Miracles Do Happen!

So much has happened since March 22.

I did really well with the Flat Belly Diet until finals came. I tried to start it up again, but life was so hectic. After school ended, I helped my mom move, broke-up with my boyfriend (who I thought I would be spending the rest of my life with), went on vacation and then I moved to the other side of town. It was overwhelmingly crazy! Once I moved in and settled my own life just a little, I attempted to do the Flat Belly Diet again. I couldn't. I tried, but I couldn't stick to the regimen.

So I went on vacation to FLORIDA over the 4th of July. I booked the tickets just 3 weeks prior and I decided to work-out five days a week and eat healthier that way I would lose some weight before I was at the beach in my swim-suit. I ended up not working out 5 days a week like I wanted, but I still lost weight. I was down to 210 lbs when I left. :)

I came back and gained some weight. I told you my story above about reattempting to do the Flat Belly Diet. Then school started for me on August 25th and I was student teaching. This meant I was on my feet for 6 hours a day, constantly walking around. I lived one hour away from the school so I was running out the door without much to eat. Lunch was whatever I grabbed out of the freezer. After school, I would then go to work. I usually ate something frozen for dinner as well. Let's just say after about 10 weeks, I was sick of frozen food. So between eating less and constantly moving around, I lost weight.

I lost so much weight and I lost it fast. I am now down to 194.5 lbs. I am a size 16/18, depending on who makes the clothes. To me that is a miracle. I was losing 1 to 2 lbs a week which is nice because I've struggled so much with my weight in the last few years!

This holiday season, I've managed to maintain which makes me very happy. Since I am not in school any more I can work-out and focus on my health a lot more in 2011!


Weight Loss Over the Months
March 22: 220-225
June ?: 216
July 3: 210.5
July 6: 212
Aug 23: 215
Oct 29: 201
Dec 3: 196
Dec 27: 194.5

Week 3 Goals

So... I lost half a pound! Woo-Hoo! I wish it was more, but I will accept the half a pound graciously. That is more than I typically would lose in a week. So tracking my calories and working out a little bit have been helping out. I now weigh 221 lbs. Yes, I did hear about the study saying that most nutrition totals are not accurate. I am not shocked by this study at all! I've worked in fast food and even if you cook your own meals you are not going to know the true accuracy of nutrition unless you can test it yourself. I do feel strongly though about tracking your calories. It may not be 100% accurate, but it will give you an idea of what your intake it. If you're still throwing a fit take your calorie total for the day and add 20% of the days total to it and it will more than likely be more accurate, but you never know.

Since week 3 begins tomorrow, I need to add a new goal to work towards. One thing I noticed is that I like to drink soda and not diet. I know diet has aspartame and can be harmful to your health and that is why I typically avoid diet soda. What's more healthy, all that sugar or the aspartame? I am unsure, either way my new goal this week is: if I drink soda, it needs to be diet. All of the sugar and calories are taking up my calorie usage.

So week three goals:

1. Track my calories.
2. Work-out three days this week. (Ahh, schools starting!)
3. Drink diet soda instead of regular soda.

Since a new semester is beginning, I will probably be on here only once, maybe twice, per week. So have a great week!

The Beginning

Today is the 29th. Instead of waiting until the New Year, I thought I would start today... well actually I began yesterday. If we really want to get technical, I started back in November towards the end of the month.

I am not sure what my start weight is today (my guess would be 225), but I know my highest weight known was 226 lbs. Currently I am a size 18/20, and a 22 wearing a dress that would need to be tailored to fit the rest of my body properly.

I can tell you all about my struggles, but I will save that for later. I want to get to something very important: GOALS! If you join any group or read any book, it will tell you that you need to set a goal for yourself. My ultimate goal is to weigh 155 lbs. Like any big project though, that big goal needs to be broken down into smaller, more managable goals. Since the woman in SELF wanted to lose 10% of her weight, I thought I would aim for that smaller goal first. 10% for me is 22.5 lbs. That is quite a bit still but I think I can handle that. I am giving myself 15 weeks to do this in. I would aim for sooner, but I know myself.

Since 22.5 lbs is a "long-term" goal (at least in my eyes) I am giving myself weekly goals. This week my goal is to track my calories every day. A few years ago I thought tracking my calories was a waste of time because I am still going to eat what I want. Now, I am amazed at how many calories I do eat and tracking them helps me keep an eye on it. It helps me intake less and make healthier choices. I really thought I would never say that.

Lets see how I do for this week. :)