Weight Loss/Exercise Updates? Post Yours Here!

[christa]

Lori . . . you look about 10 years YOUNGER in that after pic!!! I can't believe how different you look!!! You're such a cutie now, you really should STOP AVOIDING THE CAMERA!

catlover4ever . . . there's nothing more stressful than moving, I know that feeling! And it's so hard to keep in a healthy frame of mind when you're so busy. Congrats on the 11 pounds that you have lost! That is great!

[jazzcat]

Thanks Christa! I feel younger too. Maybe the weight loss will help this high speed train to 40 not be so painful.

Meg - congrats on the 11 pounds! A vacation in Antigua would be great motivation for me too!!!!! If you need some cheerleaders we are here for you!

[buckner]

First off, CONGRATS to everyone who's posted their losses! After I make this post, I'm going to go through individually and reply to different comments. But, I thought I'd update on how I've been.


I first started my "lifestyle change" in August of 2005. I continued to lose weight until March of 2006, and since then, I've just maintained. Through the 7-8 months of weight loss, I managed to take off 91 pounds!! Yes, that's the equivalent of a child. I feel better about myself in more ways than one, and it's been an amazing accomplishment. And honestly, the weight loss itself was not difficult. It went on quickly, and it came off quickly. But, because of how fast it came off, my body couldn't keep up and it resulted in another health problems. They were bound to arrise, just not so fast.

Since March, I've been trying to eat "healthy". Don't get me wrong, I ate good when I was losing weight, but I'm no longer trying to lose weight. I want to maintain a good weight by appropriate amount of calories, fat, protein, carbohydrates, and all of my vitamins that I need. I have weird diet restrictions, such as being a vegetarian who will eat fish and also being allergic to dairy. With those things, it's hard to get in the right amounts of protein and vitamins, and I'm still struggling with that.

I no longer obsess about my calories. I used to count every single calorie, right down to the fourth of one. No joke. But now, I've learned that I can eat what I want (with limitations, I guess.. but I won't deprive myself if I absolutely have to have something, which is not often at all) as long as I stop eating when I'm full. Granted, I don't eat a lot of fat with any meal, so it's hard to determine when I'm truly full. I can eat veggies galore, and then much later feel sick because I ate too much. So I have to eat small meals quite often, which is what everyone should do.

I've emailed Christa and have annoyed her to no ends about all of this, but she's really knowledgeable in healthy eating and exercise, more than just "eat fewer calories than you burn" and stuff. So, I'm sorry Christa. :P

When I reached my all time high, I weighed 231 pounds. I cannot believe I just told you all that, but I did. For a girl who is 5'7", that's a LOT of weight. And it was just dragging me down, and I didn't used to be that way. A lot of things happened quickly that caused my weight gain, and I just didn't care anymore. But, once I finally became aware of it, I whipped into shape. I went from a size 18 (my biggest pants were a size 18.. I almost died when going through my clothes a month ago) to a size 6/8! I have some pants that are size 6 and some that are size 8. I went from an XL shirt being too small and tight, to a size small being just right!!! Unless it's a tshirt, and then it's still too big. :P I went from 231 pounds to 140 pounds!

I was hoping to lose 5 more in pure exercise, but my mom threatened me when she heard my plans. Apparently, if I lose one more ounce, she's going to have my head.

Okay, so onto pictures!!!

These were taken in San Diego last summer. This was ONE week before I started my weight loss diet.




This was from junior prom - April of 2005.



Okay, so those are the YUCKY before pictures. I'll post the after pictures in the next post.

[buckner]

These are my after pictures.. ones I'm VERY proud of. I used to not like pictures of me, now I like taking them and seeing them... hehe. Not to be conceited, because I'm not - I just enjoy looking at NOW pictures of me, rather than THEN pictures.

These are all from Senior prom - late April of 2006. They're the most recent pictures I have, as my camera batteries are deciding to not work.








Okay, as as you can see, I do need some work. My arms are flabby, I hate my thighs, and my tummy needs to be firmer. But overall, I'm happy. FINALLY. I'm happy about the way I look. I could be happier, but I can't have everything.

I'm working on as much as I can this summer with the outdoors - taking long 5 mile walks, going swimming, etc. In the fall, I have unlimited access to the on-campus weight room and facilities... so guess who will get their money worth? Until then, I'm determined to get firmer and more toned!

I'm going on a mission trip in July. I've done this type of trip 3 times, and it's SOOO much fun. But, it is strenuous hardcore work, and I won't to be ready for it. So, everytime I'm just not doing something (like working) I'll be working on my health in some way. Whether it be researching and talking to experts about the right foods, or getting more fit.


Whew, that was a mouthful. Sorry guys.

[carole]

Oh my what a gorgeous girl you are, don't be so hard on yourself you have a beautiful figure, be happy and proud of yourself, you are stunning really

[Pembroke_Corgi]

Oh my what a gorgeous girl you are, don't be so hard on yourself you have a beautiful figure, be happy and proud of yourself, you are stunning really

Yes, I agree, you look great! In fact, everyone does!

[christa]

buckner (Sara): Girl, you are BEAUTIFUL!!! LOL, you sound just like me . . . I want to work on my arms, thighs & tummy too, those exact places. Just keep eating the way you are and working out, you'll see the results you want in no time.

I know exactly what you mean about your mom threatening you about loosing more weight. I've been seeing a lot of people lately that haven't seen me since I was 184 pounds . . . now that I'm 134, they think I'm anorexic. They say "you don't need to loose anymore weight!" . . . My mom tells me that they're just not used to seeing me. I hope that's all it is because I'm tired of hearing it. I try to tell them that I'm living healthy, not doing anything bad to my body . . . and then if anyone gives me too much grief, I whip out the granny flab and ask them for "permission" to get rid of my *opera arms*, in Lori's terms. LOL . . . But in all honesty, I'm not trying to loose anymore weight, and I tell people that. I just want to build some muscle, get leaner, turn some of this flab into lean muscle.

Sara, I know you want to loose a few more pounds, but you look great hon. I would suggest that you just work on building some muscle. If you got some weights, say some 8 or 10 pound dumbbells for your arms, you would burn the fat & build some muscle & they would look great! You could even use them to do some squats & lunges with the dumbbells, which would burn fat from your thighs & build muscle. All things that you can do at home if you wanna . . .