It has been more than a long time since I have posted here but with a new year upon us I can't help but make some goals and one of them includes blogging. I mean with finishing school the opportunities for improvement seem endless! The blogging comes into play for a couple of reasons but first, lets look at my goal list.
Lets start from the bottom and go up shall we. I am TERRIBLE at keeping in touch with people when we live far away, partially because I HATE talking on the phone and partially because I'm just bad at it. So I am going to call, text, or face-time one of these lovely people on the regular, aka weekly. Probably Sunday nights so be waiting for a call.
Chris and I both feel that we need to be better at "planning" dates. Once you get married it is easy to get to Friday night and after sitting on the couch on your phones, etc. looking at each other and saying, "what should we do tonight?" Well, NO MORE! At least once a month anyway. I am going to plan a specific date for us once a month, probably free and easy most of the time but it will be planned and organized.
Chris and I are kind of bad at making friends. I think in reality we are just lazy and okay with it just being to two of us. The sad thing is I love hosting people so once a month we are going to have someone over to facilitate friendship, especially with other couples. I haven't told Chris about that one yet so hopefully he is okay with it.
Because we have no friends we don't really spend time with them. Just kidding, we have friends, we are just not good at hanging out with people so I want to make sure I do spend time with friends at least twice a month, not including our hosting of friends in our apartment. I already have a hang-out scheduled for tonight! The Bachelor. Yay for working on goals.
As far as the hobby thing goes I have found that with the stress of life and especially school (which I am done with BTW!!) I don't give myself a lot of time to do things that I enjoy. I consider these things to include painting my nails, drawing, crafting, performing, reading, cooking, etc. But does NOT include Netflix! I want to stop vegging out during my free time and really do something that I love.
Scripture, Journaling, and Temple are all pretty explanatory but also very important to me. I hope if anything I can accomplish these things.
And now we are to the blogging and weight loss. So here goes nothing:
Since getting married in March of 2013 I have gained about 50 lbs give or take. There, I said it, now everyone knows. Phew. As you can imagine the consequences of gaining 50 extra lbs are not good. I won't go into detail but I will say that I feel both unhealthy and disgusting. I can't do things I love to do because my body is too large (dance, run, paint my toenails, wear my favorite clothes). I never feel beautiful and I really can't take it any longer.
Currently I am at 174.8 lbs and want to get down to 125 (abouts). I am aiming for this...
My best me. Not a super model but ME, feeling great. Feeling like doing a happy dance in the dressing room instead of crying (both have happened). Feeling like I could run and dance without pain. I want to be healthy. Yes of course I want to look different as well but it isn't just about that, it is about feeling good in all ways. I want to be the best me I can be and that is where the blog comes in.
I was searching for some inspiration in this weigh-loss journey. I really feel very overwhelmed and ill-prepared. What I found was a whole lot of nothing. I found some blogs by exercise gurus who love working out and have loved working out since infancy, women who's lives are all about fitness and that is their career. I wanted a real person who struggles and didn't start out knowledgeable about different protein shakes and has all the exercise equipment anyone could need in their living room. I needed some support from someone like me. Your average Jane who really wants a change. (I guess wanted because why read a blog about someone who didn't actually become healthy).
Don't get me wrong, maybe there is a blog like this out there but I couldn't find it. (please share if you know of one). Anyway, that's when I thought, hmmm maybe I should blog about my hopefully successful attempt at weight loss to others out their like me who feel clueless and overwhelmed. And if anything, I think it will help me to be more accountable and successful.
To start off I will be using the free app Lose It! to track my calories. Basic biology, if I consume less calories then I burn I will lose weight. That's what I am told anyway.
I am also going to do some sort of physical exercise daily, this will range from walking to yoga and hopefully to jogging once the weight starts to come off. If I am really good about calorie counting for a full month I am going to join a gym, I really enjoy work-out classes and the elliptical (especially when it is cold outside).
Some challenges I forsee are:
1. Financial limitations to eating healthier. (I will really be looking through those sale ads)
2. My husband is picky! (Love him though)
3. I really don't like exercising (especially when it is hard due to extra weight)
4. I struggle when results aren't immediate. (Patience is going to be my new mantra)
I will try to post good recipes I find, exercise videos/routines and track my weight-loss as well as food. Both to help you and me in the process. Maybe I will even get brave enough to post some "Before" pictures. :/
If I am being honest, I am scared, really scared that I won't be able to do this. It's a lot to think about, a lot to change in my life but I just can't go on doing nothing and hating myself in the process. So here is to a new me in 2015 and maybe a new you too.
P.S. If you yourself have any helpful hints, experience, exercises, recipes, etc. PLEASE share. I need help. :)
Have you looked into the Whole 30? I really love it! You can just google it to see all the information and you do not need to pay to have a subscription to their website. I have their book called It Starts With Food if you are interested in borrowing it and I also have a great paleo cookbook that you can look through and copy any recipes that you might like.
ReplyDeleteI just googled it. Really intrigued. Have you done it? Did your whole family do it with you? I would love to read the book to learn more. I think I will be up your way in the next week or so for an interview so maybe I could come pick it up from you.
DeleteSearch FitnessBlender on Youtube they have lots of great exercise videos for different lengths of time! I also love Jilllian Michaels 30 Day Shred. As for food http://www.skinnytaste.com/ has a lot of great recipes that you can adapt if needed and I have done the first phase(only 2 weeks) of the South Beach Diet and loved it! I saw results and felt a lot cleaner and more control on my snacking or chocolate craving;) I had the book, but I'm sure you could find it somewhere! Good luck girl! Love you!
ReplyDeleteThank you Rachel! Also we really need to get together. I miss you!
DeleteEllen, I am trying to lose 30lbs of baby weight as well and I eat according to the whole 30 most of the time. It makes me feel great. We can do it together and keep each other accountable. I cook whole30 for our whole family and just add some rice or pasta or bread for Robert. But other than that I yummy recipes that my meat and potatoes husband would eat.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, it's not expensive to eat healthy. It is to eat organic, but not to eat healthy. We are on one income with baby and eat fresh healthy food. You can definitely succeed in your goals, make sure you set specific action plans to achieve your goals. Without action plans you're just setting goals to make yourself feel better.
ReplyDeleteI am starting to like the idea of Whole30 but I think I need a little bit to prepare myself so I will let you know when that will be and if you want we can do it together. I'm just trying to find all the sales instead of buying the stuff I like more. I think it will work out it is just a little harder.
DeleteI second fitnessblender on youtube, and Jillian Michaels! So impressed with you for doing this. I'm using an app called my fitness pal to track what I eat/calories. You can totally do this!! You should think of awesome rewards at each ten pound mark or something. Love you!!
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of a reward! Maybe new clothes or jewelry. :) I will have to think about it.
DeleteEllen! This blog is incredibly inspiring. I am so wowed by you right now for putting it all out there like that. I am literally going through the exact same thing, with very similar numbers. I too, have been that girl in the dressing room crying because clothes don't fit like they used to, as I visualize my high school body. It's so crazy how easy it is to gain weight...it creeps up on you, especially during stressful times. It's something that I think about every day, just like you do. It's hard not to! But, as I'm sure you know, you are extremely beautiful on the inside...and that's something that you can't run on a treadmill to achieve. :) I used to think eating healthy was expensive too..but it doesn't have to be! I pinterest a lot of my recipes, and I've learned that prepping meals is SUPER important. If I'm hungry and I don't have food ready, I tend to just eat anything and everything. I appreciate this blog so much because it makes me feel like I'm not alone and I know it takes a lot of courage to write about something so personal. Thanks Meese, and I can't wait to follow you through this adventure! I'd love to chat sometime, catch up :)... OH, and the comment someone made about the whole30, IT WORKS! I've watched my grandma and aunt do it a couple times, and weight melts off them, quick!
ReplyDeleteAshley, Thank you for this! You are so sweet and I love hearing that I am not the only one struggling. I would love to chat too! I will add you to my list of people I need to be better at keeping in touch with. And good to hear about the whole30. I am thinking in a month or so I will try it. Ha i just need to prepare myself a little.
DeleteYou go girl... I'm in exactly the same boat. The struggle is real. Baby steps will get us there though! I'm obsessed with http://simplytaralynn.com/ if you ever need recipe ideas!
ReplyDeleteThis is perfect! Thanks. I will totally use this.
DeleteI thought I just published my comment, but if not, then here it is again! Anyway, I love this post - and I know you can totally do it - all of it! Check out these blog posts from a friend in my ward - she's down to earth and not a crazy fanatic fitness person, yet she's lots a lot of weight. I find her posts really inspiring and helpful. Also, if you end up not being happy with the Lose It app, then please check out the "My Fitness Pal" app - I have used it a lot and LOVE IT! Here are the links:
ReplyDeletehttp://handsfullmom.blogspot.com/2014/12/my-weight-loss-adventure.html
http://handsfullmom.blogspot.com/2014/12/10-tips-for-weight-loss.html
Thanks for sharing, it seems like a blog I will really get help from! And thank you for believing in me. :)
DeleteEllen- you are amazing! Thank you for sharing this. I am in the same boat. Definitely not where I'd like to be with a lot of work ahead. It's so daunting! But when we got back home after holidays we did our big shopping trip to restock and made a meal plan for the whole week- including all meals planned out and snacks too. I feel like that is the most helpful because it's so easy to go to something quick and easy if there is nothing planned. And being tired and lazy is my biggest weakness ;) also-ice cream haha. But you can do it! We can do it!! I'm excited to see your progress and I so appreciate your inspiration!
ReplyDeleteAlso-Tim and I did whole 30 for about 2 weeks and I started seeing some benefits for sure. I gave in though because Tim did and I did not have any self-control. This time around we are going to do a little variation of whole 30 (sticking with the emphasis on veggies/good protein/non-additives/no sugar) but adding some whole grains throughout the week and even some greek yogurt a few times a week. Eggs for breakfast everyday killed me, haha. My favorite things I learned from whole30 was cilantro lime cauliflower rice! And homemade salad dressings! We tried this one (http://www.closetcooking.com/2013/08/cilantro-lime-vinaigrette.html) last night and it was really good!
DeleteYou are so sweet Nikki, thank you! I really love these ideas and tips that you guys have/are trying. This is great. I have found the same thing to be true, I really need to have food planned or it all goes down the toilet. :)
DeleteEllen. A. Let's hang out more. B. Let's work out together! C. You watch the Bachelor?! Good, now I know at least one person I can talk to about it :)
ReplyDeleteA. Absolutely! 2. Anytime, but as of right now my working-out is pretty low-key ha working up to the bigger stuff. But if you are down with that I am always up for a partner! C. Yes, yes I do. Ha I think one of the best parts of watching that show is getting to talk about it and its ridiculousness. ha :)
ReplyDelete