My Journey: Positive Outlook For 2013

Sunflower, I'm not sure that the HRM watch is truly accurate, but I do use it as a guide. Taebo is really a great workout. :)

Guideon, this is my second trip around 200lb and I've yet to break the barrier. It's like there's a brick wall that I need to break down or something. I'm hoping to get there, but it is getting quite discouraging that I just can't seem to. :(

Cory, I love my berries! I've always loved strawberries so I do look forward to my morning salad. Even the garden salad is pretty good, but I'd much prefer fruit. :)

Slickzchik, thank you so much for your nice words! Now that I've posted before and afters I do feel more comfortable with it and will probably continue to do so. I'm not guaranteeing that there will be a noticeable different, but it's not as bad as I thought. :)

I've been told that I was beautiful before, but of course it's always been by family. You know how hard it is to believe family so I always just blew it off. It almost feels like their obligated to say those things. When I was younger, probably about 17, I had a retail job and I was working as a cashier. This one guy totally made my day when he told me how pretty my eyes were. That's probably one of the few compliments I've ever gotten from a stranger. I am starting to notice that guys will actually make eye contact with me although I'm usually the one to break it. It'll take a while to get some real confidence!

I have noticed a lot of physical changes in my face as well as other parts. Just the other night I realized I could actually feel my shoulder bones. They don't have that thick fatty cushion anymore and my collar bones are also starting to show. It is pretty exciting! :)

Don't beat yourself about gaining the weight back. I think that's something we all just need to realize is a real possibility. Unfortunately for "our club" we'll never be able to let our guards down. We'll always need to work for this. We'll get there together!

~~

So, yesterday I weighed in at 204.4lb. This morning I was at 205.2lb. I was at 203lb last week. Oh so close to breaking the 200lb barrier and now it just keeps going up and up. Talk about frustrating! I KNOW having pizza 5 nights ago would not be causing a weight gain like this. I know pizza's not the healthiest food, but I budgeted my calorie intake to allow for it and I also did not go way over on my daily calorie intake since then. In fact, during the week I've been very strict with my food intake and this week has been no different. Based on that I'm thinking it has to be water weight possibly from my TOM which isn't supposed to start for another 10-12 days. I'm going to go back and compare my previous months weight (didn't have time this morning) to see if this is the trend for me. Seems weird my body would already be holding water, but I suppose it's possible.
 
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I almost skipped working out last night. Just wasn't in the mood to get all sweaty, but I made myself do it after a bit of procrastinating. I'm glad I did. Once I got going I really kicked some butt! My HRM watch showed 1228 calories burned. Probably not accurate, but I know that my heart rate was up, I was pouring sweat, and I really pushed myself. For dinner I had some steak and a baked potato. After that I felt like doing nothing so I just vegged and watched tv for a while. :)

Weighed in at 204.4lb this morning. I'm going to try to get some measurements tonight.
 
Great job on doing the workout and sounds like a killer one at that! I think I should take measurements as well and use that to track my progress... ive been working out pretty hard so hopefully swapped some fat for muscle!
 
Not a bad day today. I had a great breakfast of eggs over easy, toast, and homefries. That carried me through to this afternoon when I did a dumb thing and bought a big bag of Doritos. I ate a LOT of them. *sigh* They were just so good I couldn’t put the bag down. I just attempted a new taebo workout that I found on youtube just to mix things up a bit. It was fun trying something new, but new moves meant struggling to master them! There were a few moves I had a really hard time getting my coordination on. It was still a great workout though. Got my heart rate up, got me sweating, and according to my HRM I burned 644 in roughly a half hours time. Not bad. If you’re interested, this is the link to the workout I did ()

Now I have to be honest. I’m getting very discouraged with each weigh in. I feel like such a yo-yo and even though I know 200lb is right around the corner I’m really beginning to wonder if I’ll ever see it. Every time there’s a glimmer of hope that I’m closing in on it, my weight goes up gain. Yesterday I was at 204.4lb again, finally going back down again! This morning back up to 205lb. Aside from the Doritos today I ate really well this week so what gives? Why can’t I get there? This is really so irritating!

Looking back, I haven’t lost very much weight since joining this forum. My first morning weigh in after joining I was at 220lb (even), this morning I was at 205lb (even). That’s only 15lb in 6 months! I’m not very happy about that, BUT I have been losing inches so I guess it’s at least showing that I am getting into better shape. I took my first set of measurements on 3/18/13. Today I took a new set and wanted to share the results so far.

Chest -3”
Lower abs -2.5”
Upper abs 3.5”
Waist -3”
Left thigh -2”
Right thigh -1”
Left arm - .25”
Right arm (same)
Neck -.5”
Under arms -1.5”

I guess overall I’m getting where I want to be. I just wish the scale would come around and get on my side. ?
 
You should be proud of yourself, though, Mandy. On your ticker, you're almost 50lbs down and that's impressive in itself!

I started actively trying to lose weight at the end of March. And here I am, five months later, at only 20lbs lost. Still stuck, as you saw in my WL diary. At least there are other ways to "see" your progress--the measuring like you said. Just keep your head up and don't get too frustrated with it. You're almost halfway there, just a little more patience!
 
Thanks Belinda, I am definitely proud of myself and how far I've come. It's just that the 200lb is MY milestone that I'm desperately trying to hit. I keep getting so close, but have yet to pass it. It's just frustrating! :(
 
Don't get too discouraged. People naturally hit plateaus, or will be gaining muscle while they're losing fat. Have you considered changing up your work out some? You've been really fond of the taebo, but trying something completely different might help break you out of the plateau.
 
Up and up we go... 205.8lb this morning. :(

Cory, I have thought about looking for something else, but not sure if I'm ready for that just yet. I really do enjoy taebo and I am seeing results going by inches lost. I may just stick it out a bit longer and see what happens. My TOM is approaching so it may be part of the reason why my weight's been so up and down lately. We'll see....
 
I hope that's what it is. I'd really like to see that number go down. For now I think I'm going to focus more on inches instead of pounds. It'll make me feel better as I go. ;)
 
Hello Mandy,
I've read some of your diary, and first of all, I'd like to say GOOD JOB! You are making great progress...yes, a few ups and down (we all have them!) along the way, but big picture, you are doing great! The biggest "Bravo" of your thread was seeing that you were off soda! I hope you still are...both diet and regular? I made the decision to get off soda of any type back 2 years ago, and I'm convinced that step (along with a food good diet and exercise) helped me lose 100 pound (went from 269 lbs to 169) .and so far be able to maintain +/- 3 pounds now for about 3 months...so it is possible!
Now, I'm on to go for another 20 pounds and get to my original goal weight of about 150-153...and Maintaining at that...so I'm back to being more strict with my eating and keeping the exercise pumped up. To break out of the little plateau, you MIT try so e interval training on the treadmill...walk for your normal speed, then walk at a high incline and faster for 1 minute, then back down to normal until you get your breath back, the. Do the 1min faster and high incline thing again,,,repeat that for the rest of your workout. Chances are your body has learned to be very efficient at your normal routine..time to make it work a little harder and pump it up, along with few a few less calories per day to see the scales go back the way you want them! Good job on keeping the measurements...that is so smart! You are seeing and I'm sure your clothes are showing you are getting in great shape...and really that is a much better indicator of your health than the number on the scale...I know you will break that 200 barrier soon baby! Just keep making good food and exercise choices,,and it will happen!

Sarah
 
Hi Mandy
I've just skimmed through some of your diary and your doing great. Remember whilst your exercising your building muscle which weighs more than fat. I was told to forget about the scales just go by what i see in the mirror and how my clothes feel. I must admit i do take a sneaky peak and when you don't see these scales move its so disheartening but then i think "but my trousers are getting slack" lol
 
totally agree with Jude.
Scales are good for long term trending, but can drive you crazy with short term variations.
 
Sarah, I am still off of soda. I will have one occasionally, mainly when I'm out at a restaurant or something, but it's far from a daily thing now. I'd say it's probably one or two a month these days. It's funny because I no longer even crave it. Back then I HAD to have it! It actually tastes kind of funny to me now. Back then I was so dependent on it that I never even wanted to try giving it up. It just meant so much to me.

Sunflower, yes they sure do sometimes! I'm finding more comfort relying on the measurement side of things now.

Jude, you're right. I keep forgetting that part. It could very well be more about gaining muscle along with losing fat instead of just losing fat.

Guideon, you got that right! It has been driving me crazy for sure!

~~

So it looks like Saturday was my last update. On that day I weighed in at 205.8lb. Sunday I was at 206lb (even), Monday I was at 205.8lb again, and this morning I was at 206.2lb. I would normally be disappointed, but I'm actually thrilled with these numbers! I'm on vacation this week so eating healthy has been a big challenge. Being on the go most of the time we've had to order a lot of take out and I've had no time to exercise. I've also discovered how tasty strawberry coolattas from Dunkin Donuts are. My word they are DELICIOUS!! The good thing about ordering a lot of takeout is that I've been ordering "healthier" options. As an example, yesterday instead of fried chicken and French fries I opted to have some grilled steak tips, carrots, and a little bit of rice pilaf. I didn't eat the whole meal other so I'm sure that helped.

Today was a chill out day at home so my eating has been much better. I'll also be doing a full body workout at some point today. Tomorrow's looking like it'll be the same too. I have to say that I'm enjoying my vacation, but it will be nice to be back on a normal schedule next week. Right now I'm working on at least stabilizing things to eat somewhat healthier and get some exercise in.
 
So Taebo was a bit of a disaster tonight. I ate a pretty big dinner because I didn't eat much all throughout the day. We had bbq'd spare ribs, steak tips, mashed potatoes, and pineapple. I waited about 1.5 hours and decided to get up and do some taebo. Well, I don't think I waited long enough... or I suppose it's just because I ate too much. I felt nauseous a few times and had to take a few breaks. I also think I tore something in my foot (not by working out oddly enough). On the outside right side of my foot a little bit ahead of the ankle bone I get this really weird tugging sensation when I move it the wrong way. After the 2nd "tug" I said the heck with it and just fast forwarded the DVD to the stretching at the end. I only got about 35 minutes in (a little more than half) and still managed to burn 683 calories so it still counts for something! Tomorrow I don't know if I'm going to just rest my foot or try one of the other workouts which has less foot work in it.
 
I'm sorry your taebo went so awfully tonight. :/ I always avoid working out after dinner if I can. If I've eaten within three hours of my exercise, I just feel absolutely awful. I also hope your foot is alright.
 
Thanks, I've worked out after dinner quite a few times with no problems. I think I probably just ate too much tonight. Will see how I feel tomorrow.
 
Hey that's too bad your workout didn't go great but atleast you did something! I prefer to work out first thing in the AM on an empty stomach! If that doesn't happen, then I try to do it when I haven't eaten for awhile although today I went to the gym about 40 mins after eating and was ok but it was a light meal! I hope your foot injury isn't serious
 
I hope that nothing too serious happened to your foot. You are burning an amazing amount of calories with those workouts.

Take care of that foot. I hope tomorrow is a better day for you. :)
 
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