many people know that the more you have to lose, the more weight off it takes for people to notice. i was worried that i would have to lose 30+ lbs before people began to notice even the slightest change, including myself.
i have been doing about an hour of strong cardio each night, followed by 180-200 full sit-ups (clearly the number of sit-ups has increased dramatically over the last three weeks). after two days off of no exercise and a bit of calorie binge (400 extra) in the evening, i feared that i would step on the scale to see a disappointing increase in weight. this was not the case. this morning i was down 3lbs. i was super stoked as i had been stuck at 231 for over 2 weeks of plan following. i believe the loss is b/c i shocked my body by slightly overeating and relaxing on the workout. it would be erroneous to believe that overeating and lack of exercise lead to the weight loss.
never the less, i was even more elated to find a Target XXL top too large. keep in mind, please, that 6 weeks ago i was squeezing into target XXL tops. so i purchased two XL tops that fit moderately OK, but will likely be a bit baggy by summer.
this is a thread worthy occasion as until now i have been happy with the weight loss, but felt that i was only telling myself that i noticed a difference as an affirmation, keeping in the back of my mind that it was a dubious account.
i strongly believe that i have made this progress strictly due to the exercise routine. i could have lost 20lbs, maybe just as quickly with diet alone, but where would i lose it? muscle, boobs, who knows? because of the cardio and sit-ups, my tummy and butt are noticeably smaller. i do not stuff myself into a top, it simply fits.
so i wanted to share b/c this feels like a genuine milestone. thanks for taking the time to read my long post.
Awesome!! I found your post positive and motivating.
After many, many years of yo-yo dieting I too have come to the conclusion that exercise is absolutely THE necessary ingredient, and every single day too. For years I was doing the 3 - 4 times a week half hour exercise, but I find an hour a day is much much better and totally doable. I know I'm not going to "eat clean" every day but even on the bad days AND THERE WILL BE SOME (drinking, eating crap, trashing out!) I'm now totally committed to put in the exercise, AT LEAST 45 minutes.
the bummer is that after a couple of days off, it was hard to talk myself back into the routine. but once i started, the time flew by and now i feel that great rush of endorphins
Thank you for the motivation - I agree with all what you said and I'm the same with K8 in regards to Yo-Yo dieting. I realize that the longer I stick to the exercise/diet routine the more/faster I lose
I need to start exercising 6-7 days even if it's just for a half an hour. It really adds up (in inches) and with inches your losses are more noticeable!
I think it is a huge milestone.
I can relate as I was excited the other day at TJ Maxx to find most of the 3x shirts were quite large on me. I am so used to nothing fitting me at all.
Keep up the hard work it sounds like you are doing great!
i too have had some ocassions when i was doing everything right and was not really seeing results, so then i would take a take a day off from exersize or eat more and i would see a loss. the human body is so complex, and i guess sometimes it just needs the change. i was doing a half hour cardio also but bumped it up to 1hr. and it is way better. i feel more accomplished and am seeing better results. nothing like the feeling of working hard! congrats on your loss so far!
Congratulations! Honestly, I think your accomplishment of losing a size is so much more rewarding than a scale number - who cares what the number is if you know your body has become physically smaller? So, congrats!
And exercise is definitely the best part of being on plan. It can actually be enjoyable and it certainly works!
congrats! i really need the motivation to work out more than the twice a week i'm doing now. even three times a week would be a huuuge improvement, i bet.
thanks for sharing!
congrats! i really need the motivation to work out more than the twice a week i'm doing now. even three times a week would be a huuuge improvement, i bet.
thanks for sharing!
I second that! I've been eating on plan for over 30 days (a big accomplishment for me, I used to be a "weekday warrior" on a diet, weekdays being M-W, lol).
But I need to commit to exercise to really make the most out of my weight loss. I've started off doing walking a few days a week for an hour but it needs to be a daily habit!
Congratulations on your success! It's no small thing and you should be very proud of yourself.
UPDATE: I not only squeezed into those 16s yesterday, but i wore them around for a bit. the cut and style seriously made me look like i lost 50 lbs. i am really excited to see how they look with a fitted t-shirt or sweater.
and this morning i had to throw 3 pairs of size 20 dress pants to the back of my closet because they look ridiculous.
my gosh! i love sit-ups DO THEM!
Hi Katiecron, I jus wanted to say thanks, reading this has really helped me.
In nov 08 / december 08 i exercise everyday and lost 16lbs in 1 month, but i found people say negative thing, like you can only lose 1lb of fat a week no matter how much you exercise and i was losing muscle, etc....
What you say about the body being complex is so true. What happens to one person when they exercise doesnt nessacary happen to all of us.
I let negative comments throw me off the wagon. But having read this i am firmly back on board, and looking forward to seeing the lbs disapear.
what did i do right? a testament to exercise
