Hello all. Well it’s week 2 of the biggest loser challenge. I really stepped it up this week. I stayed on plan with my food regarding my calorie intake. I got in all my water everyday. I knew this was going to be a hard week because of TOM. But I was determined to kick it in the butt. So I found a WATP video on youtube. It’s a 2 mile video and I did it in the evenings on Wednesday/Thursday/Saturday. So my results for this week are: 6lbs loss and 1 1/2 inches gone. Woohoo!!!
I am super excited that the scale is finally willing to play with me and show my weight loss. I feel great! I get super yucky sweaty when I am working out and I think its funny only because I am doing it in my own living room and I can watch the sweat jump from my body onto the floor when I’m working out and I’ll I think is “goodbye fat”!!! Hahaha. I think its funny.
Anyways, here are my goals for this next week:
1. Stay on calorie intake.
2. Get full water intake daily.
3. WATP video (6 miles) - likely shooting for doing this on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
4. One hike up the mountain to town. This is about a 45 minute hike up and 30 minute hike down the mountain.
If I accomplish all these goals then my reward this next weekend will be a massage at this place in town known for their Thai Massages, but I have been once before for a deep tissue massage and it was heaven. Would love to do it again but only if I reach my goals.
Hope everyone has a great week. Feel free to leave comments if you like. I love hearing from anyone and everyone! 
GO RED TEAM!!!!
Posted on September 26th, 2009 by shan84
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Hello everyone. Just wanted to post an update for week one of the Biggest Loser Challenge. I was only able to drop 3lbs for this first weigh in. I think it might have something to do with my TOM unfortunately. Anyways, I’m not giving up. I did lose 6 1/2 inches in the past 2 weeks so I am really proud of that. Hope everyone is doing great. More to come from South Korea later in the week.
Posted on September 19th, 2009 by shan84
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Hey guys,
So my first trial week is finished. Here’s what happened. I stuck to my calorie intake everyday between 1800-2100. I drank anywhere from 6-11 glasses of water a day. I took my vitamins, fish oils, and garlic pills. I lost….ZERO. I did lose 2 1/2 inches. Really down and out about the zero weight loss but thats ok. I’m not going to give up. I’m making my plans for this next week right now. I’m also adding on my exercise. Last week all I did was a little extra walking. This week I found some great fitness videos online that I can access here in South Korea and I am going to do some more walking. Looking forward to some weight loss to show for next week.
Hope everyone else out there is doing well. Go RED TEAM! Biggest Loser Challenge 3fc.
Posted on September 12th, 2009 by shan84
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Hi everyone out there in cyberworld. So I finally found a scale here in South Korea today. So, I officially have a start weight. Drumroll please………..353lbs. Now, don’t get me wrong that is a huge number. But, I came to Korea weighing 390lbs. Last time I weighed two months ago I was 379lbs. Which means in two months I lost 36lbs and I wasn’t even on my diet! I am super excited for future results that will hopefully show my hard work.
Now to report on the first week of my diet. It was a failure. Not by food intake, more of lack thereof. I was off work again for the week and therefore, had no routine at all. I barely managed to get in 1200 calorie days and yes I was eating my diet food, but still I’m supposed to have 2100 calorie days. Plus I got sick the last couple days. Not to mention I have not been consuming enough water like I should be. But, school starts back tomorrow and I am more than ready to get things going and get on the right track to a better me.
Keep in touch!
Posted on September 5th, 2009 by shan84
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Hello all,
So I went back to work on Monday after our school being closed for 2 weeks because of the H1N1 virus here on the Geoje Island in South Korea. My plan had been to leave work and go grocery shopping so I could start my Biggest Loser life change the next morning. Well…it didn’t all go that way. I left work at 5pm after being told that we were going to be closed for one more week. Granted its paid time off, but still the control freak in me really needs my routine back. So, instead of going grocery shopping I went out to dinner and drinks with my co-teachers. Fast forward to Tuesday, I did get to the bank and go grocery shopping in the afternoon/evening. I started my life change today (Wednesday). For anyone who gets confused on my dates, here in South Korea we are one day ahead of back home in the states. Anyways, the reason I HATE not having to work is because I lack routine and get bored and don’t do much of anything. All my other co-teachers are off enjoying their vacation time back on the mainland of South Korea. I don’t really have the money to throw around to do that, so I am staying home. If you read my previous posts you know the thing I struggle with when I have so much time off is having a regular sleeping pattern. When I work, I usually sleep 10pm-6:30am. But not working, has me not going to sleep sometimes til 3-6am and then sleeping almost half the day away. So regardless, I know this blog is for my own accountability, motivation, and to show the truth so here goes:
Lunch:
Quiznos BLT regular (402 calories)
2 string cheese (56 calories)
1 water (.5L)
Dinner
Large salad with lettuce, tomatoes, swiss cheese, 2 turkey slices, 2 tsp of ranch dressing (308 calories)
1 cup of pineapple chunks (149 calories)
1 water (.5L)
Snacks:
2 string cheese (56 calories)
1 onion bagel (360 calories)
1 light cream cheese pack (28 calories)
190mL o.j. (65 calories)
TOTAL CALORIE INTAKE DAY ONE: 1,424
TOTAL WATER INTAKE: 1L
I’m totally disappointed at the low water intake and I absolutely have to work on that. Also, I am supposed to be eating 2100 calories a day for my first six weeks and 1400 is a far stretch from that. So I need to re-work my menu ideas. I realized I ate a lot of cheese today and that has to stop. I shouldn’t have gone to the family mart in town and bought those string cheese. Live and Learn.
My next big struggle this week beside having no routine and lack of a sleeping pattern is that I still have no clue how much I actually weigh. When I went to homeplus (which is like Korea’s walmart), they didn’t have any bathroom scales that read above 150kg. They also had no flaxseed, multivitamins, or garlic pills. I even went to the hospital today and they didn’t have anything but a little bathroom scale that only read up to 120kg.
I’m extremely fustrated not knowing exactly where I am starting. Maybe this week I can travel around the island looking for some stuff. It’s hard when you don’t speak the language here. Oh well. Like the title of this blog said, “Stop Making Excuses”.
Posted on September 2nd, 2009 by shan84
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I went out today and got my hair cut and colored. I’m feeling great. So ready for the changes to start coming and start showing. I love myself, even though I often have to remind myself of that. Back to teaching on Monday and Tuesday morning comes the real life change beginning. Thanks to anyone out there in the cyberworld taking the time to read my blog and learn a little about me and what I am trying to accomplish.
Posted on August 26th, 2009 by shan84
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So as I said before I live and teach currently in South Korea. Our school closed for two weeks because of the H1N1 virus hitting the island we live on. So, I’m in th second week off and bored out of my mind. I’ve been reading, writing, enjoying time with my little dog Kay but I’m still bored. My biggest problem right now is sleeping patterns. Usually when I work (Mon-Fri) I start at 8:30am and finish at 5:00, then I’m asleep by ten pm. Anyways, the past two days I haven’t been falling asleep til almost 6 am. Yes, I said 6am! What the heck. I guess I’m really anxious to get back to work. I miss my classroom and meeting all the new students every week.
Diet stuff. Yes I’m starting. I have to wait til August 31st which is payday here. Then I’m hitting Homeplus for some exercise stuff, healthy foods, and its time to start and not look back. I’ve been steadily working on the menu plans and calorie counting. To say I am a little bit of a control freak would be a grave understatement. I usually plan EVERYTHING to a “T”. So, I figure why not use this vacation time to plan everything out for the life change that’s about to take place. I don’t have much support here being that my family is all home in the USA, but I am hoping this blog will be a source of support and accountability as I take off on this journey.
I’m here in South Korea on my current contract until July 1, 2010. I have been here since February 14, 2009. A lot has happened in the past 6 months I have been here. I’ve worked at a private school, and now at an English Village. I had a former boss commit suicide. I’ve moved from a major city in South Korea to live on an island off the southern most tip. I rescued my sweet little Yorky Kay from a kill shelter. I am so ready for this life change to take place. I am completely committed 100% in making this work for me. For the person I am on the inside, and the person I want to let shine to the outside.
Posted on August 25th, 2009 by shan84
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Here’s the plan:
The 4-3-2-1 Biggest Loser Pyramid sets the stage for number of servings from each of the food groups:
- 4 servings of fruits and vegetables
- 3 servings of protein — lean, vegetarian, or low-fat dairy
- 2 servings of whole grains
- 1 extra of fats, oils, sweets, alcohol, or your choice, equivalent to 200 calories
SAMPLE MENU PLAN:
Breakfast: 1/2 serving protein, 1 serving whole grain, 1 serving fruit
Snack: 1/2 protein, 1 fruit
Lunch: 1 protein, 1/2 whole grain, 1 vegetable
Snack: 1/2 protein, 1 fruit
Dinner: 1/2 protein, 1/2 whole grain, 2 vegetables
Follow these five nuggets of advice from contestants who have lost weight on The Biggest Loser and kept it off:
- Eat a healthy breakfast every day
- Enjoy fruit and/or vegetables with every meal
- Have protein with all meals and snacks
- Stay active
- Plan your meals, snacks, and exercise
So that’s it folks. I’m working this week of getting everything set up and ready to go. I’m pouring over books, menu plans, calorie counters, etc. Official start date is Tuesday, September 1, 2009.
Posted on August 25th, 2009 by shan84
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I feel like if I’m going to be honest with myself, then I should be honest on here. So, here are all of my before pictures from the last 5 years of my life.
Posted on August 25th, 2009 by shan84
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Hate leaves ugly scars, love leaves beautiful ones. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Second Neurotic’s Notebook, 1966
Hate scars. Check. Love scars. Check but fading. I hated myself as a person for a long time and that’s what contributed me to ballooning to my highest weight right now at 380lbs. I love the person I have been working on trying to uncover, but I need to fix my outer ugly scars to match the love scars. My name is Shannon. I am twenty five years old, single, a college graduate, and living and teaching English currently on an island in South Korea. There are lots of things I have been quick to hate about myself, but I do love the real me. The person who is inside. Peel back the layers of drab clothing, the fat rolls, and the person who hides behind all of that is actually a great woman. She just is slowing learning that she doesn’t have to hide behind all of it, or use it as a crutch in some cases.
I grew up small. Swear it I did. I was always outside running around when I was younger. Freshman year of high school I was in the marching band’s color guard. I didn’t look overweight or feel badly about my body. At the end of my freshman year I was fourteen years old, and a hell raiser according to my parents. Which is a whole nother story for another day. Regardless, I moved out when I was 14 years old. My grandmother from Texas took me in and I sunk all my hopes, dreams, and desires to be loved into all the food I shoveled into my face for the next 10 years. Yes, I am an emotional eater. I am a stress eater. I eat when I’m bored too. My immediate family were not people I could count on to love me and take care of me, but damn it food was always there to listen to anything and everything that was going on with me. Granted there have been fleeting months in the past 4 years where I have tried diet after diet after diet, to no evale. But this is different. This time its going to be different.
How do I know? Because I’m me. I choose who I want to be and how I want to represent myself to other people. I don’t give a damn about how far up the career ladder you have climbed, or who you saw partying in Vegas, or who is dating who. I do give a damn about taking control of my own life in a positive and healthy way. I’m not ready for a diet. I am ready for a life change.
So, here is the plan. I live in South Korea so I’m limited a little bit on some food products but I’m determined to make this work. I am going to be doing the Biggest Loser Diet. 4-3-2-1, plus water, and exercise. Easy right? Probably not but I’m ready for it. Bring it on. Here are my goals:
Short term: December 25, 2009 50lbs gone!
Mid term: July 18, 2010 100lbs gone!
Long term: December 25, 2010 130lbs gone forever!
Fat girl. Check. Determination. Check. Love myself. Check. Ready. Check. Check
Posted on August 25th, 2009 by shan84
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