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Sunday 11 September 2011

70lbs (31kg) lighter: Weight Loss – my journey continued

Ok, ok, I have actually lost ‘only’ 65lbs (29.5kg) but the other 5lbs (2.2kg) are coming off verrrryyyyy soon! LOL. Once that's done, I'll have 24lbs (11kg) to go to reach my target weight.

At the beginning of this year, I wrote a piece about my weight - my most personal ‘postcard’ to date. I am very private about the things that go deep, so it was difficult to lay myself so bare. To my amazement, that write-up touched a chord with many others. The post, ‘Weight loss – my journey’ has got the most hits of all my blog posts. Here's a link to that first post: http://postnoir.blogspot.com/2011/01/weight-loss-my-journey.html

So how is the journey going??? Ahhhhhhhhh! It is tough! It's been a mixture of road-blocks, diversions, traffic-jams, as well as smooth free roads and bursts of swift motorway speeds.

After losing 55lbs (25kg) over 18 months, my weigh-loss slowed down. Between Feb – Apr this year, I lost a few lbs and gained a few lbs. I have Olympic gold medals in both procrastination & gym-hating *giggle*, so obviously did NOT go anywhere near the gym or do ANY exercise. However, I did retain a vestige of sanity and pretty much kept to my eating plan;  a few minor slips-ups, but nothing scale-busting. Then in May, I began working on a work renovation project with a mega-tight dead-line. My life became work, late nights, fast food AND very very soon, the weight and inches came a'calling again. Before I knew it, the scales had crept up steadily until I was 12’ 2 (a gain of 16 lbs), my recently whittled 29in waist was a bulging 32 - 33in and my chin was wobbling dangerously. I was so shocked, the fog clouding my eyes cleared! 

It had taken long months of suffering & agony, panting in the gym, taking up the heart-stopping torture called running, being deprived of rice AND sweet luscious hard-dough bread, and now I was watching myself sliding back dangerously to being an unhappy fat blob? NO WAY!

I was still fitting into most of my new clothes (barely!) but weight was once again embracing my frame ‘with fat loving hands(les)’. One thing helped – the thought of my dad’s coronation in Nigeria. That was scheduled for July and I was DETERMINED not to be fat in those photographs. At my brother’s wedding 2 years earlier, I had been at my very heaviest. I absolutely HATE the way I look in those pics and swore NEVER again.

The fast food stopped. Normal eating resumed. I did not lose any weight before my trip but at least the lbs stopped piling back on.

Got back from the Coronation and holiday and I hadn’t put on a lb or lost a lb. I was chuffed as holidays are deadly for weight-loss. Gave myself a week to settle back into London and then adopted a drastic programme; shocked my body into a ‘we mean business’ regime. My diet consisted of chicken and vegetables, strawberries and cherries, and a handful of brazil nuts. Snacked on tomatoes and cucumbers when I was peckish. Drank nothing but water with a touch of lemon or lime in it. Went back to walking and walked at least 2 or 3 miles every day. And turned to GOD and asked for help. In three weeks, I was back down to 11 stone. It’s been a further 4 weeks and I have lost another 10lbs but more importantly, the inches have fallen off. Those new clothes that were fine in January but tight in June are now loose in September. Yahhhyyyyyy!!!.   

I’ve set myself short-term and long-term goals. I want to lose another 14lbs (1 stone) by the end of November so I am 130lbs by my birthday in Dec. I want to go back to the gym. I want to begin running again. I want to take up bike riding.

Long-term goals: Run a 5 mile race next year. Sign up for the 2012 Cycletta 40 mile bike ride http://www.cycletta.co.uk/. Take roller-blade lessons – hey, I might fall numerous times but I just want to do it! Get down to my goal weight of 120lbs. Exercise regularly 3 – 5 times a week.

I have learnt that going to the gym every day doesn’t work for me. However, I enjoy walking so want to regularly walk 4km 3-5 times weekly. I hope I enjoy cycling so I can cycle regularly. It’s a healthy life-style I want, not just weight-loss. I still LOVE rice, pasta & hard-dough bread but portion control and the wonderful bulk-filling low calorie filler that’s called salad, nestled alongside my rice, helps. I also now totally adore tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries, cherries and plums. A handful (6 or 7) brazil nuts will cure any craving I have for something to chew upon. 

Above all, I am learning NOT to beat myself up. If weeks go by and the scale doesn’t register a loss, I let myself know it isn’t the end of the world. If I get lazy and don’t walk or exercise for weeks, I try to start again. If I put on a few lbs, I grit my teeth and limit the damage by stopping whatever it is I am doing wrong.  I am a comfort eater who wants to turn to food on a bad day, so sometimes instead of hitting the kitchen fridge, I hit my wardrobe, slip on those jeans I couldn’t wear last year and grin. It’s calorie-free comfort! LOL.

Making GOD a part of the journey has been my greatest help.

Today I am 10st 4lbs, (144lbs), 65kg. I often scowl at the scales totally dissatisfied, but still remember the same scales reading 206lbs/210lbs (96kg) about 20 months ago. It teaches me to be thankful.

My goal weight remains 120lbs.

xx

2 comments:

Estella said...

Wow! I am so so inspired by your story. Hope it works for me, too.
I wasn't born fat, infact no one in my family is fat, but throughout my Pre-school to 6th Grade days, I was always the chubby one, I stood out in every class picture..lol
Then I started high school, I lost so much weight, my mum was so happy. But, by the time I got to the 12th Grade, I had 'blown' up, I weighed about 75kg.
I stayed a bit at home before starting college, I added 10kg more.
I started to hit the gym but sometimes when I got so occupied with school work, no time to exercise, I'll just add up again.
I recently bought a treadmill and I have started dieting (very difficult..lol, especially 'cuz I eat a lot when I am bored or sad <"addiction">). I hope it works out.
Actually I try to avoid really tedious exercises 'cuz I am asthmatic.
What kind of exercises do you recommend?

Noir said...

Hi Estella,

It is really lovely to hear from you and thank-you so much for your comment.

I can totally relate because I wasn't born fat and no-one in my family is fat. I didn't begin to put on weight until I was in the 5th or 6th Grade.

If you've lost weight before, it proves you can do it - so let that encourage you!

You've got a treadmill at home? Excellent. Begin walking. Put on headphones, listen to music and walk. Build up until you are walking 3 -5 miles about 4 or 5 times a week. I find if you start off with something that isn't too tedious, it's become easy to stick at it. Do you swim?

Don't think of it as a diet but as eating healthily. Cut out sweets, soda, chips, snacks, fruit juice and you'll notice a difference quickly.

If the though of cutting out all the above things makes you shudder, simply try doing so for 6 weeks. Tell yourself, "I am worth 6 weeks of my own time." Commit to 6 weeks of chicken (without the skin), fruit, vegetables, smaller carb portions, water or green tea. Alongside the exercise, it's surprising how the weight melts off. It isn't easy, you'll have bad days/bad weeks but just keep going.Weight yourself at the beginning AND measure yourself with a tape measure, waist/bust/hips/stomach/arms/thigh.
I promise you that when you see how much you've lost at the end of 6 weeks, you'll have the incentive to continue.

It's a journey. I've had a few bad weeks lately - but still want to try to lose 10lbs before Christmas. Can I do it? Well, your comment has encouraged me not to give up.

So, thank-you. Do please keep in touch and let me know how it's going for you. YOU CAN DO IT!

P.S I still sometimes turn to food when things aren't going well. We all have bad days. : )