Weekly Weigh In Challenge for June

Shelle33 wrote: »

I'm loving all of the posts here, so I decided to join in. Please pardon the next three, as I'm catching up on the daily questions.

10 facts about me:

1) I'm an opera singer/actor. I've been performing professionally since the age of 10.
2) My favourite novel is The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay.
3) I love sushi!
4) I play a lot of instruments, but my favourite is the piccolo.
5) I've always wanted to dye my hair purple.
6) I'm culturally Jewish.
7) I love to cook, mostly Japanese food, but I hate cleaning dishes!
8) I've always been fascinated by marine biology.
9) I used to be a competitive swing dancer and fencer.
10) I have a tiny tabby kitty, who I love very much.

I LOVE the opera!! Also I dyed my hair purple a few months ago since I'm on mat leave and if it's possible with your job, you should totally do it!! I never loved my hair as much lol

My Fitness Story:

I will try to keep this brief. I will fail at this...

At 5'5" and 176.6 lbs, I am the tallest and biggest of anyone in my family, including the men (family of Lilliputians). I was thin as a child and only remember being made aware of my weight when my grammy stood me in front of a mirror at age 13 (5'1", 116 lbs) and told me that I was at the perfect size and was not allowed to get any bigger/gain anymore weight. I went through the final stages of puberty in about 2 weeks at age 16 (her chest grew three sizes that day...), so that didn't last long.

Went on my first serious diet in 1st year uni (I was probably 140-145 lbs before starting). Counted everything by hand in a brown notebook and was much too strict (goal was 1200 calories per day, but I was often under). I never weighed myself (only just purchased a scale this year), but I did slim down a lot. I stopped dieting after I fainted in the library.

During 2nd year, I got into a severely abusive relationship. I developed PTSD, agoraphobia, severe anxiety, and depression. I was in that relationship for a little over a year. In that time, I gained roughly 50 lbs, took medical leave from school...it was a mess. I was a mess.

After that ended, I focussed on recovery and diet/exercise became key in that. Joined myfitnesspal and set calories at 1300. I went from a size ? to a size 5 in 7 months. Mental health was also greatly improved; no more agoraphobia, lessened flashbacks, started back at school...

Got into another relationship. The abuse crept on over time (he was a friend of many years, so I felt safer/ignored red flags). Gained weight again, but slowly over the course of almost 2 years. Not sure how heavy I got, but it was bad.

After I ended that relationship, I started back on myfitnesspal. I set my calories at 1370 and lost weight slowly over 8 months, going from about a size 12 to a size 7-8. I took up burlesque and fell in love. Dance became my main form of exercise.

Met my current partner, a lovely, talented man who is a serious foodie and craft beer enthusiast. With his love and support, I moved across the country, finally graduated from school, and got a dream job. My weight has crept up over the 2.5 years together. I didn't notice at first, but now I definitely do. I started back on myfitnesspal in earnest on March 18, 2016. I weighed 186.6 lbs. I currently weigh 176.6 lbs. I'm getting back into exercise slowly, but that's the hardest part for me.

Yeah, not so brief.

What are my fitness goals?

To figure out this whole exercise thing so that I don't keep getting injured. To slim down so that I can be more marketable in performing. To become a better dancer and do a solo burlesque show. To build my strength and fitness levels so that I set myself up for a happy, healthy future, both physically and mentally.

My Fitness goals:

• Become faster on my stand up paddleboards for racing; next year compete with the 12'6" race board ladies, and eventually compete nationally (2-3 years from now?). Losing weight will help with speed, but I also need more muscle for stronger paddle strokes. Hoping to be down to 130 by the time the fall races start, and get to my initial goal of 120 by the end of December.
• I want to have less aches and pains after a workout, which I hope means I'll be more fit. Right now, a good workout can often wipe me out for the rest of the day. I want it to give me more energy to get more done.
• Be able to slide into my old skinny jeans (right now I'm bigger than my old 'fat' jeans). I want to be wearing XS/S again.
• Get rid of my chicken neck. I am tired of doing weird head/face contortions when I'm getting my picture taken so it doesn't look like I have a double chin.

My fitness goals: I want to lose about 100 pounds. After, I reach my goal weight (maybe even in the process) I want to be able to run a 5k. Most importantly I just want to feel comfortable in my own skin again.

My fitness goals:

- I want to become physically strong while I lose weight (frequent weight training has already helped loads)
- Getting back into "healthy" and "normal" BMI and body fat percentages (specifically, less than 164 pounds and 30% or less body fat)
- I want to run and enjoy it!!!

Yay Sarah, under 200!