The Last Weigh In

I’ve got a long way to go still, but this has been an excellent motivator to get me launched.  I am halfway to my goal weight.

Today’s weight: 151.0 

I have dropped from a size 14 to a size 10 with the goal of size 6 by June.  I will repost my “before” pic along with an “after” pic as soon as I find the cord to download pics from my camera.  (My good camera didn’t survive my London trip… I left it in the hands of fellow conference-goers when I went to the restroom and it hasn’t worked since.)

Weekly Weigh In

Without further ado:

152.6

Un-freakin-believable. It’s been a rough week with soccer practice starting and dance classes for my kids so I feel like I’ve hardly eaten at all. I’ve been living on fast food salads and granola bars for the most part.

In addition to the daily stair climbing, I’m coaching my 8-year-old’s soccer team this season, so my exercise has gone way up. For me, part of serious dieting includes getting to the point where I’m not too interested in eating anyway, so it’s really easy to refuse a bite of someone’s cookie or “clean up” the kids’ extra food. Honestly, that’s a huge source of useless calories in my past.

The boredom eating has been replaced with flavored waters and a quick flight of stairs and I’m in no danger of losing steam at this point. I’m hyped up and ready to get the remaining 20 pounds off.

March 14 Weigh In

I’m so excited, so excited, so excited!!

Today’s weight: 156.0

Measurements: 5 inches lost (waist, hips. chest)

Body Fat: Down from an initial high of 44% body fat to 35% body fat. Still in the overweight category, but just by a hair. 23%-34% is considered a healthy range and I’ll be there before this is over!

I started on January 10 (before the contest started) at 176.4… That’s 20.4 pounds lost year to date!!

I still haven’t made it to the gym ONCE even, but I’ve started taking the stairs to the roof and back every time I go to the bathroom. (With 6 bottles of water a day, that’s a lot!) I can make it to about 2.5 before I slow down. The trick: take my shoes off and leave them at the basement level. Work shoes are not so good for exercise!

It’s Weigh In Day, March 7

We are 5 weeks in to the contest!

Weight: 160.2

Measurments: No change.

I really, really have to find the time to start exercising!

Official Benchmark February 29

On this leap day, I weight in at 161.2.

I can honestly say I never thought I’d be excited to see those numbers on a scale.  For most of my life, I’ve considered 150 to be the outer limit of fat for me… I am horrified to realize just how far I’ve slid off the mark. (I remember going to the gym for a consultation in 2004 and leaving in tears because I weighed 146!)  But considering where I started on Jan 10 (176.4) I am in fact, thrilled to see the numbers going down.

7 weeks I’ve been dieting, 15.2 pounds lost. That’s 2.17 pounds a week, which is about where I’d planned.  I am one third of the way through this campaign and it’s not been so bad- getting started was the hardest thing.  I’ve got 14 weeks left to get to my goal weight of 130, putting me at June 4 as planned.

The hardest thing for me to integrate is exercise because of the time factor.  Every night this week I’ve planned to go to the gym but instead I’ve had to help catch up with homework, get soccer registration for spring done, attend school meetings and so on.  This is a no-kids weekend and I’m planning to attend a couple of classes at the gym to get rolling.

I’m thinking it’s ok that I’ve waited this long to start a serious exercise routine because my weight loss is likely to slow down as my body adjusts to my eating habits.  That’s my story, anyway!

A More Realistic Weight

Yep, it happened.  A day of drinking water and I’m back up to 162.   I considered not reporting it, but that wouldn’t exactly be fair, would it?

I’m still pretty close to last summer’s weight.  I went through my weight journal (I use an online service) and realized I’ve been fooling myself about my weight for much longer than I thought! A quick search through Flickr confirmed that… man there are some mega fat pictures of me out there.

I’m glad I’m finally doing something about it- regardless of appearance, it’s a serious health issue.

Benchmark February 25

New weight: 160

Inches lost: .5

The inches thing is sort of discouraging but I’m glad to see the weight number still going down. Yay!

I kinda suspect the number may go back up in the next few days as I readjust to my normal eating habits (alchohol tends to have a dehydrating effect!)

I actually started dieting January 10 with a starting weight of 176.4. The last time I took my weight was June 2007 and I was 161- it’s taken me 6 weeks of hard work to undo all the damage I’ve done in less than a year! I tell you, when you start to slide it doesn’t take long to pack on the pounds.

My total weight lost (for the year, not for this contest) is 16.4 pounds in 6 weeks or  about 2.75 pounds a week. I’m still on track to be bathing-suit ready by June.

Weekly Weigh In

The moment of truth:

Weight: 164.8

Inches lost: .5

It could have been worse, since I had a bad weekend and a kid’s birthday party this past week, so I’m pretty pleased. While the dramatic drop last week was really exciting, you can’t expect to lose that much on a regular basis. 2 pounds is about right.

The First Weigh-In

Last Friday: 172.2

Today: 167.2

Difference: 5 pounds

Inches lost Chest/Waist/Hip: 3.5

That’s a pretty good week, in my book! Some of it is probably just water, but I’m pleased and motivated to keep it up. While I haven’t done anything as dramatic as going down a size, the clothes I do have fit better right now.

This upcoming week: More exercise, no chocolate!

More Math and Goals

I want to reach my ideal weight (130) by June 14. That’s 19 weeks at 2 pounds a week.

In order to do that, I need a deficit of 1000 calories per day, or 7000 calories a week. That sounds like a tall order, but it’s not as bad as it seems.

My BMR (base metabolic rate) which is how many calories I burn just by being alive is about 1500. When I restrict my calorie intake to 1000 calories a day, I have an automatic deficit of 500 calories.

• Stairclimbing for 15 minutes on my lunch hour burns approximately 160 calories.
• Walking for 30 minutes at 3.5 miles an hour burns approximately 150 calories.
• Sitting at my desk working on the computer burns about 100 calories an hour, times about 6 hours… that’s 600 calories right there!

If I can get in 3 weightlifting sessions at the gym (not to mention playing in the pool with the kids afterwards) I think I’m covered to slag at least 2 pounds a week from my body.

I’m also focusing on “fidgeting” more. I figure every move I make is one more calorie I withdraw from my fat account, whether or not it shows up right away. It all adds up!

• I sing loudly in the car, tensing my stomach muscles often to help belt out the high notes.
• I stretch at my desk 3-4 times a day.
• I tense and release my leg muscles every so often.
• When there’s no one else in the halls, I swing my arms over my head to get the blood pumping.
• I carry stuff up to the kid’s rooms instead of leaving it on the stairs for them to ignore pick up when they go upstairs.
• I’m going to start using the restroom one floor up and using the stairs to reach it at work.

The picture I keep in my mind is taking a pair of size 5 jeans to the fitting room… and having be a little too loose…

(And I have a cold. One of those stuffy, bone-aching, head-spinning colds. While it does take my mind off wanting to eat anything, I’m only good for laying around and sniffling. Exercise will not be at the top of my list for a few days. :(  On a positive note, my ketostix show that I am clearly in ketosis, burning fat for fuel instead of glucose or carbs.  Yay!)