My Story - Foncused

[foncused]

97kg


Where to start...
Growing up I was never part of the 'skinny set' but, by the same token, I was not part of the 'fat pack' either... by the time I fell pregnant with my first child I had got quite plump... weighing in at about 75kg.
I started doing aerobics and dropped down to 48kg. I maintained this weight for some years.. including producing another baby. I was in my mid-twenties at this stage.

Moving up into my thirties the weight slowly started to creep on... I stopped ALL exercise... took up the popular sport of 'Chardonnay Quaffing'... became an excellent cook (read plenty fat, creamy sauces etc) and managed to increase my weight by the time I turned 40 to a whopping 90kg. I joined Sureslim and dropped my weight to 80kg at which time I lost focus and dropped the diet... and over the next three years packed the weight back on and managed to reach 102kg!

In January 2009 I went back onto Sureslim and droped 11kg down to 91. I got to this weight in March 2009... but, again, I dropped the ball and turned back to my 'wicked ways' of wine and bad eating habits.

By August 2009 my weight had screamed back up to 97kg!

At this weight my darling husband offered for me to have breast reduction and lift op. We consulted with a plastic surgeon... set the date... paid the deposit... and I sat back and waited for my surgery date to come...

Well... about a week before my surgery I had an epiphany... this surgery was going to cost us a small fortune... and here I was... this huge lump of lard... going for cosmetic surgery... Something was wrong with this picture!!

I called the plastic surgeon... delayed my operation for 8 weeks... and decided to get my fat butt into gear and see how much weight I can lose before I go under the knife!!

So I started in earnest on Thursday, 17th September 2009. I went back onto the Sureslim eating plan which is very basically as follows:
Breakfast:
Two poached eggs on 1 slice of wholewheat toast
or
Yoghurt, fruit, seeds and nuts
or
Oats porridge

Lunch:
Cracker bread (2) with fat free cottage cheese, some form of protein like smoked chicken breast, and a couple of slices of cucumber and or avo etc

Dinner:
Fish, Chicken or occasionally steak with steamed veggies or green salad.

Two pieces of fruit a day, one of which is generally an apple and the other a pear.

NO ALCOHOL AT ALL! *sob*

In addition to this new eating plan I went to our local gym and signed up. I started on Monday, 21st with a very gentle introduction (about 30 minutes in total) to a cardio workout. It was 5 minutes each on the treadmill (walking only!!), elliptical, rowing, stationary bike, stepper, wave & arm machine.

On Tuesday I went back and doubled what I had done before.

From Tuesday through to today (3rd September) I have slowly increased my workout each day... well... not so slowly... yesterday I managed a total of two hours and forty minutes cardio. I must say that I was absolutely and totally exhausted at the end of it... I could barely walk to my car to drive myself home.

Today I'm going to do a little cardio (maybe half an hour to an hour) and then am going to hit the super circuit (I'm not sure if this is a standard thing at most gyms or just at our gym??!!??).

So... to round off so far... I've been dieting for 16 days and going to gym for 12 days... and I've dropped 4.9kg... I've gone from 97kg to 92.1.

I want to see how close to my ideal weight I can get by my surgery date (18th November)... and after my surgery I intend to slow it down to 5 trips to the gym a week (and not 7)... and maybe give myself a 'cheat day' once every week or two.

So that's all from me so far! If you managed to read to here... thanks!
Take care and chat soon!!

 

[foncused]

90.1kg

Today I've been following my new lifestyle for a total of three weeks. I am down 6.9kg! All my sweat and tears in the gym are starting to show!

This is just such an emotional journey... my moods are determined by my little scale in my bathroom... my hubby has threatened to hide it from me and only bring it out once a week!

I'm starting to add a whey protein shake to my daily diet... apparently this is a good idea when you are gymming. I'm going to make a nice fruit smoothie for breakfast and will add the protein to that!

So... on a happy note today... I am slowly creeping out of the 90kg's and heading for the 80's!

LIFE IS GOOD!!

 

[foncused]

90.6

I am just having the worst day :-( Either my scale is broken or I have picked up .5kg! That means no loss at all this week... and I am working so hard at this change!

Yesterday my hubby said that I really need a break from the gym... just for a day or two... I agreed and just did a light workout here at home (I've dusted off my old Jane Fonda NEW AND IMPROVED workout from the 80's!!)

I've been very careful with what I've eaten this week... to the extent that when I was making a cheese sauce for the family for dinner one night this week I called my hubby to come and taste it while I was spicing it... so how on earth could I have picked up weight?

Oh well... I'm not going to lose focus... I'm going to keep at it... there is just no way on earth that I can continue exercising and eating the way I am and not lose weight... it just has to come... I've got to stop being so impatient!

 

[foncused]

89.7kg

Well my weight loss seems to have screeched to a halt! This is not as a result of binging or cheating... I am sticking to my program religiously! This has really got me baffled... I was so down and frustrated on Monday that I contacted a local dietitian and went to see her that same day.

I told her what I had been doing so for to lose weight... she weighed me and I was 90.5kg on her scale. I explained that I needed to drop as much weight as quickly as possible so that I would be in better shape for my surgery... She worked out a plan that allows me 770 Calories per day. If all goes according to plan I should drop between 2kg and 2.5kg a week. I just hope and pray that this means the end of my little 'slump' and that the weight starts to drop again.

She also changed my gym routine completely. I have been doing 40 minutes brisk and incline walking on the treadmill, 30 minutes rowing, 20 minutes cycling, 20 minutes recumbant bike cycling and 20 minutes arm machine. I would also sometimes attempt a few minutes each on the stepper and wave machine. I have also done the super circuit a few times.

She said to stop all machines and concentrate on running. She stressed that running was the best cardio exercise to lose weight... so my routine is now:

5 minutes warmup on the treadmill
15 minutes running on the treadmill
15 minutes brisk walking at an incline of 4% on the treadmill
5 minutes cooldown on treadmill
22 minutes of 'super circuit' which works out to 11 minutes of workout machines at one minute sessions with a minutes of running up and down stairs for a minute between each session.

In addition to this she's asked me to do 200 situps a day. Well... I tried... and managed 5!!!!! That was on Tuesday. On Wednesday I did 200 crunches on the super circuit machine. I'm hoping that the machine will assist to build up my abs so that I can manage more than 5 situps at a time!!

On Wednesday I also joined in an exercise class at the gym. The class was half and hour and nearly killed me!!

As far as the treadmill running is concerned... this is proving extremely difficult for me... When I first tried to run I managed about thirty seconds and then had to stop or risk dropping to the floor! I've decided to try and build up slowly... by walking for a minute... then run for a minute... and slowly increase the running portion till I get it to 15 minutes. The longest I've managed (day 3) was one session of 3 minutes, three of 1.5 minutes and the rest were one minute session.

So this morning when I got on the scale I was FINALLY in the 80's. This is such a huge milestone for me... I feel that my diet is starting to work now!

Thanks for reading and thanks for visiting... I'd love you to leave me a message or two!

Take care till next time!!

 

[foncused]

89.6kg

I've now been going strong for a month. I'm not losing as quickly as I'd like to be (but... who does??!!)... as everyone loves to tell me "How long did it take you to pick up that weight?"... oh well... at least the loss is moving in the right direction.

Every Sunday I get hubby to photograph me so that I can log my progress. This started a few days after I started my diet... I got hubby to photograph me showing my great big fat stomach... I put the photo onto my phone and my computer... so every time I looked at it I got more motivated to lose weight. I decided to take weekly photos so that I could log my progress... Looking at my first photo from four weeks ago and comparing it to today's photo I can really see a difference... so even if the weight loss is slower than I'd like... it's heading in the right direction!!

 

[foncused]

88kg

Well, it appears that things are now starting to move... I just hope and pray they continue!!

I saw my dietitian on Monday and voiced my concern at how little weight I had lost for the week... she said to remove my 'slice of bread' from my lunchtime meal and continue...

Well yesterday I said 'bugger this'... and dropped my calorie intake to under 400... and it seemed to work... I didn't get hungry at all...

I started with a poached egg on toast... then lunch was a nice fresh salad with lettuce, cucumber and tomato... dinner was 100g chicken breast with salad. I had a nice big mug of coffee after supper. This morning I was down 600g from yesterday!!!!

On Monday I attended a Zumba class at our gym... apart from being more of a hip hop dance class I have hurt both my knees... quite badly too! So this has ended my newly found relationship with the treadmill :-(

So It's now back to general cardio - stationery bike, step machine, rowing, elliptical etc. I need to get my 'used up calories' back to over 1000 per day... my surgery is looming closer and closer... only 4 weeks to go and PLENTY weight still to lose!!!

 

[foncused]

Milestone: From Obese to Overweight!!

84.1kg

Today was a good day! I am officially no longer obese... I am now classified as overweight... next milestone will be 'normal'... I just can't wait for that day!

Things have been progressing along nicely... I have held my calories down... and the only 'cheating' I've done was going out for two meals. On both occasions I was extremely careful what I ate... sticking to grilled fish with a side salad on the one evening and the fresh veggie and bulgar wheat options at the other... the 'cheat' came with the wine and champagne I just couldn't resist!!

But... all in all it's been fine... It's been a little short of 7 weeks and I'm down 12.9kgs. I'm really happy with this!

Gym is still going strong... I hurt my knee doing Zumba so I've had to change my routine... for the last few days I've been doing 40 minutes on the elliptical and then as much as I can manage (time and or energy wise) on the rowing machine. My input has ranged from ten minutes to forty-five.

I have my pre-op appointment with the surgeon on Monday... I'm a little nervous... I think that when he sees my intention to lose weight he's going to tell me to put the surgery off until I'm at my goal weight. I know that will be the correct decision... but I think I'm going to be disapointed putting it off again... oh well... I'll have to wait till Monday to see what he says!

One bad negative of the weight loss is the effect on my face... I am growing new wrinkles on a daily basis! Who'd have guessed that my fat was doing one good thing!! I've upped my skin routine... adding a full body moisturize twice a day too... I'd hate to lose all this weight and pop out the other side looking like a dry old prune!!

 

[foncused]

82.8kg

So far so good... weight loss is still dropping nicely... gym is going well... I find that my stamina has increased incredibly... I can now comfortably manage an hour on the elliptical or rowing machine... so today my workout was twenty minutes on the elliptical... followed by half an hour of 'super circuit' (This is basically a minute of resistance training followed by a minute of running up and down stairs for a minute then back to another minute of resistance training etc etc. You do 11 'machines' and run 11 times)... after super circuit I did an hour on the rowing machine.

I am still keeping my calories pretty low... breakfast is a slice of low GI bread and a poached egg... lunch is a salad... and dinner a piece of fish or chicken with salad or steamed veggies. Pretty boring but it's working for me!

I went to the surgeon today for my pre-op consultation. My op was scheduled for next week... he said that with the amount of weight that i have lost and taking into account what I am intending losing he would rather wait until Feb next year to do the op. I must say I have mixed feelings about delaying the procedure... but at the end of the day it is far more sensible losing the weight first and then having the op done...

So... one huge positive is that I CANNOT drop the ball now... I have to keep focused and must achieve my goal weight of 65kg (or at least under 70kg) by the end of January next year... that gives me approximately 12 weeks to lose a minimum of 12kg (or up to 17kg??!!??!! if humanly possible)... with the holidays slap bang in the middle!! Oh well... that's one way of keeping me away from the trifle!

 

[Upimongo]

Hang in there!

Hi foncused!

Great to hear your still keeping yourself busy at the gym...made me dizzy reading all about it...bet you look like Arnold Schwarzenigger!...but in a nice way!

As for weight loss, you will gain muscle mass but this consumes more calories than blubber...err...I've no idea, but try not to focus on the target too much, as that could lead to disappointment and a feeling off failure...which of course it is not! Stick to what you're doing now which is working, and let the 12 weeks reveal a new superfit 'you' irrespective of what the scales say!

If your hubby is saying nice things about you now during hanky panky, imagine what he'll say in 12 weeks!

 

[foncused]

80.5kg

Hey hey!!! My first visitor!!! Welcome to my little corner Upimongo!! It's great to get a little encouragement along the way!!

My weight loss has slowed a little because hubby and I went to Mozambique (South Eastern Africa for those interested) for a week. Mozambique is famous for it's seafood and peri-peri chicken... well... I spent a week indulging (more accurately gorging myself) on seafood, spicy chicken and bottles and bottles of wine! I was convinced that I'd picked up at least 5kgs!! The nice surprise was that it was only 1.2kg up... and it's been three days and I've dropped it plus another .8kg... so I'm down 2kg since Wednesday.

The week before we went away my weight stayed the same... so I am definitely subscribing to the fact that a little 'deviation' can sometimes get you off a little 'mini-plateau'!!

I also missed my gym while I was away... one of the days I found a flight of stairs leading from the beach up to the road... a total of 36 stairs... I did a little mini workout on the stairs and ran up and down them 10 times. Not quite like my 'Virgin Active' equipment back home... but it did the trick.

So it's back to business at home now... with my slow week and my week away I started this week off at 5.3kg behind my target. This is a little frustrating to me because I've pretty much managed to stay on track for the duration of my diet... and I would really like to be as close as possible to my goal weight before my procedure... so I need to be very focused and driven for the next couple of months...

Till next time!!

 

[foncused]

A Milestone!!!

79.4kg

So... I have now hit my second milestone... the first was to move from "Obese BMI" to "Overweight BMI"... my second milestone was to finally arrive in the elusive 70's! (Albeit by the skin of my teeth... but one has to start someplace!!)

I got DH to take a few photos yesterday and, for the first time, I was gobsmacked at my progress... I am now starting to feel like I am really achieving a result... and, finally, KNOW that I am going to reach my goal weight... it's such an amazing feeling when you realise that being slim and healthy is achievable... and to finally understand that DIETS ARE THE DEVIL and the ONLY way to achieve a weight loss goal is to adjust your eating and exercise habits accordingly... it's as simple as "EAT LESS... MOVE MORE"!! (and a huge amount cheaper than buying all the worthless wonder drugs and potions!!)

The most frustrating part of this entire exercise is realising just how easy this is... and being really angry with myself for not cleaning up my act years ago. I have never felt better...

If anyone is looking for a little inspiration on my NO DIET WEIGHT LOSS THEORY... here is my proof... 20th September 2009 to 29th November 2009... two and a half months...

LIFE IS GOOD!!!!

 

[chubbygirl]

Wow you are doing so good - keep it up! Those pics are truely inspiring! You must feel great! I can't wait to see the pics after the surgery. I think it was a good decision to wait until you reach your goal - and what motivation. You are going to be a whole new person! Congrats and keep it up!

 

[mrskt20]

Great job Focused. Your before and after pics look great. You have made good progress. I have only being on my journey for 3 weeks but you really encouraged me today to keep going. Good luck reaching your goal!

 

[aravind82]

Wow, great job so far!

Roughly how many calories per day is your diet? I only ask because I started the same time as you but have lost ~25lb compared to your 40! I typically eat 2000-2200 calories per day but have been floating around the idea of dropping it a few hundred. Thanks!

Edit: I must've skimmed over your thread too quickly because I just saw some of your post concerning your calorie intake. I'm not sure if I could do ~1000 per day. Sheesh!

 

[foncused]

Thanks all for your great words! It's such fantastic encouragement when you get positive feedback from others!

Hope everyone's weightloss is going well!!

 

[foncused]

77.8

Okay, seriously, watching what you eat (and what you drink ) is darn difficult at this time of the year. My weight loss is really slowing down cos every now and again I have some wine or champagne... I still have 13kg to loose before my op which is in 52 days... well I would like to be 70kg's at the most by then... but between then I have:
1. My birthday on the 23rd December (Dinner booked at a local fine dining restaurant... which serves the best cheese cake south of the equator!!!)
2. Christmas (I do the traditional Christmas dinner... we will start with feta and spinach parcels wrapped in phyllo (shaped like Christmas crackers) served with sour cream... followed by Stuffed Turkey, Glazed Gammon, Roast potatoes, butternut, rice, peas, cauliflower and broccoli with cheese sauce... followed by traditional English trifle... NOOOOOO!!!! I LOVE THIS FOOD!!! Also lots and lots of chilled champagne... how am I going to resist... I have kinda decided that for my birthday and Christmas all bets are off... oh gosh... this is a nightmare!!!
3. On the 13th January we have our annual summer holiday at a coastal town in South Africa called Knysna. We will be spending two weeks lazing in the sun... drinking cocktails and eating in restaurants... this is going to be a killer!!

My op is scheduled a week after we get back from holiday... I have just got to stay as focused as possible...keep my eyes on the ball... I've dropped over 19kg since 17 September... so not too bad for 3 months... now I need to do at least 7 more over the next 2 months...

Lets see how I do!

Hope you are all staying strong over the festive season!!

 

[foncused]

75.6kg

Hmmmm... so I didn't fare all that well over the festive season... but, I suppose, it could have been worse! I picked up a total of 0.7kg... it doesn't sound like much... but taking into account the weight loss that SHOULD have happened over that period... you can say that my gain was far greater!

Oh well... back to healthy eating today... no more wine... and back to a close and intimate relationship with my local gym equipment.

Hope everyone had a great festive season... and good luck to all of us as we enter the new year!!

 

[foncused]

77kg

So my summer holiday at the coast resulted in me pickup up a bit of the weight I have lost :-(

My op is scheduled for next week Thursday and I am confident that I am ready. The surgeon said he is happy with my weight loss and says that I will get a fantastic result... so... the countdown begins... one week to go!!

 

[maylet]

Good luck with the surgery