Tomorrow Starts Today

Paradigm1

Paradigm1

New member
I'm 25, single, and unemployed. I just finished a Masters degree, so on the job hunt. In the meantime I figure I've not got much on, so, let's go and burn some fat! :smash:

For as long as I can remember, I've always been overweight. When I graduated from my undergraduate degree in 2011, I weighed in at 17 stone. In the 3 years since, I've managed to get myself down to around 14 and a half stone, without being as stringent as I could be.

I have fairly low self-esteem, purely on how much I weigh. I'm bored of that. The last half stone came off in October, and whilst that's a solid amount, I honestly don't feel I've even begun to truly push myself. Went down the supermarket on Saturday, entirely re-stocked my fridge. I have an exercise bike at home, so, that's kind of handy! I'm also trying to cut down massively on the booze.

This morning I weighed in at 200.0lbs precisely. I'm 5'5.5, therefore at around 180.0lbs I should be out of the obesity zone and into the overweight category. At around 150.0lbs I should be at the top end of my normal weight range. As I am quite stocky, this is currently my end game target, when I get there maybe I will rethink. Normally I work in stone, but the figures fall at such nice numbers it would be a waste not to use them!

First priority is to stop being obese. When I last went on a weight loss binge, I went from 14.9 stone to around 13.6 stone in a month. That was in 2007ish. Ended up putting gaining on average a stone a year... oops! What this means is though, there is at no point in my life (I remember being 10 stone at some age, way back when) I can remember a time where I wasn't obese. Therefore reaching 13 stone is my immediate short term goal. I want this to be done by Christmas.

After that, if I lose a pound a week, I will be into the healthy weight range before my 26th birthday! Sounds simple huh?

I registered on this forums, and I'm creating a diary, to make myself accountable to this. I know me, and I'll slack at some point soon if I don't do this!

Tomorrows food aim:

Breakfast - Leftover egg, kale, and crab bake.
Lunch - Kale, red pepper, and tofu.
Dinner - Steak and green beans.

That works out at approximately 1,500 calories.

I will also do an hour of exercise on my bike.

LETS DO THIS! :auto:
 
Woohoo! Loving the energy and excitement from your first post! Love it :)
Good luck on your journey :)
 
Welcome! This sounds like a great time to build some healthy habits. Good luck, looking forward to hearing more updates from you!
 
Thanks for the lovely welcome team!

Had me a weigh in this morning. I was getting worried that the weight has been falling off recently, that it could be to do with low levels of glycogen rather than actual fat seeing as I've not been overly carb binging. So yesterday I changed my lunch slightly, had porridge and biscuits, washed down with orange juice to see if that had any effect... Good news everyone! Down to 14:2.5 (198.5).

Psychologically for me, breaking through the 200lbs mark is absolutely massive. I remember the first time I stepped on the scales in years, and it had '238' for pounds, one of the most gutting things I've ever experienced!

Was going to go swimming today, but I feel quite fatigued - had a good few heavy workouts recently - so I think today shall be a day of rest. Absolutely chuffed with how things are going, and the next psychological barrier of 13:13 is just around the corner!
 
Hello gang. Took a bit longer than expected updating, but here I am!

Had a bit of a personal crisis last week in terms of diet, and that reflected on the scales. Met a couple of mates at the pub, had a few ciders, had a quite calorific burger, then decided to treat my mum to a Caribbean take-away on the Friday. MISTAKE! The sodium content in that, oh crivens! Escalated back up to 14 stone 7lbs (203lbs)! Even though I knew it was only water weight, slacked a little bit on the exercise front whilst I focused on trying to get the water weight out - my diet also wasn't as healthy as I'd have liked. Also went through a crisis of confidence, I've had depression on and off for a while which escalated 10 fold after my dad died at the start of the year. Mainly been under control, but had a bit of a shaky turn, it happens though!

Eventually though it came off, and I've been hitting the pool a lot this week, overall completed 212 lengths, my arms hate me for it though! One of my closest friends told me I was inspiring her and she was getting into shape (she looks lovely, but healthy exercise, toning up can't be bad, right?) and that really motivated me. I've been lucky that the two people I'm really telling about this (both female, not sure why I always find females easier to confide in?) have been crazy supportive.

The good news though is that despite a few blips and bumps, my weigh in this morning tells me I have broken into the 13 stone margin now, measuring in at 13:13 (195lbs). Very happy with the 5lbs lost this month so far, more importantly however I'm noticing the weight-loss. There's a jumper I got a while ago when I was around 15:5 that was squeezable at best, worn it to the pool the last couple of days and it fits nicely now.

Now I've reached my target of 13:13, my new one is set to 13:6. This would be the weight that to my knowledge is the lightest I have been during my adult life.

LET'S GO!
 
Well done on the weight loss - it's amazing when you start to feel the difference, go you!!
Woops about the naughty foods - but well done in recognizing what you ate, and how you felt. You're still on the right path which is awesome :)
 
Off scale victories are great! And hearing that you're inspiring others must have made you feel so proud. Keep up all the good work, you won't always have great days but as long you start having more of them you know you're heading in the right direction.
 
Wow, incredible start to your weight loss journey! It's great when you hit milestones and drop into the next "segment" on the scales! Brilliant feeling!

What did you do your Masters in?

Also...is your title in reference to Hook? If so, I salute you :)
 
So, my dad passed away in February 2014 rather suddenly as I mentioned above. He was survived by his mum/ my Gran. She, understandably didn't take it too well, started losing her mind. Then at the end of November last year she had a bad stroke and essentially suffered a slow death until she passed in March. Understandably I think, weightloss kind of went on the backburner but I think now is the time for...

TAKE 2!

Right.

Aiming for 150 pounds. Completely redone the spare room in my house, brought me a yoga DVD (I'm so unflexable, this will be fun!), set of weights and a treadmill! Lot of variety there, so, no excuses!

I know I've put on some weight as some shorts I had that fitted me last year have inexplicably shrunk in the wash :toetap05: I'm guessing I weigh around 220 pounds at the moment, not entirely sure but I don't fancy jumping on the scales and being like fml. When I see change I will weigh myself, but until then it's not going to happen.

Belated reply to the above:
- Masters was in 'Urban Geography', sort of geography mixed with politics, sociology, philosophy and a bit of history!
- Of course it's to Hook, everyone loves Hook!

Going to take a picture everyday as well, so let's see what happens!

At a guess, 70 pounds to go.
 
Hi Paradigm & welcome back to the forum. Sorry about your losses. Hope you & your Mum are coping OK. Have you found a job? That is a good idea getting your spare room set up for exercise. I love my exercise bike & yoga is great for stretching. Good luck with your golas. Go team!!! Cheers, Cate.
 
Hi Cate, I'm working a couple of jobs at the minute, nothing well paying, but experience! Thanks for the wellwish!

Well, I decided I'd weigh myself pretty much after the last post; 220 was absolutely on the money :puke: However in the last couple of weeks (including my 26th birthday, and the obligatory takeaway) I've lost 4lbs.

If I think about that rationally, I now have 66lbs to go. If I maintain 2lbs per week lost then I'm at a healthy BMI by April 23rd. That's just around the corner!
 
Hi Paradigm, losing 4lbs in 2 weeks, including your birthday is good.
:party:Happy Birthday!!!:party:
Here's to us all being a healthy weight! xo Cate
 
So, I guess I come crawling back to this. I was debating starting a new account and a diary because pretty much everything I posted in here is the past, it's an old me, but at the same time the past is our lesson, we learn from our historic failures, trials and tribulations.

Past few years were absolutely a trying period for me, as I've mentioned about my dad and gran, I outwardly coped but at the same time internally I was a complete mess. The world was black, I felt like I had no hope, I was falling into periods of self harming and on one occasion I came very close to suicide. Of course my perceived self image I don't think helped anything, started going through quite anxious moments where I felt random strangers were looking and judging, I mentioned earlier about jobs - there were a number I applied for but didn't really bother going further because in my mind they'd look at me and laugh me out of an interview.

As you can see I had previous attempts at weight loss, but I was not doing it for the right reasons. My attempts were based around how I thought I would be best seen around others and looking to lose weight to fit in with the ideal when at the same time, I hated myself. I was in a tunnel of discontent, despair, disillusionment, disdain and a whole bunch of other dis words I don't even know. That doesn't work, after the initial spurt of motivation, I just wanted to get back into bed or drink until I didn't care. I was really actually kind of fucked up internally.

Six months ago I started a new job on a six month contract, they offered me an extension however I have rejected it for a few reasons - the main one being that it's a three hour round commute. At the end of the day I was exhausted and had no strength and to be fair, motivation to do anything. As such, the pounds have come piling back on and I started to feel worse and worse about my appearance, to the extent that I'd avoid all mirrors, wear jumpers even when it was hot, it isn't cool with me... (geddit?).

As I've said, over the last few years, I've been drowning. But something happened last month. I was happy. For the first time in God knows how line I woke up and felt happy. I felt like I had a future, I felt like there was something to live for, I didn't feel like the repugnant waste of oxygen I viewed myself as. I still have those feelings now.

Now don't get me wrong, I still have a negative self image, and I think the majority of that is caused by my obesity. I am back up to 220lbs (15stone 10lbs, 100kg), not good. However I now have a different view, this isn't me feeling unlovable and feeling an urgent panic that I need to lose weight. This is different. This is not the same as before. I am not the same as before. This time I am going to do it. I'm going to do it for me, because I want to, because I care about myself, because I have a future, because I am Paradigm.

Going back to my job (or not as it is), I need some free time. Working and commuting (every other week it's seven days due to a second job), it knackers me. When I'm home I literally have no energy to do anything. Now however I have an opportunity. Come Monday, I am a free agent. It might look bad on my CV having a limited (three months or so) time off, but I see it as an investment. I'm going to invest in myself, fulfil my own potential, take back my self-worth. Financially I have my gran's flat, split 50/50 with my mum, we got a tenant last week and well... London prices. I feel everything has come together, timing of work ending, a (minimal to be fair) regular income, my change in how I view myself. This is my moment. This is my chance. This is my opportunity and I tend to take it with both hands.

I am going to spend the next three months fighting for myself like I have never fought before. I am going to push myself harder than I thought possible. I am going to be disciplined beyond what I believed possible. This is my time, this is my moment. I deserve to have self-worth, I deserve to feel happy, I deserve to be the best possible version of myself I can be.

I will be updating this diary everyday, even if it's "damn it's raining, oh well, time to crack on". I will hold myself accountable to you, the forum readers, because I am going to be delivering you a success story. I am holding myself accountable to my best friend, I have bored her to tears with my problems, my insecurities, my shortcomings, she expects me to deliver and I am not going to be a let down. Most importantly however, I am holding myself accountable to myself. That is my pledge, my promise, my word.

I know some of you will be reading this thinking "what a load of guff, this is the largest amount of empty platitudes I have ever seen - this is the third time he's hitting this up, the other two went well". I don't blame you, I would be thinking the same thing. My message to you is just you wait and see, I am going to prove you all wrong.

Monday it begins.

(On a side note, if there is a moderator or administrator about, would it be at all possible to change the title of this diary?)
 
Hi paradigm & welcome back to the forum. I know now that I have said that to you before. This is different- totally different. You are where I was when I started out to lose weight, back in 2007. I felt really positive about losing weight & very determined. I weighed 111kg, so you already have a head start on that.
I went back & read the start of your diary after reading your new post. In this you said-
Paradigm said:
I know some of you will be reading this thinking "what a load of guff, this is the largest amount of empty platitudes I have ever seen - this is the third time he's hitting this up, the other two went well". I don't blame you, I would be thinking the same thing. My message to you is just you wait and see, I am going to prove you all wrong.
Click to expand...
I didn't think that at all. I saw someone who really meant what he said. There's no-one in this forum that will be wanting or expecting you to fail. There is a great group of people in here at the moment who will support you & encourage you along the way.
I'm excited for you!
Re: changing the title of your diary-
Scroll down to the bottom of the page to the blue bar & click on "Contact Us" & ask. Include the URL of your diary in your message. It's http://weight-loss.fitness.com/threads/bang-a-rang.63931/#post-949990
Cheers & welcome back! GO YOU!
 
Welcome (back) to the forum, Paradigm. In my short couple of months of being here, everyone has been nothing but supportive and encouraging. I think you'll find the same to be true if you stick around with us.

I know you feel like beating yourself up for not getting a good start the last couple of times, but that's all the more reason to get it right this time.

It isn't too late to change the circumstances in our lives until the day we die. Every day is an opportunity for change. I'll be rooting for you.

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I have personally found that the tiniest changes have made the biggest differences in my diet because they are sustainable and I can manage to do them every single day without giving it a second thought. Making a permanent change is so much more important than making a big change all at once.

I started with ditching soda. It was WAY easier than I ever imagined it could be. Then, I just started controlling my portion sizes. Instead of 5 pieces of pizza, I ate 4. Instead of 2 helpings of something, I just got one. If you make a tiny change and stick with it, you set yourself up for success from the beginning.

Even with these tiny changes, I've managed to lose over 30lbs in just 2 1/2 months with no sign of slowing and I've changed almost nothing about my diet beyond portion control.
 
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