Back in the Saddle (again)

Well... as we all know weight loss is a lifelong journey whether you've reached your goal weight yet or not.  A lot has happened since I last blogged:

• Kyle and I got engaged!  (6/10/11)
• I was accepted into Louisiana State University's Clinical Child Psychology PhD program, moved to Baton Rouge (August 2011) and began my doctoral work.
• Kyle and I got married! (12/17/11)  Thus, we started a long distance marriage.  He'll move to Baton Rouge in August or September of this year.
• I reached my lowest weight in years and then gained some back (booo)

So here I am, a young wife... still trying to get the weight off, trying not to be discouraged.  I am a firm believer that weight loss is HARDER when you are in an academic program.  In addition to the busy schedule, the stress causes me to want to do nothing but eat and I'm not talking about bananas and veggies either.  I want to eat chocolate, french fries, and cheese (not in that order!).  But I'm determined.  Even with the stress of classes and clinical work and even with my husband in a different state!

The last time I blogged I cited one of my main reasons to want to lose weight (aside from my health) was because I didn't want to be a "fat bride."   When Kyle and I married my weight was 284 (the lowest it has been in years!).  I was still "fat," but I felt wonderful about myself having lost 69 pounds from my heaviest weight!  I will look back at my GORGEOUS wedding photos and remember the best day of my life with no regrets.

Since the wedding, life has sunk back in and today, as I blog I'm at 303.1.  :(  I'm sad about that.  I know, I know, I'm still 50 pounds down, but I'm 19 pounds up from my wedding day.  19 pounds in 6 months is NOT where I want to be right now.  So I'm strengthening my resolve.  It's time to start back getting SERIOUS about my weight loss....and I have a new motivator.  Now that Kyle and I are married, I want us to start our marriage off healthy.  He's gained some weight over the almost 4 1/2 years of us being together and we both need to be healthier.  Also, in a few years we'd like to start a family and I want to be a healthy weight for pregnancy and childbirth.  What better time to start than now!

So here I am, holding myself accountable again to the entire internet world.  Wish me luck!

Until next time,
BK (Since I'm married, I'm a K now!)

Wow. I've been really really slack-tastic.

Hello all!

I apologize for not blogging in... well, really forever. I have been so swamped with my new job (and thus, so OFF my points-counting). I haven't been to the gym in two weeks, but Kyle and I are starting back today. My biggest issue with the gym is that sometimes I let it carry all my weight (literally). I will work out and then think "It's okay if I eat a cheeseburger, because I worked out this week." WRONG. It's not. But with Halloween candy abounding and my scheulde being crazy and Kyle and I eating out a lot, I've been really bad. Like gained five pounds back bad.

Weight on Monday of this week: 324.5 BAH!

I hate gaining weight back. It feels like all that hard work I did to lose pound by pound was undone by cheeseburgers and chocolate bars.

So my Mom and I said enough is enough, time to get serious again. And what is more serious than: THE THREE DAY DIET. Yes, folks, it's back again. I'm on day three now (almost over!) and miracle beyond miracles I weighed myself this morning and....

317.4!

YAY! I know, I know, I have to keep up my exercise and count my points to keep it off, but that's the lowest number I've seen in years! A total weight loss of 27 pounds so far! I was excited. As always, I wish I could have gotten this number a month ago and be even lower now, but I'll take what I can get. My mom and I are planning (fingers crossed) to do the three day diet again next week Monday-Wednesday, but with our schedules, we'll have to wait and see.

My newest weight loss goal is to be under 300 by the new year (2011). Even if that means I'm 299, I'll still be happy! That will mean 54 pounds of weight loss since my heaviest weight and 45 pounds since I started in June. Amazing! It's step-by-step. And it is becoming more and more evident that this will be a fighting struggle for the rest of my life. But that's okay. I think I'm up to it.

Until next time,

BB

Busy Beyond Measure

Hello all! I apologize for not blogging in such a long time. I'm rounding off the end of week 2 of my new job and things have been so busy! Not that I'm complaining: I feel incredibly blessed to have a good-paying job in my field of study that both sharpens my testing skills and gives me incredible experience working with the public. However, the downside is that I sometimes feel like I am running around like a chicken with my head cut off! Hurdle number 1 in my current weight loss goals is being on the go. It's hard to find good, healthy meal options when you are busy, stressed, and running all over town. On my better days I have brought my own lunch (yay to the fact that my boss got a fridge in our office!) and gone to places like Ruby Tuesday (with their fabulous salad bar) and Chik-fil-a (with its yummy, yet points friendly chicken). On my worst days (today included), I have opted for the fast food/comfort food aspect. Today Kyle and I tried the new Cook Out in Spartanburg. If you are like me and have lived in South Carolina your entire life, then you probably aren't familiar with cookout, I'll explain. Cookout is a place where they make delicious hand-pattied home-made tasting burgers, like you would have at a cook out and they pair that with lots of delicious side items like fries, hush puppies, onion rings, and end your meal with a fantastically rich milkshake that could be one of about 40 flavors. Sounds like nutritious eating, doesn't it? Well, I know, I know. I ate Cook Out and totally used up the weekly points for this week, but that is perfectly fine. I will eat sensibly for the rest of the week.

Another reason I have not blogged in a while is because I definitely fell off the weight loss wagon this weekend when I spent the weekend with Kyle. I mean, about a three pound fall off the wagon, which is super discouraging. I am still at my 20 pound mark, but not by much. The wrong choices are so easy to make especially when you are around people who are not dieting. However, both Kyle and I have been trying to eat better for our health and Monday afternoon we started going to the gym together. Now being a fat girl for life has made the gym a scary place for me previously that is only ventured into with close trusted friends and great suspicion. Well fear no more! I am so pumped about mine and Kyle's workouts! I thought it would be weird or even embarrassing to go the gym with my boyfriend because of all the jiggling and sweating and weird grunt noises that happen at the gym, but really Kyle is a huge encouragement for me (after all, he is also sweating and grunting, but not nearly as jiggly). He is very patient with me showing me around the machines and reminding me to stay hydrated and pushing me to do that one more set of hand weights or five more minutes on the treadmill. I have never been this excited about working out before. Plus, after working out twice so far this week, I feel great! I have more energy in the mornings and my arthritic knee is feeling much better and less stiff.

Needless to say, this girl is jumped back on that wagon. Well... maybe not jumped... Climbed, perhaps?

Until next time,
BB

God Gives Me What I Need

Well, today was the first day on my new job, thus I got a good night's sleep, had a good breakfast, picked out my clothes the night before, had some retail therapy with my Mom, and ate the yummiest lunch ever. What did it amount to? My first client for testing not showing up. Sad day. BUT, nonetheless, today has been a great day. I feel relaxed about my new job. I had plenty of time to review my tests and set up my office (and, yes, make a list of what I would like to add to my new office). Tomorrow I feel like I will be significantly less nervous to administer that first test (for pay, yay!) than I was today when I was waiting on my client to show up. Also, another good point is that I do adore my boss. He is the nicest man and makes me feel competent and at ease in a new job situation.

On to the weight loss, I weight myself tomorrow morning. I am afraid that I might have gained a pound or two and the culprit is my insatiable appetite that my period gives me. Yes, I know, talking about periods is gross, but when you're a woman who is trying to lose weight, it is public enemy number 1. It makes you tired/lazy, it puts you in a bad mood, and it makes you want to eat everything in sight (especially if it is fatty or has chocolate.... or both). Luckily, mine is about half over, and by the weekend I should be back on track. Mind you, I'm not eating like a hellion, just probably eating a bit more than I should, like having 2 Skinny Cow cheesecakes ice creams instead of 1. But, it goes back to my tried and true motto about dieting: if you deprive yourself, the diet will be hopeless, and it will make you want to cheat. And eventually, you will cheat. So give yourself a bit of room.

Tonight is also one of my favorite nights because DANCE YOUR BUTT OFF comes on tonight and I absolutely love that show. GO ADAMME! I've been enjoying watching this season because I feel like I can relate to the show's contestants: they are people who have put on weight (or like me, have always been heavy), they're ready to make a change, and they love dancing. Adamme, my favorite contestant, has already lost 75 pounds and he looks/feel phenomenal. I am proud of him and hope he wins the contest. However, each of the contestants is talented and has worked hard. It is nice to know that when you are going through something challenging, like personal weight loss, there are others out there who can encourage you and also prove to be exemplars.

Until next time,
BB

Keep On Keepin' On

Well, I checked my weight again this morning and I've lost another 1.8 on the three day diet, so that's definitely exciting. I finished it up yesterday and now I'm back counting Weight Watcher points (and I celebrated that with a lunch of couscous and sauteed veggies - I miss couscous when I can't have it). Now that I've passed the 20 pound mark, I'm feeling renewed and my motivation has gotten another boost!

I wrote a few days ago that I went clothes shopping. Clothes shopping still discourages me. Even though I've lost almost 25 pounds, I am still not seeing that big of a difference in the way clothes fit. I'm seeing some, but not much. And this is simply because I have so much weight to lose and I've been carrying this weight for so long, that it will take a lot to get it off me. So because of those reasons, I am trying not to get too bogged down in clothes sizes. Every pound that I drop is another step closer to being a healthy weight (even though I still have many many more steps to go).

I really am excited about exercising. I know that it is hard with the weather being so miserably hot and with me being out of a job, I can't enjoy gym membership yet, but soon those things will pass. For now, I'm making a pledge to find small ways to be more active around the house, including walking up and down stairs (multiple times), staying on my feet more, and using my hand weights daily. Pretty soon, I'll start getting paychecks from my new job (I start on Monday!) and then on to Zumba classes. :)

Until next time,
BB

The 20 Pound Mark

Current weight: 321.4

Yes, folks that means I have lost 22.6 pounds since the beginning of my diet! YAY! For me, the 20 pound mark is the first big step in weight loss. Then comes 50, then comes 75, and then (God willing) comes 100! So I am excited at this step in my journey. I have promised myself that when I lose 50 pounds I am buying a pair of TOMS wedges (since I don't fair well in heels at my weight).

My arthritic knee is still giving me pain problems, but I'm trying to move it as much as possible and I am also staying hopeful that, as my doctor promised, the more weight I lose, the less pain I will feel.

Today I am going clothes shopping, which I always hate. I always feel like nothing ever fits me the right way or that something accentuates my tummy or makes me look pregnant or just makes me look.... well... round. I'll let you know how it goes. Hopefully being down 22 pounds will help!

Until next time,
BB

Revisiting the 3 Day Diet

Today is Day 1 of this round of the 3 Day Diet. My mom and I haven't done this diet in about a month (because it does become a bit miserable), but we've both reached a plateau that we will surmount with exercise and a few more rounds of the three day diet. Supposedly, you can lose up to 10 lbs on the diet, but I've always lost between 4 and 7 (which is a-okay with me).

So, three days without snacking, eating only what the diet tells me to, and no chocolate, rice or potatoes. Here we go!

Until next time,
BB