My Five Best Weight-Loss Investments

So last January I did the whole weight-loss thing. I learned how to lose weight. I worked out every day. I entered my food and activities into fitday. I started out at 298 lbs and ended at 274 lbs. Then around the end of March, I got lazy. I kept meaning to start over again, but I kept putting it off until one day I was at the doctor's office and the scale read 315. 315 lbs! My jeans didn't fit anymore. I had very few clothes that fit. You'd think this would have been a wake up call, but it wasn't.

That was two months ago. Two weeks ago, R decided to jump back on the health bandwagon, and I followed him. If R, my wonderful, but lazy, boyfriend wanted to get healthy, then dammit, I could do it to.

I may have put on all the weight I lost and then some, but there were several investments that I made last time that have been super helpful this time around.


5. Strength Training Equipment
I got a set of resistance bands that came with a workout dvd and a set of 3lb and 5lb free weights. The cost was pretty small, but, when I get lazy and don't want to hit the gym, I know I have a workout that I can do at home that will still kick my ass.

4. Good Sneakers
Last time around, I injured my shins early by exercising in crappy, unsupportive old tennis shoes. This time around, I know my knees, ankles, shins, and back are protected by shoes that are truly supportive.

3. Bathroom Scale
I may not know my exact weight, due to being too fat for my scale, but it's a great scale that is highly accurate. Down to the .2. The scale was 60 bucks, but if there is one area where I want complete accuracy, it's in finding out how much weight I've lost.

2. Kitchen Scale
Counting calories works for me. I lose weight when I keep good track of what I'm putting in my mouth. So naturally, a great kitchen scale helps me know if I really ate an ounce of chips or cream cheese, or if I went way, way, way over. I chose the Salter 5 lb. Microtronic Scale. (about 60 bucks).

1. Heart Rate Monitor.
This is my favorite device in the whole world. I got a Black Polar F6, which was a bit pricey at close to $100. However, the money was so worth it. The guild of thinking I'm not trying hard enough? Gone. I know what my heartrate is, what it should be, and exactly how hard I'm working. Frustrated when the equipment says I've lost 150 calories? Nope, my HRM tells me how many calories I've burned, and as a fat girl, it's generally WAY more than the bike or treadmill say. Wanna skip the gym and workout at home? Done. I can do a dance for twenty minutes in my underwear in my living room, and the HRM tells me if I'm doing it hard enough to count as exercise. Working out without it is just awful in comparison.

I'm not saying rush out and spend 400 bucks on stuff. All I'm saying is that, if I were to make a choice between investing in one of these items, versus say, a new workout top or saving for one of these babies, I'd pick up one of these. They were integral to my success last time, and now that I'm refocused, they have made getting started again super easy.

Goals

Inspired by Stephen of Who At My Blog?, here are some goals I have for when I have dropped all the extra weight.

I'd like to:

Ride a rollercoaster without worrying if the seatbelt will click.


Get excited when someone adds a photo of me on Facebook.


Go rock climbing.


Go sky diving.


Go lingerie shopping at Victoria Secret and have no problem finding my size.


This will be my reality if I keep working everyday. No slacking. No giving up. I'm sure I'll come up with more goals over the next two years. I'll post them as I think of them.

Hey, Look at Me, I'm Totally Normal!

After finishing my workout at the gym, I was feeling fantastic. Or, as I coined tonight in my own head, I was feeling like a phenom, sweating like a fiend. So when I walked out the front door of said gym, the last thing I wanted to hear was someone calling my name. Of course that's exactly what I got.

This may be totally normal where you are, but I live in a large city full of strangers. I don't know that many people in my own neighborhood, and I rarely run into anyone when I'm out and about. Most of my friends live in different parts of the city. My little five block radius from my apartment is generally a Drop 150 safe zone. I can look like a complete fool with no repercussions. Usually. Tonight, sweat dripping down my face, neck, underboobs, armpits, underbelly, and ass crack, I run into two semi-professional acquaintances I haven't seen in a while.

And while I would normally find this mortifying, tonight it totally wasn't. It was actually awesome. Small, awkward chit chat aside, I got caught being part of the active people. The people who care about their health and don't spend every free minute on the couch. It was a wonderful little reality check. If I'm going to be healthy, then people are going to see me trying to be healthy. I can't live life afraid that other people will know I'm eating right and exercising. These things are not punishments reserved for the fattest among us. These are healthy lifestyle choices, and I'm living that lifestyle. One day at a time.

Healthy You Challenge Check In #2

Week 2 of the Healthy You Challenge for this lady. Let's see, how did I do?

Well, for one, my scale still says that I'm "OL," which means I still weigh more than 300 lbs but less than 320 lbs. Of course, I am not shocked that after only two weeks, I haven't dropped twenty pounds. I feel like I'm on the right path, and I am happy with that.

Here are my stats for the week:

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My goal is to eat between 2000 and 2200 calories per day. I went over this goal four days. Surprise! They were the same four days I was on vacation. The good news is that Friday and Monday, I was pretty close to goal. I went over by 18 calories on Monday, and 360 calories on Friday. Both of these days were days when I spent in the car. This is awesome, because even though I ate more calories than I wanted to, that number pales in comparison to what I would have eaten on a normal road trip. Monday even included a Taco Bell stop, and I still was close to goal. That's awesome.

Saturday and Sunday are a different story. Both days I ate more than I burned. By thousands of calories. This is due mostly to beer. Beer, beer, delicioius delicious beer. When I hang out with my college buddies, we drink like sailors on leave in Tijuana. I'm okay with the results, because this is something special that I don't do every day. Plus, I wrote everything down that I ate, and entered it into Fitday as soon as I got back home to hold myself accountable for my choices. I was extremely active all weekend, and I had a fantastic time.

For the week, I still burned more calories than I ate, I worked out five days, and I got back on track after the holiday. All good things.

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To Celebrate the Good Days

"Do not cease to drink beer, to eat, to intoxicate thyself, to make love, and to celebrate the good days."




I got home late last night, tired, dirty, sweaty, and so very happy.  After four days of drinking, canoeing, playing on the beach, cooking around a campfire, and hanging out with old friends, I feel rejuvenated and completely at peace. 



When I post my check in for the Healthy You Challenge tonight, I'll talk about the food and drink choices I made during the weekend, and how they affected my goals for the week. Right now I just wanted to post some photos from my trip and to relay how fabulous and content I feel.  The calorie reckoning can wait until later.



I walked on the beach. I paddled a canoe for hours. I cooked veggies on the fire, and I drank beer from morning to night. I'm tanner, slightly fitter, if not any smaller. And I can't wait until next Memorial Day weekend to do it all over again.