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!

What worked for me

I have lost about 47lbs and when people see me that have not seen me in the last 6 months they always ask me what I did to lose the weight. Honestly here is what I did: 1) I decided that I wanted to lose weight so I set a goal. 2) I started walking 3 times a week. 3) I tried a quick fix that didn’t work for me (HCG) 4) I didn’t give up. 5) I got Noom on my phone and really started working out like I meant it, walking at a good pace for at least an hour a day. Now many people have a problem with this because they say they don’t have time to exercise for an hour a day 5 days a week. Ok then I guess you don’t have time to lose weight the way I did, so ask someone else. Everyone does not lose weight the same way and everyone cannot do what I did and get the results I got. 6) I cut out all fried foods, burgers, and sodas. I eventually let the burgers back in, on rare occasions. But I still don’t eat fried foods, well except the out of the ordinary French fries with my occasional burger. 7) I yielded not into temptation.  Now I don’t live alone so there were times that I was around foods that I use to enjoy but because I am on this journey I have chose to forgo. My temptation often comes when MH and I go out to eat and he can have this huge meal with fried this and Bar-B-Q that, and I am sitting across from him with my salad or my grilled chicken. However I have had people tell me that they get tempted by the cookies, chips, and other junk foods they have at home. My question to them is why are they in your home. To which they often reply well I have kids and I just can’t take those types of snacks from them just because I am trying to lose weight. To which my verbal response is OH! But what I want to say is why are you feeding your kids something on a regular basis that you know is not helping them; do you want them to be in the same place you are when they are your age? There are healthier options out there as far as chips and cookies so you could buy those once a month and when they are gone that is it for the junk food for that month. What you should be doing is pushing fruits and veggies make them readily available so that when they are ready for a snack the fruits and veggies are the easiest choice. Trust me it will help you out as well. 8) I got my fitness pal on my phone and got on, and stuck to, a strict 1200 calorie a day diet. So the only time I eat more than 1200 calories a day is when I exercise so I replace however many calories I burned working out. 9) The only food related thing I did on a regular basis was to eat a ½ package of flavored tuna on top of some raw spinach as a salad either for lunch or dinner. No dressing just tuna and spinach.  The reason I did this is because it is a filling meal that is only about 120 calories so if I wanted a big lunch or dinner I never had to worry about going over my calories. Again when I tell people this they feel that they would have a problem doing it but as I said before, if you feel you can’t do something I did to help me lose weight than you can’t lose weight the way I did. 10)When the exercises I was doing got easy I pushed myself to do more challenging workouts. I always want to be sweating and panting when I get done with a work out. Now like I have said a few times in this post if you feel you can’t do something I did than you can’t lose weight MY way. Now that is not a dig or a smart remark it just means you need to find what works for you. Maybe a little bit of what I did and a little bit of what someone else did will be the perfect combination for you. With that being said if you are constantly finding excuses why you can’t lose than maybe you are not ready. I say that because when you are ready, you’ll do it.

SOF (Shout Out Friday) is back!

Hay! It is Shout Out Friday and I have a few people I need to Shout Out. The first today is new to SOF, she is my Aunt Renee. She saw me and asked what I was doing so I told her about My Fitness Pal. That was about a month ago and she has been on ever since. I am so proud of her and her determination; I know that she will reach her goal. Keep up the good work! Next is Randy, he is a regular to SOF and he has lost 2.5lbs which brings him to 43.5 total pounds lost. Whenever I get the update on My Fitness Pal about how many calories he has burned it makes me want to go back outside and do something else, way to go dude. The last is MH, he has been doing such a great job. He started at about 280lbs and his goal was to be in the 230s. This week he realized that goal and got to 239, he is doing wonderful. I am overjoyed with all the progress he has made. Now as for me I am no longer stalled, I am in drive and I plan to do my best to keep going forward. When I got on the scale this morning it said…….152.2! I was just so happy that I was back to losing and that I was no longer stuck between 156 and 155. So that means that I have lost 3.4 lbs since last Friday which brings my total lost to 45lbs. Way to go me!

Disappointment

It has been a looonnnngggg time since I have blogged and honestly it is because I have been stuck. As you may have noticed I have not been able to break through to the low 150’s. For the past 3 weeks I have been about the same weight. This Friday was the first time since I started to blog that I have just completely omitted Shout Out Friday.  However my weight on Friday was 155.6. So needless to say I have been very disappointed in myself as well as my recent progress or lack thereof. The past week has brought about a few changes as well that have kept me busy, but normally I would have made the time to blog. After getting a nudge via twitter from Ella last night I decided that is was time for me to get back on it and blog. The best part about it is that when I got up this morning I got on the scale and it read 154.2lbs. I was sooooo happy to get down past 155; the scale might as well have read 130. Also I went to see my sister for her birthday Sunday and she had some clothes that she couldn’t fit anymore so she gave them to me. In the lot was a pair of size 8 dress pants, I took them hoping to get in them by November or December. However when I got home and tried on all the clothes I found out that I could fit them J WoooHoo! Now don’t get me wrong I am not saying that I am in a size 8. I am just saying I could fit those size 8s, I am comfortably fitting in my 10s for right now. Another reason I wanted to go ahead and get to 154 was because when I first started Noom back in May I was 184lbs and my goal weight was 154.5lbs. I was so excited when I realized 3 weeks ago that I was less than 2lbs from my goal. The excitement started to fade however when I got stuck and then even more when I went back up to 156 from 155. I am happy to say however that my excitement is renewed now that I have reached my goal. Also I am even happier because my goal on My Fitness Pal is 145lbs and I am less than 10lbs from reaching that one. I have learned from my mistakes so I will not be putting a time frame on when I would like to meet that goal but I am determined to make sure that I do. It is amazing to me when I think back to the person I was when I set these goals and I can’t say that I actually knew that it was possible then. But having met one and being less then 10lbs away from meeting the other I now know that anything is possible.