Whew- well, my goal weight has kept going down- from a 'normal' BMI of around 168, to under 160, to my high school weight of 155, and finally to under 150. Which I finally achieved at yesterday's weight in!
Sadly- I've lost a lot of muscle in the 20 odd years since high school (where I played ball and lifted heavy). Under 150 is now a LOT flabbier than the hard bodied 155 I used to be.
So- the weight is more a mini-goal and I'll now be focused on keeping it under 150 but adding in muscle until I can no longer pinch an inch!
A brief history of my weight loss. Back in fall of '09 I had a trip coming up to meet folks I knew only online. I knew I'd gained weight- turning 40 and more significantly stopping exercise as my old dog just could no longer take our walkies was the main culprit. (The exercise used to compensate for my crappy eating habits.) And then there was the depression that came with his passing.
My size 14's were obscenely tight- and the upcoming trip gave me the incentive to finally step on a scale and see how bad things had gotten. I feared 180 or even 190! When 217 popped up I bought a pair of 16's (which fit), joined this forum (where I mostly lurked in the goal forums looking at goal pics for inspiration), and started dieting and riding an exercise bike. In about a month, I hit 201 and squeezed back into my 14's. Sadly, I didn't keep up w/my weight loss focus after the trip and let things slide for the next year.
Fast forward to Jan. 2011 (a little over a year). Another trip was coming up in Feb. and a couple friends from work had started the '4 hour body' diet. It seemed like a good time and a good way to once again tackle getting my bod in shape! So at the beginning of Feb, I hopped on the scale again. Happily, I weighed in at 199.5. OK- it wasn't THAT happy, but at least I hadn't piled it back on while not paying attention. I chalk that up to the fact I got a new dog in March of 2010 and by 2011 was back to my daily dog walks. And- not depressed. WOOT DOGS!
Still- 200 is way too high (as the pics will show). So I started the slow carb diet (high protein, no fruit or dairy, lots of bean for slow carbs). I don't entirely recommend the book for a number of reasons, but the basic approach works for me.
In that first month leading up to the trip, I stuck the diet, added in another 2 mile walk at the end of the day (to go with my 2 mile morning walk) and dropped 15 pounds to get to 185. This time I stuck with the plan after the trip.
And here I am- happy with the weight on the scales, but still too flabby for what I want. Going forward, I'll be tweaking the diet to add back some complex carbs (and fruit and a little dairy in the form of low fat cheese and greek yogurt), completing the C25K (I'm on week 3) and most importantly adding in 3 days of weight work. If I can drop another 5 pounds of fat and up my muscle, I think I'll be much happier with my bod. I still have some pooch under and over my belly button and I can 'pinch an inch' on each side of my hips. That I want gone.
So that's my journey so far. And here are the pics, cause that's my favorite part of lurking in the goal forums! Sadly, I didn't take a picture at the start of this round as I figured the 201 pic from 2009 was close enough to my 2011 start of 199.5. Still, looking back, I wish I'd taken one.
All the pics are wearing the same exact clothes. For this next round, I'll be taking pics wearing a bikini- those shorts now swamp me, making it a little hard to see the problem areas!
And while I'll still mostly lurk- wanted to say 'Thanks' to 3FC. The goal forums in particular really help with the inspiration. And I now include the Maintenance forums in my daily reading- cause that transition really scares me a bit!
(And the attachment resizing is making it hard to read the 'front on' pics- so the weights are: 217, 201.5, 185 and 149.5.)
Good luck!
I'm also a work in progress.
