was at 197. Going up the one flight of stairs to my office winded me. I had weight-related nerve issues that caused shooting pains in my feet whenever I stood up, much less walked. In the past, I'd always been able to say that I was overweight, but could outwalk anyone - that wasn't the case anymore. So I decided that I was going to lose 52 pounds before DD turned 5 - a pound a week seemed reasonable, and that would take me down to 145, which is right at the border between normal weight and overweight for my height.
I started off just weighing myself every morning and making a conscious effort to eat healthier foods and reasonable portions. No exercise, because a) I hate exercise and b) when I've done it in the past, it's made me ravenous, so I wanted to work on establishing good eating habits first. No calorie counting, because I'm lazy.
It took a long time (at least a couple of weeks) to lose the first pound, but then I started losing quite fast, and two months later, I was down 15 pounds. Changed my long-term goal to a total 70 pounds of loss, which would put me at 127 - a good healthy weight for my body, but one I haven't seen in at least 10 years and maybe longer.Two months after that, I was down another 12 pounds, and a month after that, only another 5. And I still got winded working in the yard or playing with my daughter. So I figured it was time to bring in some exercise and some calorie counting to keep things on track.
Never one to begin in moderation, I started off by walking 9 miles on a trail where there are only opportunities for someone to come rescue you every two miles. If those Fat March people can do it, by gosh, I can too. Apparently, walking 9 miles, even if it takes you all day long, only burns about 600 calories. Which is half a slice of cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory they just opened in town. Not worth it!
Switched my exercise goal from "burn calories" to "get in better shape." I had a bunch of people recommend weight training and , but weights are still too scary for me.
I really like the Hacker's Diet theories, so I decided to give his exercise plan a try. Not boring, not hard, gets you going in the morning, and it only takes like 5 minutes at the low levels. (If anyone else does it, I'm now up to level 6, although I do all the exercises except pushups the regular way, rather than the introductory way. I can do my girly pushups just fine, but can't do a straight-leg pushup at all.)I also started tracking calories with FitDay, which works too well for me - I ended up with something like 1,200 calories a day, whereas going by weight loss, I'd guess that I was getting more like 1,500 before. Lost 8+ pounds in a month, and ended up constantly cold, tired, and grumpy. Am now trying to move back up to 1,400-1,500 calories a day. I generally aim for 1/3-1/3-1/3 for macronutrients, and 25g of fiber from food.