Finally broke the 200 barrier!

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Azdak
Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
in Success Stories
Today was the day--and a surprise at that. 199.8!

I had actually planned on getting to 190 by my birthday (Monday), but I suffered some setbacks in August that slowed my progress way down. First, I fell outside while running and injured my hip which led to a hamstring injury that curtailed my running (and which persists to this day). I could still do the stairmaster and cross trainer, but they are not nearly as effective (for me). My avg exercise calories per week went from 6,000 to 3,000.

I also went to see a dietitian in August for some advice on the next stage of my program. She recommended increasing my calories from about 1700-1800 a day to 2200-2300 per day. It's weird, but I found it a lot easier to *decrease* my calories than to increase them. It's like I had a certain amount of food for the day "calibrated" in my head. When I tried to increase, I just started overeating. I also got a little lazy about counting my calories and measuring food.

And lastly--and we have talked about this before--after having lost 53 pounds, I was getting so many compliments--"oh, you look great, you don't need to do any more"--I have to admit I lost a little motivation. I stopped weighing myself and started to fall back into some late snacking habits.

So I stayed in a range of 203 (my low weight) to 206 for the past 8 weeks. I did push the weights a little more during that time and I think it helped because, although my weight did not change, I did lose another inch from my waist.

A couple of weeks ago I just became remotivated. Part of it was breaking some snacking habits, partly it was going to a doctor's office where they not only weighed me with clothes at 206, but measured my waist and discovered that I had actaully lost another inch since August. I realized I had not slipped back like I had thought and that was enough.

I haven't gone back to being as regimented as before, but I did tighten up the routine. A big test came on my birthday when I avoided going out to dinner, getting a cake, etc (actually, that was very depressing, but I like the results).

I do think that the farther along you get in your program and closer to your goal, the more important strength training and focused workouts become to helping achieve success.

Replies

  • zebras
    zebras Posts: 600
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    Congratulations, jumping over 200 is a huge mental hurdle for all of us. One of these days I will be on the other side with you!
  • ittybittybadonkadonk
    ittybittybadonkadonk Posts: 11,634 Member
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    congrats :flowerforyou: and happy bday .......i will be there with you next week ..... i am only 1 pound away from being out of the 200's YAYYYYYYYYYYYY
  • lulabellewoowoo
    lulabellewoowoo Posts: 3,125 Member
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    Thank you. This past week has been horrible for me (stress/emotional eating). But you have just given me some great inspiration and tips to get my butt back in gear. Thank you for posting your progress and motivation. Much appreciated!
  • vdpal
    vdpal Posts: 64 Member
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    YEAH!!! Congrats to you!! Keep up the good work.
  • Lisa0711
    Lisa0711 Posts: 1,405 Member
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    Congratulations! I'm not too far from 200 myself (about 7 pounds) and it's very inspirational to see when others have gotten below 200. Good job on your major accomplishment, be proud!
  • bethany_jurries
    bethany_jurries Posts: 169 Member
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    That 200 mark seems so daunting but you did it good job! I only have 11lbs to go and I am so excited to get past that and work my way through the 100's!!! GREAT JOB!
  • drewdizzle
    drewdizzle Posts: 5 Member
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    I just got over the 200 barrier a few weeks ago. It was a huge feat and feeling of success. Stay motivated! It is hard for me to stay motivated sometimes too. I just keep reminding myself that if I have a minor setback, there is always tomorrow and if I stay diligent I can keep pushing myself past that point of where I feel weakness. Congrats!
  • jmilf1
    jmilf1 Posts: 5
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    WOW!! After reading that you went from 6000 exercise calories to 3000 exercise calories, I realized how little I actually have been exercising. I thought I was doing good at walking 45 minutes a day but obviously that is not quite enough. THANK YOU FOR INSPIRING ME AND MOTIVATING ME TO EXERCISE EVEN MORE!!! I really need to start looking at my exercise calories as much as my food calories.
  • barbarella
    barbarella Posts: 609 Member
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    BRAVO on breaking that 200 mark! :flowerforyou: :love: :flowerforyou:

    It's very inspiring to read other people's stories! :drinker:

    I've been stuck for a few months... trying to bust out of the 160s.
    I hope to do it before Halloween..... we'll see! :bigsmile:
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    WOW!! After reading that you went from 6000 exercise calories to 3000 exercise calories, I realized how little I actually have been exercising. I thought I was doing good at walking 45 minutes a day but obviously that is not quite enough. THANK YOU FOR INSPIRING ME AND MOTIVATING ME TO EXERCISE EVEN MORE!!! I really need to start looking at my exercise calories as much as my food calories.

    Two cautions: 1) as is obvious from the title, I am at 200 pounds, which means I have a head start on burning calories. 2) Even at my heavier weights, I am in pretty good shape aerobically for a 56 year old guy (VO2 max is still probably pushing 50 ml/kg/min). So, my normal exercise rate is 1000+ Cal/hour. So, a 6,000 calorie week is only 6 hours of cardio exercise, which is good, but not extraordinary.

    Lastly, pushing it to 7,000/wk put me into an overtraining syndrome. I did it on purpose because I was feeling really good and wanted to see what my limits were--and I found that probably 5,000-5,500 with at least one day off was probably better. More is not always better.

    Still, explore your abilities--you might find you can do more than you think. Good luck.
  • clheide
    clheide Posts: 112 Member
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    That is awesome! Thanks for the motivation...I'm hoping to be able to say the same thing in another week or two!!!
  • Mamakatspokane
    Mamakatspokane Posts: 3,098 Member
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    Congratulations:flowerforyou:

    And thank you for talking about losing motivation the lower you get :smile: I needed to hear I'm not alone!:embarassed:

    Keep up the great work!:bigsmile:
  • Innerglow
    Innerglow Posts: 1,074 Member
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    I had also lost my motivation for a good, long while. I hit the gym for the first time in oh 3 months and it felt GREAT! I was staying between 211-215 for the past couple of months.

    I saw the scale today and I know my scale will be going down and fast. I'm giving myself a month to be just at or below 200. I can't wait to meet you there!!
  • LivinTheLife
    LivinTheLife Posts: 39
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    Congratulations!! :glasses:
  • epoeraven
    epoeraven Posts: 458 Member
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    Woo hoo for you!!!!!
  • Georg
    Georg Posts: 1,728 Member
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    That's great! Good for you!
    :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:
    I appreciate you sharing your experiences & explaining what worked for you. The rest of us need to hear from those who are so successful so we can get a handle on what we might need to try.
    Thanks & congrats!

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