SOF (on Monday again)

OK I know I am late but I have a good excuse. The first is that I am a new aunt to a beautiful baby boy who was born a little before 2am on Friday morning and I was there for that so I was really tired all day Friday. Also Lil O and I have been sick all week which was not fun.  Then to top it all off I have had a very busy weekend, we ran around all day on Saturday and then Sunday was my mom’s birthday. So all of the excuses above are why I waited until today to do SOF. But I do have some Shout Outs!!! LaToya has really been on it she has lost 4 more pounds and for the first time she added some running to her walk, you go girl! Next is Ella, she has joined Brandon in his Nike Challenge and started running/ walking. On her first day she did almost 3 miles in less than an hour Congratulations Lady!  Randy has lost another 3lbs which gives him a total of 52.4lbs lost so far, keep up the fantastic work you are an inspiration. As usual I saved my best for last MH, he is down to 236lbs and might I say he looks GOOOOOD real Good! Way to go Ba! On to my part of SOF, my weigh in: I am kind of in maintenance mode but I really wanted to meet one last goal. When I set up the My Fitness Pal app it asked my goal weight and I put in 145lbs. I am happy to say that when I got on the scale Friday morning it read 145.6 which is 1.8lbs lost in the past week and 52.2lbs total. I am so happy that I met both the goal on Noom as well as the goal on My Fitness Pal before my birthday which was a really big deal to me. Speaking of my birthday it is this Thursday, November 10 and I am happy to say I will not be THICK and 30!

Maintenance

So I read this tweet the other day that was a link to an article. The article was about how more than 80 per cent of obese dieters don’t maintain their reduced weight after one year of initial weight loss. Apparently there are some types of hormonal changes that take place after you lose weight that slow down your metabolism but increase your hunger. This is like the perfect storm for weight regain. There was a study done and the participants in the study were given a maintenance diet to follow after they lost the initial desired amount of weight and most if not all of them regained at least half of their weight back within a year. The participants reported feeling hungrier after 1 year of maintenance than they did before they lost the weight. As I was reading this article I got a little discouraged because I am basically in maintenance mode right now and gaining the weight back is not an option for me. However I read another article that helped me refocus, the more recent article stated that the findings were true but that the weight regain can be prevented. I always said that this was going to be something that I did for the rest of my life. This meaning, counting calories, eating healthier, and exercising at least 4 to 5 times a week. I knew that after this weight loss I could not just go back to life as it was before. The recent article gave some tips on how to make sure you don’t regain. Some were like having a diet rich in proteins like lean meat, poultry, fish, and eggs. Plus a diet which contains low glycemic-index (GI) carbohydrates, which are foods like; beans, lentils, nuts, pasta, brown rice and sweet potatoes. Meals that contain low GI foods are believed to cause changes to hormones and metabolism that can decrease hunger and help you avoid overeating. The other tip it gave seems really simple, like a no brainer; weigh yourself regularly. The thought behind this is simply that if you weigh yourself at least once a week you can see and immediately correct any small increases in weight. You bought the scale so you might as well get your money’s worth even after you meet your goal. I am happy I came across both of these articles because I needed to have that seed planted that weight regain is possible and that I must prevent it at all cost. I know those articles helped me and I hope this post will help some of you.

SOF, 50, and 5

This is a Great day and time for Shout out Friday. Today we have a new person to add to SOF, B Stout. He has started his journey and we are very proud of him he has lost 5.5lbs so far on My Fitness Pal and has started a challenge to keep himself and some of his friends motivated. Aunt Renee has logged onto My Fitness Pal for 25 days straight, and I can tell that she is getting more fit by the amount of time she is exercising and the calories she is burning. LaToya is really committed and she is doing a great job being consistent with her exercises and staying within her caloric intake goal. I just want to take this time to say congratulations and GREAT JOB to all the Shout Outs for today, I am very proud of each and every one of you! Now for my weigh in….I got on the scale this morning and it read 147.4. This means that it is official, I have lost 50lbs total. I started off at 197.8 back in April and I did it and I am very thankful to each one of you for all of your kind words and support as well as your stories and accomplishments which have really kept me motivated. Now I have done SOF, and that was the 50, now to the 5. I am very thankful for my number one supporter, MH. He has always been there for me he even encouraged me to write this blog, and today we celebrate an important milestone in our life together. Today is our 5 year anniversary, and I am so happy and blessed that we have made it to this point and I am ready for many more years to come. I am also very happy that we both started this weight loss journey so that we could be fit and healthy for each other so that we can really enjoy this life we have together.

Revelation

The reason I decided to hold off my weigh in until today is because I always want SOF to be about positive experiences. However my news is not positive, when I woke up yesterday and got on the scale it read 152.8lbs as you know last Friday I was only 149.6. So needless to say I am not happy, but I have no one to blame but myself. I know some of it has to do with bloating but that is still a gain of 3.2lbs. I also know I have not been eating as well as I should so regardless of the bloat this was a wakeup call. I have been eating things that I know I shouldn’t eat and I think it is because I feel like I am where I want to be so it’s ok to splurge, which it is every now and then, but not every day.  Right now we are in the middle of a move and we have been eating out every day. That is killer on my waistline as well as our bottom-line. But I do know that there are healthy options for eating out and since we are going to have to wait a few more weeks until we can move into our new place I must find them NOW. I think that being at a place, weight wise that I am comfortable has made me say yes to some food choices I may have said no to before. I just want to be in the 140’s and I will be happy so then I will go into maintenance mode, where my goal is to just maintain the weight loss that I have worked so hard for over the past 6 months. I did not change my life to succeed in this journey just so that I can be right back in the same place I was a few months ago. I think that seeing that number on the scale really made it hit home to me how important it is for me not to go back to eating the way I use to. Not only so that I won’t gain the weight back but also so that I can be healthier and a good role model for Lil O. When I got up this morning I was 150.6 which is better but in a way I am grateful for the 152.8 because it knocked me back into reality.

SOF (on Monday)

The last few weeks have been crazy. I have been looking for apartments, celebrating Lil O’s birthday, helping MH get ready for his first day at his new job, and hanging with friends and family that I have not seen in a while. For those and a few other reasons I have not been blogging, I guess life is just keeping me busy. However MH went to work this morning and Lil O is still asleep so I have a few mins of down time. Now to the Shout Outs! The first is LaToya she is really staying committed. We talked last week, (she is one of the friends I have been hanging with) and I suggested that she try working out outside and she went and walked a mile around her subdivision. She said she really enjoyed it better than just being at home on the machine. Then on Friday I walked over to her house and we did Zumba, which she also enjoyed and has decided to buy. Next is Ella she has lost a total of 4lbs since last Friday, you go girl! She has been doing a detox for the past 15 days but she has stayed on it. (Even though I did not make it easy for her) Today is her first day off and we are going to go do some Zumba today! (and hopefully get something good and good for us to eat) Then we have our regular Randy, he has lost 2.8lbs in the past week for a total of 48.8lbs total lost. He is really doing a great job and I can’t wait to see him and all his progress. The last Shout out is MH he has lost 3lbs, he has also made running a permanent part of his daily routine no matter how bad the weather or mosquitoes are. Well Lil O is waking up so that is it for me today. P.S. I left my info off for a reason check out tomorrows post to find out why.

Untitled

Being around family and friends that you have not seen in a long time can be really interesting whenever you have made or are going through a big life change. No matter if you have changed your hair, your style of dress, gained or lost a companion, or in my case a little weight. People can really be positive and supportive or than can be inappropriate and a little hurtful. However the most important thing is that you feel comfortable and confident in yourself.  You will always have people that are in your corner no matter what you are doing in life. By the same token you will also always have people that will find the negative in all of your positives. All you can do is appreciate the ones that are there for you and pray for the others. You must do what is right for yourself, and your family. People get comfortable with you in the role that you have always played in their life and it can be hard for them to support you in making a change. That maybe because it threatens the relationship you have with them and they are afraid of the change in your concord.  But it can also be because they have placed themselves above you and whatever changes you are making evens out the field or shifts the balance of power in their eyes. This can be demonstrated in many ways, such as downplaying the significance of the changes you have or are making, being unsupportive, or trying to sabotage you and what you are doing. The most significant thing you can do in this situation is recognize it and make sure it does not knock you off balance where your goals are concerned. You must understand that everyone is not going to support you in everything you do, but in THIS journey it is imperative that you have a great support system. There will be days when you want to give up and give in and you need that person that will help you refocus and give you the strength to keep going on. If you need it I will gladly be a part of your support system because it has meant the world to me to have so many of you be a part of mine. THANK YOU!

Friday

This week we have a lot of shout outs. The first is my Aunt Renee she has lost 3lbs so far and she is doing very good, keep up the good work. The next is LaToya she has lost 2.5 lbs and is committed to making a change, way to go Toya. The last person for the week is doing it big, Miss Ella. She has lost 4.2lbs which gives her a total of 15.6lbs lost since she has been on My Fitness Pal, you go girl! Now as for me when I stepped on the scale this morning it read 149.6lbs. That means that I have lost 3lbs since last Friday with a total weight loss of about 48lbs. I am so happy with my progress so far. Today MH and I were trying on clothes that we have not worn in at least 8 months, because we are getting ready to move so we are taking the things we can’t fit to Good Will. Out of all the clothes we tried on MH is keeping 2 shirts and a pair of shorts. As for me I am keeping 3 dresses that I have not been able to fit since before I had Olivia. One of which I had not put on since before we got married, over 5 years ago. Now the Good Will pile is considerably bigger, 3 garbage bags full to be exact. One thing that no matter if I can fit or not I will not give away but I am excited to try on is my wedding dress. I don’t know how that will fit me because I am not sure how much I weighed when we got married. However looking back at the pictures I think I am smaller now.  MH told me that if I can fit it I better wear it at least once a week to get our money’s worth. Can’t you just see me know vacuuming in my wedding dress with the 6ft train? MEN!