My journey to a lifestyle and body change! :)

N

Nim

New member
Hi everyone,

I'm new to this forum scene, so please bear with me. Here's my story.

I'm 26 years old and married to my best friend. And together we have a wonderful fur-baby. His name is Dakota and he's a retired and rescued racing greyhound. If I only had my dog's metabolism, I'd be set! :)

I've steadily gained over 50lbs since I got married almost 7 years ago. (7 years next month) Since about a year after I got married, I've started and failed many "diets". I'd lose 5lbs, gain 7 back. Lose 8, gain 10 and so on, and I kept growing. Until now. 5'6 and 164 lbs. I've had enough. I hate the way I look and feel. I carry pretty much all my weight on the midsection of my body. Huge butt, thick upper thighs and a overhanging stomach. I have some pretty serious love handles on my back too, that have recently started chafing. I get winded walking up a minor hill or climbing a flight of stairs. I have a lot of older friends in their 50's that could run laps around me. I'm 26. This should be the prime time my life. If this is me in my prime, then I'm very worried about the future. I have to make a change now. Before it gets any harder.

About two weeks ago I implemented a change in my life. No more alcohol. No more candy or chocolate. No more cake. And EXERCISE!! Then I got sick for a week and that threw me of course for a few days but I got back to the gym yesterday and today and I'm feeling really good. They key now is to keep it up!

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I know that here I am among people who understand fully and are going thru greater battles than I, and succeeding. So any tips or advice would be welcomed. Also, any motivation ideas?

Sorry for rambling, but thanks for listening. :)
 
Today was a good day. I worked out for over an hour total. For 40 minutes I walked at 3.5 mph at an 8% incline. Figured I could get cardio and butt toning in one shot! :) Then I did some ab toning exercises. Then took the stairs back up to my floor. I had the gym to myself this afternoon and it felt great! I went back to the gym later in the day and did some arm and back work. There were a bunch of people there so I only stayed about 20 mins. Does anyone else out there dislike working out when there's a whole bunch of people around? Or is it just me being weird?

So, exactly two weeks ago I was 164.4. The last time I weighed myself was Saturday morning and I was at 159. Today was the second day of working out. Lets see what tomorrow brings.....goodnight!
 
Soooo (Drum roll....) this morn I was 159.8. That a 1.5lb loss since last Tuesday. And in my measurements I'm down 1.5 inches since two weeks ago.

My goal is to be about 137 by January which is about 1.7 lbs a week. I think that's do-able, right?

I'm struggling finding good high protein meal ideas for breakfast. All I can think of are eggs and milk. Does anyone have any yummy ideas?

Any and all advice of any kind is welcomed!
 
Just got back from what is for me, a successful workout! :) 40 mins walking uphill at a 10% incline at 3.2 mph. And I'm feeling so good! I really didn't want to go, but I'm so glad I did. I have to try to remember this feeling, keep it as motivation next time I don't feel like going. (Which will probably be tomorrow! Haha!)
 
Weighed in at 159 this morning. But it's been a rough day today. Not feeling great. Haven't been to the gym yet and its already almost 6pm. Have a killer of a headache. I probably just need to tell myself what time to go workout, and just go!! Ok. I'm going at 7:30pm. Better late than never, right?......
 
I did it! I actually made it to the gym!! I feel so much better. I ended up going at 7pm and worked out for about 45 mins. Feeling good. Hope everyone got through "hump day" unscathed. Lol! Roll on Friday, eh? Nite nite. :)
 
Hi Nim, welcome to the forum! I hope you get some great support here. :)

You’ve already chosen to make some positive changes which is the first step. Now the hard part, sticking with it! Some days will be harder than others, but if you stick with it things will get easier and easier. It sounds like you’re already seeing some good progress with your workouts too. Great job with that!

I do my workouts at home because I’m not comfortable being in front of others in the condition I’m in. We have a treadmill here at our home and I’m a taebo fanatic so I either workout using a DVD or a Youtube video. I know I’d hold back if I were to go to a gym so definitely don’t feel like it’s just you who feels this way. Be proud that you actually go instead of being a wuss like me! ;)

As for breakfast ideas, you can look into getting protein powder and making some protein pancakes or protein shakes/smoothies. I’ve tried a banana protein pancake recipe and they were delicious! You can make a batch and freeze some to eat as you want. I haven’t done much exploring on the smoothie/shake recipes, but there are some that sound pretty tasty.

I’m glad you got your workout in tonight. Keep at it, you’ll see some real progress before you know it! :)
 
MandyH,

Thank you so much for your encouragement. It means a lot. You are so right about the hard part being the 'sticking to it' part. In the past, I've usually given up at the two to three week mark. I just really want to succeed this time.

I totally understand about you doing your workouts at home. I'd prefer to do that but I'm afraid if I rely in myself to do that, I'll not do it. (One of those "started and quit" things again. P90X, Insanity etc. Did them for like a month then quit) We live in a condo community and there's a gym downstairs. So I don't have to pay to use it or even leave the building for that matter! If I time it right, I can be the only one in there which is awesome. :) But if there's a whole bunch of skinny people in there, my workouts are a fraction of the time and I leave. Lol!

Ah, that's a great idea for breakfast! I have these Lean Body protein powder shake things. I wonder if I can use that to make pancakes!

Thank you again for your advice and encouragement. I want to go read your story now. :)
 
That's great about having such a convenient way to get to the gym! That's another reason why I don't go. I work from 7:30-5pm (except for Wed when I get out at 1:30pm) so I feel I'm away from home enough as it is. I don't have a significant other or children, but I do have dogs who I honestly treat as my children. I don't like being away from them any more than I need to be.

The quitting is part of the reason why I started a diary here. Just to have a place to jog my progress and show others that I'm being accountable for my actions. I also have an Excel spreadsheet showing which workouts I've done and I log my daily weigh ins, measurements, and also my TOM. I started that when I joined here and it has helped me to keep my focus going - not including the hiccups I've had along the way.

If you really want to succeed just keep telling yourself that you can do it. When you have a bad day, or a stretch of bad days, try to remember how good you feel after you workout or when you see you've lost some weight. It'll go a long way to keep you motivated. :)
 
Ugh. Just weighed in for today. 159.4. Why can't I get past this stupid 159 mark? Its been a week and a half and I'm just lingering. Maybe I'm doing something wrong. I'll list what I generally eat in a day and please tell me if I need to change something.

Breakfast:
Usually a protein shake or a couple of eggs

Lunch:
Usually a sandwich.
Two slices of whole wheat bread with a little mayo, turkey, mustard and tomato.

Dinner:
Last week I mainly had some homemade chicken soup. The last day or two has been chili made with ground turkey, black beans and pinto beans and some canned diced tomatoes. Topped with a tiny bit of fat free sour cream. (When I cook, I like to make enough for a few days so I'm usually eating the same thing for about 2 or 3 days. Then I make something else.)

Snacks:
Fruit of any kind. Mainly apples though. And what feels like loads of water. Drank a 2 liter bottle of sparking water yesterday.

I aim for a little over 1300 cals a day and then do a 30-40 min workout that burns about 300 cals. So I'm creating a 500 cal deficit each day. Do I need to do longer workouts or change something in my diet? I hate stalling this early in my journey. It's discouraging.

I have a really long day today. I won't be home until 9:30pm ish so won't be able to get to the gym till really late. Does anyone know if its better to work out earlier in the day vs later? Is there a benefit to either? If need be, I could work out first thing in the morning, I just don't feel very energetic at that time of the day.

Hope everyone has a good day!
 
MandyH,

I have a greyhound and I can totally understand what you mean about not wanting to be away for longer than need be. Although its nice you have dogs that like to walk. Dakota is done in 5 mins and wants to go home so he can take a nap!! :)

I'm hoping that keeping a diary here will help prevent me from quitting agin too. I also downloaded a weight tracker app that has your start date/weight and your goal date/weight. Then you can track your weight and it tells you how far along you are, percentage wise. For example, I set a goal of losing 27 lbs by January. So far I'm 19% weight lost and 15% time passed so technically I'm ahead of schedule. It also has a graph and a history of weight logged so you can see where you were a week ago, for example. It's a pretty good app. But I hate logging a gain.....

I've been reading your story. I'm only about half way but you are such an inspiration! Keep up the great work! Can't wait to read more! :)
 
So I'm really bummed about this but my hubby's business meeting ran late and we didn't get home until almost 11pm so no time for a workout. :(

Ate really well today. I cheated a little bit and treated myself to a couple chewy sweetarts. But that was my only cheat. I haven't had any candy in two whole weeks which is amazing for me. Or alcohol for that matter! Lol! I'm really hoping I'm below the 159 mark in the morning, although I won't be too surprised if I'm not, because of missing a workout today.

It's 11:20 and time for me to crawl into bed. Nite nite! :sleeping:
 
I don't think there's really any reason why it would be better to work out in the morning over the evening in terms of weight loss, BUT I've found that when I work out in the morning it really seems to be a huge morale booster for the day. In other words, I feel better and more ambitious during the day when I get a morning workout in. Calorie burn wise it's all going to add up anyway so I don't think it matters when they're burned.

Don't worry about cheating. We all have those days. Myself personally, I've had those WEEKS. Just try to make each day better than the last in terms of what you're eating and what you do for exercise. Life happens so we don't always get the workouts in that we want so don't fret about that. Just keep on going as you are, you'll be fine! :)

Hope the scale is good to you this morning!
 
Good morning!! I am feeling great this morning. After a week and a half of teetering on 159-160 I finally broke that 159 mark!! :D I just weighed in at 158.7! Yay! Now I'm doing my happy dance. :) :hurray:

We moved into our current place about a month ago and I have been putting off unpacking and straightening out the office. It's not a room we use all the time and so I've literally been shutting the door on it every day. Today's the day though. I want to get as much of that done as possible. It will be a load off my mind and will help me de-stress. It's the last room to do and will look great when finished.

Hope everyone has a great Friday!
 
Mandy,

Thanks. I'll try to start going to the gym earlier in the day then. I could do with some feel good vibes to get me thru the day. :)

Hope you had a good week. Thanks again for your advice and support!
 
Alright. So because of feeling down today, of course I turned to chocolate. :( Currently trying to talk myself into going to the gym. I'm already dressed and ready to go but really not feeling it. But I have to go. Didn't work out yesterday......[COLOR=""]:cuss:[/COLOR]
 
Alright. So because of feeling down today, of course I turned to chocolate. :( Currently trying to talk myself into going to the gym. I'm already dressed and ready to go but really not feeling it. But I have to go. Didn't work out yesterday......:cuss:
 
I made it to the gym!! :D Did an hour of walking uphill and burned 530 calories while watching Waking Ned Devine on my iPad. :) Anyone ever seen it? It's so good. :)
 
Glad you made it to the gym! Especially since you didn't yesterday. It's always good to get right back into it if you've missed a day. Too many days off and you really don't want to do it. At least that's how it is for me.

Don't fret about your weight going up. We all experience it. It could be due to any number of things. It does NOT mean that you haven't lost anything! The more you work out, the more muscle mass you'll be gaining while losing fat at the same time. It may be canceling things out making you think you're not losing when in reality you really are.

Just keep thinking positive. Keep eating well. Keep exercising! The scale will catch up to you soon enough. :)
 
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