The Story...

Everyone has a story, so here is mine!

As I have mentioned previously I have struggled with my weight the better half of my life. I have never been a "skinny" person and I couldn't even tell you a time that I felt comfortable in my own skin (although I am getting closer to that each day).

I recently found a High school physical form for the 9th grade that had my weight at 170lbs. I remember High School and College years pretty much at this same weight. It wasn't until I started having children that the weight seemed to stick to me and increase.

I remember having my first son (in 1999) and only gaining 15lbs. during my entire pregnancy and losing all the weight within a week of having him. But, that weight (and then some) was gained back. Then I had my second child (in 2002) and again only gained 15lbs. but that 15 stuck and has been sticking, lol. In 2004 we welcomed our 3rd child. I gained 20lbs. with her and again the weight didn't come off (not that I really tried either though).

Let me be clear, I have never really done anything to try to lose weight. I am not a person that has tried every diet under the sun by any means. I recently found a picture of me in 2005 (my first real attempt to lose weight) I have read you are suppose to take a before picture so you have something to look back and compare to. In 2005, I weighed 229. My first attempt at losing weight failed miserably within the first week. Looking back now, I am pretty sure it was because I didn't want to put forth the effort. I blamed it on having 3 kids and being too busy.

In 2007 we welcomed our 4th child. I gained 30lbs. with him and didn't lose any of it (surprise, surprise). I always told myself when I was done having children THAT is when I would really concentrate on losing weight. I kind of felt like it was a waste to lose weight knowing I would just gain it back when I got pregnant again. (see how my warped brain worked, lol).

I have another picture of myself in April 2007 (my second real attempt at losing weight) this picture is marked 257lbs. I was up for a midnight feeding and saw an infomercial for the six week body makeover. Long story short...As most infomercials do they made it look wonderful and like something I could really do (they advertised primarily the eating plan with little to no exercise). I bought the kit and did GREAT for the first 2 weeks. I lost 12lbs. (9 of it being the first week) But, by week 3 I hit a stand still, got frustrated and gave up altogether.

During all of this time, I was also having some health issues (which I used as an excuse not to diet and exercise). Until after having my 4th child I only noticed the pain when I was pregnant so I never really gave it much thought. As it turned out I suffered from a displaced left hip. In June 2008, I had a total hip replacement at the age of 32. I healed relatively quickly from my surgery, I was back to work (preschool teacher, so lots of squating and kneeling) full time by that August and good to go physically. Now my excuses for not dieting and exercising laid primarily on being too busy and really just not giving a rats ass, lol. I ate what I wanted when I wanted without any thought at all. It went on like this for over a year.

Which brings me to Feb. 2010. I was at my sister's house for my nephews 1st birthday. Somehow or another I asked if her scale worked (I didn't have one of my own at home). I stepped on it only to be completely mortified. I weighed 289lbs. I felt sick to my stomach that I had let myself go like that. I mean I knew I had gained weight...but REALLY, OMG!

That was the day I made the decision I could not go on like I had been. Being 289lbs. WAS NOT an option. The very next day I went out and bought a scale, I started the six week makeover diet again and I began walking for 60 minutes a day. This is what worked for me! I also sat down and wrote out a challenge to myself, it is now what I am calling my 12 week challenge. I seem to do better knowing I have a so called deadline, that is really how it came about. On a paper I just wrote out week #1 thru week #12 with according dates (I guess it would have been easier to use a calendar, lol) then each week I would weigh myself once a week and track my results. I just wanted to see how much weight I could lose in a 12 week period of time. My results were AWESOME, I was able to lose 47lbs. (by week 14 I lost 55lbs.).

After week 14 (which was June 4, 2010) I took a break from my diet (which really only means I didn't keep a food journal cause I was still eating like I had been) and exercise. I blamed it on the summer heat, which is an excuse...but a true one, lol. Surprisingly I was able to maintain a 50lb weight loss (I did gain 5lbs. back over 7 weeks, not too shabby though all in all).

Which brings me to this new 12 week challenge. I wanted to see if I could do it again. And this time I wanted to invite others, who also wanted to lose weight, to join me on my journey. If I can do it, I really do feel like anyone can.



On the six week makeover diet it gives you specific foods to eat. My typical eating day was this:

Breakfast: 2 egg whites & 1/2 cup oatmeal
snack: 2oz tuna & 1/2 cup grapefruit
Lunch: 2 oz chicken breast, 1/2 cup potato, 1 cup greens
snack: 2 oz chicken breast 1/4 cup cataloupe
Dinner: 2oz grilled fish, 1 cup baked yam, 2 cups steamed veggies
snack: 2 oz chicken breast, 1/2 cup mixed berries

The diet itself was easy and a no brainer, but VERY boring.

I lost 8lbs. the first week! Week 2 brought another 4lbs. loss. I made it to week 3 but only lost 2lbs. I got frustrated, but I pushed on. Week 4 I hit a stand still altogether. Frustrated (but still VERY determined) I looked into another diet plan. This time I found The Biggest Loser and Calorie Counting. I had never watched the show in the 9 years it had been on tv so I am not really sure what made me go this route, but I did. I began reading the books they offer. My first pick was the one about swapping. I got a lot of wonderful tips and suggestions from that book and would recommend highly. When I started calorie counting I tracked my calories for the food I ate on the six week makeover. I found I was consuming 1000 calories on a given day with that diet WHICH IS BAD!!! I didn't feel hungry, but I certainly wasn't giving my body what it needed either. *****Read my blog entry "calorie counting" to find recommended calorie intake for weight loss. I followed my recommended calorie intake and started seeing results every week from then on.

When I started calorie counting with the biggest loser these are things that I also did:

I started drinking at least 64oz of water (at first I drank crystal light)
I consumed around 1500 calories daily
I cut out red meat altogether (this was just because I was used to eating chicken all the time)
I cut out soda (I was a one soda at least drinker before)
I cut out fried food altogether (which was not as hard as I thought it would be)
I cut out junk food altogether
I cut out butter, kethcup and mayo (I opted for mustard)
switched to fat free salad dressings
watched salt intake
opted for fat free and reduced fat products
ate egg whites instead of whole eggs
started using ground chicken and turkey instead of beef
opted for whole wheat and whole grain breads and tortillas
ate at least 5 fruits and veggies daily
ate breakfast every morning within 30 minutes of waking up
started a food journal (online @ livestrong.com)
followed serving sizes on products
started using a food scale
brisk walking for 60 minutes daily


This time around I also have another goal in mind. I turn 35 this year (which just happens to be in 12 weeks). I wanted to see if I could lose 100lbs (total) by my 35th birthday. I am not about starving myself or taking pills or other weight loss gimmicks. I also don't think the weight will fall off magically. In the upcoming weeks I plan to eat healthy and exercise regularly in hopes of having those same awesome results. Time will tell, but here is looking forward to some pretty great things :)