SlimmingCurves

Okay, I’m back on again! And this time I’m seeing success!

Over the summer I did a walking challenge with my friend. Between April and September I walked 150 miles. I didn’t lose any weight, which was a huge disappointment, but I did gain some very nice slimmer and more toned calves. I also ended the year with over 200 miles walked! This year, it’s only 18 days old, but I’ve already “walked” (I walk a bit, then jog usually about a 1/2 mile, and then walk again) 24 miles!

In November I had my regular check up and according to my doc’s scale, I’d gained more weight. So, I decided enough was enough! I went to the gym or went for a walk 2 times a week in December, and then after Christmas I’ve really ramped it up and have gone at least 3 times a week. And I’ve seen great improvements! I can’t wait for my follow-up appointment at the end of this month!

On 1/5/12 I was 157 pounds (the heaviest I’ve ever been) and my measurements were:

Bust: 37.5
Under-bust: 32
Belly Button: 36.5
Butt: 42.5
Under-butt: 42.5

All of these measurements (excluding the bust) were the largest I’ve ever been!

As of this morning that has changed for the better! In 2 weeks time I’ve lost3 pounds and 3 inches off my body!! This is great considering that it’s my TotM and I took a 4 day break from the gym due to the long weekend, and I didn’t eat too healthily on Sunday.

1/18/12
Weight: 154.4
Bust 37.5
Under-bust: 31.5
Belly Button: 34.25
Butt: 42.25
Under-butt: 42.5

I’ve also greatly improved my flexibility (yay for touching my toes!) and improved my stamina! Yesterday at the gym I was able to jog a full mile without stopping! YAY! It was at a slowish pace (4.4 mph), which is about a 13 minute mile =)

I can’t wait to see how I am next week! I also like that I’m enjoying my time at the gym (I don’t dread it) and I’m also not dieting. I’m eating what I want to eat, but I’m being more careful that what I’m eating is healthier than it used to be.

So Wednesdays are my weigh-in days, but sometimes I’m a bit busy in the morning and I end up doing it on Thursday mornings instead.

Why couldn’t this week be one of those weeks.

I weighed myself yesterday and saw a 1.6 pound gain.

For shits and hahas I got on the scale this morning. . . I was 146 even. Which would’ve only been a gain of 0.4 pounds!

Oh the fickleness of the body with it’s weird water weight changes ::sigh::

Next week =) I’ll dance it up hard at my cousin’s wedding on Saturday and burn off hopefully a good pound or so.

My friend posted this on her Facebook page and after reading about it I knew that it was something I had to share!

Getting healthy is important, but remember - you are beautiful!

http://operationbeautiful.com

“The mission of Operation Beautiful is to post anonymous notes in public places for other women to find. The point is that WE ARE ALL BEAUTIFUL. You are enough… just the way you are!”

Well, it is my own fault that this weeks weigh in is a disappointment. I went on a grueling hike on Saturday (11 mile round trip up a mountain on a trail that was rated Strenuous on one section and Aggressive on another). After that all-heck broke loose and my hunger took over. Had a healthy lunch and breakfast, but dinner was carb/fat city featuring hotdogs and mac and cheese and I was still hungry after eating it all. I was still hungry when after eating a full breakfast (at a restaurant no less) on Sunday. And I just let it go.

Then on Monday we visited Dan’s grandparents for the first time. Knowing the grandmother has a chocolate sweet-tooth we made brownies to bring up. Unfortunately, even after she took quite a few to keep, I was left with quite a few in the pan and they’re hard to resist as I don’t usually have sweets in the house.

Besides the hike I’d been doing really well with doing 50 crunches every morning after I get out of the shower. Looks like it had the opposite effect than I was hoping for. ::sigh::

So here’s the damage:

8/18/10 - weight 147.2  (gain of 1.6 pounds)

Bust - 35.75 (loss of 1/4 inch)      Under-bust - 30.75 (loss of 1/4 inch)     Belly button - 34.75 (gain of 3/4 inch)     Butt - 41 (loss of 1/4 inch) Under-butt - 41 (loss of 1/4 inch)

The losses of only a 1/4 inch can be attributed to holding the tape measure at a different tension, so I don’t hold much salt in it. However, if it’s all accurate then it boils down to - a 1 inch loss and 3/4 inch gain. So 1.6 pounds heavier and 1/4 inch smaller.

My cousin’s wedding is this Saturday, I was hoping to be in better shape than I am. Oh well. Hopefully I can get myself back on track by starting up my food journal that I had put on hiatus when I went on vacation at the end of July.

Okay, so 2 weekends ago I went on vacation for a long-weekend trip to visit my grandparents. As you can imagine, I did not stick to a healthy diet. Then, when I got back I was so busy at work I was unable to update anything other than my weight and measurements spreadsheet. Today, was my follow-up appointment with my doctor to talk about my blood work (which all came back perfect, except for the thyroid, which I’d found out about the day of the blood work).

According to their scale (fully clothed both times) I lost 3 pounds since my July 7th appointment. If I go according to my scale at home (weights & measurements taken once a week, in the buff, usually on Wednesday mornings), I’ve lost almost 5 pounds (currently at 145.6, down from 151. I was hoping to be closer to 142, but I know I haven’t been active enough, or eating correctly enough to have met that goal. It’s okay and I still have 2 more weeks until my cousin’s wedding, which was/is my ultimate “make it as close to 140 as you can” goal date.

I’m going to do an update of the last week’s worth of measurements and weights since I haven’t blogged them yet. Then, since today is pretty much the month goal-marker from renewing my weight-loss journey, I’ll do a measurement/weight comparison between myself a month ago and myself today.

Okay here it goes:

8/5/10

Weight - 147.2 (gain of 1 pound)

Bust - 36 (loss of 1/4 inch)     Under bust - 30.5     Belly button - 33.5 (gain of 1/2 inch)     Butt 41.25 (gain of 1/4 inch)    Under butt - 41.5 (gain of 1/4 inch)

So, assuming everything was correctly measured, I lost a 1/4 inch, but negated it by gaining 1 inch. Therefore, I came out heavier by 1 pound and larger by 3/4 of an inch.

8/11/10 (today)

Weight - 145.6 (loss of 1.6 pounds)

Bust - 36     Under bust - 31 (gain of 1/2 inch)     Belly button - 34 (gain of 1/2 inch)     Butt - 41.25     Under butt - 41.25 (loss of 1/4 inch)

So, assuming everything was correctly measured, I lost 1.6 pounds, gained an inch and lost a 1/4 inch. So though I lost 1.6 pounds, I gained 3/4 of an inch (total).

7/7/10 vs Today (8/11/10)

Start weight - 151     Today’s weight - 145.6 (loss of 5.4 pounds)

Start Bust - 36.5     Today’s bust - 36 (loss of 1/2 inch)

Start Under bust - 31      Today’s Under bust - 31

Start Belly button - 35     Today’s Belly button - 34 (loss of 1 inch)

Start Butt - 41     Today’s Butt - 41.25 (gain of 1/4 inch)

Start Under butt - 41.5     Today’s Under butt - 41.25 (loss of 1/4 inch)

So, in summary, in the last month I’ve lost 5.4 pounds, gained a 1/4 of an inch and lost 2 inches, for a total loss of 1.75 inches!!

So I’m not quite complaining about the results. But I will admit to some confusion.

I did not eat healthily at all this past week. Yes, there were days I did well (4 out of the 7 actually), but there were others I did not. In the past week the bad things I had were: pizza (for dinner twice), ice cream, gelato, fried dough,  soda, and street fair popcorn. And yet I lost a 1/2 pound AND lost inches! How this happened I have no idea since I didn’t get out and go for the bike ride I wanted to go on due to rain.

Anyways, here are the results from this morning’s weigh-in.

Weight - 146.2 (0.6 lb lost)

Bust - 36.25     Under bust - 30.5 (1/4 inch loss)     Belly button - 33 (1 inch loss!)     Butt 41 (loss of 1/4 inch)     Under butt - 41.25 (gain of 1/4 inch)

So, again if these are accurate, then I lost a total of 1.5 inches, gained a 1/4 inch, for a total loss of 1.25 inches!! And a 0.6 of a pound!!!

I thought the loss last week was due to my hypothyroidism meds kicking in. After a fellow blogger mentioned that it takes about 6 weeks for the meds to really stabilize the thyroid hormones in your system and therefore for results to be seen. I looked it up online and I saw varying responses to how long it takes to see differences after starting the meds.

The consensus seems to be that you start seeing little differences fairly soon (which I have), but that for the blood work to come out fairly normal and to see major changes (aka weight loss) it can take a couple of weeks to a couple of months if the med levels need to be tweaked.

After less than 2 weeks on the meds I am finding that I’m not as tired by 10 o’clock at night, that I’m not craving a cup of coffee at 2:30 in the afternoon as I used to either, and I feel a lot more alert during the day. I’m also noticing that I’m not just a little hungry in the morning as I get ready to work like before; Instead, I’m hungry to the point of tummy growling! Maybe the meds are kicking in sooner for me than for others, I don’t know. All I know, is that I’m super motivated to really get out and walk walk walk! I can only imagine what the results would’ve been if I had actually done some form of exercise this past week!

Okay, so after a horrible week of not eating well (saw friends I hadn’t seen in a while and we went out to eat a lot!) I was able to stay the same weight - phew!!. Must’ve been all the walking I did.

So here are the results:

7/21/10 - 146.8 lbs

Bust - 36.25     Under bust - 30.75 (loss of a 1/4 inch)     Belly button - 34 (loss of 1/2 inch)    Butt - 41.25 (a gain of a 1/4 inch - wtf!)     Under butt - 41 (loss of 1/2 inch)

Taking one’s own measurements is not exact science. The changes can be actual size differences, tape movement, tape placement, or tape tautness.  So if I take these to be true, then I’ve lost 1 inch off my body, though my weight as stayed the same.

I don’t know what to attribute to these losses. I am hoping that it’s the help of the medications I started on Friday to correct my hypothyroidism.

Last Thursday I got blood work done (just routine stuff, though when I told the doc that I struggle with my weight she said that she’d check my thyroid to make sure it’s not that). I didn’t think it’d have anything to do with the thyroid because I know exactly how I gained my weight back - depression, inactivity, too much alcohol, and not watching what I eat (side note - getting back into the dating scene was a killer for all my aspirations for eating healthier).

Now thyroid stuff does run in the family so I’ve had it checked before (last full bloodwork was done in 2002) and every time (ever since I was a kid) it always came back normal.

I got a call late Thursday afternoon with the news that I have an underactive thyroid (aka - hypothyroidism). I was extremely scared and overwhelmed. I know that it’s a common disease that’s been known about and easily treated for years. But it’s daunting to know that starting at age 26 I will have to be on a medication for the rest of my life. Not only is that a scary prospect as a person that’s always been fairly healthy (discounting weight issues), but also to my budget! Luckily, it’s less than my regular prescription copay and I can even get 3 months of it at walmart for even cheaper.

So I don’t know if it’s the walking or the medication kicking in, but I am losing inches and I hope I’m able to keep it up. I have noticed that I’m not as tired by 10 pm as I usually am and that today the afternoon isn’t a dragging debate on a 2nd cup of coffee like it usually is. So maybe the meds are working and will actually help me lose the weight quicker than last time ::crosses fingers::

Tomorrow my boyfriend and I are planning on going for a short bike ride after I get out of work and before our friends come up for a game night (we invited them to arrive after dinner so A. I don’t have to feed them and B. we can eat healthy without falling into the pizza trap like we did on Monday.

YAY I lost weight!

I started off last Wednesday (7/7/10) at 151 pounds. Today I weighed myself and I was 146.8!!! YAY!

Now I admit that last Wednesday was the first day of my period so I was probably retaining water, but still - YAY!

I also took my measurements and weight again on Friday evening (7/9/10) so I’d have a starting off place since I forgot on Wednesday. Somehow between Wednesday morning and Friday evening I lost 4 pounds! Because I clocked in at 147. But anyways, here’s the breakdown:

7/7/10 (morning) - 151 pounds

7/9/10 (evening) - 147 pounds

Bust: 36.5

     Under bust: 31     Bellybutton: 35     Butt: 41     Under butt: 41.5

7/14/10 (morning) -  146.8 - a loss of 4.2 pounds!

Bust: 36.25 (a loss of .25 inches)     Under bust: 31     Bellybutton: 34.5 (a loss of .5 inches!)     Butt: 41     Under butt: 41.5

So one week in I’m down 4.2 pounds and an inch off my body =) I’m off to a very motivational start! YAY!

I am very glad that I started my food journal again. I feel very accomplished when I look at the food that I’ve logged for the day and realize that I’ve made healthy choices =)

I’ve also been pretty good with my exercise too.

On Sunday I walked almost 2 miles in a 1/2 hour and then on Sunday my boyfriend and I hopped on the 10-speeds and did the whole rail-trail (all 22 miles!). Walked almost a mile yesterday and hopefully going for another walk today. My last weigh-in was on Wednesday and so my next weigh-in should be tomorrow. However, I sneaked a peek this morning and I was down to 147 pounds! That’s a 4 pound loss! WooHoo! Granted my period is now over, which helps, but seeing a change like that in the scale after doing some exercise and really making myself accountable for the food I’ve eaten is very encouraging! 135 here I come!

What I’ve eaten today:

1/2 cup quick cook oatmeal with raisins and cinnamon

1 mug of earl grey with 1 mini moo and 2 sugar packets

1 turkey, cheese, and light mayo sandwich on honey wheat

2 servings of triscuit thin crips

1/8 of a 10 oz tub of roasted garlic hummus

For dinner I’ll most likely have left overs (1/2 baked chicken breast) and some sort of side dish. And for dessert - whirley pop popcorn and watermelon! I use more oil than they recommend, but I also don’t use any butter or other additives other than a few shakes of the salt shaker =) So it’s quite healthy and helps me satisfy that munchy craving.

So yesterday I made myself a food journal with the comb binding here machine at work. I’m SO glad that I made it! Knowing that I’d have to hold myself accountable for what I eat by writing it down has saved me from eating a 2nd mini-corn muffin and getting the peanutbutter bonanza ice cream. YAY! I found my light string cheese stick instead of having the corn muffin, and I got 1 scoop of a frozen yogurt in a dish rather than the peanut butter on a cone.

I meant to take my measurements yesterday and take a “before” photo, but completely forgot. Hoping to do that tonight. It’s really great to have that  physical evidence that you’re losing weight, even if it’s not showing up on the scale.

Tonight after work, I’ll eat some dinner and after the heat goes down a bit, hopefully going for a walk. Tomorrow my boyfriend is going to get up early to go for a bike ride. While he does that I’m going to get up with him and either hit the gym or go for another walk before the heat sets in. I’ve lost a good chunk of weight before purely by walking and making healthier eating choices. Hoping that I can do the same once again.