My Journey.

{Michigan's Adventure ~ August 2011}

The two pictures I have of myself at Michigan's Adventure the summer of 2011 will forever be my go-to "before" pictures. I haven't talked about my weight loss for a few months now but rest assured fellow fatties, I've been doing my thang.

The day I got really serious was August 15 of last year so this is a six month check in.  Since August I have been counting calories and doing some sort of physical activity three times a week (usually on my lunch hour).  I will never say it has been easy, but honestly it hasn't been that hard...I've done some cheating here and there which is why my loss has been slow going but it's been steady.

As of late I've gotten bored with the elliptical machine at the gym so I tried a few aerobic classes, the spinning class was intimidating but I tried it and didn't die...that's about all I can say.  When I found out that I burned like 550 calories in 45 minutes doing it?  I sucked it up and got my ass back on that bike. I just take my glasses off and figure if I can't see them, they can't see me.  If I don't go to the gym, I walk or sometimes do a Monday night Zumba class at the elementary school nearby.

Last month I really hit a wall, I was stuck at the same weight for a few weeks and got discouraged so I took to the interwebs and read stories about people having a lot of success by zig zagging their calories, so instead of the 1400 calories I had been living on every day, it told me to use 1700 as a base and then twice a week I was supposed to take it up to 1800 and 2100 calories.  Guess what folks...that shit worked and I dropped 3.5 pounds last week by increasing my calories (doesn't make any sense).

It's like if you eat 1400 calories every day, your body then believes it needs all 1400 to survive or something so you have to trick it.  I also read that some Weight Watchers people are doing the same thing with their points, if they are allowed 30 then they beef it up to 35 or 38 a couple days a week.  Anyway, here is a good calculator, you can find more info by just Googling "zig zag diet."

{down 23 pounds since August 15 ~ almost six months}

My mom, aunt, sister and I have a private Facebook page called the Chubb Clubb.  Every week we hold ourselves accountable by taking a picture of our scale and through out the week we talk about what we're eating, what kind of exercise we are getting and about the struggles we are having. 

I will have to say, from where I started at 248 pounds I'm still a little in disbelief that I really weigh 211 pounds...I still feel like I'm only six months away from being the fat girl again and it's scary to think I could lose everything I've worked so hard for.  Everyone knows it takes a week to take one pound off but five minutes to gain it back.

 

{have I really lost at least one chin}

I've had quite a few partners along the way, though they have all fallen off the wagon.  I just keep telling myself that I'm doing it for me and nobody else, so what if I have to walk alone...I'm still walking.  To reward myself, I went into Maurices this week and found a pair of jean I liked, when the clerk asked me what size I needed it felt SO good to say size sixteen. Not the eighteen I have worn for the past fifteen years, not the eighteen that was nearly cutting off the circulation to my upper torso a year and a half ago.

{not mom jeans ~ cute jeans}

My long term goal has always been 198 pounds.  When I started this journey in late 2011 I wanted to lose fifty pounds but I never expected I would have stuck with it this long, I never had before..but here I sit only 13 pounds from my long-term goal.  I could have lost the weight a lot faster but I never deprived myself t the point I would want to go rogue and I think that has been the key that finally turned the lock for me.  Slow and steady, still living life but still getting back on the horse every.single.day.