Just trudging along

[Hope123]

This isn't my first thread and I have been battling with my weight for 6 years now and last year I weighted my highest at 191 Ib and that was because I was unemployed, not going out that much and just eating junk. I have just finished my first year of university and during that time I cooked myself and I hardly had any junk food and I started working out and I was going out a lot of more than I did before and last week I went on holiday to Spain and I was very active, walking, cycling and swimming everyday. The food was 50/50 from healthy to unhealthy but still when I came back home I weighed myself today and I am 173 Ib. So from last year to now I have lost 18 pounds.

However, I would like to lose 30 or 20 pounds by next year and I am going to do this by trying to eat healthier but by not feeling guilty about eating junk food because it isn't so bad to have some sweets or a fizzy drink now and again. This is a lifestyle change not a crash diet. I have done those and nothing great has come out of them.

I am going to have a goal of losing 0.5ib a week and from my calculations I should lose 28ib in a year. I do know that my weight will fluctuate over the time. And life will get in the way aswell. I might get sick one week and not work out or over the holidays but I think that is realistic and not too dramatic.

I will have three full meals a day and drink plenty of water a day. I will also workout 3 or 4 times a week.

I have just checked my BMI and it is 26.3 and the healthy BMI is 25. So I am close and it says a healthy weight range is from 8st 10Ib to 11st 11Ib. I want to lose 5Ib before I go back to university for my second year. That is my second goal. My first goal is to lose 2Ibs. I just want to see if I can actively trying lose the weight.

Wish my luck...

 

[Blondcat]

Best of luck - you're doing something similar to be - just trying to eat more healthily although I am counting cals at moment as want bikini body by sep 16th!!!

Will follow your diary xx

 

[Hope123]

@Blondcat - Aw, thanks for the comment, it's good to know I am not the only one just eating healthy. I tried calorie counting but it's just feels forced, if that makes sense. Good luck to getting that bikini body, you are doing so well already.

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Day 1

Breakfast- Brown rolls with scrabbled eggs and green tea.

Lunch - Wholemeal crackers, mango, banana, cucumber, strawberry yogurt

Dinner - wholemeal spaghetti, peppers, beef meat, broccoli, cranberry juice.

No snacks.

Exercise - I have my own workout which I kinda off stole from my friend, youtube and previous workout Dvd's. Basically, I dance for 15 minutes - do ab workouts then squats in different forms and then arm exercises. This really tones up my bum, legs, arms and abs. I worked first thing in the morning and it 54 minutes to complete.

I have done this so many times that day 1 doesn't really have that much of an impact anymore. It's crazy. Erm having a full breakfast was great because I didn't start craving food at all and I am going to try and keep that up.

I drank 2450ml Today and I know this because I got an app called water your body and it gives you a notification to let you know to drink water which I think is pretty cool.

 

[libby41854]

Good luck both of you!!! xx

 

[Hope123]

@ thanks libby

Week 2

So Im back like a boss, lol joking.

So I am going to put my head down in shame because after a great day 1 everything just went tits up and I started eating junk and not exercising at all. I don't really know what I did this past week except be down and sad really because I have nothing to do this summer. But these last couple of days I was feeling happier and the results were that today I will exercise and I did.

I have eaten good today and in a way this experience has showed me that I am really going to have ups and downs with my weight loss attempts but I should never quit, quit. Like last week I worked out once and this week I aim to work workout at least twice minimum and three times as a good goal and I want to attempt to eat well and if I want to have a packet of crisps to just have it and move on because 95cals isn't going to kill me or make me morbidly obese. I just need to get out of that guilty mentality. I read in an article that people who feel guilty about slipping up and eating junk food are less likely to successfully lose weight and maintain it than those that don't feel as guilty. I think that's so true!

I didn't weigh myself today and I am not going to weigh myself as I am thinking right now for a long time because I want to integrate this weight loss journey with my lifestyle by making it seem natural instead of waking up weighing myself, that determines my day, week whatnot and that's why I am not going to calorie count or do a diet which tells me what to eat because by now I know whats good for me and what not good for me because I have been doing this for so long. (i have no problem with people who do so but it just hasn't worked for me.)

My plan is I am going to attempt to work out 3 to 4 times a week and on a bad/sad/busy week forcing myself to workout once a week is enough. But that is easier said that done. I want to make an effort to drink water and eat fruits. I will rate on here how I felt my diet/ food plan went like was it good,bad, alright and at the end of every week I will make a fictional estimate how much I have lost or gain in comparison to those three factors. But I will be very prudent.

So last week I was 173 and because this week was so bad I predict that I have gained 3 pounds.

So my fictional weight is 176Ib.

It seems kinda weird but I don't want to weigh myself and I will probably do it later on when I see a change or I feel the urge to but I think it's important to focus of other aspects like my health and other changes like dress size and shape.

 

[Hope123]

Another day down, I eat good today and I actually worked out as well. I did mostly strength training, working on my abs, legs and arms I guess. Tip, squat jumps kill at the beginning but are amazing for the legs.

Even though this isn't my lowest weight I feel more toned than I have ever felt. I used to think I had big calves but now they look normal and my thighs and bum feel more toned than I have ever seen them. I think strength training is better for shaping your body feels firmer than before and that's good than just doing cardio on it's on.

So today I was talking with my brother and he told me that it takes guys months or a year to see their six pack and when I was living with guys and some girls at uni who sometimes ate the same as me, not that healthy but also not too much junk but the common denominator was that they all did strength training only and they had fit bodies with abs.

So I just googled "how long does it take to get a six pack."

This video was interesting:

[YOUTUBE]<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/tpzRifqa5zU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>[/YOUTUBE]

Even though I don't want to be a bodybuilder I do find it interesting that to lose fat it is not really as hard as we make it, like woman we starve ourselves and spend an hour or 2 just doing cardio.

 

[Hope123]

I ate really bad today and the last few days. I went to see my boyfriend and he is my first boyfriend and I am 21 years old. (very late) So he was my first you know and as I said before. I was feeling a little more confident with my body because it's more toned and I feel somewhat good and it was in the morning and he was doing push up or something and it was super early and after I asked him how often he does that and he said twice a day and then he was like do you work out and this might sound really weird but the only people that I tell that I work out are my family cos they see it. I just don't like telling people that I workout....I can't even explain I just don't even like talking about my weight with friends and stuff.

So I said I don't really work out and he was like well you should, you would look a lot better if you did...I mean you look ok now but you would look better if you did. And to me that hurt me because I never chased him, he saw what I looked like when he started this and I honestly, don't understand how to respond because I am not an expert with guys. So I said if you want a skinnier girl go and get them, if it's such a big problem or an issue. He was like we tell each other stuff so I thought I should tell you it's an issue. I was like I am not going to change for anyone cos this is who I am and he was like in a relationship you are mean't to change and make compromises for people. He was like his sisters husband has a pot belly and she always tells him that and they don't get a divorce cos of it. I don't know if he was being mean but I guess I would rather know that this is something that bothers him about me than not and at least he was honest, i guess.

He tried to take it back but by not really taking back so I went and took a bath whilst I cried for probably half an hour or more even writing this I am on the verge of tears.

I am going to try and get back on track tomorrow with exercising and eating right. I guess I was eating bad today to show him and because I was sad but me eating well was for me not anyone else. (sorry for my waffling, i guess since I don't really feel comfortable talking to my friends or family about this I just thought to write it on here)

 

[Blondcat]

men can be so insensitive sometimes without even meaning to be! they're really made of different stuff to us.

in his head he knows he likes you, knows he's attracted to you, so thought he was just stating a fact as in, in his opinion if you toned up you'd look better - like the rest of the global population! I expect he didn't mean to offend you at all and if you are only 21 I presume he is young too and probably hasn't learned what not to say around women!!

don't let that one comment get you down. I'm back in the 9s weight wise and I know i'd look a lot better if I carry on toning up. but if anyone said that to me it's going to hurt!

are you weighing yourself btw ? i'm not trying to tell you what to do but that was the thing that changed everything for me. once I saw the numbers in black and white and started weighing in every week I really got into the healthy eating thing and started to understand the amount of food I could consume to lose weight. I'm not trying to tell you what to do - just sharing my thoughts that ongoing actual weigh ins once a week can be really useful.

Keep your chin up and if you really want to lose the weight, you'll do it After all, you lost 18lbs before which is amazing!!