Just like most people, I've struggled with my weight off and on for years. Looking back, I wasn't a fat child or teenager. I would say that I ranged from thin as a child to average as a teenager. Now, of course, in my head I was fat as a teenager. When I look at pictures, I wasn't as skinny as a lot of teen girls or as thin as I wanted to be, but that's about it.
My weight started to creep higher once I hit my 20s. I would do some harsh low-carb-barely-eat-anything diet, get on the treadmill or run outside and within weeks I'd drop those pesky pounds. Of course, only to gain them back when I reverted back to my old eating habits. Typical yo-yo results from yo-yo behavior.
When I moved from my hometown of Tampa for a new job in the Dallas area I was probably at my heaviest ever. I was starting to push double-digit size and for a girl that is just over 5 feet tall, that's not good at all. Lucky for me, my new employer provided an on-site free fitness facility. I started my job mid-December 2005 and my New Year's resolution was to start working out and eating right.
I did my homework and found an excellent e-book that I recommend to anyone. It's called Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle. It's by Tom Venuto a bodybuilder and nutrition expert. I learned so much from that book - many of the same concepts are in current diet books. We'll discuss that at a later time. Back to the story...
So, I read the book and started to practice what it said I should do. I was too mortified to get on the scale day one, so I waited about 2 weeks to weigh myself. Ugh....it was awful. As you might know, the initial few weeks of an exercise program you lose a lot of water weight, so I'm going to assume I lost about 5lbs (which is fairly high for me) in those 2 weeks. At THAT point, I was 155lbs. I felt my stomach drop and my throat close up - the tears followed quickly. I was so ashamed.
Over the course of the following 6 months, I dropped another 25lbs or so. I was down to about 130lbs and...*insert sound of screeching brakes** That was it...I worked out and worked out....I'd go up a few pounds, lose them again. I hovered between 130 and 135 for almost 3 years. Some would be happy with that, but the only thing I could see in my head was my goal of 115lbs. I was 15lbs from goal and never reached it.
That brings me to just about end of last year (2009). I got lazy with my workouts and was eating the same (which was within SOME moderation, but I pretty much ate and drank as I pleased since I had been working out daily). So, let's couple all that slackerdom with Thanksgiving vacation in Florida (a trip home and some days at Disney) and THEN a trip to visit my boyfriend's family - with all the delicious Southern delights that you find in coastal Alabama. OH, and then we went on a 5-night cruise to Mexico. **Drumroll Please!** 10lbs had found their way back onto my frame. Suddenly I was back in 140lb territory and once again so discouraged.
My boyfriend had bought me what I now tell everyone was the book that took me to the next level. My Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle was a great foundation of everything that is tried and true in fitness, but this other book....it's the key to where I am now and where I'm going. Jillian Michaels' Master Your Metabolism was an eye-opener for me. It finally helped put together why the foods I thought were ok, weren't really ok and it helped me understand what I needed to do and more importantly - WHY.
I read that book on my flight back to Dallas from Alabama and I implemented it the very next day. I went as far as joining Jillian's online program, which I recommend to anyone - it's a great resource for both diet and exercise.
I'm 6 months into this new lifestyle and I'm down 22lbs. So, I lost my 10lbs and another 12lbs on top of it! I'm now only about 5lbs from goal and I've got my crosshairs on that 115 mark! These last 5 are going to be harder than the first 20lbs, but I've got the persistence and determination to see it through. I've also got an arsenal of information and tools at my fingertips to help me get there. I plan on sharing all my tips and suggestions here to make it easier for anyone.
I'm open to helping....just ask!
