Weight loss update: Success!

Most conversations I have with friends these days start with, "You look GREAT! How much weight have you lost?" 

I love hearing this.  It's been a long and sometimes really hard journey so it's nice to know that my hard work has paid off.  

So how much weight have I lost?  Well, in total I've lost I've lost 55 lbs since November of 2014!  35 of those pounds have come off in the last 5 months. 

I now weigh around 180 lbs and (depending on the brand) I fit size 10 pants.  

I was kind of hoping to get down to 165 lbs.  But my body seems pretty happy at 180.  It seemed no matter what I did I couldn't get any lower.  At first I was a little disappointed, but then I was like, hey 18 months ago I thought getting below 200 lbs was impossible for me.  So let's be happy about this whole "stuck at 180" thing.  

So now I'm focusing more on toning my body and gaining muscle then worrying about losing weight.

So how did I do it?

Well a big part of my success is due to the Take Shape for Life Program.  The program used Medifast meals which are portion controlled meal replacement foods.  I would eat the small (and I mean small) meals 5 times a day and then one meal would be a "lean and green" meal where I would eat a set amount of lean protein paired with vegetables. Eating like this put my body into a state where it wasn't getting enough calories from food so it had to burn fat to make up the difference.  It required a lot of self control to not cheat and eat carbs or sugar or even fruit because those things would take me out of fat burn.  The results were amazing though.

I was overjoyed with the results, but part of me was really worried about what would happen when I went into the transition phase and started eating "real" meals again.  The last thing I wanted was for me to declare victory and then gain back 20 pounds.

I finished the program last month and during the last 4 weeks I've been able to maintain my current weight even through I've stopped eating the meal replacements. So now I'm willing to declare a tentative victory!

Let's looks at some before and after pictures shall we?

This first picture is of me when I was at my heaviest. A few days after this picture was taken I discovered that I weighted 10 lbs more than I had when I was 9 months pregnant with Veronica.  Ouch. And on the right you can see what I look like now wearing the exact same outfit. I can't believe how much longer the shirt is now that it doesn't have to stretch around my body.

One of the first things that motivated me to want to make a change in my appearance was that my beloved black jacket didn't zip up anymore.  So here you have a picture of me when I was barely able to zip it up. (BTW this is a really terrible picture of me.  Charlotte took it while sitting on the floor, and so it is not a flattering angle.) And this is what the jacket looks like on me now.  It's so much looser.

And here we have a picture from a more recent time.  This was my favorite picture of myself from back in September.  I was (and still am) very happy with how I looked in this picture.  But I'm even happier with how I look in the same outfit now.  These pants actually are too big on me now.  They probably have about 4 inches of extra material in the thighs.  Now that I've taken this "after" picture I plan on giving the pants away.

For the rest of this post I want to share 17 things that I've learned over the last 17 months as I've been working on becoming healthier.  This list goes along with one I wrote several months ago. These things make up the core of my success and are what will help me as I continue to live a healthy life.  Hopefully these will help you on your own health journey.

1. You have to be ready for a change.
Before I started setting weight loss goals I'd see some of my friends announcing their weight loss successes and I'd think, "good for them, but I just can't do it right now."  Brandon was in Korea and I was home with four kids under the age of four - one of whom was a nursing baby.  I just didn't have the mental or physical capacity to tackle becoming healthier.  But after Brandon came home I found that I was ready for a change.

2. Healthy and fresh food is worth the money

I wish I had a before and after picture for this.  But this is what my fridge looks like on a regular basis.  Full of fresh food.  Now imagine what it used to look like.  It would have a few fruits and vegetables dying slow deaths in the drawers.  There would be Tupperware of left over food that I would never eat (That was Brandon's job and when he was gone the food would just rot until I got the courage to clean out the fridge.)  And of course there were a few foods that I'd eat on a regular basis, but they didn't make up most of the food in the fridge. 

Very early in my weight loss journey I realized I didn't eat healthy food because I was afraid of running out of food. I grew up poor. We always had enough to eat, but a lot of times it was just enough to get us though the week or to the next payday. Things in the fridge were for specific meals and so I felt that if I ate anything in the fridge I was taking away from food that we needed for a meal later. I didn't know it, but I developed a fear of eating.

It sounds so silly, but I would let fresh food rot in the fridge rather than run out of food by eating it.  I've had to tell myself over and over again that it's okay to eat the food because we can always go buy more.

I've gotten much better at this, but I still struggle sometimes.  I've noticed that my healthy eating takes a nose dive when we are getting toward the end of the month and I'm feeling like we are running out of money. I constantly have to remind myself that eating healthy is much less expensive than getting diabetes or heart disease.    

3. Pay attention to portion sizes.
The strange thing is that even though I had a fear of eating, you wouldn't know it to watch me eat.  I would eat a lot of food in one setting.  This is another thing that goes back to my relationship with money affecting my relationship with food.  I was worried about running out of food and so when I had a chance to eat I'd make sure to EAT.

Now don't start imagining me as starving and scavengering for my next meal.  It wasn't really like that.  But psychologically it kind of was.

I've learned that I don't need to gorge myself at every meal.  I've learned that we have plenty of food and so I can eat a small breakfast and then a little later I can have a small snack, and a little bit later I'll have a small lunch and so on.

This has actually led to saving money on food because my portions are so much smaller.  For example I eat about half of what I used to for dinner.  Any leftovers go into the fridge and I have them for lunch the next day.  (Yes I eat leftovers these days.  That's a huge accomplishment right there.)

4. Eat six times a day
This is one of those things that I didn't believe in at first, but now I love it.  Knowing that I'll be eating throughout the day helps me regulate the amount that I eat. Now it's such a habit to eat at 7:00, 9:00, 11:00, 2:00, 5:00 and 7:00.

5. Use smaller dishes.  
One thing that helps me keep my portions small is that I've started eating off of smaller plates at dinner time.  Putting my food on a 9 inch plate rather than an 11 inch one makes me feel like I'm eating more - even though I'm really eating less.  I've also switched to using shallower bowls at breakfast.

6. Eat a lot of vegetables.
I keep saying healthy food, and the healthiest food I've found are vegetables.  They have tons of nutrients and not many calories.  Plus they have fiber and water and will help you feel full.

7. Use the MyPlate guide to help visualize meals
Remember the food pyramid?  Well you can forget it.  It's been replaced by the MyPlate guide and it's actually a whole lot more user friendly. When I'm trying to figure out what I should eat I'll visualize this guide and think, okay I've got my veggies and fruits and grains.  Oh yeah I need some protein.

8. Foods that help you lose weight are different from just healthy food.
One of the most frustrating things for me was when I was eating healthy, but I wasn't really losing weight.  That's when I learned that certain healthy foods wouldn't really help me lose weight.  Whole wheat bread, beans, and carrots, to name a few are all great and you should really eat them, but if you are trying to lose weight they can make it hard for you to create a calorie deficit and get into fat burn.
I'm totally not a nutritionist so don't just stop eating those foods because I said so. You'll want to do a little bit of research and find a program that works for you.  Make a plan and then stick to your plan.  After you've lost the weight that you wanted to lose then you can go back to eating whole variety of healthy foods.  (You have no idea how happy I am that I can eat beans again.)

9. Getting enough sleep is crucial to weight loss
Pre-healthy me loved to stay up late.  It was not uncommon for me to stay up until midnight watching things on Youtube whenever Brandon was gone.  Part of this was a way to unwind from a crazy day with the kids.  It also was because I was usually up at 11:00 to feed Veronica.  But most of it was just because I'd gotten into the habit.

Then I did one of the health challenges with my friend Natalie.  One of the things we got points for was getting 7.5 hours of sleep.  I wanted those point and in order to get them I had to go to bed at 10:30.  So every night I started reading in bed instead of watching Netflix.  And suddenly I was sleeping better and full of more energy.  (It also helped that I was done nursing Veronica.)

I've made going to bed before 11:00 a priority every since then.  Brandon and I have even started reading together before bed.  And I make sure I leave my phone in another room so I'm not tempted to start reading stuff late at night.

10. Make sure you drink enough water
This really should be higher on the list, but I don't want to renumber every thing.  Drinking enough water is the simplest change you can make become healthier.  I try to drink 80 oz of water a day.  Yes I pee all the time, but I feel amazing.

Last year Brandon was concerned about being slightly overweight for a PT test.  I told him to drink water and stop eating sugar.  In five days he dropped 7 lbs.  (This may or may not be perfectly accurate because he used two different scales, but the point is he lost weight by drinking water.)

11. Weigh yourself often
I didn't even own a scale until a year ago. I used to always think that if I owned a scale I'd start obsessing over my weight.  Which is kind of true.  Yes it can be disheartening to see the scale stay the same or move up.  But it's also incredibly empowering to see it move down.  It's also a good way to make sure you are maintaining your weight and not accidentally adding pounds.

12. Keep in mind that your weight fluctuates
I've discovered that I always weight at least two pounds more at night than I do in the morning.  And when I'm on my period I usually weigh about 5 lbs more and then magically lose it all a week later.

13. Also keep in mind that the scale doesn't reflect every aspect of who you are
I'm totally guilty of seeing a low number on the scale and thinking "It's going to be a great day!  I am awesome!" And then seeing a disappointing number and thinking, "Well that sucks and today is going to suck."  I've had to learn to separate my feelings of self worth from the number on the scale.

One thing that has helped me is to focus on things that I have direct control over. I've have a goal to at least stretch out and do a few (girl) pushups every morning. No matter what the scale says I feel good about myself for doing that goal each day.

14. Find a time to work out that works for you
I hate working out. Mostly because I feel like every time I try to work out the kids jump on me.  Or they are all suspiciously quiet.  (I once did a 15 minute work out on youtube and discovered that the girls had soaked the play room carpet.  I didn't work out again for a year. True story.)

I used to work out at the end of the day, but I was usually just too worn out by then.

I've finally found a good work out time.  Derrick and Veronica usually come wake me up right at 6:00 am.  (It's uncanny how accurate they are.)  They drag me out of bed with requests for diaper changes.  Then I put on a youtube video or something from Netflix on my laptop and they watch that while I stretch out, do some push ups, and lift some weights.  I can usually get in about 15 minutes of exercise before Veronica starts trying to sit on me.

After that I can get ready for the day, check my facebook and e-mail, and then start serving the kids breakfast around 7:00.  It's so nice to finally have a morning routine that works for everyone.

15.  There is a power in being proactive
I've learned that as I've made a conscious effort to improve a few things in my life that my whole life has improved.  For example, now that I try to eat healthy I've turned into a good cook and I actually take pleasure from cooking (most of the time).  I never thought I'd say that.

Also as I take the time each morning to exercise for just a little bit I've found that I feel empowered to work hard in other areas during the rest of the day.

16. Work on one thing at a time
You've probably noticed that I'm on Facebook a lot.  And I'll readily admit that I'm pretty much addicted.  But that's because checking into Facebook has become my way of coping with other things in my life.  I used to take a break from the kids by eating Dark Chocolate but now I just check Facebook.  Or when I got overwhelmed by life I'd start snacking on everything.  But now I just check Facebook.

Sure I'd like to one day spend my time a little more wisely, but for now I'm working on my food issues. Social media can come later..

17. Accept that it's a journey
One phase that has helped me a lot over the last 17 months is, "health is a journey not a destination."  I love this because sometimes I get so focused on the goal (must weigh 165 lbs) that I forget to appreciate the other victories (hello- lost all my pregnancy weight!)

I hope that I've helped you see that even small changes can make a big impact in your health.  It's not easy to change, but it is so very worth it.