Half Way There!

Just wanted to write a quick post because I’ve had so many people asking me what the “secret” is for my weight loss success so far, so here is:

First of all I started with being overweight. I started at the heaviest I’ve ever been. Even though I’ve always been tall, it’s kinda a crutch to carry weight. Gaining/ losing 5 pounds is not that noticeable, but when it keeps happening over and over before I knew it, I had gained 35 pounds since my freshman year at UT. Also want to throw in there that almost everyone is my family (sister, brother in law, sister in law, other 2 brother in laws) have recently lost a significant amount of weight, which also made me want to jump on the band wagon and not be the overweight, outta shape one of the bunch!

Second thing I’ve done is totally changed my diet. We bought shakeology and totally fell in love with it. It has been the main thing I would attribute my weight loss success. I’ve also cut out red meat for special occasions only, started eating a healthy breakfast everyday and skipped the drive thru while trying to eat healthy snacks along the way.

Third is I did the typical thing at the beginning of the year and joined a gym. However with March just around the corner, I’ve actually kept going to the gym. It has probably been the hardest part of this journey so far because it is a time commitment and honestly not my favorite thing to do. However, when it is all said and done, working out has gotten me into better cardio health, helped me manage my stress and I've met new people.

All in all, I’m half way to meeting my goal of losing 32 pounds. I am so proud to have gotten this far and if anything I’m just gaining speed. I feel great, love getting to buy smaller sizes and seeing all my hard work pay off. Thank you to my husband, friends, family, and co-workers that have been so supportive through this journey. 

-Rebecca

Seven weeks in...

Just thought I would write a quick update on how things are going so far. Three great things have happened this week:

1.     I finished all of my teacher certification courses and all my tests are passed!

2.     I am officially in the 170s (14 pounds down!)

3.     Bought plane tickets to go see my bestie in Boston on spring break!

Last week I only worked out once and we went out on Valentine’s Day, not a good week fitness-wise however an awesome week because I LOVE Valentine's Day.  Definitely had some wine, chocolate & ate a "real" dinner (no shake). We went to the dog races in Houston, which was a ton of fun a. because I love dogs b. because I love gambling. It was difficult to limit myself to just one drink, but I’m glad I did. I am proud of myself for making good choices the day of valentine parties here at school also. I knew having one cookie was nothing to feel guilty about. Didn’t lose weight last week, but hey didn’t gain any either!

This week I have gotten back on track. Yesterday’s spin class was really hard and I did not want to go, but I am so glad I did. Weighed in after class at 179, which was really exciting. Bought some new workout pants which are compression and much more comfortable to wear on a bike rather than my typical Nike shorts. Most of my work pants are way too big and I only have two pairs of jeans that fit. These jeans haven’t fit for about a year so I’m glad I didn’t actually take them to goodwill. I am waiting till June to get more (smaller =) ) clothes because I want to be another size down before the end of the school year. So looks like this spring I will be wearing mostly dresses to work. What a great problem to have!

Jacob and I are still shopping for bikes and have decided to wait until May to purchase. Definitely decided to go with mountain bikes with a switch suspension rather than getting a road bike for several reasons.  I feel like we are buying a car we have shopped around so much! We cannot wait to get them with future plans of going to different state parks and riding around in Galveston during the summer. I think our big summer camping trip will to either be to Garner State Park or Big Bend National Park.

13 school days until spring break! But hey who's counting...

Let's Ride!

Woohoo it's Friday and I finally have some time to write a new post. I have really gotten into the idea of investing in a road bike so I can start training for the Tour de Braz here in Alvin in early April. Problem is a new bike is way out of my price range also considering with a bike I also need a helmet, car rack, cycling shoes, light, riding gear, water bottle holder, sunglasses and water bottle. I am going to start getting things a little by little and I'm planning on purchasing cycling shoes this weekend. During my cycling classes I’ve noticed at the end on our sprint segments I am having painful foot cramps. I talked to my instructor about it and he says I should get some cycling shoes and that should solve my problem. He also offered to talk to some of his lady friends that are out of cycling that still have bikes that I could buy used. I feel like this is my best option because they will be significantly cheaper and as of right now I want a road bike and a mountain bike. I figured that once the weather gets better and we can start going camping I can actually have something to do since I’m not that interested in fishing. Hopefully I can get one of these used bikes for about $300-$400 at the most, but considering I'm larger than the average woman they might not "fit" me,  so we shall see! 

So back to the Tour de Braz (http://tourdebraz.com/). Almost everyone, including my instructor, in my cycling class is planning on doing the bike ride. I’ve talked to a few of them about distance and they all say I should start with 50 or 62 miles for my first ride. I usually get around 25 miles during one spin class, so starting in February I am going to start going to back to back classes on Wednesdays so I can get my endurance up to 50 miles or so by the first of April. I am finding that I have controlled breathing throughout the 45 minute class and finally getting my sprints up to about 130 rpm for 15-30 sec intervals so I think I’m ready to start working on my endurance. My instructor is so great though because he asks you what you want to accomplish and help to get you there, almost like a personal trainer would. So shout out to Wayne at the YMCA in Alvin for helping me get involved in the sport and giving me the knowledge I need to become a better rider each week.

Quick weight-loss update: still at the weight I was on Saturday (which I’m not complaining about!) Technically two pounds less this morning than I was last Friday morning, so the biggest loser challenge at school is still going great! I’m taking my big certification exam tomorrow so pray that I can sleep tonight and a good workout in tomorrow morning to calm my nerves before my test at 1 pm! I’m a stress eater so thankfully I am starting to change that about myself too (munching on celery instead of fries!)

Biggest Loser Challenge

It was a great week because Jacob and I had such great success with our weight loss goals. Friday was the second weigh in at school for our biggest loser challenge. Two Fridays ago (1/11) we had our first weight in and we set our weight loss goals for the 8 week challenge. Mine is to lose 16 pounds by March 15^th. On the last weight in, the Friday before spring break, whom ever reaches their weight loss goal can split the pot of money we have all put in. There are 14 of us participating and it has been so great so far! I went to weigh in on Friday (1/18) and hadn’t stepped on a scale since the previous Friday so I had no idea what to expect. Well, what I really expected was to have a gain a pound or so since I have been going to spin class I really feel my legs getting stronger. To my surprise it said I had lost six pounds! I was so pleasantly surprise I had lost that much in one week. In fact our choir teacher that is running the whole challenge had suggested that 16 pounds by spring break might be too drastic, but after she saw that I only have 10 to go now she had a big “nevermind, you proved me wrong!” look on her face which was great encouragement.  Overall being in this accountability group has been a great support system. I have never lost this much weight during one of my “diets”, much less within 7 days. After school I was talking to Jacob about how much I’d lost and we were both in a sortof disbelief and maybe thought the old school scale was inaccurate and I should weigh in tomorrow at the gym since they have a high-tech digital scale. So after spin class I went to weight in and it said 183.6 (mind you the scale at school said 193 on 1/11). I almost died I was so pumped! I know I have probably gained a pound back since rehydrating after that spin class, but I can say that I have definitely lost about nine pounds already. I can feel my body getting stronger and I’m looking forward to my spin classes, and wish I could go to more! My instructor has told me as of now I should only go to three spin classes a week and to maybe try a different class that works a different set of muscles so my legs have time to heal and rest on the days I’m not spinning. As for now I’m going to take his advice, but I will probably add the Sunday afternoon spin class once I finish up my teacher certification the third week in February (!).

On another note just wanted to share my what I’m eating since I think my diet (by diet I mean the foods I'm consuming, not a short term way of losing weight) is the main reason I am losing weight:

For breakfast I’m having a bowl of wheat chex with fat free milk (about 220)

Lunch I have a weight watcher meal, fiber one bar, laughing cow cheese and some special K multigrain crackers (500)

If I need a snack after school I usually have carrots with hummus or celery with peanut butter at home (300)

For dinner I’m having Shakeology shake with a cup of pineapple blended in (about 250 calories)

I’m constantly drinking unsweet tea with lemon or water with lemon throughout the day. I've totally cut out any drinks other than that, and I’m not really missing juice, wine or diet coke.

One day last week I kinda went crazy after school and kept eating tons of peanut butter. All that to say I’m definitely not perfect, but I’m finding that my fridge and pantry are filled with things that are great snacks that I do not have to feel guilty about. That means going to the grocery store and making smart choices is the first step in setting myself (and Jacob) up for success.  I have also learned little tid bits that are helping me make better decision on how I’m “spending” my calories each day. For example, bananas are about 120 calories each, and I would rather have a fiber one bar which has less calories (& choc chips) in my lunch instead. Yeah I’m sure organic bananas are better for preventing cancer compared to a fiber one bar, but I’m not perfect and this is what is working for me now. 

This will probably be the only time I talk about what I'm eating because frankly it is boring and it's not changing anytime soon because it is working for me =) 

Just wanted to share my success with y’all and let you know hard work definitely pays off. If what you are doing isn't working, try shakeology because honestly it has made the biggest different for Jacob and I. 

I am going to try to post again by Wednesday about getting into cycling (for real, outside, actually moving) & other outdoor activities and also write about the challenges I've had when ordering at restaurants.

Starting Anew!

and I am really excited! Jacob and I are ready to see what the Lord has in store for us in 2013. Third year of marriage, living in Alvin, Texas and we are loving our life that He has blessed us with. We have both set very aggressive weight loss goals and know we have the resources, time and support to reach them! We have started drinking Shakeology, (thanks to my sis in law, Bailey Garner) every night instead of having dinner and it has been a great experience so far.

We blend different fruits every night to mix it up so we don't get bored with the shake. Today marks five days drinking the shakes and it has been such a pleasant experience so far. I have so much more energy &  I am calorie counting for the first time since I was a cheerleader in high school (oh how Jacob and I miss THAT bod). It is amazing to me that I was consuming 3000 calories on an average day NO problem, and I now have taken it down to about 1700. So my first resolution for 2013 is only eating what I bring to work and nothing else, no exceptions! This has been a challenge because there is literally a jar of candy in every room I go in. Best pay off with this is that I don't have to remember all the little treats I have throughout the day and I don't have to feel guilty about what I've eating when I complete my daily food diary. My second resolution is to go to three spin classes per week. This has been such a joy to get back into. I went to a few spin classes while at UT, but it never really fit into my schedule (or I didn't want it to fit into my schedule). Each class burns around 500-700 calories for me depending on if I actually do what the instructor says. During spin I ABSOLUTELY hate my life, but I keep going back because spinning 20+ miles in an hour, dripping of sweat, burning calories and relieving stress while completing my greatest accomplishment of the day. My third and final resolution I am going to share with you for 2013 is to reach my weight loss goal of losing 32 pounds. I have thought a lot about this number and pray about it every day because every day is a struggle to me. So all in all I want you to take this journey with me and seeing how I accomplish my goal. If I can do it, you can do it, whatever "it" is! I know it is not going to happen overnight, but I am so ready to put in the work it is going to take to change my lifestyle in order to reach my goal. Okay so here I go, 192 pounds, size 12, 32 pounds to go...

 Before...

 

...hate seeing this now BUT I will be that much prouder of myself knowing where I started...

until next time!