Turning Back The Clock! The Journey to Losing Weight and Loving Life!

R

Riddle1

New member
Hi All,

This might be a long intro, but seeing as this is a journal, here goes nothing. Growing up, I always had an all or nothing attitude, which is a double edged sword. I had always been physically active. I did Tae Kwon Do from age 4 to 11. The real serious physical activity is when I started to do boxing. Yes, that's right boxing. I had seen it on TV on day and couldn't believe it. I begged my parents to let me start training, but they were very much against it. One Sunday morning, a year after first talking to my parents about boxing, there was a replay of a fight on HBO. I called my parents and siblings to come watch. It was Vitali Klitschko vs Correy Sanders and this was one bloody fight with people cheering....it was magnificent. As they showed the slow-mo highlights of the bloody fighters, I told my parents that that is exactly what I wanted. They gave in and I started at a local place. I was a little over twelve years old and I continued to train and fight till I was 16 and a half. I was and still am pretty short, just 5'3" and I fought at 106Lbs. I would normally be about 115Lbs but I was at a certain level and had to make the weight class that I chose. Eventually, I had grown out of the boxing routine and I just became a regular kid. But, I did not exercise a lot and after the first year of inactivity I had gone up to 130Lbs. Although it was a lot of wight, I didn't think much of it. Fast forward to the present, I am now 19 (turning 20 in the summer) and I weight 190Lbs. I have terrible eating habits and rarely have a set workout routine.

It is sad and difficult, but I am in this situation and enough is enough. Of course I have tried in the past, but I'm going to keep trying and this time I'm not gonna stop. I do not have a set workout program yet because the most important thing (to me, correct me if I am wrong) is to get my eating under control. For the past few months, I pretty much just eat out-side food. From fast-food to restaurants, but its a terrible habit that I have to kick. I am not looking to get back to that 106Lbs time, cause back then I was running 6 miles a day in the morning and working out for 3 hours at night. But I would like to have a healthy diet and regular physical activity. I am not looking to lose 40 pounds in two months or some crazy goal that I might not be able to obtain. What I really want to do is create a healthy lifestyle. I would like to exercise 3-4 times a week and weight about 135Lbs. All comments, questions and motivation are appreciated. I will updated frequently and especially when I get to the edge.


I have a short-term, mid-term, and long-term goal setup for now.


Short-term: -No out-side/fast food or soda for the first month

-Lose 5Lbs. by 6/10/2012 (4-weeks) Target weight = 185Lbs.

-Exercise twice a week for the first month


Mid-term: -Lose 20Lbs by 9/10/2012 Target weight = 170Lbs.


Long-term: -Be at Final Target weight by the end of Fall Quarter of 2013.



*I feel that these goals are very obtainable, they are not over done and in fact they may be too small. If I see that I can push myself harder, then I will update these goals.


***Updated Goals (5/20/2012)


Short-term: -No out-side/fast food or soda for the first month

-Lose 10Lbs. by 6/10/2012 (4-weeks) Target weight = 180Lbs.

-Exercise twice a week for the first month


Mid-term: -Lose 25Lbs by 9/10/2012 Target weight = 165Lbs.


Long-term: -Be at Final Target weight by the end of Fall Quarter of 2013.


***Updated Goals (5/27/2012)


Short-term: -No out-side/fast food or soda for the first month

-Lose 15Lbs. by 6/10/2012 (4-weeks) Target weight = 175Lbs.

-Exercise twice a week for the first month


Mid-term: -Lose 30Lbs by 9/6/2012 Target weight = 160Lbs.


Long-term: -Be at Final Target weight by the end of Fall Quarter of 2013.


***Updated Goals (7/2/2012)


Mid-term #1: -Lose 45Lbs by 9//2012 Target weight = 145Lbs.



Mid-term #2: -Lose 60Lbs by 12/30/2012 Target weight = 130Lbs.


Long-term: -Be at Final Target weight by the end of Fall Quarter of 2013.

- Have good physical health and fitness levels (above average)


Wish me luck and thank you in advance for your future support!


-Riddle
 
On one hand, the past couple days haven't been very hard, but on the other hand they have been a little challenging. My short term goals are still a go, no outside/fast-food and no soda. I had some urges, but they weren't too strong. I suspect that after the first week it will reach a fever pitch and at that time I'll have to make the right choice. I don't think it will be a problem, I really have my mind set. It is easy to lose sight of the long term goal, especially with the short term fix so readily available.

Pretty much, I've been eating about 5 meals each day. Breakfast when I wake up, and from there I eat about every 2 to 3 hours. I don't eat passed 7pm and when I wake up I have been feeling a little bit hungry. I've only exercised once this week and I plan to exercise again tomorrow evening.

So far, things feel pretty good. I will weigh myself again on Sunday and see if anything has changed. If not, no problem I will continue eating these smaller, more frequent, portions and add another workout throughout the week. One very important thing for me right now is that I am already feeling better; not so sluggish throughout the day.

I feel confident and I want to continue this. Wish me luck.

-Riddle
 
Okay, almost one week through but I already messed up. I had a can or Cherry Coke Zero last night. I'm dog sitting for my best friend's family and at night I decided to have it. I didn't feel too bad drinking it, but this is a double edged sword for me. On one hand, I know that I shouldn't have had it, I really made a big mistake. But, I'm not gonna make that dumb mistake again. On the other hand, I'm not going to dwell on it because there is no turning back. I did it, and there is no way around it. Now, I just have to make sure that I stay away from those situations and that I need to plan ahead more. I didn't exercise for the second time this week yet...But! tonight when I get home, I'll be able to. If I had planned ahead, I would have had it finished and feeling good. So, tonight is my last opportunity to get it done. Tomorrow I'm going to check my weight and hopefully a good turn out. If I lost a lot of weight (I don't feel like I have lost any) then I will increase my short and midterm goals. If I haven't lost a lot of weight, then I will reevaluate my week and see where I messed up and how I can improve. Almost one week down and I can say with confidence that I already feel better, not because I have made some amazing transformation, but because I feel good with this change. Eating good food and drinking the right things (water lol). One week almost done, three more to reach my goals.


Wish me luck,

Riddle
 
There is a very special feeling that you get when you get something that you truly desire. After one week, I managed to lose 5.6Lbs (total weight of 184.4). This is a lot of weight to lose and I do not feel 100% comfortable losing that much so quick, but the most important part is that I know I worked hard and I lost some weight. As I've written before, I've been eating about 5 small meals and I didn't eat past 7pm. It feels like I shocked my system but in a good way. As of now, I am happy because I am going in the right direction of eating smaller portions and exercising.


My long-term goal is going to stay the same, but both my short and mid-term goals are going to change. Here they are, I will also update them on my first post.


Short-term: -No out-side/fast food or soda for the first month

-Lose 10Lbs. by 6/10/2012 (4-weeks) Target weight = 180Lbs.

-Exercise twice a week for the first month


Mid-term: -Lose 25Lbs by 9/10/2012 Target weight = 165Lbs.


I think I can lose 5 more pounds by 6/10/2012. I do not think that I will lose another 5 pounds this upcoming week. If I somehow do, then I will try to lose another 5 pounds by the end of my short-term goal. But, I do not want to lose a lot of weight too quickly because I want to make sure that I am losing the weight correctly and that I don't give up on my life-style change because I cannot meet the goals. These are good reachable goals, that I cannot reach without really working on it.


This week I am going to keep my eating right and exercise too. I really need to keep my thoughts and intentions in the right place because I do not want to give up on this. If I do not cheat on any of my goals, and I try my best I will be happy if I lose 1Lbs. or 5Lbs. by the end of next week because the overall trend is a downward one, which is what I want.


Wish me luck,

Riddle
 
So, this week has been a good one. I haven't gotten in my twice a week exercise. The biggest theme this week has been cravings. I've been eating good food, small portions, 5 to 6 times a day. But, I see friends and other people eating bad foods and for a couple seconds I get the feeling to eat that stuff too. Luckily I haven't succumed to it and I don't plan on it.


One of the best things that happened to me this week happened actually in one of my classes. This class is exercise physiology and in the lab we were measuring body fat composition. All of the people are in decent shape besides me. The teacher asked for a volunteer to show how to properly use the calipers etc etc. No one was raising their hands, so I decided to do it. Standing in front of this class, I had to take my shirt off. Most people would be embarassed, not like I wasn't, but I saw it more as an opportunity to lower my ego. Since this past Sunday, I was feeling good cause I kept to my goals and everything, but maybe I was getting a little cocky. Once this happened I said to myself, "I've been doing good, but I have so much more progress to make. This time next year, I won't even look like the same person. This is gonna be a funny memory." I hope that that is all it's going to be. I'm going to weigh myself this Sunday and hopefully I have made some progress. I feel like I have, but who knows really?


Wish me luck,

Riddle
 
The official weigh-in was today, just got off the scale and I'm pretty happy with what I saw. I weighed-in at 180.8. That means that this week I lost 3.6Lbs. and overall I lost 9.2 Lbs. I knew that I wouldn't lose another five pounds, and I'm glad I didn't! I only exercised once but I was very good at keeping control of my eating despite having cravings. With this weight loss I think that I should increase my short and midterm goals by another five pounds. I will post updated goals at the end of this post as well as in the original post.


At the beginning of any diet/exercise plan, most sedentary people see a lot of improvement in a short amount of time, that is what is happening here. But, to be honest, I did not anticipate that I would be able to lose nearly 10Lbs. in two weeks. This trend should start to slow down soon and I probably will stop losing weight solely by eating correctly. I really need to utilize two days of exercise during this first month the help lose weight and get into the routine of exercising.


The reason I do not want to exercise a lot during this first month is because I wanted to focus on my eating habits. In the past I would exercise hard and restrict my eating a lot but after a few days I would find a way to not workout then I would let go of my eating etc. So my idea before making this lifestyle change was that I would learn how to eat correctly, then I would exercise and after I had lost some weight (no specific amount, just once I feel stable to do so.) I would create a specific exercise regiment that would be conducive to losing weight and increase strength. I feel that now, the exercise I am doing is good because I still look forward to the next time I exercise. I do not want to scare myself away from the hard work of the gym. Of course a couple days of this exercise program will be dedicated to the boxing gym and self-weight exercises. Other days will incorporate weights and strength training. I will start to put something together, little by little, so that by 6/10/2012 I will have something concrete to work with.


Short-term: -No out-side/fast food or soda for the first month

-Lose 15Lbs. by 6/10/2012 (4-weeks) Target weight = 175Lbs.

-Exercise twice a week for the first month


Mid-term: -Lose 30Lbs by 9/6/2012 Target weight = 160Lbs.


I have changed the mid-term goal date from 9/10/2012 to 9/6/2012 because I am going on a trip for two weeks and during the trip, I know that I won't have access to a scale, at least not that I know of. In no way shape or form do I plan to have this trip be like a break, or cheat week or anything like that. I may not be able to get a regimented workout in, but I will make sure that my eating is still good and that I do not go overboard. I won't even be surprised if I lose a pound or two. As I've said a few times, I feel like these are reachable goals, especially since I have updated after each week. If the weight was not coming off, then I would keep the goals as they were. If the weight does not come off, I will not change the goals back because I feel that the only way I can't reach them is if I cheat or if I don't do my exercise etc. I will not change my short term goal anymore, 15Lbs. in one month is enough and I do not want to rush. Hopefully by 6/10/2012 I will be 175Lbs. or less and hopefully by 9/6/2012 I will be 160Lbs. or less. I do not plan on changing my mid-term goal again, but if I somehow manage to get to 160Lbs. a few weeks before the final date I will take off a couple more pounds.


Overall, good progress and enjoyable process. Right now, I'm going to get in one day of exercise and hopefully by next weigh-in I will have lost some weight.


Wish me luck,

Riddle
 
So, it's only been two days since Sunday. I've got one day of exercise done and I'm about to finish my last meal for the day. Last night as I was leaving my parent's house my mom was helping me fold some cloths and out of nowhere I was wondering what my size measurements are. Before we finished up my mom got some tailor measuring tape and we took a look. One of the best feelings I got, the last time I lost some weight, was having to go an extra knot on my belt. The reason I actually think that this is a good idea is because there is now a quantifiable way to not only track weight, but also changes in body size. I don't plan on taking measurement every official weigh-in. I think maybe the last Sunday of each month is a good mark to go by. Here are the measurements:


Chest: 41 1/4 inches

Waist (belly button): 39 1/2 inches

Thigh (6in. above the middle of the knee cap): 21 1/4 inches

Neck: 16 inches

Arm(relaxed bicep): 14 3/4


I think it will be interesting to see the changes over the long term. The only regret that I have is that I didn't start this from the first day, but it's okay, there is still a long way to go. I will measure this again on 6/10/2012 as well as on the last Sunday of June.


Over the weekend, I've seemed to get into this focused state where I am always mindful of my goal as well as the process to achieve it. While I was boxing, it was more of a state of obsession...if I ate good or not weight was always on my mind, but this feels different. Right now, I feel like I'm on the verge of serenity and obsession. I keep my guard up against anything that can ruin this while at the same time enjoying this change. It's perfect.


Wish me luck,

Riddle
 
Ameasurements are one of the best ways to judge progress, a lot better than scales usually :)
 
Riddle, we dabble in the same competitive mind state and also our goals. I am just a tad taller than you, 5'6" and some more weight (230lbs). I want to be about where you are, but you seem very determined. Good luck on your journey and I will definitely be watching this one. I hope you do well!
 
Thanks for the luck BeastMode, just trying to do my best and make sure that this is the last time I ever try to lose this kind of weight. I went to your Journal and it is going to be very inspirational to see your changes in the upcoming months. I really like how you have long term goals etc. I am excited to see where we are going to end up. Hopefully we will see the results, feel better and continue to progress. Again, thanks a lot for the luck and the same to you. I'll be checking in with your posts!
 
I'm pretty surprised by this weeks results. I just got off the scale and I weigh 176.8Lbs. That means this week I lost 4Lbs. and that I am 1.8Lbs. away from my short term goal of 175Lbs. This week I did exercise twice and I pushed myself harder than the past couple of weeks, I think that is what made the difference. I've been sticking and enjoying all the food I eat, not once have I cheated. Yesterday night I did end up having very strong cravings for some reason but I kept reminding myself that today was the official weigh in for the week and that I've been working hard and I don't want to ruin that. I heard a saying that goes, "Don't give in for what you want at the moment, for what you want most." What I really want is to be in shape and happy, but at the moment I wanted to eat some junk food. Luckily I made it and I'm ten times happier than I would have been if I had gone and eaten something at that time.


Although losing 15Lbs. in one month is a lot, that was never my original goal. I first started by only wanting to lose five pounds, but I did that in the first week. So I decided to keep pushing and the next week I was only 0.8Lbs away from that goal. These goals have been updating according to my performance and feeling. I feel like I can definitely lose another 1.8Lbs. this upcoming week. From there, I will have about three months to lose 15 more pounds. That is my midterm goal and I will be weighing in at 160Lbs. From then on, I will be focusing more on my final goal than on a weekly or monthly basis. If I start to make mistakes and gain weight because I am falling of the tracks, that I will re-introduce a month to month goal system. But I feel that once I get to my mid-term goal I should be pretty steady in what I am doing. Now, the first few months are in a sense trial periods and I believe that I'm going in the right direction. The most important thing right now is that I'm not cheating and that the weight is in a downward trend. I have one more week till my short term goal weigh-in. It's not going to be easy, but I can do it.


Wish me luck,

Riddle
 
Thanks so much for the encouragement! =) I appreciate it a lot. Hopefully I will make my one month goal. Gonna do my best!
 
really liking your practical approach, the constant assessment to help keep your goals in focus. Well done on your weightloss. With 4 days to go to the short term, I'm curious to find out if it's a short cram/sprint to the finish or if you actually have a little time to make a dent into next month?
 
Thanks AnneMouse! I do have confidence that I'll be able to get to my short term goal, I guess were gonna find out on sunday if I managed to lose a little extra. No matter what, I'm pretty happy with this month. Don't get me wrong, I would love to get under 175, but if not, I feel like I've made good progress and that this is just the start. So with three and a half days to go, this is the final stretch.


Wish me luck!


-Riddle
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top