4/25 Weigh In Week 34

Loss for the week: 0 lbs.

Starting weight: 208.4 lbs
Current weight:152.2lbs.
Total loss to date: 56.2 lbs.

Well it was Easter weekend and since I was feeling so great about my size 6 body I let myself enjoy some goodies. I'm not sure that was the whole reason I didn't lose anything. I was checking my weight and still on Sat.(before any splurging) I was only down 1 lb. I think my body is slowing to a plateau. I think I've reached that point where I have a few pounds to go and I'm really going to have to work for them(as if I haven't been working my butt off this whole time anyway)! I feel like such a broken record saying this but I really hope to get outside as much as I can for walks to add in more exercise. It's not that I haven't tried, it's just that we've been dealt a really crappy spring filled with snow, sleet, rain and cold temps. I might try to get out today for one though. I did my 45 min. cycle class and then ran about 3.5 miles. Since the kids are going down for a nap and I haven't showered yet I may get some more time on the elliptical as well. I'm not too down about my lack of a loss this past week. I am still on a high from my clothes shopping trip the other day. I got a few really cute tops to go with my "new to me" jeans. It was so exciting being able to try on size 6s, smalls and even a few extra smalls. What a change from these last 5 years where it's been mostly extra larges and larges! It's great to see all my hard work and determination paying off. I will keep chugging along! I've gotta start seeing some big numbers again if I want to make my goal. I wanted to be at 140 by the end of May so I have 5 weeks left to lose 12.2 lbs. Come on body, get on board again!

Size 6!

Just had to post about my exciting news! I got a pair of size 6 jeans from my friend and hoped that someday I would fit into them and I just tried them on tonight and they fit and look really good!!!! Can't wait to wear them out in public!!! YAY!!!

Ready to Get Back in the Game

I'm feeling back to myself and actually getting my hunger for food back. Tomorrow I will get back into my normal exercise and diet routine and we'll see how the rest of this week goes. I'm so glad that I'm done with that nasty bug. Even though the scale showed more of a loss this morning, I'd much rather take diet and exercise any day over spending my days and nights in the bathroom-NOT FUN! I hope these last 3 days of no exercise don't make it too hard to get back into it. Trying to look on the positive side of things, I was hoping for a bit of a break from all the dieting and I guess I got that from about Sunday afternoon until Tues. afternoon. I didn't have much of an appetite at all so I wasn't even thinking about food. That was a needed break from feeling so consumed by all my calorie counting. I'm feeling refreshed and ready to attack those last few pounds!

4/18 Weigh In Week 33

Loss for the week: 1.4 lbs.

Starting weight: 208.4 lbs
Current weight:152.2lbs.
Total loss to date: 56.2 lbs.

I'll take what I can get this week. I had been watching the scale everyday last week and it wasn't budging from 153.6 until Sat. when it showed a .8 gain! I was getting frustrated to say the least. It was really hard maintaining the 1200 daily calories. I also had a few events that I wanted to save some calories for so that meant stealing from other days to save them up and putting in a few extra workouts to buy some more calories. After seeing that .8 gain I just cracked under the pressure. That night I ate how I wanted. I have a medium fries from McDs and a few other sweets(Nutty bars, Snickers eggs, etc). Then Sunday was busy and I just had a bowl of cereal for breakfast and a few slices of pizza at Pizza Hut. Then this nasty bug hit me. My tummy wasn't feeling all that great and I started getting body aches. I went to bed at 4 in the afternoon and had chills. I also started getting those nasty burps(they kinda taste like sulfer or rotten eggs) and I knew I was really sick. All of last night was spent waking up to go to the bathroom. It was not pretty! I'm guessing that is what I have to thank for this 1.6 lb. loss. After I'm feeling better I'll be returning to my 1 1/2 hrs. of daily exercise and upping my calories to 1500. 1200 was just way to hard to maintain without totally wanting to lose it. I was really expecting to see no loss at all today because I think my body was hitting a plateau. Maybe I was pushing it too hard with the 2 hrs. and 1200 calories. Hopefully returning to 1 1/2 hrs. and 1500 calories will let my body relax a little and let go of more of the fat. I'm getting so close and it's great to see how my body has transformed.

Gloomy Day

I think the weather must be getting to me(it's been a cold, rainy spring so far). I'm having one of those roller coaster days. Most of the time I feel like I'm on the downward spiral, ugh! I'm working so hard and I've been stepping on the scale every day and it is refusing to budge. Still at 153.6! Usually I will see the numbers move around a little bit each day up until official weigh in day. I've got a feeling I will see a low number next week which feels like such a low blow! I googled what to do when you hit a plateau and it's strange that I'm already doing all those things. I lowered my calorie intake this week and I had upped my exercise time last week. I feel like I'm doing all I possibly can and my body is just not cooperating. I know I will do it but I just feel like venting {whining} right now. I do hope my body is just playing a joke on me and come Monday I will see a big number again. Either way, I will still press on but it will be much harder on me mentally if I see only a 1 pound loss or something. Just goes to show that you can do everything "right" and it still doesn't always go as according to plan. I've got willpower and time on my side though and my body can't keep holding those pounds hostage forever.

Pictures

So someone asked for some recent pictures. Well, here you go:
This first one is my before picture. I never actually got around to taking a decent before picture so this is the day I left the hospital after having my 4th baby. Ugh, I look so bloated! I'm actually a little heavier here at about 220 lbs. since those first 13 lbs. came off without me having to do any work.

Here I am today at 153 lbs. (I had to take these myself so they aren't the greatest but you get the idea)


Wow, 67 lbs. makes quite a difference! Can't wait to get those last few pesky pounds off which are mostly in the tummy area(and yes I did suck in for the picture :P )

4/11 Weigh In Week 32

Loss for the week: 3.8 lbs.

Starting weight: 208.4 lbs
Current weight:153.6lbs.
Total loss to date: 54.8 lbs.

It'll have to do, LOL. I was hoping for maybe a teeny bit more than that since I upped my workouts by 30 minutes a day. I'll keep up the 2 hrs. every day and maybe sneak in a few walks every day as extra. I'm also going to cut down to 1200 calories for this week just to keep my body guessing a little. I'll go back to 1400 calories next week but just wanted to try something different this week. If I can keep up this rate of loss then I should be able to reach my original goal of 140 in about 4 weeks. After that I was thinking that I'd slow things down a bit and up my calories to 1850 but still maintain my exercise and hope to lose those last 5 lbs. in the few weeks to follow (that plan is always subject to change). I'm definitely ready to be done and I just want to sprint it out till the end. I feel like I'd love to dedicate 3, 4, or 5 hours to exercise every day just to get these last 13 pounds (or 18) off as quickly as possible. Unfortunately I have 4 little ones to take care of so that just isn't possible but I will try to sneak in as much as I can. I'm almost there and I know I can do it!

Finally!

Yesterday my husband weighed himself and I weighed myself and.......I weigh less than him!!!! Finally! It feels good to weigh less than my husband as it should be. It's a weigh loss milestone I'm happy to have accomplished.
This week I'm really trying to put it into high gear in an effort to get to my goal faster. I'm working out for atleast 2 hrs. every day(sometimes even more if I can get out for walks). If at the end of this week, I see big results I might just make this a new habit for the duration of the weight loss. Also as I approach my goal, I am reconsidering the number I've set for myself. I recently starting getting caught up in the numbers of it all and getting greedy. What if I could lose more, could I get down to 125?!? I looked more into what would be a reasonable number for me to get down to. I have a scale that gives me my body fat percentage(but there is also found a handy link that gave me just about the same number for those of you without a special scale) and based on how much I have now I'm able to find out what I could get down to and still maintain a healthy body fat percentage. If I got down to 125(like I was dreaming about) I would only be at about 12% body fat which is WAY too low(10-12% is essential fat) so there is no way I could/should ever get down to that weight-just unhealthy for me. I could however manage to get down to 135 and still be at 18% (14-20% is the range for athletes and since I'm training for a triathlon it seems fitting). I will play things by ear on how hard it is to get down to my original goal of 140. If I feel like I could keep going for another 5 lbs. I will. Otherwise I may take a needed break and in a few weeks pick back up again and try for those last 5. It was so helpful for me to do that research to know what would be good for my body type. It's so easy to get caught up in the numbers of it all and to start setting unreasonable goals.

4/4 Weigh In Week 31

Loss for the week: 1.6 lbs.

Starting weight: 208.4 lbs
Current weight:157.4lbs.
Total loss to date: 51 lbs.

Not too bad. There were a few days where I cheated with the diet but no worries. I didn't feel too guilty about it. I still got in all my normal exercise every day. Today was the first time in years that I got outside to run. It felt great. I ended up doing a little shy of 6 miles after my cycle class. I'm also looking forward to it warming up a little and getting out for some bike rides. I just had clipless pedals put on my bike so now I'm ready to go(hopefully I don't fall too much). Spring sure is taking it's sweet time arriving. I love going for walks and it's something we can all do as a family. As soon as it warms up enough, you'll be seeing me all around town pushing the triple stroller and holding the baby in the backpack carrier(in addition to my other workouts!).