MCunningham
Cathlete
Hello, all!
I've thought about this for a while, and I've decided to go ahead and do it: I'm going to start my own little weight loss blog on here, journaling my resolution to get back in shape. Why here? Well, because sometimes I need that motivation or pat on the back, and I'm having trouble finding it within myself.
To start off with, here's a little bit of background. I'm 26 and 5'9" tall, from a family of very overweight and unhealthy individuals. In 1998, at age 18, I left home and served in the US Air Force for 7 years, and my enlistment ended last year. The first few months I was in the military, I discovered a previously unknown LOVE of the gym and all things fitness (I had briefly dabbled in working out when I was about 15, but was immediately stopped by my mother, who was afraid I was becoming too body conscious and feared I'd end up anorexic or bulimic). While I was stationed in California, I became a member of a fabulous gym and really got into step, hi-lo, and body shaping classes... so much so that I did two 1-hour classes about 5-6 times a week. That, paired with a vegetarian diet, gave me the best body and self-confidence I'd ever had... I weighed in at an athletic 145-150lbs.
When I left California, I was stationed in Georgia for three years. There, I found another great gym that I became addicted to, and worked out religiously at least 90 minutes, six times a week, where I added cardio kickboxing, spinning, and the stairclimber, treadmill, and eliptical trainer to the mix. Now, here's where my diet got a little worse. I still ate mostly vegetarian, and I was pretty disciplined about it, but I developed a tendency to, about once a week, eat a whole cheese pizza, or gorge on a dinner out with friends at Chili's, Macaroni Grill, or Olive Garden (my favorite-restaurant trifecta!) However, because I was working out so intensely all the time, I'd burn off whatever I ate, so it never caused an issue with my weight.
Then I met a dear friend named Nicole. While she was a wonderful human being, she insisted on eating out every night with me, and wouldn't take no for an answer. So, my once-a-week eating frenzies became 4-6 day-a-week eating frenzies. In January 2002, my weight had crept up to about 165lbs.
I got married in December 2002, and I then weighed about 170-175lbs. So I had gained about 20lbs in about 18 months. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you view it!) I'm tall, and for some reason, it takes a LOT of weight gain for anyone to notice additional poundage... so, even though I had gained 20lbs, no one really noticed... including me.
I moved in with my husband, who was stationed in Maryland, in May of 2003. For about the first year, the gyms that I found up here were not entirely to my liking. They offered no step or kickbox classes, poorly run spinning classes, and they were always so crowded that it was hard to get in an effective workout. So, for the first time in five years, I found myself not satisfied with my workouts.
Then, my mother-in-law took a bad turn in her (at that point) 2.5-year fight with ovarian cancer. She got to the point that she couldn't be alone, and her insurance didn't cover 24 hour in-home care. So, my husband and I had to stay with her every weekend, from Friday evening until late Sunday night. She lived about 1 hour away from us, so that meant that we didn't ever get home on Sunday nights (when we were relieved by other family members) until 11 or 12PM. This went on for several months, but by the first month, I was so exhausted from getting no down time on the weekends that I had very little energy or desire to work out. By the time my mother-in-law passed away in October 2003, I weighed in at around 185lbs. And I was starting to notice.
It took a few months for my husband and I to get back to normal after my mother-in-law passed away. In about February 2004, I joined a Gold's Gym, which I came to love, where I discovered Body Pump classes. However, by this point, my husband was making it known that he wanted to be able to spend more time with me, and he was a little jealous of my 60-120 minute daily trips to the gym. So, I agreed to compromise and only do 1 hour about 4 times a week. But, I was not losing any of the weight I had packed on, because my eating habits at home had begun to mirror my husband's eating habits, which are pretty awful. (He's very wiry and slender, and has maintained about 167lbs since he was 17 years old... and he's 29 now!)
Then, my two favorite instructors left Gold's Gym within a month of each other. I was pretty devastated, because they were the only two advanced step/kickbox instructors the gym had. With them gone, I felt very unmotivated to go to the gym, and my attendance started slipping. I never totally stopped going, but I was now lucky if I got there twice a week. And the eating habits just got worse. In fact, I had three different people (all at the drycleaners', oddly enough) ask me when I was due. (Don't people know not to ask that?!?!)
By the time I got out of the Air Force in May 2005, I weighed in at about 195-200lbs. My husband and I bought a home in September 2005, which was 60 miles one way from our jobs; the move turned us into 3-hour-daily commuters. The new home had a great unfinished basement that I wanted to turn into a fitness studio of sorts, but we were always so tired from our commute (neither one of us are morning people) and getting home so late that I had no real desire to work out, but I was back to eating pretty well... lots of veggies and high-fiber whole grains. But, alas, my pants kept getting tighter.
That brings me to July 2006. The last few months, I had been trying to eat fairly well, and occasionally get in some exercise like walking around my building at work and walking the dogs, knowing that I'd been out of the fitness loop so long that jumping right into an intense workout routine would injure or demotivate me-- or both.
I went to the doctor in July 2006 for a minor issue, and stepped on the scale. I was utterly shocked to see the number: 230lbs. That was the first time that it hit me-- I had just been steadily gaining and gaining, and I was close to 100lbs over what I'd been just 8 years ago. If I didn't step up and do something about it, that's all I would ever do, get heavier and heavier and more and more out of shape.
So, this month, August 2006, I've been working out. I've worked out at least 4 times a week for the last three weeks. I feel small changes already, but I don't notice anything big yet... I know I have to be patient. I know I didn't put on this weight overnight, and I know it won't come off overnight, either.
However, it's sometimes hard to stay motivated. So, I was wondering, if any of you out there wouldn't mind, can I borrow some of your seemingly unending motivational words and kindness? My husband is wonderful, but he has a case of the "I love you just the way you ares" going on, and I'm starting to realize that it may just be a little boring for him to listen to me prattle on about diet and exercise and weight all the time.
My plan is to check in weekly and post what I've been eating and what workouts I've been doing, and hopefully get some feedback from some of you... most of you have done so well, and are so dedicated, and I was there once... but it's hard to get back on this saddle at first, and I was just wondering if I could get a push for this first few months.
So, I'm going to post next week what I did all this week... feel free to make suggestions or offer hope...!
You guys are so great with each other, and offer so much to each other, and if you're willing to allow it, I'd love to become a part of the "Cathe forums" family. Hopefully I'll learn to post pictures eventually (anyone know how to do that?), but for now...
Name: Megan
Age: 26 years
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 229lbs (woo-hoo! one-pound!)
Thank you to those brave few who made it all the way through this incredibly long-winded story... And see you next Sunday...
I've thought about this for a while, and I've decided to go ahead and do it: I'm going to start my own little weight loss blog on here, journaling my resolution to get back in shape. Why here? Well, because sometimes I need that motivation or pat on the back, and I'm having trouble finding it within myself.
To start off with, here's a little bit of background. I'm 26 and 5'9" tall, from a family of very overweight and unhealthy individuals. In 1998, at age 18, I left home and served in the US Air Force for 7 years, and my enlistment ended last year. The first few months I was in the military, I discovered a previously unknown LOVE of the gym and all things fitness (I had briefly dabbled in working out when I was about 15, but was immediately stopped by my mother, who was afraid I was becoming too body conscious and feared I'd end up anorexic or bulimic). While I was stationed in California, I became a member of a fabulous gym and really got into step, hi-lo, and body shaping classes... so much so that I did two 1-hour classes about 5-6 times a week. That, paired with a vegetarian diet, gave me the best body and self-confidence I'd ever had... I weighed in at an athletic 145-150lbs.
When I left California, I was stationed in Georgia for three years. There, I found another great gym that I became addicted to, and worked out religiously at least 90 minutes, six times a week, where I added cardio kickboxing, spinning, and the stairclimber, treadmill, and eliptical trainer to the mix. Now, here's where my diet got a little worse. I still ate mostly vegetarian, and I was pretty disciplined about it, but I developed a tendency to, about once a week, eat a whole cheese pizza, or gorge on a dinner out with friends at Chili's, Macaroni Grill, or Olive Garden (my favorite-restaurant trifecta!) However, because I was working out so intensely all the time, I'd burn off whatever I ate, so it never caused an issue with my weight.
Then I met a dear friend named Nicole. While she was a wonderful human being, she insisted on eating out every night with me, and wouldn't take no for an answer. So, my once-a-week eating frenzies became 4-6 day-a-week eating frenzies. In January 2002, my weight had crept up to about 165lbs.
I got married in December 2002, and I then weighed about 170-175lbs. So I had gained about 20lbs in about 18 months. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you view it!) I'm tall, and for some reason, it takes a LOT of weight gain for anyone to notice additional poundage... so, even though I had gained 20lbs, no one really noticed... including me.
I moved in with my husband, who was stationed in Maryland, in May of 2003. For about the first year, the gyms that I found up here were not entirely to my liking. They offered no step or kickbox classes, poorly run spinning classes, and they were always so crowded that it was hard to get in an effective workout. So, for the first time in five years, I found myself not satisfied with my workouts.
Then, my mother-in-law took a bad turn in her (at that point) 2.5-year fight with ovarian cancer. She got to the point that she couldn't be alone, and her insurance didn't cover 24 hour in-home care. So, my husband and I had to stay with her every weekend, from Friday evening until late Sunday night. She lived about 1 hour away from us, so that meant that we didn't ever get home on Sunday nights (when we were relieved by other family members) until 11 or 12PM. This went on for several months, but by the first month, I was so exhausted from getting no down time on the weekends that I had very little energy or desire to work out. By the time my mother-in-law passed away in October 2003, I weighed in at around 185lbs. And I was starting to notice.
It took a few months for my husband and I to get back to normal after my mother-in-law passed away. In about February 2004, I joined a Gold's Gym, which I came to love, where I discovered Body Pump classes. However, by this point, my husband was making it known that he wanted to be able to spend more time with me, and he was a little jealous of my 60-120 minute daily trips to the gym. So, I agreed to compromise and only do 1 hour about 4 times a week. But, I was not losing any of the weight I had packed on, because my eating habits at home had begun to mirror my husband's eating habits, which are pretty awful. (He's very wiry and slender, and has maintained about 167lbs since he was 17 years old... and he's 29 now!)
Then, my two favorite instructors left Gold's Gym within a month of each other. I was pretty devastated, because they were the only two advanced step/kickbox instructors the gym had. With them gone, I felt very unmotivated to go to the gym, and my attendance started slipping. I never totally stopped going, but I was now lucky if I got there twice a week. And the eating habits just got worse. In fact, I had three different people (all at the drycleaners', oddly enough) ask me when I was due. (Don't people know not to ask that?!?!)
By the time I got out of the Air Force in May 2005, I weighed in at about 195-200lbs. My husband and I bought a home in September 2005, which was 60 miles one way from our jobs; the move turned us into 3-hour-daily commuters. The new home had a great unfinished basement that I wanted to turn into a fitness studio of sorts, but we were always so tired from our commute (neither one of us are morning people) and getting home so late that I had no real desire to work out, but I was back to eating pretty well... lots of veggies and high-fiber whole grains. But, alas, my pants kept getting tighter.
That brings me to July 2006. The last few months, I had been trying to eat fairly well, and occasionally get in some exercise like walking around my building at work and walking the dogs, knowing that I'd been out of the fitness loop so long that jumping right into an intense workout routine would injure or demotivate me-- or both.
I went to the doctor in July 2006 for a minor issue, and stepped on the scale. I was utterly shocked to see the number: 230lbs. That was the first time that it hit me-- I had just been steadily gaining and gaining, and I was close to 100lbs over what I'd been just 8 years ago. If I didn't step up and do something about it, that's all I would ever do, get heavier and heavier and more and more out of shape.
So, this month, August 2006, I've been working out. I've worked out at least 4 times a week for the last three weeks. I feel small changes already, but I don't notice anything big yet... I know I have to be patient. I know I didn't put on this weight overnight, and I know it won't come off overnight, either.
However, it's sometimes hard to stay motivated. So, I was wondering, if any of you out there wouldn't mind, can I borrow some of your seemingly unending motivational words and kindness? My husband is wonderful, but he has a case of the "I love you just the way you ares" going on, and I'm starting to realize that it may just be a little boring for him to listen to me prattle on about diet and exercise and weight all the time.
My plan is to check in weekly and post what I've been eating and what workouts I've been doing, and hopefully get some feedback from some of you... most of you have done so well, and are so dedicated, and I was there once... but it's hard to get back on this saddle at first, and I was just wondering if I could get a push for this first few months.
So, I'm going to post next week what I did all this week... feel free to make suggestions or offer hope...!
You guys are so great with each other, and offer so much to each other, and if you're willing to allow it, I'd love to become a part of the "Cathe forums" family. Hopefully I'll learn to post pictures eventually (anyone know how to do that?), but for now...Name: Megan
Age: 26 years
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 229lbs (woo-hoo! one-pound!)
Thank you to those brave few who made it all the way through this incredibly long-winded story... And see you next Sunday...
