FL - Saying goodbye to an old acquaintance! His name is FAT ;)

jsnamaste · March 1st, 2008, 09:34 PM

Hello lovely ladies,

First of all I want to say thank you to Linda for picking me as one of the lucky 20. You are an inspiration and I am so grateful for all your wonderful advice.

To the other 19 ladies I want to wish you good luck and and say that I am really excited to do this with you. Even though I don't get to see you, I feel so much better knowing that I am not doing this alone. This will be a journey that I can share with you all,

(thank god, as I dont know if I could do it on my own

)

My name is Jeannette and I am 28 years old. I have never been an active person and therefore have gained my weight steady since I turned 20. Most of the extra weight I am carrying now though, I gained while pregnant with my now 3 year old son Alex. I have not been able to lose any of the weight gained during pregnancy and due to stress and depression have gained more. My husband and I run a business from home and were taking care of up to 5 homestay students at a time, along with the newborn. The stress of this and a not so supportive relationship have made it hard for me to want to do anything for myself. I am now up to 230 pounds, but finally ready to kick my own ass (its big enough so that shouldn't be too hard to do

) .We finally have gotten rid of the students and now have roommates, which is finally giving me time for myself .YAY!

This is going to be very hard for me as I have very little discipline when it comes to food and pushing myself to work out. But after taking those pictures and seeing how square my ass has gotten I am soooooooo ready for a change.

Lets do it ladies! Yipeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Jeannette

MsMarvel · March 1st, 2008, 09:46 PM

Hey Jeannette, welcome to the challenge, I LOVE how you refer to FAT as a HE

Like you I am feeling relieved to be doing this as part of a team. We will all come out winners when we realized that we CAN reach our goals. Take care, looking forward to following your journal.

Cindy

**Italianangel** · March 2nd, 2008, 12:57 AM

Great to hear from you! I ended up with 29 ladies btw.......
Hope you are training hard today!!!
Linda

jsnamaste · March 2nd, 2008, 07:16 PM

Just wanted to say hi to everyone in the challenge ( I tried to send a message to everyone on their journals, but just in case I missed someone by mistake ) . It is so great to read all your stories and see how supportive everyone is. I look forward to getting into shape and supporting you all in any way I can! Take care and good luck!

Lets go kick some butt ladies !!!!!!!

Wen73KYGAL · March 2nd, 2008, 07:38 PM

Hi Jeannette! Thank you for stopping by my journal and wishing me luck. I wish you luck too! We can and will do this!

heathercayman · March 2nd, 2008, 08:29 PM

Jeanette, what a great posting, very honest and funny!I will be reading your posts and keeping up with your progress. You can do this! You have taken a huge step by doing this challenge. Plan for success by packing your meals and snacks in advance, and by scheduling your workouts a week out so you feel obligated to "keep appointments with yourself". If you feel like eating something you shouldn't, distract yourself with a ten minutes of any non kitchen activity: read blogs here, go out for a quick walk, call a friend. Drink a bottle of water and chew a stick of sugarless gum. One day at a time, one hour at a time, and those lbs will come off! Visualize yourself healthy and fit. You will be soon!

Heather

Misha · March 3rd, 2008, 12:45 AM

Hi Jeannette,
Just wanted to say thanks for your support....it's great to know there's other women out there with "little ones" too who are trying hard to lose the extra poundage from pregnancy (lol, and pre-pregnancy - I'm guilty too!).
I live in Richmond, so yes, absolutely....if you ever want to do the stroller thing....I just worry sometimes since my daughter never sits still for very long!
Stay strong girlfriend, we can do this!
Misha

jsnamaste · March 3rd, 2008, 01:08 AM

Ok here is the scoop. Well, yesterday didn't exactly go to well. The first day of the challenge happened to coincide with a very annoying and painful monthly visitor. I tend to get very painful cramps the first day and due to my pain killers not working spent the main part of the day wanting to shove my foot up the butt of any male that happened to cross my path ( to any of the lovely men on this site who might be reading this, its just the hormones talking

). So I didn't exactly get any exercises done, and the diet was more than lacking ( I was a little bit behind and hadn't gotten the groceries I needed yet). But I did try and eat less then I normally do. So after day one I am already a day behind, but I am not going to let that continue.

Today I went out and purchased all the food I will be needing for this week and some ankle and wrist weights.
My diet for the day was :
oatmeal with a drizzle of organic maple syrup
- protein shake as per diet plan
- can of tuna 85g
- protein bar
- chicken breast with 3 cherry tomatoes, romaine lettuce, udos oil, balsamic vinegar and roasted pepper and garlic seasoning
I must admit the food tasted much better then I thought it would and am thinking that I should have been listening to you Linda ages ago

I know it wasn't exactly as in the diet plan , but I had to improvise until I got my groceries.

My workout started with a 20 min kids workout video ( yes I am a dork , but I bought it to do with my son

and yes I am that out of shape that I was totally sweating after it was over ) as it was raining and this way I could entertain my son at the same time. After the video I did the Day 1 home workout .

So now I am feeling much better and less guilty

Hope all of you are well and I'll be back soon.
Jeannette

PS. Here are my stats (very scary)
Finally got my measurements.
Neck : 15.5
Shoulders : 39
Chest: 45.5
Right arm : 17.5
Abdomen 1 : 39
Abdomen 2 : 44
Gluteus : 47.75
Right thigh : 28.5
Right calf : 17.5
Weight : 230 lbs
Height : 5'11

**Belsicilia** · March 3rd, 2008, 11:51 AM

HI Jeanette!

thnks for stopping by my journal. I also want to wish you the best. From experience I know it can be challenging in the beginning, but eventually this all gets easier and almost automatic. Its a lifestyle we need to adopt, not the quick fix. Knowing that and accepting it, for me was more than half the battle. Have a great day!

Piera

MsMarvel · March 3rd, 2008, 07:55 PM

(Not that I agree that you are a dork but).. better a dork doing a kids work out than a coach potato stuffing one's face

. Remember cardio is cardio and it all burns calories so put that video in any time and shake that bootie.

Good to hear you got your groceries done and are enjoying the food. Remember that by using different spices you can add variety to your meals.

Cindy (MsMarvel)

jsnamaste · March 3rd, 2008, 11:17 PM

First of all I want to say that you guys are great. I know it has only been 3 days but all the support and great advice is really helping me stay on track. I really really appreciate it.
So today was definitely more painful then yesterday

But the sense of accomplishment when I am done makes it all worth it.
I went to the gym today (got to sneak in some time while the little guy was at pre-school

)
I did 30 min cardio on the eliptical machine ( i dont know what resistance it was on as I had it on the Fat Burn program) which resulted in me covering 2.34 miles and burning 394 calories.
I then did the work out for day 2.
I did 15 x 2 for all exercises with 10 lb dumbells except
tricep dumbell on ball was 10 x 2
ropeless skipping was 30 x 2
side shoulder raise was 10 x 2
As for diet I feel as though I am eating too much, but I just keep getting hungry.
My meals for today were:
- oatmeal
- shake (as per instructions on diet plan)
-protein bar (if anyone can give me some advice on what protein bars to buy, I am having a bit of trouble finding ones that are less then 10 g carbs )
- chicken salad (as per instructions on diet plan)
- assorted sashimi platter
- 2 x rice cake with almond butter
- yogurt 115 g
So I hope everyone is well and doing great. Im going to go pass out now, lol. Talk to you all soon.
Cheers,
Jeannette

MsMarvel · March 4th, 2008, 07:14 AM

Hi Jeanette, remember it will take some time for your body to adjust to your new eating plan. To help, try to make sure you are drinking lots of water, use veggies between (green beans, broccoli, celery, red,yellow, orange peppers....) meals as fillers and make sure you are getting enough fiber (30-35g per day). If you are currently not, don't try to up your fiber intake in one day or you will just bung yourself up. Increase the amount slowly over several days. If you can't get enough with whole foods (veggies, whole wheat breads - I find weight watchers multi grain the best - brown rice, beans whole wheat pasta...) try using benefiber (can be added to anything without affecting the flavour) and ground flax seed (also high in healthy fats).

Take care, hope you got some good rest.

Cindy (MsMarvel)

jsnamaste · March 6th, 2008, 02:53 AM

OK I have just enough time for a quick review of the last couple days. Its been a little busy, so sorry I missed yesterday.
Yesterday (day 4)
Diet was horrible, I totally gave in to temptation. bad Jeannette bad.

I had :
oatmeal
protein bar
2 x rice cakes with almond butter
can of tuna, half a cucumber and half a tomato, udos oil and balsamic vinegar
shrimp, brocolli, mushroom (all steamed in water with no salt) small potato (mashed with garlic powder and non salt seasoning ) udos oil on top
1 rice cracker with almond butter
yogurt
1 chocolate chip cookie, 5 smarties and half a croissant

Workout was a little better. It was one of the off days but I wanted to keep the momentum going.
I did 35 minutes on the eliptical. It was 2.52 miles and 431 calories.
Then I did the day 1 gym exercises (my little guy had pre-school again so I got to go to the gym again)
inner thigh cables (did them on the machine) 15x2 at 87.5
outer thigh cables (did them on the machine) 15x2 at 62.5
shoulder press 15x2 at 10
chest press 15x2 at 25
mid back row 15x2 at 37.5

Today (day 5)
eating was better.
oatmeal
sashimi platter (salmon, tuna, toro)
shrimp, brocolli, mushroom (all steamed in water with no salt) small potato (mashed with garlic powder and non salt seasoning ) udos oil on top
2 x rice cakes with almond butter
1 european weiner (this was not so good )

work out
did week one walk jog program (5 min walk 1 min jog, 20 min total) wanted to die doing this . It always seems so much harder running outside then doing it in the gym. Mind you any type of running for me is hard as I feel as though my chest is going to explode

Then I did the Day 3 Home program. I used 5 lb weights and did 15 reps and 2 sets .

Hope everyone is doing great and everyone is feeling well. Will get back on, to talk to everyone when I get a little bit more time. Keep up the great work you awesome ladies!!!!!!!!!!!!

jsnamaste · March 7th, 2008, 03:20 AM

Today is day 6
diet was ok
oatmeal
can of tuna, half a cucumber and tomatoe, udos and spice
protein bar
chicken breast, salad, 4 cherry tomatoes, udos and vinegar and spice
protein shake (as per instructions)
4 slices smoked chicken deli meat
5 mini crackers (not so good)

Exercise:
Week 1 walk jog program followed by a one hour pilates video

cant write too much. in a rush to get to bed and get some sleep. the little guy has been getting up a few times at night and i am running on barely any sleep since Sunday.

Cheers everyone

pamgid · March 7th, 2008, 02:35 PM

Hey Jean,

ur not too far from where I started and look how far I've come....!! Just stick with it and u will get there...as someone mentioned before, the hardest part is getting started and you done that, now just make it apart of ur daily routine, don't second guess hitting the gym or sticking to the diet for 1 second because if u do u'll find a thousand reason why u shouldn't...

heathercayman · March 7th, 2008, 05:02 PM

J: I was just showing a friend how cool this challenge is and we were reading your posts...bottom line is that you are doing just great and are already pushing past where the average dieter gives up. Rememeber that every snack or meal is a new chance put the right things into your system as fuel!

Keep up the great work!

Heather

**Italianangel** · March 9th, 2008, 08:27 PM

I know you and this is not too shabby, keep consistent, you are a natural for fat loss but just have not been able to stay consistent......keep journaling and you are doing leaps just by the efforts I am reading so far!!
Linda

jsnamaste · March 11th, 2008, 01:06 AM

Thanks you guys, your encouragement means a lot and is definitely needed. It really helps me to want to keep going.

The last few days have not been too great. I pinched a nerve in my back so I had to take it easy on the workouts and my son has been really sick with the flu (so Ive only been sleeping about 3-5 hours a night).

Im going to do a quick summary on the diet and exercise:
Day 7
oatmeal, 7small slices of chicken deli meat - quarter egg- lettuce- salsa- low carb tortilla, shake, croissant, no salt baked chicken breast with 4 spoonfuls of curry, shake, yoghurt
Day 8
shake, sashimi plate, yogurt, no salt baked chicken breast with 4 spoonfuls of curry, shake, 2x rice cake with almond butter
Day 9
oatmeal, low carb tortilla- 1 egg- 4 slices chicken deli meat- salsa, 1 pizza slice, yogurt, no salt baked chicken breast with 4 spoonfuls of curry, 4 squares of chocolate, 8 mini crackers
Day 10
oatmeal, croissant, 7 mini dumplings, turkey chili as per instructions, croissant, 9 mini crackers, chocolate bar (today was really bad as far as the diet goes, but tomorrow is always another day

)

Workouts
Day 7 pinched my back so I went for a 1 hour brisk walk
Day 8 1 hour brisk walk
Day 9 and Day 10 my son has been sick so I havent been able to workout for the last 2 days and I am totally feeling guilty and bloated

Work out wise I am doing ok, except for the last couple of days. But now that my back is feeling better again I will be back to sweating. The diet is really been a struggle for me though. Food has always been an addiction and coping method for me, so it has been hard to let go. I am definitely eating better then I usually do, but still want to do better. This will be a skill I need to learn for a life time and am trying to get into the habit of wanting to eat healthier on my own.

Hope everyone is well and doing great. I just wanted to say thank you especially to Linda for always believing in me even when I dont. You're the best and I am so grateful to have your influence and kindness in my life. Thanks darlin!

jsnamaste · March 13th, 2008, 03:34 AM

Ok Im back on track with my diet.
Day 11
oatmeal, turkey chili as per instruction, turkey chili, shake, shake (just water and frozen blue berries), 10 cashew nuts
Day 12
shake , protein bar, yogurt, 5 mini (trust me when I say mini, before doing this program I probably would have scarfed 10 of them

) chicken tacos with hot sauce and onion and cilantro, 1/3 small package of silken almond tofu

workouts
Day 11
20 brisk walk, 1 min jog, 3 min brisk walk, 1 min jog, 3 min brisk walk, 1 min jog, 3 min brisk walk, 1 min jog, 25 brisk walk,
Day 12
Did the "Biggest Loser" workout tape. Did the 45 min cardio routine.

This week has been a bit of a disappointment when it comes to my workouts. I'm feeling guilty, but also exhausted. I have really had to push myself to do the workouts that I have done. I find it hard to workout when I dont get enough sleep and that has always been my biggest problem. I guess Im also a little bummed about the support Im getting from the one person I want it from the most. My husbands idea of support is telling me that my "gunt" (he is referring to my gut) and my wings (this would be my arms) are getting smaller. I of course have been telling him to kiss my slowly shrinking ass

But still it has been a little bit disappointing. Thats why I am so glad that I am getting the support here. So thanks again to all of you. Everyone here has been so friendly and supportive. You guys are great.

MsMarvel · March 13th, 2008, 10:21 AM

J: We are here for you and we've got your back!!!

I feel so lucky to have so many supportive people around me but there are also many times I have to remind that I am doing this for ME!! Try not to let the lack of support get you down too much. Remember that they may be having a hard time getting used to the "new" you and the time that you are having to commit. Being a wife, mom and taking care of your needs is such a delicate balancing act but never give up!! In the long run it will pay off.

Take care and keep smiling

Cindy