The Joys of Losing Weight: One Girl's Journey

2010-03-30T11:02:00.001-04:00

2010-03-21T10:52:00.001-04:00

2010-01-03T23:48:00.002-05:00

170.4 on 12/6

174.6 on 1/3
-70.2 since 2007

Week 26: Weigh-In Results and Summary

2009-07-16T23:58:00.010-04:00

WEEKLY WEIGHT UPDATE

TODAY'S WEIGHT: 161.2
LOST THIS WEEK: -3.2
TOTAL LOST: -39.6

WEEK 26: SUMMARY

This week I accomplished:
I was overall very happy with this past week and my accomplishments: I lost 3.2 pounds, ran a total of 13.35 miles in preparation for the half marathon, joined a canoe-racing team, and began adjusting to a new sleeping schedule.

I had made a commitment to myself to wake up at a relatively decent hour each day and to work out in the mornings before work rather than late at night after work. With the exception of Sunday (because I had an AM shift), Tuesday, and Wednesday, I woke up before 10:00 AM every day and walked/ran before work. It felt great the first few days of waking up early, but later in the week I was beginning to feel exhausted (which is why on Tuesday and Wednesday I slept in and took these two days off from working out).

This year I finally decided to join a team at work for Canoe Races of the World (C.R.O.W.), an annual event held on the Rivers of America at the Magic Kingdom. Teams of 8 - 10 people compete in men's, women's and co-ed leagues within Pro and Rec (recreational) divisions. The early morning practices had always kept me from participating in the past, but this year I finally made a commitment to do it. Our team, To Be Determined (yes, that is really our name), is participating in the Rec division as a co-ed team. Our first practice was held at 6:45 AM on Friday morning, and our second practice was held at 7:45 AM on Monday morning (this partly attributed to assisting me with developing a new sleeping schedule, but these early mornings were hard). We clocked in at 6:50:41 for Friday's practice and at 6:32:65 for Monday's practice, shaving off about 18 seconds between practices. Tomorrow we participate in the qualifying run, and hopefully we place as one of the top four teams in order to make it to the divisions and final race.

Friday after the C.R.O.W. practice, I decided to go for a run in Celebration; this would be one of my "long" runs outdoors. I completed a 3-mile run without stopping in about 38 minutes. I am continually surprised at my increased ability to run for longer and longer distances, and I am excited to see how quickly I am progressing. I'm looking forward to a 4-mile run tomorrow morning after C.R.O.W. practice, since I have taken the past three days off/resting from working out and running.

Overall, I consider this week to be a success. I'm slowly working towards incorporating more of a variety of activity and foods that I eat, and am continually impressed with what I can do once I set my mind to it.

Next week I commit to:
Next week I commit to focusing on running more and designing a new strength-training regiment for myself. I want to incorporate more variety within my strength training and toning exercises, utilizing free weights as opposed to the stationary machines.

WORKOUT SUMMARY

Week 24/Month 6: Weigh-In Results and Summary

2009-07-02T22:29:00.003-04:00

WEEKLY WEIGHT UPDATE

TODAY'S WEIGHT: 167.2
LOST THIS WEEK: -2.0
TOTAL LOST: -34.0

TOTAL LOST THIS MONTH: +3.6
TOTAL LOST SINCE 2007: -77.6

WEEK 24: SUMMARY

This week I accomplished:

Next week I commit to:

WORKOUT SUMMARY

BODY MEASUREMENTS: MONTH 6

The Big 10 (Percent)

2009-03-11T22:55:00.004-04:00

This past week, I reached an important milestone on my weight loss journey - losing 10% of my body weight (20 pounds). Below is an article from Weight Watchers regarding the many benefits of losing 10% of your body weight.

Losing 10 percent of your body weight is not only the first big step toward your ultimate goal weight, but it can also reduce your risk for many diseases and increase your self-esteem.

Striving for your wedding-day weight or some other magic number on the scale can be daunting. It's much easier to reach for an incremental goal that promises sizable health benefits: Losing just 10 percent of your current body weight.

"So many projects in life are better managed by breaking them down into small chunks," says Karen Miller-Kovach, MS, RD, chief scientist at Weight Watchers International. "Weight loss is no different."

But the body you've always wanted isn't all you'll get out of accomplishing that one starter goal. Here's what else you'll gain by losing 10 percent:

A Healthier Heart
By losing just 10 percent of your body weight, you can lower your cholesterol and reduce your blood pressure, says G. Ken Goodrick, PhD, psychologist and associate professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. High cholesterol and elevated blood pressure are two major risk factors for heart disease.

Lower Risk of Type 2 Diabetes
If you're overweight, you're at increased risk for type 2 diabetes, which means your body can't make enough, or properly use, insulin, a hormone that helps convert food to usable energy. By losing just 10 percent of your body weight, you'll improve your body's ability to use the insulin it makes, possibly preventing the onset of the disease, Miller-Kovach says. If you already have type 2 diabetes, shedding that 10 percent may improve your symptoms and possibly prevent complications, she adds.

More Pep
"Just a 10 percent weight loss increases feelings of vigor and vitality," says Miller-Kovach. "You'll feel better and have more energy."

A Mental Edge
Losing 10 percent can give you the self-confidence and motivation you need to keep going. "Success builds on success," says Miller-Kovach. But be sure you recognize it. "Losing 10 percent is a milestone in the journey," says Miller-Kovach. "Once you get there, take the time to congratulate yourself on your efforts."

Reality Check
After losing 10 percent, you gain a sense of what it will take to lose the rest and reach your final goal weight. "It gives you a context in terms of saying, 'Am I willing to put in that much more effort to lose even more weight?'" Miller-Kovach says. If the answer is no, that's okay. "Some people only lose 10 percent and that's it," says Goodrick. If that's you, pat yourself on the back. "Health-wise, a 10-percent weight loss is a great achievement," Goodrick says.

My Reward/Motivation System

2009-01-15T13:39:00.014-05:00

I've come to realize and recognize that when I have a deadline/goal/reward to work towards, I am better able to commit to following through with things. Setting smaller initial goals will also help me stay focused and not get overwhelmed by the "big picture"...instead of thinking "I have to lose 75 pounds," I can tell myself "You only need to lose 10 pounds right now and then you get to pamper yourself."

Based on total pounds lost, I've created a set of "rewards" to work toward. The more I lose, the more the value of the reward increases. I've limited myself to an initial 50 pounds for right now, and will determine other rewards if I do exceed a 50-pound loss this year (hopefully I will!).

10 pounds: Lady GaGa CD
20 pounds: manicure/pedicure
25 pounds: Vintage Nude Double-Sided Necklace
30 pounds: Melancholy Lashes necklace
35 pounds: running shoes
40 pounds: car wash
45 pounds: helicopter ride
50 pounds: 1 hour full-body massage
55 pounds: Elliot Bird necklace
60 pounds: hot-air balloon ride
65 pounds: hair cut and colored
70 pounds - GOAL!: an old-time photo

**UPDATE** 2/28/2009
I've updated the various rewards, rearranging some rewards, adding in some new ones, and completing my list for my rewards up to my final goal of 70 pounds lost!

A New Year, A New Start: 2009, My Year to Shine!

2009-01-15T13:34:00.013-05:00

This week marks my two year anniversary since joining Weight Watchers in 2007. I've been on the road to losing weight since January 12, 2007 with a few minor bumps and challenges along the way (much like the past 6 weeks with the holidays...and getting thrown off track repeatedly).

Since joining Weight Watchers, I've lost a total of 43.6 pounds. This year I commit to finally getting to my goal weight and finally completing my long and memorable journey.

I plan to update this blog at least weekly with a status of how I am doing, including stats such as my weight for the week, loss for the week, total loss, body measurements, photos, my workout routine/schedule, etc. My "week" (in terms of tracking WW POINTS) runs from Thursdays to Wednesdays...this "week" schedule worked incredibly well for me in the beginning of 2007, and when I switched to Sunday to Saturday sometime in 2008, I seemed to have a harder time. So, learning from this, I will go back to what worked for me: having Thursdays be the first day of my "week." And, it helps that Thursdays are the days that I attend meetings, so it's a great way to start the week off motivated and committed to achieving goals for the upcoming week.

WEEKLY WEIGHT UPDATE

TODAY'S WEIGHT: 201.2
LOST THIS WEEK: N/A
TOTAL LOST: N/A

BODY MEASUREMENTS: START