One Thirty Five

Hells Yeah.

I have lost 50 pounds since January. That is about 1.5 pounds a week, which means that I lost the weight in a healthy way and won't just balloon back up! (Assuming, of course, I don't turn into a fat pig again.)

I can't believe it. There was a part of me that thought I would never reach this. I would never reach a healthy weight for my 5'5 (and THREE QUARTERS, I tell everyone) not-tiny frame. But it's here, and it took less than 8 months.

The other day, I tweeted about my frustration with how people respond to my weight loss. While some people are very happy for me, tell me they are proud and impressed, "way to go! you look great!" I also get a lot of, well, negative responses. I've heard many times that the only reason I lost so much weight was because of my gallbladder. "Oh, well you had gallstones. That's why you lost so much!"

Um, no. Actually I got gallstones because I lost so much weight, thankyouverymuch. And, actually, I was down to 143 when I was diagnosed with gallstones, so I had already lost over 40 pounds. And besides, I was following the exact same diet I had been for months!

I've also had a lot of interesting responses, where I can tell the person is... suspicious. Or something. I'm not entirely sure, but it seems that few people have the ability to actually be happy for me. When I see someone who has lost a lot of weight, and I know they did it in a healthy way, I am PROUD of them. I congratulate them, tell them how awesome they did and how great they look, and ask them questions about how they feel and how they did it. While I have had some of those responses, they are few and far between.

Anyway. Here I am! 135. I'm buying new jeans today because my size 10 are loose on me!

Hells yeah.

The Light At The End Of The Tunnel

It's shining. I can see it. In fact, it is SO FREAKIN' CLOSE.

138.

My original goal was 135.

Three more pounds and I'll have lost 50 pounds since January. That's the size of two Alex's. Or a decent sized kid. Fifty pounds. Holy crap.

Looking back at pictures of myself pre-weight loss I realize that I had really, really, really, let myself go. I knew I had, but I actually think I must have been in some denial. I didn't think I looked like I weighed over 180 pounds. I didn't think I looked...fat. But man, I was wrong.

Here are some pictures of me from Saturday early evening, hanging out at the park with Alex.

I almost look like...a normal person. Like a person who isn't horribly over weight.

I may still have a belly and some love handles, but that's okay. Because I'm at a healthy weight now, and things can only get better from here.

Um. Hi.

Apparently this blog was not as important as I had hoped it would be. I thought that by having a place where I could post my successes (and failures), I would be more motivated.

But I wasn't.

I have trouble coming up with things to talk about on my regular blog so then having to turn around and write about weight loss just seems so...dull.

BUT.

I am down to 143-145. I have been here for a while now, maybe, possibly, very slowly going down. I really need to up the exercise to start seeing changes again.

I feel pretty good. I'm more than comfortable in my size 10's, in fact I really wish they were smaller. I think that when I eventually buy another round of pants they'll be 8's and that is where I will stay most likely. I wore 8's throughout high school, so I think that is a very healthy size for me, regardless of my weight.

I'd still like to see some changes: I still have this pooch at my mid-level, and I really need to tone up some. So, now the problem is finding the time to exercise. It's become nearly impossible with my current schedule to fit in any sort of exercise, so I need to either suck it up and wake up BEFORE Alex in the morning, or suck it up and do it AFTER he goes to bed at night. Oy.

I'm still eating low fat, weight watchers-type, stuff. I can't eat fat because of my dysfunctioning gallbladder, so that has at least kept me from gaining weight. I literally can't splurge without being in immense pain for about 8 hours, so I just don't splurge. My "splurge" lately has been No Pudge Fudge Brownies with some fat free chocolate swirl ice cream. It's pretty damn bad for me, but hey! It's fat free! And way lower in calories than a regular brownie and ice cream would be.

So, I'll get there. I can see it. I wasn't able to say that for a long time, but I can say that now. I will, one day, feel good about my overall body again. I'm sure I'll always hate my stomach, and I'll never wear a bikini again; I've always hated my arms, so that probably won't change. But one day I'll be comfortable. It's coming.

How Time Flies

Man, has it really been almost two weeks since I last posted?

How time flies when you are insanely-busy-slacking-on-working-out-not-eating-very-well.

Long walks have been about all I've managed to find time for lately. Alex has not been napping well, which means my usual routine of putting in a DVD or something on Comast (love me some Comcast yoga!) has been extremely difficult to come by. And there is absolutely no way that I can exercise with him running around. He's very insistent that I pay attention to him, and only him. All. The. Time.

Today I went back to my roots: I did level 1 of the Shred. I huffed and I puffed and at the end? I felt great.

If I can manage to squeeze more time into my day in order to fit in some Shredding again I think I can increase my weekly weight loss. This stall is getting to me, and seeing that flat line over the last few weeks on my weight loss graph is, well, not motivating.

I've decided to make breakfast a more important meal, and gone back to being immensely diligent about tracking what I put in my mouth. No more picking at Alex's food, no more "just one drink" a few times a week, and certainly no more giant splurges (Hello, Wendy's! when I totally screwed up our dinner the other night).

My mini goal is to be down to 151 by next Friday. That's a week and a half to lose about two pounds. With summer right around the corner? It's time to up the game. While I have absolutely no intention of putting on a bathing suit this summer, I would like to feel comfortable wearing a skirt and a sleeveless top.

Slacker = Success?

So, even though I was a complete and total slacker with the 30 day shred, I still lost weight during March.

My beginning goals were ambitious. Apparently too ambitious. So I really, really, failed at following through on the exercise front. I still followed Weight Watchers, and went on a good number of walks.

I weigh in tomorrow and am not looking forward to it. This past week has been...odd.

Every morning I wake up starving. Then, by ten I'm starving again! This continues all day, and I have been eating far too much and feeling far too down on myself to make sure that every time I grab a snack it's a healthy option.

All the same, there have been changes. Good changes.

In early January, I purchased a nice pair of jeans. I had been wearing this crappy, ugly, cheap, "fat" jeans. The waists were insanely high and my "mommy"-ness was apparent because of them. So, I decided that even though I was going on weight watchers I would buy a nice pair of jeans to get me through until I could fit back into my pre-pregnancy jeans.

Size 14. I wanted to cry.

In fact, I'm pretty sure I did cry when I realized I wore a size 14.

But I am now fitting back into my size 10 (they are all labeled "30," which is the equivalent of a size 10). They are snug, and there is a bit of muffin top, but they fit. I don't even have to squeeze into them.

So, remember these photos?:

I am happy to share my new photos with you. They are not the same. I did not put on the same pants, and there isn't the same lighting. I am wearing my nice size 14 jeans.

Please, please, excuse the towel on my head. Also? Please excuse the horrendous stretch marks. Having a toddler at birth will do that to you.

Here is what I am most excited about:

About 25 pounds more to go, or until my size 10 are back to fitting me loosely and I feel comfortable and confident in my body.

And now? Back to Jillian. Back to long walks. Back to being serious about this.

A Milestone I Never Thought About

As of Friday, April 3, I was down to 153.4, which is a slow but steady loss.

Last week I hit a milestone I had never thought of. My first goal was to get under 180. Then 170. Then 160. Now it's 150, with my eventual goal of 130, or feeling comfortable with myself again. But then I hit another goal. One I hadn't really thought about.

I am wearing my pre-pregnancy jeans.

I know! Big milestone.

Now, I would be lying if I didn't say it was a really, really, happy day for me. But I would also be lying if I said it made me feel good about myself.

Sure. They fit. I pull them up over my thighs and my butt, zipper and button them. They fit. Just like they should. But there is a big difference between how I look in them now compared to pre-pregnancy. BIG difference.

I never had this saggy belly before. The love handles. The ginormous muffin top.

So, it feels great to have these pants that fit.

Oh, and Jillian? I'm sorry I'm such a slacker. Seriously, if you knew me in person you would do some serious yelling. You'd probably make me cry. I only ended up working out with you about 15 of the 30 days. But. I'll be back. I like you.

How Did That Happen?

On Friday, I was down to 155.6.

How did that happen?

Not that I'm complaining. I'm thrilled. After my horrendous stomach problem, lack of exercise, and not being as strict about my points as I need to be, I still managed to lose over a pound.

Unfortunately, that long hiatus I have taken? Yeah. I'm back at Level 1 for Shredding It. But that's okay. Because it feels good, and I'm still getting a great workout from it.

I think I'll switch to level 2 in a few days, and see how it feels.

Who knew that taking a break could, ::gasp::, be okay?

Excuses Excuses

Well, I've been a huge slacker.

I haven't exercised in a very long time. Days. Many days.

First, I was a single parent for a long weekend and those few moments of peace that exist during nap time were needed to relax, not work out.

Then, I was in pain. Serious pain.

I went to the Emergency Room yesterday morning because the pain in my stomach was so intense that I thought I was dying. Is my appendix ruptured? Do I have gallstones? WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME!?

After many, many, hours waiting around, I was given my diagnosis: Gastritis.

Typically, people who have gastritis are heavy drinkers, smokers, regular anti-inflammatory medicine takers, and poor eaters. I am none of those things. Especially recently.

So, my stomach still hurts. I am taking prescription strength pepcid and have been told to follow a "bland" diet for two weeks.

Needless to say, Shredding probably won't happen for a few more days. The thought of clenching my abdominal muscles is enough to make me want to throw up, so I have a feeling that actually doing so would not be a good idea.

A Big Ten

Today is Big Ten day.

It marks day ten of my Thirty Day Shred commitment, as well as week ten of weight watchers.

To date, I have lost 23.5 pounds and now comfortably weigh in under 160 at 157.5.

While this past week has not been my best week diet-wise, I still managed to lose at least 1.5 pounds. I say at least because, well, it is that time of the month. You know, when a woman's body holds on to any and all water it possibly can as if her life depended on it? Yeah. Water weight.

My lovely shredheads are doing a Day 10 Graduation Day, which means level 2 begins!

There will be no pictures this time around. I am saving pictures for the end so that I can really see the progress that 30 days of exercise has given my body. The changes need to be bigger than ten days can offer me so that I know it is worth it to keep on moving. Keep on pushing.

Here we go. Level 2.

Feel The Burn

I feel the burn.

Working out for just over 20 minutes and feeling like you truly accomplished something is absolutely awesome. I love this workout.

Yesterday I failed, though. I skipped a day. I didn't Shred and I didn't even get outside to take a nice long walk. Can I blame the killer headache I had all day? Or the exhaustion that just would.not.leave?

No? Okay. Well, I worked out this morning so I'm back on track for the week.

As of Friday, March 6, I was down to 159. That is under 160, which was my first goal! Who knew reaching a goal could feel so good?

Thirty pounds to go!

Shredding it Up

This morning I did my second day of the 30 Day Shred. It was already easier. I don't know if I can say that one day made a real difference or if I remembered that, Hey!, I can push myself.

My quadriceps are sore, as are my triceps. And it feels really, really, good. It's not the kind of soreness where you know you pushed yourself too hard, it's that nice soreness where you know that you pushed yourself. And that is great.

And push myself I have. I've been getting back into serious-mode with Weight Watchers, and while it has only been two days of exercise I can feel that this will become a trend. I even, ::gasp::, posted those pictures of my fat self.

I have already had a few people ask me why I would share those pictures, and the answer is pretty simple: As I said before, when I look at myself it is.not.me. This body that I'm in? Isn't me.

That makes me sound like a nut job, and maybe I am. I posted those pictures so that I can remind myself later of what I don't ever want to become again. If I can successfully lose the disgusting muffin top and saggy belly, I'll have those pictures to remind me of what happens when I get lazy.

The Beginning

In the beginning, there was Allison. She, unfortunately, had gotten fat.

I went to college weighing 125 pounds. A healthy weight for my 5'5" frame. Then, well, I was in college. The freshman fifteen were joined by the sophomore ten. But I still had a pretty hot bod:

Then, I got pregnant.

After the birth of my son, I continued to put on the pounds. I was hungry all. the. time. while I was nursing, and somehow that hunger didn't dissipate when I stopped nursing. So, I put on more weight.

I couldn't take it any longer. When I looked into the mirror I was appalled. Who IS this person, and what has she done with the real Allison? I was gone. The reflection was not me, it was some fat, unhappy, version of me. An imposter. An imposter weighing in at over 180 pounds.

On January 6th, I started Weight Watchers. And by eating 25, or fewer, points every day for the past (almost) two months I have successfully dropped down to 160 pounds. Losing those 20 pounds has already helped me get rid of the person in the mirror who I loathed. She is leaving. Slowly, but surely.

The last two weeks, though? The weight loss has been s.l.o.w. Too slow for my liking. Which, to me, means it's time to kick it up a notch and focus on not only eating well, but also exercising. Regularly.

The wonderful Kim has decided to join Motherhood Uncensored's Shred, which uses Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred to kick you into shape. I've decided to join these wonderful women and have started this blog to follow my weight loss journey from this point on.

Here I go, from day 1 of the 30 day shred, with much thanks to Motherhood Uncensored for starting this and to Kim for sharing the link:

a) Before pictures

I cannot believe that I am sharing these, but oh.my.god.here.they.are:

I apologize for the crappy quality, but quite frankly? I feel better that it is hard to see me. Because hoo boy do I have a long way to go still.

b) Weight

As of Friday, February 28th, I was 161.2.

c) Goal

My goal is to get down to 130, or to the point where I can feel good about myself again.

d) Diet Plan

I will continue on my Weight Watchers journey, eating 25 or less points each day. I will drink more water and continue only drinking alcohol once a week.

e) Shred Plan

Jillian Michaels' Shred can kick my ass five days a week. The other two days a week I will make sure to get in some extra walking while wearing my super cool pedometer.

So, there you have it.

Jillian Michaels: BRING IT.