Tick Tock!

I was reading back through some of my old blog entries (I do that sometimes when I'm bored...don't judge me! lol) and I found the one where I said that when I lost 24 pounds, I would be at my halfway point to my goal weight. Well, that day has come sooner rather than later! I hit 24 pounds on Saturday. I was so stinking excited, it kind of took my attention away from some stress as of late. :)

I decided to make a weight loss ticker. Sure enough, that little bugger is smack in the middle right now!



I was thinking about where I want to be in terms of my weight loss in the future. I know I need to start exercising. I've been neglecting it and it's not going to fly anymore. I hope that starting to exercise more will help my lose some weight in areas I haven't seen a lot of progress in (tummy, thighs). I'm going to be at GenCon in August and I want to dress up as both Vanellope Von Sweetz and my steampunk Rosie the Riveter that I did several years ago. I'm not terribly worried about Vanellope except her tights...I have no idea what I'm going to do with it and it's essentially the only big thing left for her costume (I need to make candy barrettes for her hair and get some stuff for the drawstring in the sweatshirt, but those are not a big deal). With Rosie, I really need to start lifting some weights to get my arms ready to roll up some sleeves! So, in terms of exercising, I want to do start up again for those reasons. Also, I want to be down to 155 by GenCon, which is the middle of August. I think I can do it, but we'll see.

My next goal is set for September. Both my brother and sister are getting married that month and I'm a bridesmaid for my sister in her wedding. I have a dress that I bought last month at a thrift store that is pretty darn awesome. It also doesn't fit. Every couple of weeks or so I try it on just to see when I can get the zipper up. I'm still working on it! Today Ben was able to close the clasp at the top, which was extremely uncomfortable, but it's progress. I want to be down to 153, which would be 30 pounds lost, by my brother's wedding, which is the week before my sister's. That's another 6 pounds. I think it's doable. If I could be down more than that, all the better! We'll see. :)

My ultimate goal is to be down at my ideal weight, 135, by the end of the year. Considering it took me 6 months to lose the first 24 pounds, it's obviously an achievable goal. I might even extend the deadline to my anniversary which is halfway through January, since I didn't start trying to lose weight until the middle of January this year. Of course, my goals could all be for naught if I end up getting pregnant. I think I'd be ok with that...I'll just adjust the goals as necessary. For now, I've got a plan! Tick tock!

It's Kermit time!

I've now lost another 5 pounds, so the Kermit shirt pics are getting their turn. I have now lost a total of 22 pounds since starting the Biggest Loser at the office in January. The initial weigh-in weight was 183 and I'm at 161 now. I'm hoping to get to 25 pounds lost by the end of July. Considering that's a whole month for 3 pounds, I think I can do it.

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I realized the other day that if I get to my goal weight of 135, I will have lost more than 25% of my original weight. Crazy!

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Post-biggest loser

It's been a little over a week since the Biggest Loser contest at work ended. I weighed myself yesterday and I have officially reached 20 pounds lost. Woot!

MyFitnessPal has been an incredible help during my weight loss. I seriously don't think I could have done it without being informed about and accountable for what I was eating, which was an invaluable service it provided. Last Friday marked 150 days logged on in a row. I hit my 15 pound loss and 100 days in a row on the same day, and now I very nearly did 20 pounds and 150 days in a row on the same day. Lol

For every 10 pounds lost, MyFitnessPal gives you the option to recalculate your calorie budget. While it's rough trying to fit under a new limit, I found myself looking forward to this one. It's a welcome challenge! The first time, when I wasn't expecting it, it dropped my daily calories by 60 and for a few weeks afterward, it was difficult to stay under it. I wondered how I would do this time, knowing it was coming. I continued to eat like a normal person today (Subway salad and Smashburger veggie frites for lunch, chicken and pierogies with mushrooms for dinner). That is something I have been proud of through this whole process--I have lost my weight without crash dieting or pills or anything like that. I just know what it is I'm eating. I still eat fast food, I still have sweets, I still eat foods I enjoy. I just make better, more knowledgeable choices.

I don't think I'm going to recalculate at the next 10 pounds. My daily calorie limit is already pretty low and I think keeping it at the same amount and exercising will still allow me to lose weight, just maybe not as quickly. It's hard to imagine myself having lost 30 pounds. I'm going to predict that I will reach that point by labor day weekend. I have been losing about 10 pounds every three months or so. We'll see if I'm right! Mumford and Sons will be a wonderful gift to myself!

The final verdict...

Biggest Loser is over. Apparently another coworker and I stuck it out to the end. I ended up winning, but I split the pot with the coworker. So, yay me!

The final weigh in pushed me to 18 pounds lost. I started at 183 and ended at 165. I lost almost 10% of my starting weight over the last 20 weeks. Yay me again!

I realized the other day that 6 more pounds will put me at my halfway point to my goal weight. It seems strange, because I first of all don't really feel like I've lost nearly 20 pounds. Second of all, I imagine what I will look like with another 20 pounds lost and I guess the first point is affecting the second. I have a hard time visualizing what 20 more pounds lost will look like when I can't see it now. I have pictures of myself at that weight and I know I will be satisfied with my weight then. My hope is to lose 30 pounds total (so another 12 pounds) by my brother's wedding in September (14 weeks from now). I think it's doable. We'll see.

One more weigh-in

This Friday is our last weigh-in of the Biggest Loser competition at work. I've heard I'm a top competitor for the winner. We'll see, though. It would be nice, but I'm not going to stop after this week. I will not post photos every two weeks as I have, but rather every 5 pounds lost. That will probably be every month and a half or so.

I'm back to 17 pounds lost as of last Friday. The last picture was taken at 14 pounds lost, so there is a 3 pound difference between the fourth and fifth set of pictures.

As always, first, second, third, fourth, fifth; then first and fifth side by side.

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I went to the thrift store on their half price sale and bought several pairs of pants at a size smaller than I'm in right now. I didn't try them on before I bought them, knowing they wouldn't fit since they were goal pants. They all fit. most not well, but I could wear them to work without much discomfort. One pair (the one sized the smallest, in fact) fit perfectly. I guess I should have bought some two sizes smaller for my goal pants. Oh, well. I'll have some for the next couple of months I guess. I did buy a dress for my sister's wedding that didn't fit (David's Bridal dress for $7.50), so that can be my goal for September, assuming I'm not smaller than the dress by that time.

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Two more official weigh-ins

I started the Biggest Loser contest at work in mid-January. It will officially end in a week and a half. I'm kind of sad, truthfully. Several others involved have lost motivation, but I like having the weekly update. I have a scale at home, but I rarely use it. I guess I can keep weighing myself weekly with mine...it won't be quite the same, though. In four months I've lost 16 pounds (it was 17 but I went up a pound last week) and two dress sizes (only one pant size...I haven't quite gotten all the way down to the next size there). My hope is to reach 20 pounds by the end, but I doubt it. It would be nice, though! Lol I'm just happy that I've been able to do this without starving myself, doing ellimination diets or changing how I eat drastically. I just pay more attention to what (and how much) I'm actually eating. Tomorrow will be 135 consecutive logins to MyFitnessPal--basically since I started Biggest Loser. I truly think this will be something I can maintain. I have learned good habits and which foods are better options for me through this process. Next week will be the last regular photojournal week. After that I think I'll photojournal every 5 pounds. Looking forward to what comes next! And wish me luck in winning Biggest Loser. We'll see!

Yaaaaaaayy! Movin' Right Along

I took these pictures yesterday but then got side tracked by a project that can only currently be described in gifs like

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I will share more details when I can. I'm not pregnant, if that's what you're thinking.

I have now lost a total of 17 pounds since starting the Biggest Loser at the office in January. The initial weigh-in weight was 181 and I'm at 164 now. My goal is 20 pounds lost by the end, which is the 31st of May. Think I can do it? Anyway, here's the latest Kermit shirt pics.

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The shirt is appropriate, I think, given the gifs above! Lol

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Time flies

I can NOT believe it's already picture week again. I had lost two more pounds, for a total of 15, but then had a not-so-good week and gained a pound back. If you want to nit-pick, I gained almost two pounds back. But, since the beginning I've only gone by whole numbers, even when it could have benefitted me for weight loss, so that's what I'm sticking with.

Last week's measurement week didn't provide any change, so here's the current status:
Chest INITIAL: 42.5 CURRENT: 41.5 Tummy INITIAL: 42 CURRENT: 41 Thigh INITIAL: 25 CURRENT: 24

Not a huge difference, but one nonetheless. I'll take anything I can get!

So, now we're taking pictures. I dug out the yoga pants (fortunate since I'm headed to yoga this evening) and white tank top. It's funny how I make sure my clothes are clean for each round of pictures. Hahaha! Ok, first, second, third, fourth; then first and fourth side by side.

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Eight weeks of pictures! Crazy!

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