My friend, my enemy, the scale
As some of my older friends know, I have battled with my weight for most of my life. The highest was in university when I weighed over 200 pounds and wore a size 18. The lowest was when I lived on Waterloo St, walked to work and went dancing almost every weekend, that was around 137. My Dr. says I should keep my weight between 140 and 150 and never go below 135.
During my pregnancy with Darrelyn, I was very scared of gaining too much weight. I walked every day, played golf and stayed in pretty good shape. That is until I was put on strict bed rest. I did nothing but lay on the couch for the last 4 weeks. I only gained 25 pounds during that pregnancy. Darrelyn was born at 35 weeks, though, so I probably would have gained more during that last 5 weeks, had it been full-term.
By the time I was pregnant for Breanna, 3 months after Darrelyn was born, I only had 7 pounds left to lose to get back into my range. During Breanna's pregnancy, I was not allowed exercise of any kind and was on limited movement from 28 weeks on. It made me realize how important exercise is in weight maintenance. I gained 50 pounds!
About a year and a half after having Breanna, I reached my goal weight again and have been maintaining it ever since. Over the last month, however, my weight has been creeping up and I am now over the 150 mark. BAD JOANNE!!! I guess less exercise and more food will do that to ya ;)
Now I am in losing mode again. This means counting weight watcher's points and exercising more than normal. I'm hoping to get at the bottom of my range before we go to Portland so I can indulge during out trip.
Here goes nothing!
11 Comments:
What a cycle, huh? It's so hard to deal with a continuing weght issue because whether you lose or gain, you never feel balanced - or at least I never do. I lost 40 pounds last year and have put (depending on the day) 15 - 20 of it back on. It's debilitating. It's debilitating not only physically, but emotionally and mentally as well. at least for me. I'm glad you have a goal. But, I always never succeeded when it was a shopping trip goal because I usually bought new clothes before I left as I was in between sizes, then coudln't find any clothes while away because I was down, then put on 10 pounds in a day eating out and exercising never while away. As long as if you lose before going and don't get discouraged if you gain while away or don't fit in to the sizes you think you should (especially since american sizes truly are different) then you'll be fine.
good luck! I'm rooting for ya!
I find if I stay within the 140 to 150 range I'm the same size. It just means that at 140 some clothes look better and others require a belt ;) So clothes shopping shouldn't be a problem.
Also, I'm not a slave to the size. If a large looks good, I buy it and not worry that its a large.
i am the same way, jo. i just want to make sure i feel fine in my skin.
and right now i'm on the upper end of that so i need to watch what i'm eating and exercise some more again.
last year i weighed 160 lbs, that was high for me and i felt sluggish - so i brought it down to just under 140, which is where i am most comfortable. i don't know what i weigh right now.
Shopping does equal a lot of walking, and we'll be shopping til we drop ;)
I've tried almost everything. Short of starving myself, it's impossible to get thin and stay there. Unless your metabolism is very high. I started struggling with my weight about the same time I hurt my ankle.
I've managed to stem the tide of weight gain, but I'm having a hard time losing.
Congrats on not getting discouraged, and keeping up the good fight. You look great!
Liz, how many steps did we put on the pedometer in Halifax again? Yup, shopping is definitely exercise.
Lisa, thank you!! It is always a struggle. I have learned to strive for healthy, not thin. If I tried for thin I would be sorely dissappointed in myself. Although I do admit that I would like to be better toned, unfortunately I don't have the time/money/desire to go to the gym everyday to achieve this ;)
Weight has always been a struggle for me as well. Hmmm kinda obvious there. With not being able to work out in a traditional way - 'cause of neck problems, etc - and well just way too self conscious to swim... I'm left to the eating thing. Been losing roughly 2 pounds a month for the last 6 months with Canada's Food Guide. BLECK! Too slow for my sanity. It's tough though. Very tough. I can't eat enough in a day to fulfill the requirements of it. Been trying the pedometer thing just to get an idea. Been standing and pacing at work rather than sitting, but my tethered distance is limited. Thing is... once it's off since it's coming off sooooooooo slowly, I know it'll stay off. And it's amazing all the fun recipes I'm finding! And it's so amazing how much differently a body functions when it gets the nutrients from food rather than vitamin supplements! Been trying not to gauge it by weight but more by pant size. Last July I was a 28-30 (my biggest EVER! ACK). When I bought new clothes in Oct I was a 24. This april I bought pants that were a 22 & now they're way too lose and I probably should have gotten a 20 even though they would have been super super super tight at the time.
Hooray for you for giving it a go around. It's tough stuff for sure. Here's a cheer to cheer you along!
Thanks for your cheer Cyn! Oh and losing it slowly is definitely the way to go. It sounds like you are doing great. Keep it up!!!! My friend and I MSN eachother every Friday morning with our weight. It helps keep us on track and accountable to someone. You are welcome to join us ;)
That sounds awesome! In the spirit of keeping myself from over obsessing in poundage numbers I don't have a scale at home so I wouldn't be able to "weigh in" so to speak. I just get weighed at my dr once a month while I'm there. The shrinking clothes sizes is a more realistic non-obsessing way for me. I can't afford to shop often sooooo.... means I can only rarely obsess. Hehe! Certainly sounds like a fun thing though!
I've never been good at staying on a strict 'food plan'. It's too difficult with DH and I having such different tastes in food, and different dietary needs. I'm NOT making two separate meals 7 days a week! So Friday morning weigh ins are what keep me on track. Before I reach for a snack, I think about what I'll have to do to keep my numbers going down on Fridays, so Joanne doesn't have to kick my butt. ^_^
I'm not obsessed with the numbers, either. I'd much rather see the weight coming off, and feel the difference in my clothes. A pound in variance is as likely to be the cheap WalMart scale as it is something I've done. But overall, I want to continue a downward trend. :)
12.5lbs down since the end of February. That might not seem like a lot, but like Cyn said, it's coming off slowly so I know it's STAYING off this time. My first goal is to get under 200 (sooo close). My ultimate goal is to get to 150 and take stock of my body and health and decide where to park my weight.
You're so right about the sizes being wonky. I used to work in the garment selling industry, and it was an accepted fact that sizes would change every so often to fit consumers' perceptions and the growing girth of people in the western world. So who cares if it says 'S' 'M' or 'L'? As long as it fits. :)
I applaud all of our efforts to become healthier and fitter! Keep up the great work! :)
Hooray for you too Yvonne. I decided to go with the Canada's Food Guide mostly because my roommate is such a picky eater. I can make one meal and it works for me and he can pick & choose for him. Plus I absolutely never starve. I might go broke, but I certainly won't starve eating this much! Hahaha!
Since July of last year I've lost a total of 43 lbs now. 23 of that was within a 3 week span at the end of July/ early August though so it sort of doesn't count. I'd like to get down under 200 again. But most importantly I want to buy size 16 pants and have them fit me well. I haven't seen that since high school, but it's something that I know I can do so long as I keep up what I've been doing.
Hip hip Hooray for all the hard work. (: And may all our hips keep shrinking. Hehe!
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