So, I've been looking for a challenge to motivate me to really sweat and watch what I eat. I've recently lost 10+ lbs and am once again at that crucial point where I can go forward delving deep into toning, trimming and making the commitment, or once again getting comfortable and saying 'good enough'.
I have lost the same 10-15 lbs over and over again. Not really yo/yo dieting as it takes a few years to complete this cycle for me.. not a crash and then back up. I will lose weight and be happy with the number on the scale and then it will slowly creep up and I will blindly ignore it (or more aptly choose not to think about it) until the clothes start fitting tight again and I finally get back on the scale to see I'm right back where I started from. I have never, ever been in the shape I want to be. In high school I was far from being overweight, but I still didn't have the strong, toned body I wanted. Then I went to live on a farm for a summer, let's just say that I came home packing more than my suitcase - but it was a lot of muscle, unfortunately with thin layer of fat - so I was strong, but not toned. Over the next few years I was in college, gained the "Freshmen Fifteen" and lost it and so on..
The biggest change in my weight unfortunately occured right after I got engaged! That same year I quit smoking, moved to a new city (in a new province!) started emotional eating to deal with everything from homesickness to wedding stress - quitting smoking caused me to crave food like never before. We also bought a car that year and were so tired by the end of the day from our jobs that we never got out and about. I was my heaviest ever when I got married, around 170 lbs.. on a 5'2 frame that was a lot for me. I felt fat on my wedding day.
A year or so after that we moved into our first home and I started walking daily, took a new job within walking distance that unfortunately paid a lot less than the one I left, so with a mortgage and smaller income, we stopped eating out. Shortly after that I got pregnant for the first time and started getting really serious about being good to my body. Sadly, that pregnancy ended in tragedy. Within a few months though I had conceived again and was so cautious with what I ate and how I treated my body I lost fat while maintaining a healthy pregnancy, after my beautiful son was born I was back to pre-baby weight within 6 months, skinnier than ever for his first birthday and entered my 3rd pregnancy at a healthy weight and healthy body. I only gained 20-25 lbs with both healthy pregnancies and gave birth to my gorgeous daughter at the age of 26.
I am now 32. At 30, I took the challenge with a friend to go to "Booty Camp" I did fantastic with that, I lost only 3 lbs, but also 14 inches! That was my first real inkling that inches lost was much more important than the number on the scale. At 31, I successfully completed a 60 km Weekend to End Women's Cancers Walk, which I had trained over a year for.
So now, at 32, I once again am up for a challenge. This time, I am ready to take the next step, to move from having made friends to my scale, to making friends with my swimsuit. I am ready to no longer be 'skinny fat'. Sure, I am not fat, I am not big and in jeans and a long sleeved shirt I don't look that big.. but up close I have a lot of toning to do with my arms, and thighs before I'll ever feel confident in a swimsuit.. or tank top.
I've familiarized myself with Jillian Michaels, having used her 30 day shred to help me lose the 10 lbs I have recently lost. I have decided to take the next step and start her 30 Day Making the Cut program.
Wish me luck, and please send me encouragement... I do well with a challenge, but even better with accountability.. so let me know you're reading and along for the ride. :)
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