Hello! I have decided to start up this diary because I have been inactive (on the forum, I mean) for a while and I think it will be a really good tool to help me continue my progress. So, here we go.
I decided to start losing weight and getting fit back in January, new year's resolution style. I'm 24 years old, female, my height is 5'5" and my initial start weight was 194lb. I did NOT want to go over 200lb so I made some changes. Between January and April 2011 I lost about 2 stone through eating more carefully and doing more exercise. I have been maintaining (not plateauing - the maintenance was deliberate), since April, without any difficulty, between 165-170lbs (depending on my hormonal fluctuations!). I would like to get down between 140-150lbs to get my BMI into a healthy range.
My starting measurements were 44" (bust) - 34" (waist) - 44" (hips) and they are now down to 39.5"-28.5"-40". I have had lots of compliments and am happy with the progress so far but still have some work to do. As the measurements indicate, I carry my weight quite well and evenly, so I might find that I get to 155lb but have a 26" waist and don't need to lose any more weight! We'll see.
I enjoy exercise and am lucky that my husband motivates me too as we go to the same gym. However, lately, due to work commitments and travelling, I've fallen out of my routine of exercise and would love some motivation to get me back to it! The activities I usually do throughout the week include swimming, cycling (to work and back every day), cross-trainer, belly dancing, and running. I have never been able to run until now but up until the last few weeks I have been running for half an hour 3 or four times a week, sometimes more! I usually do 4-5 km in that time. It's one of my biggest achievements since I decided to change my lifestyle. I have also been doing resistance work 3-4 times/week, both with machines and free weights, which my husband has been teaching me how to use safely.
I'm a good cook and I am knowledgeable about what I should and shouldn't eat but sometimes I'm less disciplined than I ought to be and this is the other area I need to work on to get my weight loss going again. My main weaknesses are chocolate and creamy things - but other than that I have a mostly vegetable-based diet (I eat fish on average once or twice a week, chicken once a week and red meat once a fortnight at most). I eat lots of lentils, beans and other legumes for protein, as well as milk, cheese and yoghurt. I am not a fussy eater at all and have no allergies.
My main motivations for losing weight are, in no particular order: wanting to be fitter and healthier now and in the future, wanting to be at a healthy weight to start a family when the time is right, wanting to look and feel really good about myself, wanting to be in great shape for a couple of family weddings that are coming up in autumn, wanting to be more disciplined and conscientious in my life generally, wanting to have activities I can enjoy with my husband who enjoys exercise too, wanting to challenge myself to learn new skills like the dancing and running I've been doing, wanting to lower my risks of some of the illnesses that run in my family such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure, wanting to sleep better and generally feel happier day to day.
To continue towards my goals, I think I've identified a few things I need to work on. Here they are:
1) Reset my body clock to fit exercise into my mornings again - I need to battle the urge to sleep as late as possible. Discipline woman!
2) Be a bit stricter about portion control and treats - I don't want to forbid myself anything but I want to feel totally in control of my eating habits.
3) As an extension of 2), restart my food diary, which I found really motivating during my weight loss. I will try to do it online here daily, which might keep me accountable!
My goals are:
1) Continue steady progress to a healthy weight that I can be happy with and maintain.
2) Continue to improve my fitness, increasing the weights I can lift, the dance moves I know, the laps I can swim etc.
3) Work towards running 10k once a week.
Your comments, support, motivation and interest will be warmly received! Thank you in advance and for reading this mammoth first post!
x
I decided to start losing weight and getting fit back in January, new year's resolution style. I'm 24 years old, female, my height is 5'5" and my initial start weight was 194lb. I did NOT want to go over 200lb so I made some changes. Between January and April 2011 I lost about 2 stone through eating more carefully and doing more exercise. I have been maintaining (not plateauing - the maintenance was deliberate), since April, without any difficulty, between 165-170lbs (depending on my hormonal fluctuations!). I would like to get down between 140-150lbs to get my BMI into a healthy range.
My starting measurements were 44" (bust) - 34" (waist) - 44" (hips) and they are now down to 39.5"-28.5"-40". I have had lots of compliments and am happy with the progress so far but still have some work to do. As the measurements indicate, I carry my weight quite well and evenly, so I might find that I get to 155lb but have a 26" waist and don't need to lose any more weight! We'll see.
I enjoy exercise and am lucky that my husband motivates me too as we go to the same gym. However, lately, due to work commitments and travelling, I've fallen out of my routine of exercise and would love some motivation to get me back to it! The activities I usually do throughout the week include swimming, cycling (to work and back every day), cross-trainer, belly dancing, and running. I have never been able to run until now but up until the last few weeks I have been running for half an hour 3 or four times a week, sometimes more! I usually do 4-5 km in that time. It's one of my biggest achievements since I decided to change my lifestyle. I have also been doing resistance work 3-4 times/week, both with machines and free weights, which my husband has been teaching me how to use safely.
I'm a good cook and I am knowledgeable about what I should and shouldn't eat but sometimes I'm less disciplined than I ought to be and this is the other area I need to work on to get my weight loss going again. My main weaknesses are chocolate and creamy things - but other than that I have a mostly vegetable-based diet (I eat fish on average once or twice a week, chicken once a week and red meat once a fortnight at most). I eat lots of lentils, beans and other legumes for protein, as well as milk, cheese and yoghurt. I am not a fussy eater at all and have no allergies.
My main motivations for losing weight are, in no particular order: wanting to be fitter and healthier now and in the future, wanting to be at a healthy weight to start a family when the time is right, wanting to look and feel really good about myself, wanting to be in great shape for a couple of family weddings that are coming up in autumn, wanting to be more disciplined and conscientious in my life generally, wanting to have activities I can enjoy with my husband who enjoys exercise too, wanting to challenge myself to learn new skills like the dancing and running I've been doing, wanting to lower my risks of some of the illnesses that run in my family such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure, wanting to sleep better and generally feel happier day to day.
To continue towards my goals, I think I've identified a few things I need to work on. Here they are:
1) Reset my body clock to fit exercise into my mornings again - I need to battle the urge to sleep as late as possible. Discipline woman!
2) Be a bit stricter about portion control and treats - I don't want to forbid myself anything but I want to feel totally in control of my eating habits.
3) As an extension of 2), restart my food diary, which I found really motivating during my weight loss. I will try to do it online here daily, which might keep me accountable!
My goals are:
1) Continue steady progress to a healthy weight that I can be happy with and maintain.
2) Continue to improve my fitness, increasing the weights I can lift, the dance moves I know, the laps I can swim etc.
3) Work towards running 10k once a week.
Your comments, support, motivation and interest will be warmly received! Thank you in advance and for reading this mammoth first post!
x
