I did it!
I did it! I am finally after who knows how long posting on my blog!
I know I have been MIA...I have been focusing my time in other areas.
I lost 26 lbs! I know to some that is not a lot and I didn't have a lot to lose and I know that makes some people annoyed. I was at my heaviest weight back in 2007 right before my heart surgery. I don't know if that played some part in my health deteriorating at the time but it was at my worst. After a long recovery from heart surgery I was able to lose 24 lbs before I got pregnant with Sophia.
I was lucky not to have gained much with her pregnancy during and lost quite a bit naturally afterward. With August I wasn't quite as lucky but because I was unable to breastfeed him I got started immediately.
People ask how I did it. I used myfitnesspal.com. That is 90% of my success. I just watched what I ate and how much I ate of it. I was very surprised when I started using it how much I was eating and I didn't even realize it until I started recording it. It was an eye opener. Nathan and I started our weight loss journey together at the end of June. I was using myfitnesspal and he wasn't. I saw lbs drop and he was seeing little loss and more ups and downs. So after a month he was convinced if he was going to win our weight loss contest first he needed to step up his game and started using myfitnesspal too...he started seeing it drop rapidly and he started quickly catching up. (I won by the way...he is still working on his last 2 lbs) but he has lost more inches because he is dedicated more to his workouts and has gained a ton of muscle...YES he is HOT! (okay....ya...I am sure you are thinking TMI)
I was walking with my friend Jill 2-3 times a week. At the beginning of the year she started her weight loss journey herself and so we cut out Friday walking together so she could see her nutritionist/trainer at that time. I try to continue to exercise on days we don't walk together but it is hard not getting distracted. But I have come to realize being a mother of 5 burns a lot of calories on it's own. LOL
Things I have discovered on my journey...
I love food! It is no lie! I did not cut out sugars/sweets. I ate what I wanted when I wanted but I just had to modify what I ate during the day and how much if I wanted my "treat".
Food discoveries
1. Bagel Thins - Love bagels and these were a perfect breakfast with my other discovery
2. Land o Lakes light spreadable butter! Good stuff!
3. Cooking with red onion, orange, red, and yellow peppers and lots of garlic was not only low calorie but put flavor to practically anything you make (chicken, steak, pork, or just pasta!)
4. We discovered this a while ago but it satisfies cravings and that is Dreyers 1/2 the fat icecream. It is half the fat and half the calories and Double Fudge Brownie! Who can go wrong with that for 120 calories?!
5. Weight Watcher Big Giant Fudge Bars! YUM!
I am sure I could think of more things but will start with that. I finally hit my goal and am finding it hard now that I am eating calories to maintain my weight that it is hard to eat all those calories. I am so use to cutting back calories to lose and now that I want to maintain I have a huge difference (in my opinion). I am sure I will get use to it. LOL
How did I calculate. Well, myfitness pal will calculate it for you if you choose to go that route. But I actually took the weight goal I had for myself and times it by 14 something I learned for an average semi-active person for calorie intake from a nutritionist. Technically myfitnesspal does the same but goes from your weight when you sign in. So let's spell it out. Bare all my news. I started out at 169 in June. My goal weight was 145 on a Doctors scale in the middle of the day with my shoes on. Well, I see the doctors enough to know that there is a 5 lb difference between their scale and my scale at home. Theirs being on the higher end. So for my fitness pal. I put my goal weight at 140 (since I was using my scale for weigh ins). So if I had let myfitnesspal calculate it would have times my starting weight at 169 x14 and subtracted 500 calories (to lose 1 lb a week) and then as you lose weight it would recalculate automatically for you. So instead I took my goal weight of 140 x 14 and subtracted 500 and it gave me a calorie intake goal of 1460. (according to myfitnesspal that would lose 1.5- 2 lbs a week) I tried to stay under that goal. It didn't always happen. We still ate out here and there and that adds tons of calories generally. But overall I did well. So two weeks ago I finally hit my goal of 140 it was 140.6 to be exact but it was still 140 more or less. I was thrilled!!!! But to really put it to the test I had a cardiologist appointment last week and drum roll please...the Dr.'s scale at 9:15 am with my shoes on (not quite middle of the day) I weighed in at 143.5! UNDER my 145 goal. Yay! I rock! Now as I am trying to maintain I can now eat a whopping 1900 calories when I have been eating 1460 or under all this time. I like to have a little more room to eat what I want or eat a little more of what I like.
It was nice to set a goal and reach it. It is doable. I know it is different for everyone. I am not trying to sell people on myfitnesspal. But I can tell you logging what you eat really makes you aware of what you are eating and how much. Everyone reacts differently losing weight. I feel lucky that all I really had to do was log what I ate. Some people have to sweat it off. That being said, I could use to tone up and lose some more inches. I am not down to the pants size when I got married and I am not down to the weight when I got married. But I feel GREAT! and that really is all that matters. If I want to tone and lose inches though, it will require me to sweat a bit. I will tackle that when I get more motivation. My focus now is on organizing my house, dejunking and being a "fun" mom. I wish I had before and after pictures but I don't so this is what you get!
I know I have been MIA...I have been focusing my time in other areas.
I lost 26 lbs! I know to some that is not a lot and I didn't have a lot to lose and I know that makes some people annoyed. I was at my heaviest weight back in 2007 right before my heart surgery. I don't know if that played some part in my health deteriorating at the time but it was at my worst. After a long recovery from heart surgery I was able to lose 24 lbs before I got pregnant with Sophia.
I was lucky not to have gained much with her pregnancy during and lost quite a bit naturally afterward. With August I wasn't quite as lucky but because I was unable to breastfeed him I got started immediately.
People ask how I did it. I used myfitnesspal.com. That is 90% of my success. I just watched what I ate and how much I ate of it. I was very surprised when I started using it how much I was eating and I didn't even realize it until I started recording it. It was an eye opener. Nathan and I started our weight loss journey together at the end of June. I was using myfitnesspal and he wasn't. I saw lbs drop and he was seeing little loss and more ups and downs. So after a month he was convinced if he was going to win our weight loss contest first he needed to step up his game and started using myfitnesspal too...he started seeing it drop rapidly and he started quickly catching up. (I won by the way...he is still working on his last 2 lbs) but he has lost more inches because he is dedicated more to his workouts and has gained a ton of muscle...YES he is HOT! (okay....ya...I am sure you are thinking TMI)
I was walking with my friend Jill 2-3 times a week. At the beginning of the year she started her weight loss journey herself and so we cut out Friday walking together so she could see her nutritionist/trainer at that time. I try to continue to exercise on days we don't walk together but it is hard not getting distracted. But I have come to realize being a mother of 5 burns a lot of calories on it's own. LOL
Things I have discovered on my journey...
I love food! It is no lie! I did not cut out sugars/sweets. I ate what I wanted when I wanted but I just had to modify what I ate during the day and how much if I wanted my "treat".
Food discoveries
1. Bagel Thins - Love bagels and these were a perfect breakfast with my other discovery
2. Land o Lakes light spreadable butter! Good stuff!
3. Cooking with red onion, orange, red, and yellow peppers and lots of garlic was not only low calorie but put flavor to practically anything you make (chicken, steak, pork, or just pasta!)
4. We discovered this a while ago but it satisfies cravings and that is Dreyers 1/2 the fat icecream. It is half the fat and half the calories and Double Fudge Brownie! Who can go wrong with that for 120 calories?!
5. Weight Watcher Big Giant Fudge Bars! YUM!
I am sure I could think of more things but will start with that. I finally hit my goal and am finding it hard now that I am eating calories to maintain my weight that it is hard to eat all those calories. I am so use to cutting back calories to lose and now that I want to maintain I have a huge difference (in my opinion). I am sure I will get use to it. LOL
How did I calculate. Well, myfitness pal will calculate it for you if you choose to go that route. But I actually took the weight goal I had for myself and times it by 14 something I learned for an average semi-active person for calorie intake from a nutritionist. Technically myfitnesspal does the same but goes from your weight when you sign in. So let's spell it out. Bare all my news. I started out at 169 in June. My goal weight was 145 on a Doctors scale in the middle of the day with my shoes on. Well, I see the doctors enough to know that there is a 5 lb difference between their scale and my scale at home. Theirs being on the higher end. So for my fitness pal. I put my goal weight at 140 (since I was using my scale for weigh ins). So if I had let myfitnesspal calculate it would have times my starting weight at 169 x14 and subtracted 500 calories (to lose 1 lb a week) and then as you lose weight it would recalculate automatically for you. So instead I took my goal weight of 140 x 14 and subtracted 500 and it gave me a calorie intake goal of 1460. (according to myfitnesspal that would lose 1.5- 2 lbs a week) I tried to stay under that goal. It didn't always happen. We still ate out here and there and that adds tons of calories generally. But overall I did well. So two weeks ago I finally hit my goal of 140 it was 140.6 to be exact but it was still 140 more or less. I was thrilled!!!! But to really put it to the test I had a cardiologist appointment last week and drum roll please...the Dr.'s scale at 9:15 am with my shoes on (not quite middle of the day) I weighed in at 143.5! UNDER my 145 goal. Yay! I rock! Now as I am trying to maintain I can now eat a whopping 1900 calories when I have been eating 1460 or under all this time. I like to have a little more room to eat what I want or eat a little more of what I like.
It was nice to set a goal and reach it. It is doable. I know it is different for everyone. I am not trying to sell people on myfitnesspal. But I can tell you logging what you eat really makes you aware of what you are eating and how much. Everyone reacts differently losing weight. I feel lucky that all I really had to do was log what I ate. Some people have to sweat it off. That being said, I could use to tone up and lose some more inches. I am not down to the pants size when I got married and I am not down to the weight when I got married. But I feel GREAT! and that really is all that matters. If I want to tone and lose inches though, it will require me to sweat a bit. I will tackle that when I get more motivation. My focus now is on organizing my house, dejunking and being a "fun" mom. I wish I had before and after pictures but I don't so this is what you get!
