Week 11 & 12 - Guess Who Lost 30lbs???

Me! Me! I did!
32.8 pounds actually

Week 11 Weigh in was 212.8
Week 12 Weigh In was 209.2

Basically - I achieved my 30 by Thirty goal, 2 weeks ahead of schedule.

Ok - I took some pictures.

I probably should've cleaned my mirror first.

NSVs (Non Scale Victories)
Size 18 jeans to Size 14 now
Size 1x/2x Shirt to L Shirt now
I dropped significantly in bra size as well but I'd prefer not to highlight those depressing stats.
I regularly hit the treadmill twice a day, and it's not even the worst thing ever.

Measurement Changes
Bust: -4.5 inches
Waist: -4.5 inches
Hips: -6.5 inches
Thighs: -3 inches

So, what now?
Well... Based on my BMI, I'm still obese.  202 is the magic number that puts me in the overweight category, and that's awful close to ONEderland (199) so next up on the goal list:

202 - (No longer obese)
199 by New Years Day
189.9 at some point (my lowest weight I can remember as an adult where I felt damn fine)
Size 12 Jeans one day

I'm not sure how this is going to go with all the holidays and birthday binge drinking.  I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing and see what happens.

Maybe if I keep this up I could be a healthy weight (168.5) by summer. We'll just have to see.  I'll just be happy to get to 199 and then decide from there how much further I want to go.

Work Weigh Loss Competition
Laura won - by a fraction of a percentage.
BUT
Laura is a really nice person - she insisted on splitting the prize money 50/50.
Laura is way nicer than me.
Thanks Laura and good job!

I might keep writing here and there, just to keep myself accountable.  Obviously I'm not so good at weekly updates so that won't be happening.
Thanks to all who have read and supported me!

Cat

Week 11 Weigh In

Did anyone think I'd make it 11 weeks into this diet lifestyle change?  I sure didn't.  I don't think I see any signs of stopping either.

After a less than inspiring week
Today's Weight: 213.0

It's pure miracle that I lost weight last week.  I think God is smiling down upon me because I took food to the homeless shelter Friday.  They need those calories more than I do.  You know it - I could have eaten half of that sandwich tray by myself.

Someone Said I Looked Skinny In My Halloween Costume!

Hipster Ariel
You know "I wanna be where the people are"
but PBR...because hipsters drink PBR.
No, I don't like PBR.

Speaking of Eating
Say it with me: NO MORE BAGELS at least till next Wednesday. Next Tuesday is the final weigh in for this work challenge and there's $168.75 on the line that I'm taking to Tunica! buying Christmas presents with! taking to Tunica! 

Next Mondays Dinner Menu
Water & Ex-Lax - dinner of champions; Weigh Loss Champions that is!
I'm kidding of course... probably kidding....
Either way I'm going to pretend I'm kidding and never admit to actually doing it if I decide to do so.

Maybe I'll schedule a nice cleansing colonic for Monday morning.  I'm kidding of course...

That's enough of that shit. (Get it? Shit? ha!)

If I Lose One More Pound I've Hit My 30 by Thirty Goal!
Can I do it? Meh - I hope so.
My new hiking shoes will be at my house this week.  Maybe I'll walk up that mountain this weekend?
or
Maybe I'll drink all the beer this weekend?
Maybe I'll do both.

Stay tuned next week to see what happens...
Cat

Week 10 Weigh In

Week 10 Weigh In: 214.8

Not The Most Inspiring Week
I'm now 2.8 pounds away from my 30 by Thirty goal of 212.

I'm still ahead in the competition at work but not by much.  I really want to hit 212 by Monday but I find my level of motivation is faltering.  I had made a really good habit of not eating back my exercise calories but last week I ate them ALL back almost every day. I ate some of them back Monday but held it together yesterday.

I Wrote A Whole Thing About All The Events I Have Going On This Week And How Hard It Will Be To Stay On Track With Calories And It Made Me Miserable So I Deleted All Of It

Let's talk about anything else.

I was so motivated the other day I walked in the wind/rain.  Apparently it was humorous to watch me fighting to keep my umbrella from flying away.

The wind even blew me right over sideways:

Yep, I'm going to pretend this in on purpose.  Sideways is SUCH a flattering angle!

I Decided To Go Hiking Around Three Caves Sunday

I've lived in Huntsville all my life and always made it a point to ride down random streets I've never been down because I'm a curious person.  Somehow I've never in my life laid eyes on Three Caves.  I woke up ungodly early and decided to remedy this.

A few things:

1. I don't know where my good tennis shoes are.  Also - "tennis shoes" looks really stupid when you write it out.  The word "sneakers" is terrible, as is the  term "athletic shoes". Whatever - tennis shoes it is.

2. I'm clumsy.  WTF was I thinking doing any kind of mountain activity alone.

So I drive over there, park the car, and head off into the woods.

Luckily if you just want to look at Three Caves (from above) it's not a bad little uphill walk on slightly rocky terrain.  It's honestly easy.

SPOILER ALERT
I made it...

The view from atop Three Caves
I didn't take this picture because I'm a dumbass and didn't take my phone.
Good thing I didn't die.

BUT...

I fell down.

3 times.

Just on the way up.

Mountain not to scale.

I can't emphasize enough how short and simple the walk just to look over top the cave is. I'm just that talented.

I decided after that I should probably go back to the car and stay away from mountains when I'm alone.


Since I'm Finishing This Up On Thursday
I should probably be honest about the fact that I ate fucking everything yesterday.  I had a plan, a plan for how not to suck at calories.

But we all know what they say about the best laid plans - they don't taste as good as meatballs, crackers/cream cheese/pepper jelly, banana pudding and chicken & dumplings, and 3 beers.


Since I'm Finishing This Up For Real on Friday
I sucked last night too - not as bad though.

Based on my weigh in this morning for my r/loseit challenge I gained 1.2lbs.


I'm off to fix that before Monday's super official weigh in.

Till then,
Cat

Week 8 & 9 Weigh Ins

Week 8 Weigh In: 219.8
Monday's Weigh in: 215.8

ALMOST THERE
3.8lbs away from my 30 by Thirty goal of 212.

I'm also FINALLY in the lead in the competition at work, by 0.17%.
EAT IT LAURA! NO REALLY, EAT IT. EAT THE DAMN BAGEL!

MEASUREMENTS
Bust: -3 inches
Waist: -3.5 inches
Hips: -5 inches
Thigh: -2.5 inches

What Am I Eating?

Seriously - whatever I want for the most part.  The key for me is everything in moderation.  I make a real effort to stay within my calorie goal (currently 1240/day) just about every day.  At least once every 2 weeks I screw it up and go over.  Occasionally I screw up once a week.  It's that simple.

The harder part - learn what portions look like.  I started with measuring a lot, but after a while of doing that you can eyeball it.

Here's a snapshot of a day this week. My goal is 1240 but I got an extra 130 calories from exercise on those day.

What Am I Doing for Exercise
I started lifting.
Well... I carried two boxes yesterday when I worked at the Special Olympics. Doesn't that count?

Seriously though, I walk.  That's about it.
My FitBit told me it loved me the other day, so you can say things are getting pretty serious.

I have a goal to walk 7,000 steps a day.  I park far from my office, take quick walks throughout the day when I can, and add in a walk after work sometimes with the kids when I get home.
MFP activity is set to sedentary and it calculates my daily calories by that.  If I'm more active than that my FitBit and MFP work together and I get exercise calories added back in

I'd like to hike up the mountain that my neighborhood backs up to.  Maybe I'll do that this weekend.

That should make for an interesting story next week.

Till then,
Cat

Bend Over to the Front & Touch Your Toes

On Monday at approximately 9:06pm CST I sent the same exact text message to 3 or 4 different people:

a text message that caused a slight panic in some

Every one of them responded that they can in fact touch their toes without bending their knees.

Why did I ask this question?  Let's back up about 14 minutes.

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On Monday at approximately 8:52pm CST I started thinking about the ability to touch one's toes without bending one's knees.

I did not have this ability.  I don't know that I've ever been able to touch my toes without bending my knees.  Surely I could as a child, but I think I could say with 90% certainty that I hadn't had that ability in the past 15 years.

This is a reenactment (with bonus scoliosis) 

That day I vowed to myself to fix it.

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I began where any reasonable person would: Google

Good to know I'm not the only one

I expected to find some instructions along the lines of "do these stretches every other day for 2wks and then you'll be able to touch your toes".  Instead I found this LIFE CHANGING blog entry containing a LIFE CHANGING VIDEO.

If you are like I was and cannot touch your toes - these two frat boys, a pillow and a Nerf gun are about to change your life.

Apparently I'd been doing it wrong my whole life.

3 minutes later I was touching my toes without bending my knees as if I'd been doing it my whole life.

I couldn't stop, it changed my whole range of motion.  I was SO EXCITED that I needed to share the gospel!

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On Monday at approximately 9:06pm CST I sent the same exact text message to 3 or 4 different people:

a text message that caused a slight panic in some

Apparently none of my friends had this problem, but that doesn't take away from my level of excitement.

3 days later here's a super unflattering picture of me - you guessed it - touching my toes without bending my knees.

I know what you're thinking - and yes - that is a beer on the table, it was delicious.

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In closing - If you or someone you know is affected by the inability to touch their toes without bending their knees - there is help.  Send them this link, share the wealth.

If we continue to spread the good news - we can live in a world where all people can touch their toes without bending their knees.

Good Luck and Good Toe-touching,
Cat

Week 8 Weigh In (Major Milestone Inside!)

Monday's Weigh In: 222.0

20lbs down!

I hate to brag, but I'm really frickin proud of myself - so I will.  Yay me!!

Measurement Changes

Bust: -2.5 inches

Waist: -3 inches

Hips: -4 inches

Thigh: -2 inches

I rewarded myself by eating a whole pizza

Mouse for scale
I don't know why these damn pictures are sideways and I give up.

Work Challenge

12 Weeks - Winner based on % of Weight Lost. 

Start Date: 8/17

Finish: 11/9

We are half way through and I'm in 2nd place. 

DAMNIT LAURA GIVE IT UP YOU'RE SKINNY AND GORGEOUS ALREADY STOP LOSING WEIGHT SO I CAN WIN

I have a super noble reason for wanting to win this money: I want to go to Tunica and piss it all away into slot machines.  All I want for my birthday is money that I can throw away gambling.

r/LoseIt Fall Challenge

10 Weeks

Start Date: 8/31

Finish: 11/9 (I think?)

My goal by the end is 220. I'm still not totally sure when it ends but it seems like I'll hit this goal unless I screw up and drink all the beers and eat all the pizza.

30 by Thirty

14ish Weeks

Start Date: 8/13

Finish: 11/25 

I'm killing this one! 10lbs to go and 7 weeks to do it.  

If I play my cards right I might just get down to 200 by the end of the year and be able to wear this dress for New Years Eve (to the party that doesn't exist that I've invited myself to that I don't have a babysitter for).

Yes, I know it's sideways
let it go already

 Anywho...

Stay tuned for a bonus post this week that reveals a major victory I had this week that will probably seem totally ridiculous.

Till then,
Cat

Week 7 Weigh In

Monday's Weigh In: 224

Down 18 frickin pounds! 12 more to go.


I really am super proud of myself, but I'm always scared that I'll be too proud, become complacent and lose momentum.  Let's talk positives anyway.

NSV (Non-Scale Victories)
1. I fit back into a pair of jeans that I bought over a year ago.  I'm certain of the timing because I bought them after I landed a fairly attractive man who was pretty buff. Uhg, what a fucking bastard... I digress.  The point is, I'm in some pants that I couldn't wear 2 months ago.

2. This past weekend someone told me I was incredibly beautiful. I'm not saying no one ever says that but this was a stranger who wasn't even hitting on me and it just seemed so genuine.  It could have been a joke for all I know but it just felt genuine and really nice. It may have had nothing to do with weight loss but I'm counting it.

3. I feel like I look better.  I feel more confident. I feel down-right fabulous today, must be the jeans.

My official 224lbs picture

I feel less fabulous now that I have a picture of it.  I also feel like the picture in my first post that I said was 242ish might not actually be 242ish.

This picture of my mom and I has got to be 242ish. I feel like I look the same - but these pants don't lie, so whatever I guess.

What Will I Look Like?

I found a link to this website on Reddit.  You pick your sex, height and weigh range and it shows you real before & after photos so that you can get an idea of what weight loss looks like on different body types.

I did not find this as encouraging as I believe it was intended to be.  I started at 242 and plan to be 212 by 11/25/15.  I think I looked pretty good at 212 and I think I looked DAMN FINE at 189.9.

The first example that pops up is a girl that's 5'9 (same as me) and went from 245-120.

120? 120?? You've got to be kidding me right? My left leg weighs 120 all by itself.  The logical person inside of me understands that people are built differently and blah blah fucking blah.

However... it just put me in a mood.  It probably didn't help that I was eating the last half of my coworkers Doritos as I looked at this website.  Don't worry - I logged all 11 chips (140 calories by the way - for 11 frickin chips).

I guess I'd better take a walk break.

Till next week,
Cat