2011 Weigh Ins

January 2011
01/21 - 175
01/23 - 174
01/24 - 173 (12 weeks pregnant)

February 2011
02/07 - 177 (14 weeks pregnant)
02/20 - 174 (16 weeks pregnant)
02/23 - 175
02/24 - 176

March 2011
03/01 - 176 (17 weeks pregnant)
03/03 - 178
03/10 - 179 (18 weeks pregnant)

April 2011
04/27 - 190 (25 weeks pregnant)

May 2011
05/26 - 199 (29 weeks pregnant)

June 2011
06/21 - 200 (33 weeks pregnant)

July 2011
07/05 - 206 (35 weeks pregnant)
07/12 - 202 (36 weeks pregnant)
07/19 - 204 (37 weeks pregnant)
07/26 - 204 (38 weeks pregnant)

August 2011
08/02 - 206 (39 weeks pregnant)
08/08 - 186 (2 days after birth)
08/11 - 187
08/20 - 181
08/26 - 181

September 2011
09/04 - 177 (goal achieved - pre-pregnancy weight with Benjamin)
09/05 - 176
09/09 - 176
09/16 - 177
09/23 - 177
09/30 - 177

October 2011
10/07 - 178
10/15 - 176
10/21 - 175 (goal achieved - pre-pregnancy weight with Brandon)
10/28 - 175

November 2011
11/04 - 179.2
11/11 - 181.6
11/18 - 180.6
11/25 - 180.6

December 2011
12/02 - 179.6
12/09 - 180.8
12/16 - 179.2
12/23 - 178.4
12/30 - 181.8

Weekly Weigh In (12/30/11)

Last week: 178.4
This week: 181.8
Total: + 3.4

I'm not surprised I gained.  Especially after my binge yesterday.  I didn't do well over the weekend, either, so it was to be expected.  I have plans for New Years Eve, so I won't really be counting calories again until Monday.  Thankfully the holidays will be over with and I can get back in the right mindset.

However, I've done really well not drinking soda.  Today is day three and so far, so good.  :)

I've also decided that I have to learn to only weigh myself on Fridays...the day it really counts.  No more weighing mid-week to see where I'm at.  It just stresses me out.

A few people I work with have decided to do a weight loss challenge.  I don't know when they want to do weigh ins, but if it's not Friday, then it looks like I'll be changing my weigh in day.  I don't know a lot of the details, but I can use the motivation, so I'm joining in.  I'm not quite the heaviest person that works there, but I'm not the lightest, either.  Hopefully it'll be fun.

Goodbye to My Addiction

I am a soda addict.  As a young child, my mom drank Mountain Dew and she'd often share a small cup with me.  As I got older, I drank Diet Pepsi.  Then something happened and my taste buds didn't agree with it and I switched to Diet Coke.  I could drink a few liters of Diet Coke a day and be content.  As I got older and started drinking alcohol, my favorite soda became Dr. Pepper because it tasted great with Southern Comfort.  Once my binge drinking came to a halt, I could no longer stand the taste of Dr. Pepper and I began drinking Mountain Dew again.  When I finally realized that a big part of my weight problems was because I could drink a 12 pack of Mountain Dew a day, I weened myself off of it and started drinking diet sodas - primarily Diet Coke and Diet Dr. Pepper.

I am also a very picky soda drinker.  I can only drink my favorites a certain way.  Mountain Dew has to be out of a bottle or a can (much prefer an ice cold can).  I dislike the way it tastes out of a fountain machine.  I prefer Diet Coke out of a fountain machine and Diet Dr. Pepper out of a bottle.  I have a hard time drinking any of those any other way.  :/

However, I read a blog (can't remember where now) that talked about the effects of diet sodas on your metabolism.  I've always been of the thinking that since it's diet, it's okay for me.  Well, I guess some studies have been done and the artificial sweeteners and stuff they put in diet soda to make it "diet" cause your metabolism to slow waaaaay down and even increase your desire for sweet things.

I am NOT a water drinker.  I feel like I'm drowning if I drink water from a cup.  The easiest way for me to drink water is out of a bottle with a sports top.  Otherwise, I just find it difficult to swallow it.  And I only crave water when I'm working out and building up a sweat.  Even in the hottest of summer weather, I'd rather drink Gatorade and Powerade than have a bottle of water.

But after reading that blog, I've decided that I really am going to cut down on my soda intake.  I've tried before and succeeded for a few days but then I'll have a craving and give in.  I have one bottle of Diet Dr. Pepper left and after that, no more.  I may allow myself a soda here and there, but the majority of my fluids from now on will come from water.  I hope.  My goal is to drink at least two big bottles of water a day.  I know that's not quite the recommended amount, but I'm going to have to adjust to this water drinking idea slowly, I think.

I can do this.  :)

Weekly Weigh In (12/23/11)

Last week: 179.2
This week: 178.4
Total: - .8

Not quite a pound lost, but still, a loss is a loss.  I had hoped for a little more, but I'll take what I can get.  I definitely won't be at my goal of 170 by the new year, but I'm getting closer, and that's what counts the most.  :)  We are celebrating Christmas with the families tomorrow and while I'm going to be mindful of what I put in my mouth, I won't be counting calories and I'm going to try not to over eat.  I want to get to my goal, of course, but I also want to enjoy myself during the holidays.  The whole point in making a lifestyle change rather than being on a "diet" is that I still get to eat like a normal person.  I need to learn self control and recognizing my "full" signals before I over do it.  Tomorrow will be a good test.  :)

Happy holidays!

50 Best Workout Songs of 2011

SparkPeople is the site I use to track my fitness and nutrition.  It's a great community of people and has loads of articles about pretty much every health/weight loss/fitness/nutrition topic you could think of.  It's my weight loss bible.  Anyway, they posted their 50 best workout songs of 2011 and I thought I'd share.  I'm always looking for new music to listen to that will get me in the workout mood and this list has a lot of great, upbeat songs!  Looks like I'll be updating my playlist.  :)

DailySpark (source)

01. Maroon 5 – "Moves Like Jagger"
02. Lady Gaga – "Born This Way"
03. LMFAO – "Party Rock Anthem"
04. Adele – "Rolling in the Deep"
05. Black Eyes Peas – "Just Can't Get Enough"
06. Jennifer Lopez – "On the Floor"
07. LMFAO – "Sexy and I Know It"
08. Lady Gaga – "Edge of Glory"
09. Katy Perry – "Last Friday Night"
10. Pink – "Perfect"
11. Foster the People – "Pumped up Kicks"
12. Nicki Minaj – "Super Bass"
13. Rihanna – "S&M"
14. Beyonce – "Run The World (Girls)"
15. Ke$ha – "Blow"
16. Adele – "Someone Like You"
17. Bruno Mars – "Grenade"
18. Pitbull – "Give Me Everything"
19. Katy Perry – "E.T."
20. Gym Class Heroes  ft. Adam Levine – "Stereo Hearts"
21. Britney Spears – "I Wanna Go"
22. Kelly Clarkson – "Mr. Know It All"
23. Hot Chelle Rae – "Tonight Tonight"
24. Lady Gaga – "You and I"
25. Cobra Starship – "You Make Me Feel"
26. Selena Gomez and the Scene – "Love You Like A Love Song"
27. One Republic – "The Good Life"
28. Flo Rida – "Good Feeling"
29. Enrique Iglesias – "Dirty Dancer"
30. Alexandra Stan – "Mr. Saxobeat"
31. Enrique Iglesias – "I Like How It Feels"
32. Beyonce – "Best Thing I Never Had"
33. Rihanna ft Calvin Harris – "We Found Love"
34. Kanye West ft. Rihanna – "All Of The Lights"
35. Pitbull – "Rain Over Me"
36. Coldplay – "Paradise"
37. Britney Spears – "Hold It Against Me"
38. David Guetta – "Where Them Girls At"
39. David Guetta ft Usher – "Without You"
40. Jennifer Lopez – "I'm Into You"
41. Coldplay – "Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall"
42. Nicki Minaj – "Moment 4 Life"
43. Jessie J – "Price Tag"
44. Dev – "Bass Down Low"
45. Whiz Khalifa – "Roll Up"
46. Tinie Tempah – "Written In The Stars"
47. Jason Derulo – "It Girl"
48. Coldplay ft Rihanna – "Princess Of China"
49. Demi Lovato – "Skyscraper"
50. Lupe Fiasco – "The Show Goes On"

When I Was Just a Little Girl

7th or 8th grade

Until I was about 8 years old, I was a skinny child.  My whole world came crashing down when my parents divorced and my mom moved me to a new town in the middle of summer.  I didn't realize until I didn't know anyone that I was a shy kid and moving in the summertime made it hard to make friends.  I stayed inside, eating a bag of Doritos and watching cartoons on a daily basis.  I don't know how much I gained that summer, but when I started 3rd grade that fall, I was the heaviest kid in my class.

The rest of my elementary, middle school and high school years were really hard.  I never had a boyfriend.  I finally made some friends, but I was always "the fat friend."  I went to the dances and was a permanent fixture by the wall.  I skipped my 8th grade, junior and senior proms, because I didn't want the embarrassment of having to find an ill-fitting dress.  :/

High School Graduation - May 1999

During my college physical after I graduated, I found out that I weighed 279 pounds.  For some reason, I didn't even care.  I don't remember being horrified or disgusted or even ambitious to make a change.

Somehow, while in my first semester of college, I managed to LOSE weight.  I didn't gain the terrifying "Freshman 15."  I still don't know how I did it.  I lived off of Taco Bell, bagels and cream cheese from my dorm commissary and french fries from the cafeteria.

When I quit college after my first semester, I got heavy into drugs and alcohol.  I managed to drop 100 pounds in a short period of time.  During this time, I also developed an eating disorder.  It wasn't unusual for me to go days without eating.  In fact, my "record" was seven days.

2001 - 170's and oh so lady like in my baggy clothes

I started dating an abusive guy and a year into our relationship, I ended up pregnant.  During my first appointment, I was weighed and realized that I weighed 175.  I hadn't known just how much weight I'd lost until that time; I just knew by my seriously oversized clothes (I never bought new clothes) that I was no longer the fat girl from graduation.  However, during my pregnancy, I ate whatever I wanted, not realizing that it would be really hard to lose the weight after the baby was born.  I gained 45 pounds with Brandon.

Just before Brandon turned a year old, I finally left his father.  For the next two years, I had only managed to lose about 10 pounds.  I then started dating someone else (he became The Husband a few years later) and when we found out we were pregnant with Kaiden, I weighed 216.  With him, I didn't gain much weight.  But after he was born, I stayed home with him for two years and ballooned up to 270 pounds.  In March 2009, I weighed myself and when the big red numbers on the scale flashed 270, I almost cried.  I had vowed to never be that fat girl from high school again and here I was, 9 pounds away.

March 2009 - 268lbs

I decided then and there that I was going to change.  I had a friend who had lost 100 pounds with diet and exercise and she was a huge help and inspiration for me.  I struggled a lot but managed to stay on track for the most part.  I lost weight pretty slowly.  I had decent numbers each week, but during the times I struggled, I would manage to gain a small portion of the weight back.  Almost a year into my journey, I weighed 226 pounds.  Total lost that year was 44 pounds.

February 2010 - 220 lbs

In December of 2010, we found out I was pregnant with Benjamin.  At my 2 year anniversary in starting this journey, I was about 4 months pregnant and 179 pounds.  This picture shows me a month later, at 23 weeks pregnant and about the same weight, give or take a few pounds.

April 2011 - 179lbs (pregnant)

With Ben, I didn't gain much.  I was so afraid of doing a lot of damage to the success that I had already achieved that I had trouble eating at first.  As the pregnancy progressed, I began to eat better and in the end, only gained about 24 pounds, which I quickly lost when Ben was born.

Since Ben was born 4 months ago, I have really struggled with my weight.  I hover around 179-180, usually gaining and losing the same pound over and over.  With this blog, the support of family and friends, and the tools I use at SparkPeople, I hope to gain control of my weight and lose the 45 pounds I have left until I reach my ultimate goal.

Weekly Weigh In (12/16/11)

Last week: 180.8
This week: 179.2
Total: - 1.6

I weigh in on Fridays.  I used to weigh in on Mondays, until I realized that the weekends often sabotaged my efforts.  Last Friday I weighed in at 180.8.  This Friday, the scale read 179.2.  I was really surprised to see a drop, considering I binged more days last week than not.  I know, I shouldn't question it, but sometimes this weight loss stuff really stumps me.  LOL  Well, anyway, I'm determined to start this week off right for another successful weigh in next Friday!

Accountability

I am struggling to lose the last 45 pounds I need to achieve my goal.  I've done just about everything I can think of to keep myself accountable, but nothing seems to work.  I've been reading a lot of prog blogs and decided I wanted to do one.  I've been a blogger in the past, but due to lack of followers, I would quickly give up.  I'd like to have a blog that people could turn to for inspiration, but right now, I'm just looking for an outlet.  I'll be posting stats, pictures, and other randomness as frequently as possible.