It's Time

It's time...to invest in my future by losing weight NOW!

My Profile

  • Name: Ann1001
  • City: Skokie
  • Region: Illinois
  • Country: United States

My Weight Loss

Height: 170.2cm
Start weight: 272.00lb
Current weight: 239.60lb
Goal weight: 170.00lb
Lost to date: 32.40lb
Remaining: 69.60lb

My Calendar

24
May '12
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My Photos

Before After
Really Simple Syndication
06/06/2009 18:10

My, how time flies!

Wow, it has been several weeks since I have last added an entry.  The last time I wrote, I was so excited to have done so well while I was in the Holy Land, and then I fell into a trap...I didn't get back into my routine as well as I should have.  For about a week or two, I was up several pounds, but now that is gone again.  I need to work at being diligent with my routine. 
 
For me the most important part of my routine is every night, writing down what I ate that day, and what I plan to eat the next day.  When I do that, it works wonders for me!  In addition to that, I need to weigh myself every day.  I know that some people say it is not good to do that, but for me it is very good.  When I don't check my weight daily, I can more easily get off track.  Plus, it is hugely motivating for me to see the numbers change.  The more I see them change, the more likely I am to work harder to make sure that they keep changing. 
 
It has been almost 4 months since I started and I have lost 30 pounds, and it feels fantastic.  I am totally committed to continuing forward, and am happy to be back on track. 

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05/18/2009 05:35

Back from the Holy Land

I got home from the Holy Land pilgrimage 2 days ago and it was AWESOME!!  It couldn't have been better.  It was such a rich experience, full of beautiful, powerful moments, full of laughter and fun, full of adventure and excitement, full of deeply spiritual experiences and insights!  I came home with such a love for this land where Jesus walked that I am already thinking about when I can go again!
 
In terms of how I did with food issues, well, it is interesting.  When I left for this trip, I knew that I was not going to be overly cautious about my eating.  I had planned that I was going to be "normal" on this trip.  And "normal" means that sometimes people do eat more during special times, like vacations or special occassions, but then they return to their healthier eating when they return home.  And that is exactly what I did. 
 
We stayed at 2 different hotels while we were there, and at the first one, the food was served "family style", with platters put on each table that we served ourselves from.  It was relatively easy to be OK at that hotel.  And they always served fruit for dessert there. 
 
But the second hotel was a different story.  We had breakfast and dinner included in our package, and so we ate 2 of our meals at the hotel.  And the hotel had a HUGE buffet for each of the meals, with at least 30 or 40 different main dishes and side dishes, and about 20 different desserts to choose from, and of course, it was all you can eat.  This is never a good thing.  I have to say, it was definitely harder at the second hotel than at the first. It was not easy for anyone on the trip.  Everyone was eating way more than they normally do, and everyone was saying that they couldn't wait to go back to their normal way of eating (not that they wanted the trip to be over soon, but they just were anxious to eat in a more healthy way again), and that is exactly how I felt.  I did eat a lot at the second hotel, and each night I had at least 3-5 different desserts (although that is a lot, it is really not as much as it might sound, because the portion size was always relatively small).  But the other side of it was that we walked A TON! 
 
I really had no idea of how I was doing with regard to weight issues, and how much weight I had gained.  My clothes didn't feel that much different, but I kept thinking that I probably gained several pounds.  When I came home, I was thinking that I would be happy if I only gained about 4 or 5 pounds.  Well, when I got on the scale yesterday, the day after I got back home, I was STUNNED to find out that I had only gained about 1.3 pounds!  I could not believe it!  I was just ecstatic!  And now, afer 2 days, I have already lost that weight, and so now, I am just below where I was before I left for this trip.  It is even better than the best case scenario that I could have imagined!  And I am totally motivated to continue forward on this journey.  I am not going to use this as a spring board into bad eating again!  And that is the true victory!    Horay for me!

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05/04/2009 15:52

Holy Land....Here I come!!!

I had to get one more entry in before I leave on my pilgrimage.  I leave for Israel today for a 2 week pilgrimage, with a group of 25 people, many of whom are some of my dearest friends, so I am REALLY EXCITED!  As of this morning, I have lost 29 pounds since I began all this on February 14, and I am just SO THRILLED!  Six months ago I worried about how my weight would impact my pilgrimage to the Holy Land, because there is a lot of walking and climbing, but today, as I leave, I am SO GRATEFUL, because I don't have to worry about that at all!  Of course, I still have about 70 pounds to lose, but those first 30 have made such a HUGE difference in how I feel, that I cannot even imagine how awesome I will feel when I have lost all of it.  I am so happy that I can go on this trip without worrying AT ALL about how my weight will impact me. 
 
OK, so I just have to say...I will not be overly restrictive with food on this trip.  I will be careful, but not anal about it.  I want to enjoy all that Israel has to offer, including the foods.  So, having said that, I do expect that I will gain a little bit of weight during this trip, but my hope is that it will be only a few pounds and not more than that.  We will be doing a LOT of walking as well, so that should help.  And I know that the real key to long term success is knowing that sometimes, I can be less restrictive with food, but then, I need to always come back to this healthier way of eating  This will be a huge test for me.  
 
Soooo.....yipppeeeee....I'm off!!

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04/24/2009 03:48

A size 16 again??? NO WAY!!! :-)

I am leaving for my pilgrimage to the Holy Land in about 10 days, and today I did some shopping for some things I need to buy for the trip.  I was stunned when I tried on a skirt that was a size 16, and it actually fit me!  Nine weeks ago, when I first began all this, I was wearing a size 20 and moving quickly into a size 22!  So when I fit into the size 16 skirt...I was stunned!  OK, granted, I probably could not yet fit into size 16 pants (frankly, I didn't even try), because skirts are a little easier, but still, I was so excited to be able to wear ANYTHING that has a 16 on it!
 
The other thing is that I was going through some of my old clothes (because I have clothes in several different sizes) that have not fit me in quite a while.   I have this pair of shorts that I really like from several years ago, and last summer I tried them on to see if they would fit.  Well, I couldn't even get them past my lower thighs at that time!!!  Well....a few days ago when I tried them on again, not only did I get them all the way up, but I was able to button them as well!  I am so excited about that, I can hardly stand it! 
 
I just have to hold on to these kinds of wonderful success' as part of my motivation to keep going forward on this path!  So far so good!

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04/18/2009 16:43

Week 9 Weigh-in

Todays official weigh-in is 247.6, which is a 0.8 lbs loss from last week (24.4 total pounds lost thus far).  While that is very little weight loss for one week, I consider it a huge success.  On Easter I gained almost 2 pounds, so in this last week, not only did I lose the weight I gained on Easter, but I also lost an additional 0.8 pounds. 
 
I have to say...I am almost more proud of this 0.8 loss than I am of other, larger weight losses during other weeks.  I am just SO HAPPY that I didn't use the Easter food indulgence as a jumping board to uncontrolled eating again!  That makes me so hopefull that THIS TIME, I really can do it!  I can achieve my goal!
 
My next large test is coming up in 2 weeks.  I am going on a 2 week pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and I know that it will be a challenge as far as food is concerned.  But I feel ready for that challenge!   Thank you Jesus!!!

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04/16/2009 16:56

Easter lesson learned!

In this weight loss journey, one of the most difficult things for me has always been...getting back to proper eating after having a bad day with food, or a bad few days.  Those "bad" days have always derailed me in the past.  So I knew when I began this new journey 2 months ago that I would need to work on that. 
 
This last Sunday was Easter.  And there is always so much food around for any holiday, and so Easter is no exception.  We had 25 people over for lunch, and so there were so many appetizers, main coarses, side dishes, desserts and post-meal snacks (my family is a big, European, close-knit family that believes you should stuff your guests till they are ready to explode!!). 
 
Going into the day, I knew that I would eat much more than normal.  In fact, I planned on that.  I want to learn how to live a normal life with food.  And "normal" means...sometimes you DO eat more than other times (like for holidays and other special occasions), but then you make up for it by being more careful for a little while afterwards.  I knew that I couldn't expect myself to not indulge in some extra eating, because I would feel deprived and then that would set me up for bigger problems later. 
 
And I knew that I was going to gain weight that day, but my hope was that it wouldn't be more than two pounds (because I can easily gain 3-5 pounds in a day, if I go really overboard!).  And so...things pretty much went as I planned.  I had gained about 1.8 pounds that day, and I was thrilled with that result.  And then, the next day, I went right back to my regular eating, and as of today, I have now lost the weight that I gained on Easter!  So I am happy with that.  And I am to be learning how to live a normal life with food, to not be too obsessed with perfection in my eating, and to learn the lesson of persistence in my efforts.  So far so good! 

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04/11/2009 16:42

Week 8 weigh-in

How do I manage to have a whole week go by without having added even one entry here?  I don't know!
 
But anyways, drum roll please....this week I lost 3.6 pounds, which brings my grand total to 23.6 pounds!  I am so happy about that!  Today marks 2 months since I began, and these results are SO EXCITING! 
 
My ultimate goal is to lose 100 pounds, and I have 76 pounds to go before I reach that.  But I also have a short term goal.  On May 4, I leave for a 2 week pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and my hope was to be 240 pounds by the time I leave on this trip (right now I am at 248.4).  So I may reach that goal...or at least I will be very close to it hopefully!   
 
I began planning this pilgrimage to the Holy Land last year, and I was so excited about it from the very beginning, but there was always this dread in my mind and heart about it...dread because I worried about how my weight would impact this trip.  I weighed in the 270's when I first began planning it, and at that weight, I was having problems climbing even just a few steps, my back was killing me all the time, my feet and ankles were so swollen that I limped a lot of the time, and so many other things.  Although I never thought about NOT going on the pilgrimage, I did worry about how I was going to handle all the walking, climbing and standing that was going to happen.  And not just that, but one time recently when I had to fly somewhere, I actually was not able to buckle the seat belt across my lap!  I was too fat!  That had never happened to me before, and I was mortified!  So I worried about that as well! 
 
But today, 23 pounds lighter, I feel a HUGE difference!  I have a spring in my step because I feel so much lighter.  My back pain is decreasing with every pound that I lose, as is the swelling in my feet and ankles!  Today I KNOW that my weight will NOT impact this pilgrimage!  And I am so grateful.  People who don't have weight problems have no idea what it is like to wonder how your own body may effect you in the living out of a normal life!  But I am on the road to "recovery" and hopefully soon I won't have to worry about that anymore either!
 
Thank you God!  Happy Easter to everyone!

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04/04/2009 15:18

Week 7 weigh-in

Today is my weekly weigh-in.  I lost 2.6 pounds this last week, which brings my total weight loss to exactly 20 pounds.  It feels SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GOOD!!

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03/29/2009 16:53

Sunday lunch at mom's

OK, so today things might be a little tougher, as far as food is concerned.  Sunday lunch at mom's is always harder.  I want to commit here in this blog, that I will eat only what is on my meal plan and nothing more. The other part that is hard is the late afternoon coffee and dessert time.  Since sweets are my major weakness, that is the hardest time.  The last several Sunday lunches I have been to have gone fine, but I am feeling a little more vulnerable today.  Not really sure why, since everything is going well as far as my healthy eating is concerned. I will check back in later.

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03/26/2009 16:10

Feeling good!

It feels SO AWESOME to be on track with the food again!  I have officially lost thos few pounds that I gained when I was away on my trip, plus about a 1/2 pound more!  I just LOVE this feeling!  I think it really is true that...nothing tastes as good as abstinence (sticking with my meal plan) feels.  Yippeee!

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