Progress Update with a Side of Cheesecake

(February 8, 2020 - February 6, 2021)

The blog really is my new best friend. I'm sitting here eating a piece of cheesecake while writing this. No joke. It's dad's birthday and at one point in my life, I would feel guilty eating something so sweet while dieting. Oh what a sin that would be! But I'm not dieting. It's a lifestyle change. If I want a piece of cheesecake, I'll eat the damn piece of cheesecake! But I'll compensate for the it by eating intentionally during the rest of the day (which is exactly what I did.) For those of you that have been following my weight loss journey, I started out posting updates on Facebook and Instagram. Sure, I still share those moments on there but I try to keep them short now to spare those that would rather scroll past my 8 paragraph-long posts. My long-winded posts are here now and like this blog, I'm glad you're here, too! 

Today's post is just a progress update over the past seven months, focused in on the last six weeks of work. 

I haven't been very open about my actual "weight" but I have been about the number of pounds I've lost so far. Because this blog is a reflection of my thoughts, I want to be honest about where I started and hone in on where I'm going. That means being real about my weight. 

If you've read my first post, you've seen the backstory on what prompted me to start this. I couldn't fit on rides at Universal. I hated seeing myself in pictures. I was on medication that I didn't want to be on. The list could go on but honestly I just woke up one day and couldn't take it anymore. At this point, this is the heaviest weight I had been at to date, weighing in at a whopping 330 pounds. I took my measurements, which is something I had never done before, and hated those numbers, too. (Let's be real, I hate numbers in general; Math in any form is not my strong point!) The following are my overall measurements (in inches) by area on July 9th, 2020: 

Chest: 51, Left Arm: 19, Right Arm: 19, Waist: 50.5, Hips: 60, Left Thigh: 29.5, Right Thigh: 30

It's now mid-February. I just celebrated my 29th birthday and I have decided that this is going to be my year focused on health. With health comes a sense of peace and happiness, knowing that you're doing the best with the body you've been given. I know that it took years for me to accumulate this weight and there is no quick fix or easy way to make it come off. Slowly but surely I am seeing real progress and I can't wait to share where I'm at now!

My current weight is 293.4! YES, I am under 300 for the first time in about FIVE years! This brings my total weight loss at this point to almost 37 pounds. My nutrition could be better, but I am not completely taking away food groups and saying no to treats that I love. I mean, hello Christmas and birthday festivities! But I can honestly say the food choices I am making are much better than what they were seven months ago. There's always room for improvement here though!

The craziest part to me is not what the scale says. It's the measurements. So many sweet friends and family have been commenting on my pictures, saying where they notice differences in my body, and y'all there really is SUCH a difference!

As of February 14th, 2021 (7 months in): 

Chest: 48.5 (-2.5), Left Arm: 16.5 (-2.5), Right Arm: 17 (-2), Waist: 43.5 (-7), Hips: 55.5 (-4.5), Left Thigh: 28.5 (-1), Right Thigh: 29.5 (-0.5)

THAT'S 20 TOTAL INCHES OFF OF MY BODY!! SAY WHAT?!

(July 2020 - February 2021)

I want to highlight the last six weeks of work that I've been doing at home. I know that working out at home for some may be their favorite way of getting physical. For others, the gym is their happy place. I am interested in getting into a gym in the future and. actually learning how to lift weights properly. But for now, I am the home-gym person. This program I am in right now, 9 Week Control Freak, is no joke! We're six weeks in and Phase 3 started this week. 

Phase 1 STARTING POINT: January 4th, 2021

302.4 lbs

Chest: 49 Left Arm: 18 Right Arm: 17 Waist: 44 Hips: 58 Left Thigh: 30 Right Thigh: 31.5

Phase 2 END POINT: February 14th, 2021

294.0 lbs (8.4 lb loss in six weeks)

Chest: 48.5 (-0.5), Left Arm: 16.5 (-1.5), Right Arm: 17 (-0), Waist: 43.5 (-0.5), Hips: 55.5 (-2.5), Left Thigh: 28.5 (-1.5), Right Thigh: 29.5 (-2)

In just six weeks worth of work, I've lost 8.5 of those 20 inches off of my body. There's been several days in the last few weeks where I have wanted to not move my body and eat something quick and easy. Falling into the funk happens, but Lance always tells me that when the days are hard, work harder.  (Major perk of dating a football coach - I get my own personal halftime pep talks regularly!) I'm continuing to shift my toward the things that I can control in hopes of taking care of myself mentally. I'm not in the mindset every day to put in the work that I need to, but I'm not beating myself up over it anymore. I'm listening to my body and if I need a day, I need a day. If I just need an attitude check, I put on my big girl pants and get going. But I refuse to quit.

There's three weeks left in 9WCF. My main focus is to be more mindful of my nutrition. My birthday is over so I really have no reason to continue "treating myself," even in moderation. I'm choosing no alcohol and little to no crazy treats. Like I mentioned in the beginning, this does not mean that I am going to say no to Dad's birthday dessert.What it does mean, though, is that I am going to keep that in consideration when eating other meals throughout the day. I am still using my containers to measure out all food groups, but have recently started being mindful of my macros, too. 

My first short-term goal was to lose 30 pounds and I crushed it. I was a size 22/24 and 2X/3X depending on the piece of clothing. Now I am an 18/22 and comfortably steal all of Lance's XL shirts. The next short-term goal I have is another 30 pounds, putting me at 270, which I am 23 pounds away from doing! Here's to the not so fluffy future and hopefully more fit future!