March26
Since my recent weight loss, which was pretty dramatic – if you saw me anytime in 2009, a lot of people ask me how I did it. This account is pieced together from (my horribly bad) memory and random tweets and FB posts.
Since I avoided the scale when I was heaviest, I don’t have an official starting weight. I was at least 142 at one point. At my lightest, during this past year, I weighed 122. I weigh 125 today. I estimate that I lost about 18-20 lbs of body fat, and gained maybe 2-4 lbs of muscle. I’m 5′ 2½” – so any fat on me is much more noticeable.
THE FOOD
It was the ol’ eat less, exercise a whole lot more process. Mostly eat less. Because frankly, it is ALL about the food. Which you have to deal with in quantity and mentally.
What I did is NOT considered a healthy way. But I got results, am stronger than ever now – so there it is. For me, the best catalyst is fasting.
I try to kick off weight loss with a mini fast for a day or two – only fruits, vegetables, water and juice. Absolute minimal amount of food.
For the bulk of my weight loss time, I skipped breakfast or ate as late & as little as possible during the day. When I was particularly busy with work, it was a lot easier to do.
I would have a boiled egg and Kashi granola bar for breakfast. Then a 300 calorie or less lunch from Lean Cuisine/Healthy Choice. Then some kind of 200 – 300 calorie or less snack (Jello pudding Dulce de Leche or a Dreyer’s Frozen Fruit Bar or pumpkin seeds or chocolate). And for dinner, I eat sensibly, and watch my portions.
On my Thursday girls night out nights, I usually had a sandwich with soup or salad, 2-3 blushing geishas and almond butter cake for dessert. While I did consider that a “free (aka cheat) day”, I also ate minimally during the day, banking my calories for the evening. I often “banked” calories for special occasions like date night or an Oscar party or a friend’s BBQ.
I don’t deny myself any particular kind of food, but I have found that I either no longer crave or have completely lost my taste for foods. And I take great care not to overeat, so that my stomach stays small, and easier to fill up.
THE WORKOUTS
I started out with running. I was going to focus on cardio only for MONTHS before I was going to think about anything else. I had to drop pounds first. I started in August 2009, ran the fall series, and started running regularly during the holidays.
In February 2010, I started a full time job for the first time in nine years. I used my lunch hour for walking and running 4x a week. I think I was the first one to use the shower at the library.
In May 2010, I joined May on her weekend Incline workouts. Many weekends we did it twice. One time I did it 3 times in 25 hours. We continued through the first snow on the Incline.
In June, added Cardio Kick/Tae Bo a few times a week for cardio and to start toning. Billy Blanks is awesome!
I saw an ad for the Warrior Dash on Facebook (see, those targeted ads do work sometimes). I kept hemming and hawing, and then, lo and behold, a Groupon appeared for the race, and new waves were opened up. I was in!
In July, I did Fountain YMCA Mud Run, where I met another inspiration woman, Renee Renn. Never mind there were only 4 women in age group that completed the race, I placed on the Leaderboard for the first time in my life.
Near the of July, starting to worry about the obstacles, I added P90X workouts for strength training. Ah, Tony Horton, you are a great coach!
In September, thanks to a Gazette Daily Deal (like Groupon), I started CrossFit to get more definition in my back and legs. And it’s kicking my ass. And it’s working. The fact that I get up 4x a week, before work, to do the 6 am class, is a true sign of my addiction. I have NEVER been a morning person.
THE MENTAL
Keep in mind, I have started this process many times over the past 7 years. I reached my goal once, maybe 4 years ago, but then gained it all back again. And I was nowhere near as in-shape as I am in now.
This time, I have been able to be totally committed. It was a series of fortunate events, that got me through when the previous inspiration waned. My vanity also played a HUGE part in keeping motivated.
My wake-up call came in late August 2009, when a high school friend came to vacation with us for a few days. He took A LOT of photos. And I had not realized how much I weight I had gained. I was MORTIFIED, and went so far as to untag myself from a bunch of photos he posted on Facebook. I still cringe when I look at them – I can’t bring myself to do a Before/After share yet 
So, I started *thinking* about losing weight. I started doing the Incline. Skipped bread or pasta on occasion. I lost a few pounds. I needed to do more.
Frankly, my initial motivation to kick into high gear, after the first 5-7 lbs loss, came from seeing an attractive former boyfriend who was in great shape. Thank God he hadn’t seen me a few months prior. I was in single digit sizes for the first time in YEARS.
Further inspired by a friend who was losing weight and running and looking great. Then I bought my first pair of pants in a size 6! Woot!
And, of course, my best friend, May, who had started doing the Incline every weekend & I have ALWAYS weighed 10+ lbs more than, even though we are the same height/build. We totally pushed each other. At one point, I was within 5 lbs of her – another catalyst to keep going.
A trip to NJ in early August was more incentive to keep going. I was going to see lots of old friends from high school, including my high school boyfriend.
The final event – the Warrior Dash. My bestie, Tiffany, came with me, and took photos. No one was more surprised than I was when I saw the pictures. I had no idea that my arms had shaped up like that. Sweet!
A trip to California in September, where I had to don a bathing suit in public, was another motivation point. So was the motorcycle endorsement class I took.
CrossFit has been awesome. The coaches & other Crossfitters push & encourage me in a way that is fun and enjoyable. I love to start my day with them, even if it is ungodly early. 3 weeks after I started Crossfit, I slipped on my first pair of Size 5 pants in 15 years!
I have to say that I finally had to had to admit that squats were working to change to my shape, when my husband actually noticed and told me he saw a difference in my ass 
In November, I rewarded myself with the purchase of a shiny purple 2004 Kawasaki Vulcan Classic 800. Oh yeah! In December, I took about 8 pairs of the size 6 pants that I got earlier in the year to get altered down to a size 4. I don’t want to have to take them back to be let out again.
MAINTENANCE
After the holidays, I got into maintenance mode. I have become a little more lax with the food, but not the workouts. I briefly had a spurt where I was eating a Snickers Dark every day! Then when I had the sinus infection/migraine/ER trip in February, I gained back about 5-7 lbs. I did not like seeing those numbers on the scale again, so a couple of weeks ago, I did a quick 2 day mini-fast, which seems to have shrunk my stomach significantly and further reduce my cravings.
I’m back down to 125, which I’m happy for. That’s my maintenance weight, with a 2-3 lb swing. As long as my size 4 jeans fit me, I’m a happy camper 
So there it is – my weight loss journey. I’ll admit that I live in constant fear that I’ll gain the fat back, which keeps me motivated, as does all the great pictures and compliments I have had from my husband (who lost 20 lbs himself!), my kids, my friends – and ex-boyfriends. LOL!
