An end, and a beginning

My 8 weeks as a contestant on Win, Lose or Blog are over.  I was less than a pound off of my 25 pound weight loss goal and WON! Woo hoo!

Here is my final blog update from W, L or B until I can get this new blog up and fancy.

Please follow me!

Steph

Start of competition

8 weeks later

Before I started Win, Lose or Blog...

I weighed 268 pounds.

My waist measured 49 inches.

I was labeled "morbidly obese."

I often had lower back and knee pain.

Exercise was a chore

I ended every day feeling bad about myself and my choices

I "couldn't" resist treats

I ate all day long

I ate a lot each night while watching TV

I never felt comfortable in my clothes

I was frustrated at my lack of "will power"

I was optimistic that I would one day lose weight, but hadn't made a complete effort to do so.

I found Win, Lose or Blog on a message board that I frequent. I debated back and forth on whether or not to submit an application and decided to do it the last night possible.  Looking back at the "before" picture I had my husband take I remember feeling miserable and embarrassed.  I hate the fact that I look so terrible. I used to feel pretty, but haven't felt that way in a long time.

I was ecstatic when I found out I was chosen from 57 applicants. Even better was the fact that I didn't have a few days or a week to "prepare" for my diet. Usually my preparation means eating as much crap as I can before I won't be able to! Terrible!  When I first saw my picture and weight on the internet I was humiliated.  But as I worked hard and kept on at my tortoise pace I felt myself becoming empowered. I can do this, I can do this!  I read supportive words from new friends, I examined calorie intake and switched things up.  At the gym I became a regular, my workouts became more intense, my desire to workout became a habit.

Eight weeks have flown by.  I did my final weigh-in and pictures.  This is the first time I've done "before" pictures and WOW are they awesome! If you haven't done it before, I totally recommend it.  I didn't feel like I looked that different from the beginning, but looking at the two pictures side by side I see changes that make me feel accomplished.  I'm nowhere near done with weight loss, but I feel like I'm steadily on the right path.

After Win, Lose or Blog-Season 1

I weigh 243 pounds.

My waist now measures 40.5 inches (5.5 more inches to go to reach a "healthy" waist size for women)

I am only obese. Ha! That doesn't sound great but glad to see that "morbidly" go!

I haven't had back pain for many weeks! My knee is mostly better.

I can honestly say I love going to the gym!

I end every day with my muscles feeling worked, and proud of myself.

I make great food and portion choices.

I eat when I'm hungry.

I have a small snack, or no snack at all in the evening. (Depending on where my calories are, and if I am actually hungry).

While I'm not flaunting my body, I feel much better in clothes. I've gone down a size and a half in pants,  one size down in shirts, and two dress sizes!

I'm so proud of what I've accomplished in 8 weeks, and ready to keep on going!

I know I can reach my goals and am excited to get down to my goal weight.

 Even though Win, Lose or Blog is over for me, my weight loss journey will continue on my new blog See Steph Lose. Please follow me there! And please be patient while I get it looking all fancy (I'm on vacation and do not have the best internet connection).

Congratulations to all of the other contestants who lost weight, it was fun to get to know you and I look forward to keeping in touch with you and cheering you on. A BIG thanks to the ladies who organized Win, Lose or Blog your work helped me so much! And of course, thank you to everyone who cheered me on, especially my husband who was the best support a girl could ask for.

Don't forget to apply for Season 2! I'll be reading and cheering!

Steph

What a difference 8 weeks can make

Start of competition

8 weeks later

Before I started Win, Lose or Blog...
I weighed 268 pounds.
My waist measured 49 inches.
I was labeled "morbidly obese."
I often had lower back and knee pain.
Exercise was a chore
I ended every day feeling bad about myself and my choices
I "couldn't" resist treats
I ate all day long
I ate a lot each night while watching TV
I never felt comfortable in my clothes
I was frustrated at my lack of "will power"
I was optimistic that I would one day lose weight, but hadn't made a complete effort to do so.

I found Win, Lose or Blog on a message board that I frequent. I debated back and forth on whether or not to submit an application and decided to do it the last night possible.  Looking back at the "before" picture I had my husband take I remember feeling miserable and embarrassed.  I hate the fact that I look so terrible. I used to feel pretty, but haven't felt that way in a long time.

I was ecstatic when I found out I was chosen from 57 applicants. Even better was the fact that I didn't have a few days or a week to "prepare" for my diet. Usually my preparation means eating as much crap as I can before I won't be able to! Terrible!  When I first saw my picture and weight on the internet I was humiliated.  But as I worked hard and kept on at my tortoise pace I felt myself becoming empowered. I can do this, I can do this!  I read supportive words from new friends, I examined calorie intake and switched things up.  At the gym I became a regular, my workouts became more intense, my desire to workout became a habit.

Eight weeks have flown by.  I did my final weigh-in and pictures.  This is the first time I've done "before" pictures and WOW are they awesome! If you haven't done it before, I totally recommend it.  I didn't feel like I looked that different from the beginning, but looking at the two pictures side by side I see changes that make me feel accomplished.  I'm nowhere near done with weight loss, but I feel like I'm steadily on the right path.

After Win, Lose or Blog-Season 1
I weigh 243 pounds.
My waist now measures 40.5 inches (5.5 more inches to go to reach a "healthy" waist size for women)
I am only obese. Ha! That doesn't sound great but glad to see that "morbidly" go!
I haven't had back pain for many weeks! My knee is mostly better.
I can honestly say I love going to the gym!
I end every day with my muscles feeling worked, and proud of myself.
I make great food and portion choices.
I eat when I'm hungry.
I have a small snack, or no snack at all in the evening. (Depending on where my calories are, and if I am actually hungry).
While I'm not flaunting my body, I feel much better in clothes. I've gone down a size and a half in pants,  one size down in shirts, and two dress sizes!
I'm so proud of what I've accomplished in 8 weeks, and ready to keep on going!
I know I can reach my goals and am excited to get down to my goal weight.

 Even though Win, Lose or Blog is over for me, my weight loss journey will continue on my new blog See Steph Lose. Please follow me there! And please be patient while I get it looking all fancy (I'm on vacation and do not have the best internet connection).

Congratulations to all of the other contestants who lost weight, it was fun to get to know you and I look forward to keeping in touch with you and cheering you on. A BIG thanks to the ladies who organized Win, Lose or Blog your work helped me so much! And of course, thank you to everyone who cheered me on, especially my husband who was the best support a girl could ask for.

Don't forget to apply for Season 2! I'll be reading and cheering!

Steph

Ch-Ch-Ch Changes

o

My cousin and I at the family reunion. Ha ha ha! JK!

OOOweeee it has been a crazy few weeks. Me and the kids drove to Utah to visit my family, played with my sisters and their kids and my parents, went to a family reunion at a cabin, then promptly hopped on a plane and flew out to California for a vacation with my husband and his family.

When we were planning this trip and I realized I'd have 2 weigh-ins while in Utah and my final weigh-in in California I was nervous. Getting away from the "safety" of my normal schedule and eating was a scary prospect.

This week I had a few surprises. First...I started my  period on Monday.  Remember my post about crazy salt cravings?? Guess what, I DIDN'T EVEN HAVE THEM. I had no idea my period was coming because I skipped: 1) salt cravings 2) face breakout 3) grumpiness. WHAT?!? Then I read this article. So cool when you see all of the benefits that come with eating well and exercising, isn't it?

I had big plans this week to go to my sister's house to run on her treadmill. For a few different reasons, this didn't happen.  I swam laps mostly every day, but since I was in Utah with both kids and no husband, I didn't get to swim as long or as hard as I had planned.  I helped my parents out with some gardening too, but was still worried because I am so used to an hour plus of a fairly intensive workout.  My eating did go as planned, though.  I was very proud of myself for surviving THREE whole days of a junk food extravaganza a.k.a my family reunion. Costco cookies and chips out ALL THE TIME, brownies, my sister's really yummy homemade cookies, it practically looked like one of the Biggest Loser Temptations! But I did it. None of those treats were worth sabotaging all of the hard work I've done for the past 7 weeks.

So when I weighed myself in yesterday before hopping on an airplane I did it a bit nervously but also hopefully. And I weighed in at 245.5!! A whopping FIVE pound loss since last week, my second biggest weight loss of the copetition,  and 22.5 pounds lost since the beginning of Win, Lose or Blog. Yahoooo!

Why did I lose so much this week? I'm not sure. I'm wondering if it could be proof of the caloric intake vs. calorie burning (this week, I exercised less and ate the same, maybe evening that out better?) or if a change in exercise challenged my body? I'm not sure that I'll ever know.  What I do know is, there are new challenges this week.  I'm in a new place, and I need to continue to eat well and try to fit in as much exercise as possible.  I also need to buy a new scale. I didn't pack mine, and my in-law's dial scale (lean to the left and you gain a few pounds) just isn't gonna cut it.  Hopefully they aren't insulted when I leave a scale here for them. Ha ha!

My goal for this week is to round out my total weight loss to 25 pounds. More would be awesome. :)

I appreciate everyone's help and encouragement during this competition. It has been a wonderful opportunity for me! I'm planning on posting more this week, and talking about some of the things that have helped me to make THIS weight loss journey a success. Are there any questions you have for me??

Thanks ladies!!

Steph

Pack it up Pack it In.

 (This is not my scale, or my mom's scale. :) )

I survived a 10 hour roadtrip, sans my husband, with a 5 year old and a 2 year old. I packed a bunch of special treats for them, but didn't eat any of them myself. Woohoo!

We are now in Utah, at my parents' house. I will be spending the rest of Win, Lose, or Blog on vacation which makes me a bit nervous because vacation = eating delicious foods (to me anyway). I'm just watching my portions and will be heading over to my sister's treadmill first thing in the morning. I would be really bummed if I lost all of my walk/jogging progress over the next 3 weeks.

I packed very differently for this vacation. Never before in my life have I packed workout clothes for my vacation. And most notably I packed my scale because my mom's scale has been known to add 10 pounds to your weight after a shower (true story!).  Little did I know she has new scales now. I weighed myself on my scale this morning and I'm down 3 pounds. Totally exciting! Then I weighed myself on my mom's scale and I was down 5. Why did I pack that thing again? :)

So since the beginning of this adventure I am now down 17.5 pounds.  Truthfully I would like to have lost more at this point, but I am really excited about the 3 pounds I lost this week. I'm going hard these last two weeks and see what I can do.  If I can finish strong on vacation, I can keep going all the way to my goal, right?

Have a great week!

Got my number

This is totally NOT me, but lets pretend I look like this running. Or look like this period.

Something cool happened at the gym today. At this little town gym, you say your four digit number and the staff checks you in on the computer. When I walked in today the guy working knew my number and said it before I did.  I think I've been going to the gym often enough! :)

My friend, Heidi, who is an awesome runner recommended keeping track of how far I run and adding it up as a motivational tool.  Today I added up and I have walk/jogged...

81.75 miles 

....in the past six weeks.  (27 runs)

Pretty exciting!

I haven't been updating every day lately, because I'm afraid it is just boring to you. But I have been eating well, and exercising. Today I went my farthest distance yet, 3.86 miles, and burned 590 calories. Then I did weight lifting on my legs and some ab work (45 minutes worth).

Calorie wise, I'm at 1790 calories today. Not too bad.

I have a lot to do before we leave on Friday, so we will be so busy for the next few days.

How YOU doin?

I'm in and I'm out, I'm up and I'm down...

Where is everyone today? Usually Mondays mean a lot of posts, I'm feeling kinda lonely in Win, Lose or Blog land! Anyone out there??

So, my weigh in this week is bad. But also a bit good. Let me explain.

Last weekend we were camping, so I sent in my weight on Saturday (253). When we got back on Monday night I weighed myself and I was up to 257! Seriously!! I'm still a bit baffled by that. I did eat a few s'mores but otherwise ate really well (my husband is baffled too).  Anyhoo, I've worked out and eaten well all week and slowly that number creeped down, until my weigh in yesterday was 253.5.  So while I *show* a weight gain, I did actually lose this week, (let's just forget about that huge gain last weekend, okay? ;) )

So I am frustrated to be back to last weeks weight...really frustrated. All week I willed those down numbers to go down, down, down. Sigh. But I'm going to be fine this week.  It is a crazy busy week at our house and on Friday we leave to drive down to visit my family.  For the rest of Win, Lose or Blog I will be on  vacation!  I'm a teensy bit worried about leaving my gym behind, but feel confident that food wise I will be  good. I am packing my scale. F'real. :O) Although when we FLY to California for the last week I'm not sure if I will be able to pack it. Hmmm.

Hope you had a super great weekend.

Here's to that number going DOWN, DOWN, DOWN!!

Steph

5, 2122

5
Remember my goal of walk/jogging a 5K in 45 minutes? Today I really, really, really, REALLY thought I was going to do it. I was so close, and at 43 minutes was just on the brink of 3.1 miles. at 44:30 I was at 3 miles and realized I was in trouble.  I sped the treadmill up to 6.4 mph and booked it. I ran as fast as my feet could take me and got....so.....darn....close. I hit 3.1 miles at 45:05.  Five seconds away! I was super excited to get so close. I think I have a bit of a runners high. How cool is that??

2122
Also, do you remember how I decided to up my calories? I've had a hard time reaching 2400 calories. It just felt like too much.  When I came home from the gym today, my Shape magazine had arrived and on the cover it said, "How many calories do you really need?" Of course I flipped right to the article and here is a synopsis of what it said:

1. Multiply your goal weight by 100. For me, 144 pounds x 100=1440 calories. (I remember one of you mentioned this in a comment, see how smart you are!)
2. If you have an active job, or are on your feet a lot add another 3 calories per pound of your ideal body weight. I think being a mom means I stay pretty active. No desk job here. :) +432 calories
3. On the days you work out, add half the calories you burn to your allotted intake. I usually burn around 500 calories on the treadmill +250 calories

So my total recommended intake is 2122 ish.

That being said, I'm wayyyyy low today. I just didn't feel hungry very much and I'm at 1515 calories right now.  I've got to do better at this, and snack on good things during the day. I'm going to try and be more like Mindy and plan out my snacks and meals in the morning.  Will you help me? What are your favorite healthy snacks?

Here are my results for the day.
Eating:
1515 calories
Exercise:
Treadmill-60 minutes (573 calories, 3.83 miles, 15:35/mph, 132 calories, 5K at 45:05!) Weight lifting arms 30 minutes.