Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Weight Loss

I know it's been forever but I always feel like almost no one reads my Blog and sometimes I just get into my life and just don't think I have anything to say. Today I feel like talking about stuff but all my friends have heard of it all over and over again and I don't want to continue to bore them so I thought I would post a summary here.

Back in May I had to buy new bras. Now, if you know me you know I hate shopping for clothes and I really hate buying anything that I have to try things on to see if it's the right size. Bras are worlds of worse because you have to measure yourself to get the correct size and then you still have to try them on! So there I was needing new bras and I took my measurements...

A long long time ago, when I was 19, I took my measurements. I was Bust-Waist-Hips -- 36, 21, 38. Now I realize that this was 20 years and 3 pregnancies ago but it was depressing as hell to go from 36, 21, 38 to 49, 44, 52. I cried. It was all very sad. I remembered that I lost weight before using a site called Calorie Count it was just a few months before I started this Blog and I had gone from 250 to 227 but I quit logging everything I ate because I figured that I knew what I was supposed to be eating and I was discouraged by how much weight I still had to lose so back in the early fall of 2006 I quit. Of course I ended up gaining it all back and there I was back in May looking at the most depressing measurements ever and knowing I was back up to 250 lbs. I was, in fact, inching into 251 and 252 and I decided that it was time to really get a handle on my weight.

I dusted off my Calorie Count account and put in my new weight and deleted all my old weights so I could make a fresh start. I started out eating 1900 calories a day and logging all my food. I left my activity pretty much where it was and just paid very close attention to what I was eating. I started eating more fruits and vegetables and set up strict meal and snack times for everyone in the family so we all ate better. My sweet man saw everything I was doing and he also re-joined Calorie Count and we encouraged each other.

I lost weight. I wasn't starving and I wasn't doing anymore than I had always done. I dropped 2 to 3 lbs a week and it was easy! I was shocked. After about a month the kids were off school for the summer and I changed my activities a little and kept losing weight. Each week when I entered a new lower weight my calorie needs dropped so I had to reduce my calories to suit or increase my activity.

Now it is about 3 months later and I've hit my first goal weight of 225 lbs and my measurements are 44, 41, 49. I'm down 5 inches off my bust, and 3 each off my waist and hips. I'm still a long way from those measurements from 20 years ago and I am not able to get that small again but it still feels good. Almost a whole foot of my body is gone! 25 pounds is gone!

I'm now working on my second mini-goal of 200 lbs and have increased my activity quite a bit this last week. I am eating about 1500 calories a day but can burn up to almost 3000 calories with walking and swimming. Once the kids go back to school I plan on talking to a trainer at the YMCA - all members get a half hour a week with a trainer for free and I'm looking forward to talking to someone who can help me set up some strength training so I can build some muscle to help me burn off some more weight.

So that's what I've been up to for the last few months. I'll refrain from talking more about my weight loss here until I meet my next goal. If you're friends with my on Facebook you have access to my weekly weigh ins and calorie numbers.