Lose 75 pounds

Lost track of 43things for a long while (almost a year now!) and now that summer’s come again… time to get back on track with the things I want to do!

I lost about 10 more pounds in between the last entry and this, bringing my low weight down to an amazing 140. I was feeling pretty good about it and looking forward to breaking into the 130s… and then it all went to hell.

Back to about 150 now. Starting my exercise and good eating regimen tomorrow. Hoping to get down to 130 by the end of this summer, but more than weight loss I’m looking for tone and fitness. If I weigh more than that but can run a 7 minute mile and fit into size 4 jeans, I’ll consider it a success.

Here’s to whole grain rice and lean protein!

Last I wrote about this was in late September, when I lost a bunch of weight rather quickly because I had a physically demanding job. I have since quit said job (more than because I hated it: I actually got a better job, more suited to my interests and goals, that paid more), something I was worried was going to jeopardize my progress.

Nope.

My new low weigh-in is 152 pounds. I am pretty sure that I’m stuck here until I decide to do something differently, as I want: go running, exercise regularly, play soccer, something along those lines. But I feel fantastic, mentally, because I am so close to my goal.

Physically, I feel different. I can see the difference in how I look now versus how I looked 58 pounds ago (oh my goodness, I’ve never calculated that number before, and it makes me feel sooo much better about what I’ve accomplished to see it that way!), but I feel /fatter/, if that makes any sense. My perception of how I look if I don’t actually see myself makes me seem as if I do weigh 200 pounds, though I never felt that I did when I did. It’s very bizarre and disarming.

I think it’s because I can see my hip bones and my ribs a little now. It highlights how much stuff there is left to lose before I get that body I’ve always wanted, the one with the flat stomach and the firm legs and such. Oh well. The finish line is in sight and I couldn’t be happier, even if the holidays are probably going to set me back a month or so.

I’m working in a job I hate (as a courtesy clerk at a grocery store), but the one great thing about it is that it’s a very physical job. For one to three hours in my eight hour shift, I manhandle the shopping carts in the parking lot. Occasionally I am sent on one to two hours of sweeping and mopping around the store. The entire rest of my shift is spent bagging and lifting things for customers. It’s great!

My new weekly low weigh-in is 162. That’s AWESOME. That means I’m about 27 pounds away from my goal weight, which I now think might be a little out of range for me. I do still obviously have weight to lose - my thighs, stomach, arms and butt are all heavier than they need to be - but I’m not sure whether it’ll be 30 pounds worth. I think I’m built a little wider and longer than the average person.

On the plus side, I do look much better and I have felt much better. I’ve been receiving compliments, too. Plus today I went clothes shopping and, for the first time in a while, I was not traumatized by the experience. I found I’ve lost 2 pant sizes since I started out! I was a 14 at my top weight, and now I’m a 10. I’m hoping to get down to a 6, but we’ll see whether that happens or not.

For now? I’m ecstatic. Now I still want to integrate that running and pilates thing…

I have reached a plateau, I think, where I’ll have to change what I’m doing. Since what I’m doing happens to be nothing other than cutting junk food out of my diet (well, mostly) and walking more (simple things: taking the stairs instead of the elevator, parking at the back end of the grocery store lot, and so on), this is the part where I actually have to start exercizing.

I am looking at starting pilates (machine method) at the local studio here. I want very much to start a running program - I know the summer I spent run/walking 2 miles a day, 4 days a week, for eight weeks was the most fit I’ve ever been - but there don’t seem to be any safe places to do that around here.

I’m reaching the point where I’m kind of afraid. One of my distant fears about losing weight has to do with my breast size (I know, I know—it’s vain of me). My family has a history of non-bustiness, and I KNOW that if I get down to my goal weight I’ll be very lucky if I fill an A cup properly. Despite the fact that I know my boyfriend doesn’t care and it is nothing compared to fitness, this bothers me.

I guess I’ll also be working on chest wall exercizes in an effort to maintan at least a LITTLE of what I have. :P

If that’s the most of my worries, I think I’m doing pretty well, anyway. It’s amazing how much I can’t stand most junk food. I get chocolate cravings every once in a while, and I still drink soda, but the thought of McDonald’s disgusts me and I choose to eat fruits almost as much as I do some of my other favorite foods (like cheese and bread).

I look pretty good now. One of my favorite features is that I actually have a waist, and since I’ve gone down to about 167 or so (+/- 2 pounds) it’s become more defined. It’s only going to get better from here. I’m excited.

30 pounds to go!

It was a year ago today that I put this goal on my list. Sadly, I didn’t actively pursue completion of this goal. However, I have changed a few small habits, and so now I get to report what’s happened, with no real special effort, in the weight department:

Starting Weight: 210
Current Weight: 170

So woo, I managed to lose about 40 pounds over the past year! I really don’t feel that much different than I did a year ago, I think, but I’m willing to bet I probably look a bit better. I’m about 35 pounds from my goal, and all I need to do is commit myself to the running program I want to do.

I can do this. Yay!

Well, I lost interest in my exercise program, and got an extremely busy schedule between my two jobs and 18 semester units at school. I’m not eating terribly well - I go out to fast food quite frequently, mostly because it’s convenient but also because I get cravings for terrible things like hamburgers once in a while - and yet I still insist on checking my weight on the scale.

Imagine my surprise when I realize my weight. 182. WOW! I went from 210 to 182 in a relatively short period of time by simply… moving. I didn’t change any eating habits, I didn’t add in any exercise, I just got a job that requires me to be on a sales floor and get a schedule that doesn’t allow me to boredly snack.

Needless to say, I am confident that once I can fit regular exercise in my schedule again, I’ll be doing great. Still 50 pounds to go, but progress is being made!

Hmm. It’s been 17 weeks, and I’ve only lost 10 pounds. 10 pounds is great, but in 17 weeks? Hoo boy.

I need to alter my diet more. I’ve been running (and only 2 days a week—need to fix that one, too), but apparently it’s not enough. I really, really need to fix my diet, though.

It’s frustrating because it isn’t as if I eat anything terrible. I don’t eat hamburgers, I don’t eat french fries, I don’t eat fast food much, and I eat turkey sandwiches for lunch. For dinner I have rice or pasta, and… sigh. I don’t know what to do at this point. I guess just more of what I’ve already been doing.

• Current weight: 210
• Goal weight: 135
• How?: Diet and exercise, of course!
  * Diet: less bread, more water, less soda, more fruit
  * Exercise: walking, running, karate, pilates or yoga

Time to get going. I’ve been meaning to do this for a couple of years now, and though I got within 20 pounds at one point, I felt then it was an insurmountable goal. Little did I know…

No regrets. Time to move forward.