shrinkingLeon's Journey

Hi SL you have done a great job with your eating and your workouts.

I can really see the diffrence in your pictures!

Keep up the great work and congrats on your loss
 
Okay, I lose 70 lbs or so and what do I do? I eat some chicken wings and fries. :willy_nilly: :banghead:


I'm not going to beat myself up, but it was motivated out of pure laziness and me being inconvenienced. I was trying to drive to the gym last night on this awful freeway we have here, and because of the fact that no one seems to know how to drive once raindrops start falling, the traffic was INSANE. I called myself making a detour all through these neighborhoods, but I got sick of driving and stopped at a mall. I bought a cookie and then went over and bought some chicken wings and fries. WTH was I thinking?

I'm back on track today though, and I will be working out EXTRA hard tonight and for the rest of the week.

I also found this great Navy Bean and Spinach Soup recipe that I think will be GREAT for this plan.


Did anyone else watch "The Biggest Loser" last night?
 
Hey Leon!!! You are doing great.. don't beat yourself up over the wings & fries but, I know the feeling! Last night I gave in to a slice of Pizza huts new pizza! BLAH! But, we just gotta remember they are going to be times that we give in.. this wont be the last time you give in or last night wont be the last time I give in.. AS LONG AS WE DONT GIVE UP!!!! Thats the main thing! :) -- And I know your not going to give up just keep striving for success and you'll get there as will I! I worked my a$$ off last night at the gym because of that slice of pizza and it felt great to work out like I did! Now I just gotta top last nights workout and go further! :) -- Good luck with your journey I know you'll get there!!!
 
fatgirl2phatgrl said:
Hey Leon!!! You are doing great.. don't beat yourself up over the wings & fries but, I know the feeling! Last night I gave in to a slice of Pizza huts new pizza! BLAH! But, we just gotta remember they are going to be times that we give in.. this wont be the last time you give in or last night wont be the last time I give in.. AS LONG AS WE DONT GIVE UP!!!! Thats the main thing! :) -- And I know your not going to give up just keep striving for success and you'll get there as will I! I worked my a$$ off last night at the gym because of that slice of pizza and it felt great to work out like I did! Now I just gotta top last nights workout and go further! :) -- Good luck with your journey I know you'll get there!!!
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Thank you so much for your words of encouragement. And I have to reemphasize this right here:

But, we just gotta remember they are going to be times that we give in.. this wont be the last time you give in or last night wont be the last time I give in.. AS LONG AS WE DONT GIVE UP!!!! Thats the main thing!
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Love it!
 
I hate it when I lose control over my eating but it happens less and less now thank God.

Keep up the hard work.
 
Quick update here. The last few weeks have been kind of stressful, but I'm working to try and get back on track. I just look at it as a minor setback, but I'm going to the Farmer's Market for lunch so I can get back on a healthier kick.

I went back home to visit my family this past weekend and to celebrate my 28th Birthday. When I walked in the door, all my mom could say was "Oh.MY.GOD!" I had last seen her in May, and I was a lot heavier at the time, so to say she was surprised at my weight loss was an understatement.

And to add to that, I called my brother a month ago and suggested that he fly down that weekend to surprise the family. I picked him up from the airport and he hid by the side of the house, so while my mom was still talking about my weight loss, my brother rounds the corner and asks, "Well Mom, what do you think of me?" She was almost about to cry at this surprise. My brother has lost approximately 80 pounds himself over the last year, and my parents haven't seen him since March, so she was really taken aback.

My dad was tailgating for a football game, so we went up to the stadium to surprise him as well. He was about as shocked at our appearance as well.

I may have not lost 100 lbs by my 28th birthday like I wanted to, but I'll gladly take this weight loss!
 
Quick update.

Last week was pretty frustrating. I didn't work out at all, and I failed at my attempts to get back on the healthy eating wagon. Whenever I go out of town and get back, it's hard to get back into the groove of things. My filthy ass roommate also had a sink full of dishes that I certainly wasn't going to wash, so I used that as an excuse to not cook at home.

I am in the middle of a lot of work demands as well as school demands. I had to admit that I was human and spoke with my advisers about having to extend my project into next semester, so I'll have to delay graduation.

It sucks, but I'd rather take my time to get the project done well rather than go through it sloppily and quickly.

Anyway, I'm back on my healthy eating routine (roommate finally washed those dishes, so I can cook again) so hope springs eternal in my battle of the bulge.

Also, I'm thinking about starting a Facebook Group focusing on my weight loss (as well as others), so I'll keep you guys posted.
 
I've finally beat my plateau! I'm under 270 for the first time in about 5 years! I still have a bit of a ways to go, but I think I'll beat my potential goal by March, which will be the 1 year anniversary of me starting my journey.

Also, I am cutting back a bit on my weight lifting. I'm still going to do it, but I'm not going to lift quite as heavily for the time being. I'll change it up again in about 6 weeks after I see my results. One of the security guards at my job is a personal trainer on the side, so we spoke at length about my routine and regimen and he suggested the same. I am a bit smaller than what I was, so obviously I'm still losing fat.

However, I have started incorporating bodyweight circuit training into my workout routine. Prisoner squats/push-ups/lunges/elevated push-ups/jumping jacks/mountain climbers. I do these in reps of 20. I try to do this part before I hop on the elliptical or treadmill. It's a great way to get my blood pumping and get some energy before I do my cardio.

I want to try and lose another 15 lbs before Thanksgiving, but trying to do that within 3 weeks may not be too realistic health-wise and on my schedule. I was REALLY bummed about not losing 100 lbs by my 28th birthday last month, but if I can lose 100 lbs by the end of the year, I'll be happy with that. It may be pretty hard with the upcoming holidays, but I'm determined!

Also, I've had about 5 or 6 people come up to me in the last month urging me to enter into our local newspaper's weight loss photo gallery. I still want to lose more weight before I make that step. I still have a pot belly for chrissakes!


I've also added a recent picture for you guys to take a look at as well. I can tell my face is less "fuller". What do you all think? If you want to see my before pictures, I bumped up my "Before and During" thread in the Before and After section.

ETA: I added a before picture that I took back in March 2009, contrast that with a photo I took a few days ago.

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I broke down and did something I did NOT want to do, and that was buying a scale. It sounds silly, but I know how I am and I'm going weigh myself everyday and get all panicked over even the most trivial of weight gains.

But let me explain why I did!

It's often suggested that one weighs themselves before they eat their first meal of the day. Since I don't usually work out until the afternoon, and my commute is a killer, I didn't have access to a scale in the mornings, and I didn't feel that weighing myself in the evenings was an accurate picture of my weight loss due to the fact that I've eaten several times in the day, as well as drinking a ton of water, so I'd think that would have an effect on what my weight is. One Saturday, I decided to go straight to the gym without eating first and that really did show a profound difference in how much I weighed.

So I hauled off to Target and bought an Analog Scale. Yes, that's what they call the old fashioned scales nowadays, LOL.

Of course my weight will fluctuate depending on the time of the day, but being the natural worrying person that I can be, I know I'm not doing myself any favors. LOL.

And while I'm slowly seeing myself getting over my plateau, my body is trying to hold on to my weight. I'm going to mix up my exercises and work on my caloric intake in order to "trick" my body, because I'm not having it! I'm not too far from losing 100 pounds, so I can almost taste it. It sort of reminds me of when I finally got below 300 pounds but during the leading up time to that, it seemed like it took forever.

I told my brother about my goal to try and lose 15 lbs before Thanksgiving and he knocked a bit of sense back into me, LOL. Maybe that may be a bit much to try and do within such a short timeframe.
 
While people have been complimenting my weight loss so far, the people talking about how "You have a big build, you think you'd look right that small?" have been truly annoying me lately.
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I feel you on this one. Just the other day, when I was modelling some size 12 pants for my parents, my mother said, "You probably won't get lower than a size 12 you know, you're just built that way in the hips."

I was all thinking, "Uh, excuse me? I was a size 6 less than two years ago!!"

Congratulations on your amazing progress so far, and on your great food choices!

:gnorsi:

~ Mav
 
I put up some more recent pictures of me as well as a picture from last year as a "compare-and-contrast". Let me know what you all think!
 
I busted through my plateau and have lost about 80 lbs since March!!! Just 20 lbs until the big 100!!!! Sorry for all the exclamation points, but can't you tell how excited I am? LOL. I took a week "off" during the Thanksgiving Holidays, though I didn't indulge as much as I used to.

Also, I have added new pics of my brother and I on my "Before and After" page.It captures us over the years and our struggles with weight. We made a vow to get healthy and have had a friendly competition over the year. Take a look!

http://weight-loss.fitness.com/before-after-between/33726-before-during-2.html#post662861
 
Hello people. Hope everyone is starting the New Year off with a bang!

It's been sort of difficult for me to get back into the groove of things. I moved from one end of town to another and that took up a lot of my time, and I also had a week off from work, so I went home to Mississippi to visit my family. I was eating all sorts of crap when I was there, but hey, it was the holidays, right? I think I gained about 5-10 lbs from being off the wagon.

Due to the move, my gym is now out of the way to get there, so I make the drive with dread and trepidation. I am making plans to change gyms when my membership is up in about a month. Anyone know anything about LA Fitness?

Anyhow, I've been back in town about a week and a half, and trying to get back on the wagon has been sort of difficult. I love the area that I moved to, it's convenient to my job and there are a ton of fantastic, cheap restaurants nearby because I live pretty close to a major university. That is a blessing and a curse. I promised myself to eat healthily with no cheat day for the week. So much for that happening. Atlanta had a snowstorm on Thursday, and I panicked and bought a ton of junk food and milk to satiate me while the storm passed by. Friday, I didn't bother to go to the gym and pretty much ate crap that day.

Saturday started off okay. I went to the gym, did 30 minutes on the elliptical, and hit the free weights hard. So far, so good. I went to Whole Foods to eat some post-workout grub, but the meal was HORRIBLE. I ate some beans that tasted like some cigarettes :cuss: Whiskey.Tango.Foxtrot?!

I was pissed, but I figured, screw it, I'm eating healthy!

Later that night, I had an overwhelming craving for egg rolls and Chinese food. I don't know how that happened, but the hunger pangs were major! I finally gave in and hit up an Asian restaurant up the street and gorged on Pad Thai and some fried spring rolls. :( Then I remembered that the playoff game was going on that night, and you know I HAD to watch ahem, America's Team beat the brakes off of the E-Girls, right? :sifone: So many beers and pretzels were enjoyed while I watched the game. Then one of my friends called me wanting to go out, so more alcoholic drinks were imbibed as well as some post-drunk fast food was partaken of.

And how was YOUR weekend?

So here we are in week #2 of the year, and I'm on a mission. I'll be damned if I gain the weight that I worked so hard to lose last year. I have another 75 lbs that I want to lose for chrissakes!

About that. I'm about 270 right now, and I've never been under 200 lbs during my adult life. Ever. I want to see what it's like, is that so hard?! LOL. I try not to tell too many people this because I get a lot of "You wouldn't look right skinny!" or the cliched "Black men don't look right that skinny!" WTH is that supposed to mean?! :rant:I'm only mentioning that because I've heard it from about 5 or 6 different people. Give me a break! I know there are cultural differences when it comes to weight and appearance, but if I want to be under 200 lbs, that's my business, right?:rant:


Okay, I'm through. I've bought the "right" groceries, and I'm planning on adhering to a schedule that will allow me to get back into the groove of things, and hopefully I can meet the goals that I made for myself! Here's to a new year! :waving:
 
Well, it seems though I've busted through my holiday pounds! I'm about where I was back in November before the Holidays, so its good to see that getting back on the wagon is beginning to pay off.

Regarding finding a new gym - Well, I have found a pretty cool gym close to my job and my house. It costs about $10 more per month, but I think it'll be worth it in many ways in terms of the gas I'll be saving. Also, I just got through paying off my car, so I figure I can afford to splurge a bit.

Also, they have more free weights rather than isolation machines, so this is a blessing in disguise because I've been trying to wean myself from depending on the isolation machines so much, so this is just the kick in the arse that I need. They have personal training available, so I'll communicate with them about my goals and what can help me in terms of achieving them.

I'm about to cancel my membership to my current gym and it sort of breaks my heart in many ways because the people there have noticed me and they are pretty nice and friendly there. I feel like I'm in a breakup with someone who doesn't really deserve it.

I may be switching over to the TNT Diet and Exercise plan and eventually work my way to the NROL plans. I'm getting sick of eating beans and I've committed "carbicide" more than I needed to. I'll keep you guys posted about that.

Just 20 more pounds, and I'll have lost 100 lbs within a year! I am so excited. Knowing me, I'll probably go through a few plateaus and setbacks, but I'm almost there.

As always, I'll keep y'all posted about everything.
 
Sorry for the lack of updates folks. It's been a weird year so far. Essentially, I've been gaining and losing the same 15 lbs for the last few months. I've been dealing with attempting to finish grad school plus I had a death in the family that threw me off quite a bit.

I'm back on the healthy eating wagon again, and hopefully, I can lose the remaining weight that I am attempting to lose. I have been incorporating more weight lifting lately as well.

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Contrast those pics from a pic I took back in 2008. I keep on forgetting just how huge I was:

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