Angel’s transformation

Hey everyone! Not sure why it took me so long to post this, guess it will take a bit of effort to get back in the habit of regularly posting on my blog. Oh well, better late than ever, right?

So, as I mentioned in my last post - my week last week went really really well. I weighed in at my weight watcher’s meeting on Monday and lost 6.4 pounds!! Yay! I am very happy with that loss, especially considering I was aiming for 3pounds.

I rewarded myself by going out and buying 2 (not 1, but 2!) new bathing suits! I was worried I wouldn’t be able to find one that fits me well, but instead I found a couple that I was comfortable with. I was so happy with my new suit, that I decided to break it in at the pool. I went to aquacise twice, and I loved it! I had a great time - I felt good and I thought I looked good. This was a wonderful feeling, and I can’t wait until I get to go again!

It is the gift that keeps on giving!

I am feeling very proud of myself for doing such a good job this week. I wanted to take it slow, take little steps, and I feel like I succeeded!

This week I:

1. Exercised for the first time in 2.5 months!
2. Joined the weight loss challenge and became a team member in the Heartbreakin’ Rockstars!
3. Journalled all my WW points, and followed the guidelines set forth by WW! This included eating 40 points worth of food a day, and using 10 of my 35 extra points this week.
4. I started drinking water again! This is a big deal, because for the longest time I wasn’t drinking water - my fluids came from pop, juice, etc.
5. I was able to order a small pizza from pizza 73 and only eat 3 of the 6 pieces! More importantly, I regulated what I ate and wrote down that I ate it! Pizza use to be the food I would binge on, so this is a HUGE deal for me! I am so happy that I can enjoy what I love to eat, and be able to eat it in moderation without guilt!

Tomorrow I am going to my weight watchers meeting, and will be weighing in to see how all these successes translate in terms of weight loss. I am very excited about this week, and feel very happy about the changes I have made. I am confident that this is something I can do for the rest of my life, and this makes me feel really good!

 I will let you know how the weigh in goes tomorrow.

Hey guys, I am just getting started again and I would like to join one of the groups and/or challenges on here. Can someone tell me a bit about what is available and which ones are looking for new members?

My first week’s attempt to lose weight was an epic failure. I thought that buying healthy food would be enough to ensure that I would make healthy food choices, but I was wrong. I thought that ‘winging it’ would work – sadly mistaken. Complete flexibility was a huge flop.

The choice to be completely flexible was inspired by my previous attempt to lose weight (Sept ’08 – April ’09). At that time I followed an extremely strict exercise and meal routine, and I lost quite a bit of weight. However, as soon as my schedule had to change (due to life getting busy, holidays, etc) my weight loss efforts unravelled. I slowly began gaining the weight back, and I finally gave up. I couldn’t get my routine back - no matter how hard I tried.Now I have gained all the weight back, and more. Although I was tempted to completely restructure my life in a similar way as before (structured menu and exercise routine) I knew that something so rigid wouldn’t work for more than a few weeks. But I found out that something with complete flexibility is just as bad, actually – it is worse, since it doesn’t work for more than a few hours.

So, I decided that the key to my success would be finding a structured weight loss program, but one that is flexible enough to meet the changes that occur in life. But I had no idea what system would work! I have tried all sorts of things in the past, and was scared that there was nothing left.I love how life delivers… over the last couple weeks it seems like the universe has provided signs as to where to turn. My doctor, my friends, people online, and even my mother all recommended the same thing, something I had never tried. All independently! Well, I am no fool – even if it is a coincidence, I am going to go the direction that all signs seem to point to. So, I joined weight watchers.

Yesterday I weighed in (341.4 pounds, yuck), and attended my first meeting. I got my little booklets, learned about the points system (I am allowed 40 points a day), and met the group. So far, I am really enjoying it. I am especially fond of the idea of earning little rewards (5 pound stickers, etc) which are celebrated at the meetings. I feel confident about the level of structure and flexibility offered through this program. I like the idea of points, as it tells me how much to eat everyday (giving me the structure I need) – and I love how we get 35 extra flex points every week, which gives me the flexibility to have an ‘off’ day/days, as needed, guilt free!I love organizing, writing, and budgeting – and this program fulfills that by encouraging me to write down everything I eat, assigning a point value to it, and budgeting for what I am able to eat given the number of points I have left. Plus the accountability mandated by attending weekly meetings is fantastic.

It seems like something that I can do, and live with, for the rest of my life. That is very promising considering I am looking to make a lifelong lifestyle change. This program seems like it will provide the structure I need along with the flexibility necessary for the changes that are bound to occur in my life. I think I have found something that will work for me, and I am very excited about it.

Yay!

So, I guess this is as good of a place to start as any! I plan to weigh and measure myself weekly to keep record of my progress. I will take pictures of myself whenever I reach my mini-goal. My first mini-goal is to reach 310 pounds which is 28 pounds away. So, this is where I am at.

STARTING MEASUREMENTS:

Neck: 16

Bicep: 17.5

Forearm: 12

Chest: 54

Waist: 43

Lower Abs: 59.5

Hips: 61

Thigh: 32.5

Calf: 20

Total inches: 315.5

Weight: 338 Pounds

BEFORE PICTURES:

It has been over a year since I visited and contributed to buddyslim, but I am ready to try it again! So, hello! There may be people who remember me, but I bet most of you won’t. My name is Angel. I am 27 years old and live in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. I have a 6 year old daughter, a year old shihtzu puppy, and will be celebrating a 9 year anniversary with my ‘husband’ this year.

I am currently an undergraduate student at Mount Royal University and am pursuing a BA in psychology. I also work as a research assistant, a crisis line worker for a distress centre, and am a peer tutor. This keeps me extremely busy, and as a result I find it hard to find time to take care of myself.

I found this site to be extremely helpful last time I was here, but for some reason I discontinued using it and subsequently fell into old habits. This is likely due to the fact that I no longer held myself accountable, and I had no one to remind me of my accountability. Since leaving I gained all my weight back (am currently 338 pounds), and I am dissapointed in myself due to this. However, I know that I can be proud for not giving up - I am back, and I am ready to start over and get it done.

That said, I have no idea where to start! I am really scared that I won’t be able to do it, as my track record isn’t very good! I have tried and failed so many times that I am almost already discouraged in anticipation of this seemingly inevitable outcome. I would greatly appreciate your help in this matter, please give me some suggestions!

My schedule is very busy, I am addicted to fast food/take out, I enjoy working out but am embarassed to do so right now as I have few workout clothes that fit me well and I am pretty out of shape. Even if I were motivated to workout, making the time to do so has been difficult for me. However, I am willing to make changes to all of this to achieve my goal.

My main motivations for losing weight (in no particular order):

1. To feel confident in my abilities by reducing my insecurity
2. To have my outward appearance reflect my internal self
3. To feel beautiful, sexy, and passionate again - both for myself, and for my husband
4. So that I feel comfortable presenting research to large groups of people without worrying about them judging me and my abilities based on my physical appearance.
5. To have energy to play with my daughter and puppy
6. To prove to myself and others than I can do it
7. To make myself and my family proud
8. To be able to wear anything I want and enjoy shopping
9. To love all of myself in all ways
10. For my health and my happiness

I am excited to start, and look forward to hearing from all of you. Thank you in advance for being a part of my journey.

Today was definitely better than yesterday, food wise I have done well, exercise is also good. My water intake is better than ever. I also started on a new 30 day detox today, and I am feeling great. I am pretty hungry, but am chewing gum and resisting as best I can. If worse comes to worse I will only allow myself to munch on some raw veggies tonight, but I will do my best to avoid that anyway.

Food Intake:

10:30 am: 1 sugar free Quaker Oatmeal packet

12:30pm: 1 chicken burger on whole grain bun with fat free cheese slice and 1 tsp of calorie wise mayo, ½ cup of sweet potatoes, and 1 large salad

3:00pm: 1 Fibre one granola bar

6:00pm: 1 large pork chop in cranberry/honey sauce, with 1 cup of stuffing (no butter added), and 3 cups of mixed broccoli and cauliflower with 1 tbsp of parmesan cheese.

Water Intake:

500 ml bottle: 5

Exercise:

7:30pm: 30 modified push ups, 50 squats, 80 lunges, 30 twist crunches, 15 reverse crunches, 15 dumbbell crunches

8:00pm: 60 Minute Deep H20 Class

Ok - I will be the first to admit that Tuesday was a big huge failure. lol. It took me all day to muster up the courage to post this. I am so ashamed.

Food Intake:

8:30am: 1 cup of mini wheats with 1% milk

11:00am: 1 cup of blueberries

1:00pm: 1 Big Mac, 1 Large fries, 1 medium coke from Mcdonalds.

7:00pm: 1 banana buzz from Jugo Juice

10:30pm: 1 large lasagne and 1 Caesar salad from Nick’s

Water Intake:

500 ml bottle: 3

Exercise:

9:30am: 60 minute weight training class

Today was pretty good, but again I am struggling with the evening and over eating at that time. I started making dinner at 5:30, but it wasn’t ready before my exercise class, so I didn’t eat dinner with my family - and instead went to my swim class. Then after swimming I went and got groceries, which wasn’t the greatest idea because I was so hungry and I gave into buying a piece of cake for dessert. I finally ate dinner around 10:00 at night, and by then I was so hungry I had no control. I still did ok considering, but I will have to make sure to avoid that in the future.

Food Intake:

10:45am: 1 cup of mini wheats with 1% milk

1:15pm: 1 6inch roast beef sub with small chicken noodle soup

3:30pm: 1 granola bar

9:30pm: 4 chicken thighs, 1 cup of carrots, 2 tbsp of olive oil, 1 cup of sweet potatoes and white onions.

10:00pm: 1 large piece of chocolate cake 

Water Intake:

600 ml bottle: 3

Exercise:

11:30am: 45 modified push ups, 75 squats, 120 lunges, 46 twist crunches, 30 reverse crunches, 30 dumbbell crunches

7:00pm: 1 hour Deep H20 workout at pool.

The day went ok, except at night I was extremely hungry. I was craving protein after my work out and nothing seemed to fill it. I gave into temptation when Jose offered to go to the store to get beef jerky, and then I wanted a chocolate bar too - so he got me both. I ate them, but still wanted chili (which is what I was originally going to eat before Jose offered to get beef jerky).. so I ate that too. Not such a great idea. It makes me so angry when I do so well all day and then ruin it at night. 

Food Intake:

10:30am: 1 Banana

1:00pm: 1.5 chicken breasts cooked in the juices and pulp of 1/2 a lemon and 1/2 an orange, 10 Tbsp of Brushetta (basil, tomatoes, garlic) and 1 tbsp of feta on 3 mini whole wheat pitas

3:00-4:00pm: 2 cups of coffee with 4 packs of sugar free sweetener

5:30pm: 1/2 cup of rice vermicceli, 5 tiger shrimp cooked in 3 tbsp of left over brushetta, salad (1/4 avacado, 3 cups mix of green leaf and romaine lettuce, 1/2 a tomato, 1 tbsp of asiago cheese, 1 tbsp of raisons, 1/2 tbsp of almond slices, 1/2 celery stick, 1/8th of cucumber, 1/4 carrot).

6:00pm: 1 fat free jello vanilla pudding with 3 strawberries and 1tsp of quick chocolate syrup

7:45pm: 1 peanut butter and jam sandwich and a granola bar

10:00pm: Beef Jerky, 1 chocolate bar, chili with cheese

Water Intake:

600 ml bottle of water: 4 = 2400 ml of water

Exercise:

11:00-11:20am: 45 modified pushups, 75 squats, 120 lunges, 46 twist crunches, stretches

7:00pm: 30 reverse crunches, 30 dumbell crunches, 20 minutes on eliptical, 15 minutes on treadmill