Goal has been reached! I'm officially 135 pounds.

However, it still does look like there's more extra weight I'm carrying around that can be lost....so I'll set my new goal for 126 and see how I look/feel there. I'm 5'3.5" - I think that should be a comfortable weight.

iaf

You know, now that I've incorporated one heck of a lot of learning and tweaking and trying and accomplishing and all of that....I think one of the biggest helps for achieving weight loss is to actually witness the magic.

Meaning, of course....giving yourself the patience and time to see the weight come off slowly but surely. Certainly, there will be plateaus...and there will be whooshes....but giving yourself permission to take things at the best pace for long-term maintenance is really the way to go.

Case in point - there's currently a discussion about one's dream outfit. Hee hee, for me, it was buying a sleeveless karate gi to show off my deltoids! :-) Anywhos, during one practice, I glanced at myself in the mirror and realized, my gosh, I'm now 'hot'! I look great! Even though I still have a ways to go, I can now wear tank tops and accept the fact, I'm looking better than I ever did in my entire life.

Witnessing your own personal success and giving yourself permission to make your own timeline really can help in losing weight.

My input for the day,

iaf

I was just reading your journal today and it is really inspiring how hard you have worked to come so far not only in your weight loss but living a healthy lifestyle.

Morning,

Thanks for the kind words! After 10+ months or so, I can definitely say it's a lifestyle change and not a diet at all.

I don't have any insane cravings for white chocolate macadamia nuts nor candy nor cake nor any typical 'snack' food at all. Funny thing - I can watch my kids indulge in their chocolate chip cookie and have zero desire to steal them while they're not looking. :-)

Witnessing the magic (ie, liking what I now see in the mirror) really made an impression on me - pitting a short-term pleasure of, say, 2 gallons of ice cream with magic shell on it against my hard-earned long-term health just doesn't interest me anymore. But! That doesn't mean I don't thoroughly enjoy my food anymore - I still will go out for Korean BBQ or chinese food with my husband.

The difference nowadays is that not only will I do extra exercise afterwards, but I don't angst over it as well. Life is meant to be enjoyed and also to take responsibility. If I choose to indulge, I choose to accept the consequences. It's a long term venture, and so far, to this date, it's all going in the right direction.

Enjoy,

Barbara

Quote:

Originally Posted by iamfire I don't have any insane cravings for white chocolate macadamia nuts nor candy nor cake nor any typical 'snack' food at all.

Believe me, I'm from Hawaii... and I LOOOOVVVEEEEEE macadamia nuts. Thank God they're too expensive here in NY. hahaaa! I just wanted to drop in to congratulate you for reaching your goal in August. Your story is without a doubt inspirational. You know... I do have to say this.... ummm are we going to get some photo evidence here? haha Sheesh we've been waiting for them in the Before/ Afters section. haha I'm just giving you a hard time, Barbara. Well once again, congrats... and enjoy your "new life."

-Sheryl

Hi Barbara,

I saw one of your posts on another thread and I thought I'd come by and ask you about Turbo Jam. I've heard of others using it too and wanted to know what you thought of it.

I'm considering getting one of the beachbody vids, but have yet to decide which one to actually get. I like different routines as I get bored doing the same thing every day.

You have made some great progress! Do you incorporate weights in your routines too?

Morning,

Turbo Jam rocks! I really find it very very energizing and an excellent workout DVD. You can find out more at their boards at the Turbo Jam forums.

Regarding weight training, I *love* becoming one with the iron. Generally I'll lift on Mondays and Thursdays (and possibly Saturdays) by indulging in what I fondly call my 'bash the body' routine (massive upper body workout with free weights and then some on the Cybex circuit).

I'll be the first to admit I probably have non-superb form...but what I do, works for me. I would never recommend others follow my own plan (as I devised it to be tailored for me) but I would encourage everyone to find out what works for them!

Stumptuous is one of the best sites out there for women's weight lifting ideas. I've found it very useful indeed.

Thanks for asking!

Barbara

That's funny - I've been to both of those websites! The turbo jam one more recently - the other one when I was getting really focused on my toning and strength training.

I think it's great you tailored your own workout, you have to find what works for you!

Thanks,

Hi all,

Gad, I adore weight lifting. There is something so wonderfully satisfying about pitting oneself against the unyielding iron...and conquering it to new heights!

Today I was able to chest-press 100 pounds on the Cybex machine - yay! I believe I started out, back in 12/06, at 55 pounds.

I'm still at 135 pounds (and now firmly believe that I could have probably broken this particular plateau had I not indulged in the Korean BBQ last week...but hey, I made a conscious choice and am evolved enough that I can live with the consequences), and can do:

140 lb lat pulldown
95 lb chest pull
90 lb shoulder raise
155 lb calf press

Free-weight wise, I arm curl 30 pounds, chest press 30lbs in both hands, row at 30 pounds, etc. Most likely, I could have much better form, but hey, it works for me.

After completing my workout, I did some intense bodyweight exercises for my abs and legs and then walked along the track, doing my karate blocking drills with every step. All in all, it was a very tiring yet rewarding workout.

Enjoy,

Barbara

Morning,

Well! You know your day will be a, ahem, fascinating adventure in bleary-eyed alertness when you're awakened at 2am by your family...and find it impossible to get back to sleep.

I'm lucky in one sense - I'm a work-at-home mom/writer/entrepreneur, so I simply typed and typed and typed and then typed some more. After the kids were safely parachuted to school, I debated with myself about going to the gym and doing my 51 minutes on the treadmill. 'Yes' was followed by a 'no' which was followed by a 'yes which was followed by quite a massive internal debate - eventually, my son piped up and asked, mommy, how come we're not yet at the Y school?

So! 'twas off to the gym I danced, tra la, tra la. And I began my treadmill workout and noticed the following really neat motivational action I just had to share....

I had bumped my walking speed to 3.5 at a level 15 incline (I cannot run very well, so 3.5 is a very brisk useful speed. It's the incline that really gets me sweating). After 30 minutes of that, I decided, okay, let me lessen the intensity and moved the level down to 10...and then 8 seconds later, I actually yelled at myself (silently, of course ) because I knew I was slacking off due of a desire for ease, and not because it was wise to do so at that time!

Back up I pumped my level, and then I started repeating to myself, 1 and 2 and 1 and 2 and 1 and 2 and darned if it didn't get easier to manage. I was able to finish my entire workout and not give up at all.

Later on in the locker room, it occurred to me....there was a time back when I was starting out that I would have simply given up. Now, my inner self doesn't even allow me to do so!

I'm a happy camper. :-)

Enjoy,

Barbara

This afternoon/evening is a major wah!

First off, this morning I awakened with what is most likely (I hope I hope) the 24 hour cold (and not the 3 month flu). I had hoped I'd blow it off by this afternoon, but alas, it's not meant to be - I'm more foggy than Seattle after a morning thunderstorm. :-(

This is truly a depressing thing for me, because Wednesday nights is usually kendo (swords). I can don on my armor and pretend to be Luke Skywalker and go up against folks who don't mind being as tough as nails on me! And I have to miss it! Wah! Wah! Wah! Waaaaahhhhhhhhh!

Hey, if I can't whine when I'm sick, when can I? :-)

Anywhos, I did awaken a pound less (I'm 134 in the morning, yay!). And as I'm living on chicken soup today, at least I'm eating pretty darned healthy to boot. :-)

Ever upwards and onwards,

Barbara

Barbara, how long have you been working at your weightloss?

Morning,

I think I started my weight loss journal about 1 or 2 weeks after I got serious regarding losing weight. I had tried losing weight as well 2 or 3 years ago, but got quite depressed that the scale insisted on moving in the incorrect direction.

Now I know that should have been expected (ie, concentrate upon inches lost and not pounds), but back then, it demotivated me enough that I gave up on it.

Why do you ask?

Best wishes,

Barbara

I was just asking because you have done so well...that's all! I tend to focus on the scale too, and have the same feelings toward it...it's the debil!

When I was reading thru here yesterday, I noticed you adjusted your goal weight. So that's really what intrigued me.

Take care,

Morning,

Ah, I was worried because I know I started my weight loss journal about 1-2 weeks after starting my weight loss journey...and I didn't want to be caught saying conflicting things. After awhile, it all blurs together.

Best wishes,

Barbara