My Journey of Self-Discovery

M

MAWTRY

New member
Since I found this site so late in my day, and it's now going on 9pm, I plan to make my official "Day 1" post tomorrow. In the meantime, I wanted to say a bit about how I am planning to lose weight, tone up and get healthy again.

No one knows how much I weigh, except me...until now. In my introductory post here (in the Newcomers forum) I stated that over the course of 6 years and 3 pregnancies I have put on a total of 120 lbs, putting me at a very unhealthy 300 lbs. Granted, I'm tall and it's "well proportioned", but does that really make a difference? Not at all. I'm unhealthy and, according to everything I've looked at online, I'm on the borderline of morbid obesity. It's embarrassing and shameful. So shameful that even my husband doesn't know how much I weigh. But that's all starting to change. Here and now.

I have a gym membership (with FREE unlimited child care!) and plan to go a minimum of 4 times a week. I have a treadmill here at home so in the case of a sick child, too many appointments, whatever the case may be that prevents me from getting to the gym, I can't use that as an excuse to skip a workout. At the gym I'll focus on the Elliptical for a full-body workout, the bike for strengthening and toning my legs, and weights for overall stength training. I also plan to start taking yoga for balance and relaxation.

My eating habits have to drastically change, along with my portion control. I plan to cut out sugar completely, watch my calories, fat, cholesterol and sodium, and also track my protein and fiber to make sure I am getting enough (but not too much).

As I stated in my Newcomers post - I am here for support, accountability and motivation. I have a long way to go, so I'm hoping to find what I'm looking for here and maybe even make some great new friends. :)
 
Hey there welcome to the site, and good job on starting yourself a diary, you're going to find it really helpful I'm sure. Good luck reaching your target :D
 
Day 1

I'm feeling motivated and excited this morning to get this going! :hurray:

Breakfast: Multigrain Cheerios w/ soy milk & a banana. I'm also sipping my coffee with 1 Splenda.

My workout at the gym will be: 15 minutes on the Elliptical and 2 miles on the treadmill - jogging 1/4 mile, walking 1/4 mile. Off I go! :waving:

I'll make an update at the end of the day with how my workout went and everything else I ate.
 
Welcome to the forum! Glad to have you here. I wish you the best of luck on your journey to getting healthy!

Hope your workout goes well and you feel great afterwards!
 
My workout was great! I ended up walking more than I wanted to, but that's okay. One step at a time, right? :)

Lunch: Lean Cuisine Apple Cranberry Chicken w/ decaf sugar-free Crystal Light iced tea and 1/4 cup of almonds.

I've also drank 40 oz of water so far (2 of my water bottles).
 
Ooh that chicken sounds good!
Welcome to the forum :)

It's a great place to be for accountability! I find myself admitting all my takeaways and bad days when normally I'd just pretend they didn't happen then wonder why I wasn't losing!!

Great idea to keep a food diary, that helped me most the first time around. In fact I should probably start again with that!

Good luck :)
 
End of Day 1....

...and it was a success! I feel fantastic!

Dinner was the Biggest Loser's sloppy joe meatloaf and a salad (with a vinaigrette dressing), and another glass of Crystal Light iced tea.

I have some extra calories to use for the day, and I feel like using them :coolgleamA: so dessert will be a slice of homemade banana bread.

Tomorrow will be a day off from exercise at the gym, but I still plan to do something at home.

Good night! :sleeping:
 
Hi Mawtry. You're doing great. Watch you don't become too fatigued and burn out. But I think everything flows once we get active. Even just walking is so good for you. I recommend a pedometer, it will really get you motivated to take lots of steps. I love the feeling of accomplishment that comes from working out. Keep up the good work. Oh, and I like your 20 pound goal.
 
Day 2

Well, today was definitely a "typical Sunday" in my house. Cleaning, laundry, watching games on tv (Go Packers!!) and relaxing. The only calories I burned today was from the housework, and reps with hand weights. I did well with my eating though, so I don't feel too bad about myself.

Breakfast: 2 slices of cinnamon french toast (80 calories per slice) without butter, and with sugar-free syrup, and 2 sausage patties. Also, of course, my cup of coffee with 1 Splenda.

Snack: a glass of V8 Bloody Mary mix. I love that stuff!

Lunch: Turkey sandwich with lettuce, tomato, banana peppers, and honey mustard on multigrain bread, a handfull of BBQ Popchips and a handfull of baby carrots. Ice water to wash it down.

PM snack: half an apple and a string cheese.

Dinner: Homemade veggie lasagna and a salad with low-fat ranch, and Crystal Light iced tea to drink.

Back to the gym tomorrow, and I'm hittin' it hard!
 
You and I kind of do the same thing with the smaller goals. Yeah I have a final goal but to help me get there I like to take it 10 lbs at a time.

Just stay focused and you will reach your goal no problem.
 
Mr. Love said:
You and I kind of do the same thing with the smaller goals. Yeah I have a final goal but to help me get there I like to take it 10 lbs at a time.

Just stay focused and you will reach your goal no problem.
Click to expand...

Thank you! I have a final goal, too, but to think how far that could be totally bums me out, LOL, so to stay motivated I have found that setting smaller goals really helps.

Stay focused with me and we'll both reach our goals! :)
 
Hi there, I am relatively new here and have the same goal as you- losing 20 pounds. It is a mini goal as i am 200 pounds and in the end want to be around 140 or less, but I think smaller goals feel more attainable. :) Good luck!
 
Sounds like you are well on your way! Your foods look great and so does your exercise. Keep up the great work!
 
Laurendobi said:
Hi there, I am relatively new here and have the same goal as you- losing 20 pounds. It is a mini goal as i am 200 pounds and in the end want to be around 140 or less, but I think smaller goals feel more attainable. :) Good luck!
Click to expand...

:seeya: I'm new here, too, and definitely have a lot more than 20 pounds to lose (times that by 7 and that's my ultimate goal), but smaller goals at a time keep me motivated. Good luck to you, too!
Tigpuppy said:
Sounds like you are well on your way! Your foods look great and so does your exercise. Keep up the great work!
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for your support! It really helps! :D
 
Day 3

Good morning! (or afternoon, or evening depending on where you live)

Start of a new week and feeling great! Motivation is high and my energy is excellent. :hurray:

Gym workout: 30 minutes on the elliptical, 1.5 miles on the treadmill. I plan to do a strength training workout this afternoon at home.

Breakfast: Multigrain Cheerios w/ 1/4 cup 2% milk and 3 bite-size blueberry muffins (muffins = 190 calories)

AM snack: Coffee w/ 1 Splenda and an orange.

I haven't decided yet what lunch will be, but I know it will be something extremely low in calories since I'm throwing a party tonight for the BCS Championship game - which is also why I'm doing more exercise. :)

I will try to post an update with my workout and lunch, depending on how the rest of my day goes. Party prep! :D If I don't make it back I will update tomorrow.
 
Day 4

Breakfast: Whole grain apple cinnamon muffin, an orange, and coffee with 1 Splenda. Yum!!

Workout: 20 minutes on the elliptical, 7 miles on the bike, and 20 minutes of circuit weights.

Lunch: Low-sodium turkey on whole wheat bread w/ light mayo, whole grain mustard and spinach leaves, 1/2 cup of potato salad (homemade) and a glass of 100% vegetable, low-sodium V8.

Feeling GREAT today! Though, I woke up this morning feeling like a drunk slug because of the onion rings and mozzarella sticks I ate during my football party. :blush5:

Anyway, my afternoon snack will be a handful of almonds with a cup of light soy milk, and dinner tonight will be a homemade veggie calzone with low-fat mozzarella.
 
Day 5

I'm having an ok day so far. I had a terrible migraine yesterday afternoon that lasted into the evening and was still lingering this morning, but I didn't want to give up my morning workout. I pushed myself out the door and biked (on the spin bike - no back seat on it) 11 miles in 30 minutes. It felt really good, and worked my legs and the backs of my arms! I think that's it for today, for my exercise. I'll just be extra careful with my calorie intake.

Breakfast: 1 cup of Total Raisin Bran w/ 1/4 cup of light soy milk.

My snack after my workout: Pomegranate Greek yogurt

Lunch will be same thing I had yesterday. I'm not sure yet what dinner will be, but I will update with that later.

*EDIT* Dinner tonight was a homemade turkey pot pie. Lots of veggies and I cut a lot of fat by using 1% milk instead of cream, and I only used half the butter that I usually use for this. It was delicious!

I have 2 more days to work hard before my first weigh-in!! :willy_nilly:
 
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It looks like you are really on the right track!

And your eating plan sounds a lot like what I've been doing....just trying to eat healthy and watching the calories. I am against "forbidden" foods, as it's so gimmicky. Any food that you forbid yourself is going to end up being what you crave and then binge on, IMHO! It seems like you are eating small portions of foods you can enjoy, which is great!
I predict success for you in getting to your eventual goal, Mawtry. Keep up the good work!

Now I'm off to do my own workout. I love doing dvds at home. Right now, I'm really into "The 30 Day Shred". Your gym sounds nice, though.

(And ITA about the V8 Bloody Mary mix. i wish I could get it where I live, as I LOVE the stuff!)
 
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