The First 43: My Life Now

Now that I've been at this for almost 6 months I started to look at the trends with my weight loss and I found something very interesting. The weeks where I got minimal exercise but controlled my diet, I lost 1.5 -2 pounds a week.  In the weeks where I got a lot of exercise and controlled my diet, I lost between 0.5-1 pound a week.  I lose about 1 pound per week when I do one day of intense exercise and two days of lower impact. That keeps me right about on par with MyFitnessPal's weight loss projections. I know exercise is good for me, ultimately will increase my metabolism which eventually will result in weight loss but I find it to be less than motivating!  If I can lose the 43 pounds faster being a bump on a log, why do I spend all the time sweating it out on a run or at the gym? Every time I lose less than a pound I feel a little bit defeated that even though my diet was perfect (and the same as many weeks before it) I didn't manage to drop the full pound. So, ...

Who knew my Nana's old cookbook would be a gold mine for low calorie delicious treats?  You already know about my love for muffins (and just how much I miss them!)  Well, while working my way through my Nana's cookbook I came across these muffins.  They taste delicious and they are a low calorie option.  This makes my stomach smile. Kay's Banana Bran Muffins 2               Large Ripe Bananas 1 cup        Bran Flakes 1 cup        Flour 1/2 cup     Sugar (or substitute sweetener if you prefer) 1/3 cup     Calorie Reduced Margarine 1/2 tsp      Baking Powder 1/2 tsp      Baking Soda 1/2 tsp      Salt Mash bananas. Add bran flakes.  Cream margarine and sugar with mixture. Add flour, baking powder, baking so...

Whether you are skinny or fat, watching the number on the scale go up and down has a tendency in youth to define your personal worth. It's both self imposed and socially engrained our our minds. Well, for girls and women anyway.  These insecurities tend to follow us into adulthood too. The inner struggle never vocalized but so many battle. Much of what I write about is getting a handle on food and losing weight but I really do think it is important to touch on weight defining you as a person.  So many people place value on the number on the scale and nothing else. I'm Guilty! For a long time I did define myself by my weight, I was overweight/fat and I just accepted it for what it was. I knew my friends and family loved me for who I was on the inside so, I gave up on the outside. When I was in high school I decided that I wasn't ever going to be beautiful because I carried around more weight than any of my friends, I was always the heaviest one in my group.  Now when...

Brought to you by popular demand!  I've received many messages and emails about how people really like the "changes" photos so I thought of one for this in between period where you won't see significant changes in my weight in photographs. This is a little flashback so you can see ultimately where I am headed. The last time I weighed my goal weight was 2002/2003 (yes, obviously I also looked younger!) It is pictured above.  In the middle, I have a photo of where I am now with my 25.5lb loss (Yay!) Then in the final frame my starting weight. It took me about 9 years but I managed to pack on 43lbs in that time period. It will take me about 9 months to take it off. If I can get back to my weight from when I was 16/17 I will be one happy woman! One thing is for sure though, when I hit my goal I will be in much better shape physically than I was as a teenager. With 17.5 pounds to go, I'm working on loosing my freshman 20. I'm turning the clock back!

The yellow mass is 5lbs of fat.  The red mass is 5lbs of muscle.  I have honestly been referring back to this photo time and time again since April.  I found it right at the beginning of my life overhaul.  I have lost 5 of those yellow masses off my body.  I honestly almost gag thinking about it.  I can safely say that the majority of that came off my stomach and my bum. I'm fairly sure the next 5 are coming from my bust. I wish I could take it off my thighs but I guess the body decides where the fattiest parts are and starts there.  We cannot target where our weight loss comes from but wouldn't it be nice if we could? At the end of the day, which one would you prefer to lose?  Getting active helps you get rid of one, not being active makes you lose the other.  It makes me feel awful and overjoyed to think I'll lose almost 9 of the fat model by the time I'm done. So, next time you need a little motivation to get off the couch, thin...

I saw this on Pinterest a few weeks ago. I pinned it and moved along but for weeks it stuck with me.  This however really made me think about how "fat" people are really looked down upon.  Often the definition of fat is "not Hollywood thin" which isn't the healthiest standard. I have been working so hard to lose weight because I want to be healthier and in order to be healthier I needed to increase my exercise, control my diet and lose some weight but a small tiny bit of me really does feel that being fat really isn't acceptable and people think less of you as a person. Which meant that people thought less of me.  If you can let yourself go in your appearance, what else will you not care about in your day to day life? or at work? People can be very judgmental.   I often felt like I was being judged by people.  Maybe it was just residual personal issues from being bullied about it as a child but, part of me thinks that that mentality does transfer over to...

Today marks day 150 of calorie counting and food journaling. Wow. What a long few months it's been. As of today, I am down 25.5 lbs! (though the ticker always rounds up, that's why it says 26!) This is what I am trying to focus on on day 150: I've decided to do a then and now, a little motivation to set out on my next 150 days. What I did when I started and where I am now. Just a little reflection for this Monday morning, keeping me working toward losing another 17.5 lbs. April 2012 vs. September 2012 Food:   In April I was allowed 1680 calories/day on MyFitnessPal. Now, I'm allowed 1470.  That's reduced my food intake by 210 calories/day which is quite a dramatic change. This is all thanks to losing 24lbs! Running: I couldn't run longer than 90 seconds.  Now I can run 5km (though, it does exhaust me!) Exercise: I was getting exercise maybe once a week. Maybe.  Now, I exercise at minimum 3 days a week.  Whether it is running, taking a long...