50 lbs in 6 months!

PedalHound · December 2008

I began my journey to a healthier self and started MFP all in the same day. June 8th of this year, 1 day shy of 6 months ago. I was amazed by how easy it was to follow the numbers, create even healthier meals and actually eat regularly throughout the day! I have two young children ages 4 and almost 2 and I wasn't eating regularly although it was pretty healthy food. I eat my work out calories (after subtracting the 20 cals per 10 minutes that I'd be burning just sitting there, of course!), I eat whole foods and not processed, dyed, flavoured, artificially-sweetened ones, and I eat every 2-3 hours. I'm careful with sodium, I get lots of fibre and balance my carbs/fats/proteins thoughout the day plus I get at least 8 8oz glasses of water into me. This all ads up to having lost a healthy and steady amount of weekly weight (except for the few weeks in the fall where I plateaued due to eating too few calories - only 1200 a day) and to my AMAZEMENT I have suddenly crossed the 50lb mark in my loss. :noway: I knew it was coming, I could see the numbers, but this has struck me like nothing before. You can't fake that number. That's not water weight or those first easy 5 to 10 lbs of recently added fat that your body isn't too attached-to. It's all a success but I honestly never thought I could do it. In any other year those 6 months would have been spent lamenting my shape, wishing for the magic key, or planning on starting "tomorrow". Yay me :bigsmile:
So keep plugging away. Where might YOU be 6 months from now if you do!!

PedalHound · December 2008

I began my journey to a healthier self and started MFP all in the same day. June 8th of this year, 1 day shy of 6 months ago. I was amazed by how easy it was to follow the numbers, create even healthier meals and actually eat regularly throughout the day! I have two young children ages 4 and almost 2 and I wasn't eating regularly although it was pretty healthy food. I eat my work out calories (after subtracting the 20 cals per 10 minutes that I'd be burning just sitting there, of course!), I eat whole foods and not processed, dyed, flavoured, artificially-sweetened ones, and I eat every 2-3 hours. I'm careful with sodium, I get lots of fibre and balance my carbs/fats/proteins thoughout the day plus I get at least 8 8oz glasses of water into me. This all ads up to having lost a healthy and steady amount of weekly weight (except for the few weeks in the fall where I plateaued due to eating too few calories - only 1200 a day) and to my AMAZEMENT I have suddenly crossed the 50lb mark in my loss. :noway: I knew it was coming, I could see the numbers, but this has struck me like nothing before. You can't fake that number. That's not water weight or those first easy 5 to 10 lbs of recently added fat that your body isn't too attached-to. It's all a success but I honestly never thought I could do it. In any other year those 6 months would have been spent lamenting my shape, wishing for the magic key, or planning on starting "tomorrow". Yay me :bigsmile:
So keep plugging away. Where might YOU be 6 months from now if you do!!

cheermom11 · December 2008

That's fantastic! Congratulations!! :drinker:

pjlim · December 2008

I believe Congrats! is in order. Way to go! I hope to follow your success.

melissa91971 · December 2008

Way to go!
I looked at your before and WOW! I posted several pic of me currently so that as I get closer I can update and show my progress.
I believe I can do this because this time it is for my health and my thought process is different than the other times in the past.
I am looking forward to the day I can inspire other the way you just did me!:smooched:

~Mel

Mangoaddict · December 2008

I love your story! Gives me hope

Many congrats to you for your hard work. Keep it up!:flowerforyou:

jimswmn · December 2008

Congrats!

healthier4me · December 2008

Awesome...congrats on all your hard work!!!!

Thanks for sharing your journey. You are an inspiration to us newcomers!

arewethereyet · December 2008

kjllose · December 2008

You should be so proud of your accomplishment. Congratulations on a job well done. :flowerforyou:

pixiestick · December 2008

Thank you for the last sentence of your post. To know that someone knows success is inspiring, but to have a successful someone inspire you to join them is very special.

Thanks.

PedalHound · December 2008

Thanks so much everyone!!!

willywonka · December 2008

That is awesome, congratulations!!!
You look wonderful

shoppingqueen34 · December 2008

How awesome!!! :flowerforyou:

GettingThin08 · December 2008

OMG how did you do it?

Phoenix_Rising · December 2008

'Atta girl!! :drinker:

PedalHound · December 2008

OMG how did you do it?

Well, like my first post said, I keep within my calories with whole, healthy foods (nothing artificial, only ingredients that I'd find in my own kitchen and not chemicals or additives, nothing "diet" and no refined or artificial sweeteners). I get complex carbs and protein with every meal (5 to 7 times a day), I get between 25 and 35g of fibre a day, keep my sodium under control (mine is never over 1550 but I had hypertension during my last pregnancy so I have my limit set lower since I have a physiological susceptibility to blood pressure issues). I drink 8 x 8oz glasses of water a day (and when I work out, I drink to thirst to replace the lost fluid and I don't count that in my daily water consumption because it's just putting back in what I sweat out). I get 45 to 60 minutes of cardio 4 days a week and weights 2-3 days a week plus some light exercise like walking, yoga or pilates on non-workout days. Every 6 weeks I take 7 days off of scheduled work-outs to recover fully and avoid over-training. I always eat my exercise calories but I also make sure to subtract my resting cals from that number before adding to MFP so I don't over-eat. For example, if I burn 400 calories in 60 minutes of exercise I only add 280 cals to MFP and only eat an extra 280 cals. Most people burn between 15 and 25 calories every 10 minutes just sitting still doing nothing. If you have a heart rate monitor you can check this by sitting and reading your heart rate for 30 minutes and dividing by 3. When you work out, you need to subtract that number for every 10 minutes of exercise. So 60 minutes is 6 x 20 = 120, 400 cals burned - 120 resting cals = 280. It's a really common mistake that can hold people back from loss!
The biggest thing is not letting the set-backs keep you back! This is LIFE! REAL life. There will be parties and dinners out and drinks with friends... every day won't be a perfect day. Learning to move on from the less-than-perfect days and live a healthy, balanced lifestyle with your best nutritional choices 80% of the time is the road to success.
And one thing I used to want to deny is that exercise is important for a lot of reasons (cardiovascular health, bone strength and so on) but it is your NUTRITION that holds the key to a trim and healthy body. I've always loved exercise. It was realizing the actual power of food that has unlocked this for me.

Good luck!!!