This has to be it... I hope!

K

Kakes2

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Hi everyone! I am brand new to this forum but after poking around a bit and reading so many different journeys, I am excited to have a place to celebrate and vent, and also hopefully find support. I think it will be great for me to put my feelings into writing so that I can talk myself through this difficult journey.

A little bit about me... I am a 25 year old female. I am currently in graduate school seeking a masters in elementary education (looking at graduating in May 2015). I also coach high school cheerleading and waitress to pay the bills. I am very short (4'10" to be exact) and currently weigh somewhere around 180 pounds. This is the heaviest I have ever been and it would be an understatement for me to say I am very disappointed in myself.

I'm not one of those people who says "I have no idea how I got to this weight!" because I absolutely know how it happened. The majority of it was my diet, running around from school to work, work to school, grabbing anything resembling food along the way. Also a lack of physical activity has helped to pack on the pounds. I reached a certain point where I felt so bad about myself that I felt like it couldn't get worse (very wrong), and so added several more pounds.

About a year ago I was at a similar place where I was highly motivated to lose the weight. I started working out (gym and/or hot yoga almost every day) and also started eating MUCH healthier. I managed to drop about 15 pounds in a little over a month and was down to somewhere in the 155 pound area. The biggest thing I remember about that time is not only did I look much better, I also felt SO much better about myself. I had more energy and the more I lost the more motivated I became to continue to lose. The turning point was about mid-summer of last year I had to move back in with my parents. At that point, I lost all motivation and so began the climb back up to the 180s, where I am now.

Right now I am VERY motivated to make some changes. About a week ago when I finished up with school for the summer, something clicked that told me it is time. Since then, I have begun to eat better and exercise. I actually managed to lose 5 pounds! In the back of my head I know that I can do it, mostly because I have done it before. It has only been a little over a week but I already feel great about where this is headed. I know I have a long way to go but I am so ready for it to happen. I want to feel good about myself and just feel healthier. I am sick and tired of not being able to wear my favorite pieces of clothing. I am also done with covering up at the beach or pool in embarrassment of how I look and feel. I just want to feel comfortable in my own skin and be happier and healthier. I am not sure how much weight I am looking to lose, but generally for a girl my height I know I have a long way to go.

I guess I should probably add that today was my first day on the Advocare 24 day challenge. I have heard many mixed reviews about this challenge but I am willing to give it a go. If anyone has any experience with this I would love to hear it- both good and bad. I feel like I need a jumpstart to get me going and then I will be good to go from there (I hope). I would greatly appreciate any encouragement that other members are willing to provide and I will do my best to help support and motivate others as well. Here's to a happier, healthier, and (let's be honest) skinnier me!
 
Hi Kakes2 & welcome to the WLF forum. You sound very positive about what you want to do & the fact that you "feel great about where this is headed" will help. It's hard coming from a negative place & with negative thoughts, if you really want to make positive changes. It's great, that at 25 years of age, you are going to make those changes. The longer you leave it, the harder it gets. You should find great support in the forum. Try to stick with posting regularly & weighing regularly (once a week?) & don't forget to measure yourself. Some weeks, when the scales don't show a loss, the tape measure does. If you have a bad day, just put it behind you & keep moving towards your goal. There is advice everywhere & you will work out what's best for you. Keep in mind that you want this to be forever. I try to avoid processed food, fried food & soft drink (soda to you, including diet) & sweet food makes me crave more sweet food.....All the best with your journey. I'll keep an eye out for you, xo Cate.
 
Hi Cate! Thank you so much for your warm welcome. Yes, I am very motivated at this point but it will be interesting to see if/when that motivation goes away. I am optimistic but also trying to be realistic that this process isn't going to be easy.

I think a lot of my problems stem from binge eating. I would often go all day without eating and then eat a huge and unhealthy meal later on in the day because I was starving. I recognize that as a huge problem and I have been doing much better with that in the past few weeks. As far as processed foods go, I find it hard to really figure out what I can and can't eat- all the information people put out there about don't eat this and don't eat that, it is all very confusing! I know I am safe with lean meats, fruits and veggies, but the hard part is anytime I want to eat something else while still trying to be healthy. The other aspect is portion sizes, which is definitely its own beast.

Anyway, thanks again for the warm welcome. Looking forward to getting some good advice and motivation from the folks around here. Everyone seems so nice and encouraging!
 
I suppose I should write my first "diary" type entry. Sadly, I feel very unmotivated today. Spent a few hours at the beach this morning, which was wonderful. However, I must have woken up on the wrong side of the bed this morning or something. I just cannot get away from the grumpiness. As far as my food intake today, I actually managed to do pretty well. Had a fiber drink and fruit for breakfast, grapes for a snack, chicken breast and celery for lunch, a gluten free chocolate chip cookie (how did that sneak in there?!) and for dinner... a banana and cucumbers. I just don't have the energy to make anything for dinner. I did not make it to the gym today, but I am trying not to beat myself up for it. While I was at the beach, I kinda realized that the gym wasn't in the cards today so I made sure to take a little walk down the beach and I also made quite a few trips from our spot to the water and back, purposely to get some exercise in somehow.

As I reflect on my day, I know I ate fairly well (with the exception of that damn cookie!) but there are a few things that stand out to me here. First, I only had one cookie... truly a miracle. When I am around people, I have good self control, but by myself I would have eaten several cookies and not batted an eyelash. I think today it wasn't so much as being around other people as it was that I didn't feel compelled to eat more than one. t was really content after eating just one and felt satisfied. The second thing that stands out is my choices for dinner. I am sluggish tonight and said above that I have no energy to cook tonight. Before I decided to make these changes (a few weeks ago), I would have stuffed my face with something VERY unhealthy such as fast food, a frozen pizza, etc. Tonight I did take the easy way out, but still was able to make choices that I won't regret in the morning.

Hoping that tomorrow I can wake up on the HAPPY side of the bed and get back to being positive and motivated. I have seen a solid 4 pounds come off since last Sunday so that is something I am very happy with. I am off to a good start and have a ways to go, but I can do it! Looking forward to step class tomorrow morning, too!
 
Well, my take on this post is "well done on stopping at only one cookie!" Not every day is going to see you with a sunny disposition & getting through those days without "comfort" eating & then the accompanying regrets is a big step forward. You can do it. Good days are so much easier, but getting through a bad day, without regrets, deserves a pat on the back. Well done! Cheers, xo Cate
 
Hi and welcome! Nice folks here who will prop you up when you need it. I am an educator myself. Just finished my 25th year. You must be fearless to be a cheer sponsor lol...as a school administrator I fear the unrestrained cheerleader mom haha. Anyway welcome and I look forward to seeing your progress posts.
 
Hey Kakes, Welcome to WLF. Glad you can join us.

So what your saying is that you ate ONE cookie.

Just wanted to make sure that is what you said... lol sorry I just had to say it.

Don't worry we all have are weakness. It just how we handle overcoming them that is important. Just stay focused.

Well good luck in your weight loss. I'll be stopping by and checking in on you when I can. I wish you all the best..
 
Thank you to everyone for the support. I know it sounds kind of silly about the cookie but it really was driving me a little crazy. I just really want to be healthier and at times it seems like that one cookie could open up the floodgates if I'm not careful. Yes, I know that sounds a little out there.

So far today I had a really difficult time waking up this morning. I think if I could have, I would have spent the better part of the day in bed. However, I got myself up and went to step class. The class is really fun and I am so glad I went. On a scale of 1 to 10, one being happy and 10 being grumpy, I was about an 8 before class and a 7 after class haha. So I guess it helped a bit. I have a lot of "new" stuff happening later on this week so I think it is the anticipation of all that stuff that is making me feel out of whack. Aside from that, I just dropped my car off to be fixed (random-debris-on-the-highway type of damage). I am TRYING (key word here) to embrace it and maybe walk to the gym for the next few days (about a mile away from my house). We shall see how that goes.

Again, thanks to everyone for the support!
 
Thanks GreyGhostHunter!

Happy to report that today turned out to be much better than anticipated. Was able to eat fairly healthy- banana for breakfast, shrimp for lunch, and a small steak and green beans for dinner. I also not only went to the gym once today... I went twice! Who am I?! This morning I did a step class and then tonight I had nothing else to do so I went back and did 20 minutes of rowing, a quick mile (ran half, walked half) and a few minutes of free weights. That leads me to my question...

Does anyone have any good ideas on how to turn a non-runner, such as myself, into someone who can at least tolerate it? Basically tonight I ran a quarter mile, walked a quarter, ran a quarter, walked a quarter. I think that is absolutely where I am currently at in terms of how much I can run. I have always hated running but I really want to be able to run a few miles at a time eventually. So, what do you think is the best way to go about it? I have heard people say walk a minute, run a minute, switching back and forth and then slowly increasing to walk a minute then run two minutes, etc. Has anyone had any success with this? Pretty much open to any suggestions! Thanks!
 
Hi Kakes!

I also always wanted to run. It burns a lot of calories and is something that I can get up and do before work in my own neighborhood.

Pretty much what I did was run as far as I could and then when I felt like I was going to die :) I would walk. As soon as I had caught my breath I started running again and then repeated the cycle.

Eventually I would set a goal like run for at least half a mile at a time. Then one full mile. I have been running probably at least 5 times a week since 2008 and can run for 45- 50 minutes at a pretty good pace. After a run I usually do some toning abs, arms etc.

That is what worked for me. Good luck! :)
 
I got the perfect plan for you Kakes to learn how to run..
C25K - Couch to 5K
I used it when I started back into running after years of not running when I got out of the Army. I loved it. Check it out, and as a plus.... it freee download to your mp3 or iphone/pad.
 
Thank you Jade. Yesterday I tried the "run until I think I'm gonna die" technique and that never seems like it works for me. I feel that I need some sort of time or distance marker to keep in mind while I'm running so I can hold myself accountable. Today I did another mile, run a quarter, walk a quarter, etc. and it was actually easier than yesterday. I will try what you said in the second part (run at least a half mile, etc.) once I get comfortable with the two quarter miles running with a walking quarter in between.

GreyGhost- I actually had tried the couch to 5K before and I did like it. I can't remember...can it be used while on a treadmill? I assume so because it is more about the timing (intervals), right? Thanks for the suggestion!

As a side note, I weighed myself today and I am currently 177.6 lbs. That is down ALMOST 6 pounds from 183.3 lbs, which I was a little over a week ago. Yesterday I was a steady 179.1 lbs all day (which I thought was a little odd that it was so consistent) but I will take it. I was shocked when I saw the scale this morning. Anyway, I am ecstatic! It really goes to show that eating healthy and exercising works. Who knew? I know that the numbers on the scale can fluctuate a lot during a day or even over the course of a few days but it seems that there is a trend here... the numbers are going down!
 
I've just started the couch to 5k and it's working well for me so far. Being a complete non-runner a year ago (after about 15 seconds I'd be panting on the floor) my stamina has increased quite surprisingly just from working out at home. I started c25k last week and have been completely fine with the run a minute, walk a minute and half. This week it increased to run 1 and half minutes and I'm still good with that and getting faster at running too.

The app could definitely be used on a treadmill. It gives you cues through your earphones when to run and when to walk based on time intervals rather than distance and it just cuts in and out of your music. The only thing is that it would show you as not moving on the map when it shows your data at the end but that doesn't affect anything, just shows where you've been. Before you start each session it also tells you what it will be (eg. run for 1 minute, walk for 1 and half minutes, repeat for a total of 20 minutes) so I like to work out how many repetitions that will be so that I can keep track of how far in I am. It does tell you when you're half way but I like thinking "oooh, only another 2 round of running to go!"
 
Well done on the 6lbs down kakes :D I have heard only good things about the couch 25K app & it sounds like it's a good way to slowly build yourself up to straight running. Cheers, Cate.
 
Happy to report that I tried out the couch 2 5K app this morning and it was great! After skipping out on the gym yesterday I needed to get moving today so I downloaded the app and got myself outside. I have a route that I like to go which is about 2 miles, so a pretty good workout for a non runner such as myself. I will definitely be using the app again so thanks for the suggestion everyone!

Like I said, yesterday was a rough day and I didn't make it to the gym or outside at all. I knew going into this week that the latter part of this week was going to be stressful in terms of having some new things going on so I wasn't surprised. I actually wasn't able to eat much yesterday either, due to being stressed but today I am back at it. I also managed to get the scale to read 177.6, down exactly 6 pounds since June 1 :)

Hope everyone else is having a great week!
 
I kind of fell off the wagon over the weekend and didn't make it to the gym because I started back to work on Friday. However, I am a waitress during the summer while grad school is out so I was on my feet for at least 6 hours a day, circling around the restaurant, carrying heavy trays, etc. That counts as exercise, right? ;) Anyway, this morning I totally forgot about my step class that is at 1030 and when I finally remembered at about noon, I was really mad that I missed it. Luckily I made it to the gym instead!

Biggest accomplishment I've had so far with my exercising is that today I was able to run half a mile straight! That may not seem like a lot to most people but for me that is a BIG deal. It has been over a year since I really tried to even run more than a quarter mile so I am very happy. I started by running a quarter then was feeling surprisingly good so I decided to run another quarter. Then I walked a quarter, then ran another half mile! I am so pleased with that. Then of course I barely lasted 10 minutes on the stair master haha.

In terms of the scale, yesterday it was reading 175.1, which is down a little more than 8 lbs. But today it is back up to 177.1. Not really too concerned with it as I know the numbers fluctuate a bit. However, I really am looking forward to getting closer to 170!
 
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