Tuesday, November 1, 2011

My Weight Loss Journey

I can't believe I am FINALLY able to write this post! It feels as if it has been a long {and rewarding} time coming.

I have finally lost 50 pounds 52.5 if we want be exact as of today!

I've been asked by a few blogging friends/twitter friends how I have lost the weight, so I thought I would take a moment and share with you what I have done throughout the last 2 years to take the weight off.

I will start off by telling you that I previously was deathly afraid of numbers! {i.e. I wouldn't check my bank account because that number kept decreasing, and I wouldn't step on the scale because that number continued to creep up}. I vowed to myself in January 2010 that I would no longer be afraid of numbers and I would start doing something about it!

I honestly did not step on the scale unless it was at the doctors office, so the heaviest that I ever weighed in at the doctor was 195 in the Fall of 2009. {GASP! did I really just put that number out on the www for EVERYONE To see!} And at the time of stepping on the scale, I had to be okay with the number.... I told myself, the day I reach 200 is the day I need to work on my weight. My other rationale that I took, was no one goes on the Biggest Loser under 200 lbs so what am I worried about?!

If I only knew then what I know now!

In January 2010 there were 10 of my good friends from college who decided to compete in a biggest loser competition. There was money on the line. My first weigh in for the competition was 189.5 lbs. We started the competition the same day as the new season of Biggest Loser aired, so I was less intimidated to step on the scale because I felt as if I was just like the other contestants at this point in time. It was the season where they had to face the crowd and declare their weight to everyone, and I did the SAME thing to myself in the mirror.

You know how hard it is to say you are 189.5lbs when you are in denial that you are overweight/obese based off of the BMI scale? At the age of 26, and the only person making myself this way, is me?!

Thats a tough reality!

So I was determined to win the biggest loser competition among my friends. Ashley encouraged me to start training for a 1/2 marathon... ummm excuse me, at this point, I only ran if I was being chased. But I figured I wanted the money so I should probably try it.

I started training for the 1/2, mainly walking, some running, and shed 27lbs in 5 months. I ended up winning the competition and feeling good about my weight loss and how far I had come.

The competition ended in June, and by July, I was eating like my normal self again, not worrying about the weight I was packing back on, not working out as much, and just reverting back to the "old Lindsey" so quickly it was scary.

In December 2010, I joined a gym. {Yes, I pay $170 in condo dues every month and there is a facility connected to the club house, however there are 3 treadmills and one that I'm lead to believe is the first treadmill ever made - there aren't side rails on the side of it! seriously!} So I figure, if I'm paying $28 a month to belong to a huge workout facility, I'm going to use it. I started to seriously train for the 1/2 marathon that was coming up in May 2011 and vowed not to let my self creep back up to my old weight.

In January I was approached once again by a friend to see if I wanted to participate in a Biggest Loser competition. UGH! Seriously? another one of these things? but once again, I'm motivated by money, so I signed up determined to go 2-0 on these competitions.

I continued to train for my 1/2 by running all the training runs, and completed my second 1/2 marathon in May 2011 {hurt IT band and all}.

Unfortunately in this biggest loser competition I finished second, only to a guy who had also previously one a weight loss competition at his work! But we are all winners when it comes to weight loss {i know corny, but i truly believe that!}

So now the competitions are over, and I need a reason to stay motivated to continue on my weight loss journey. I have continued to run {two 1/2 marathons} and I have continued to watch my food intake. I have a goal weight of reaching 140lbs and then I just want to maintain from there. I'm only 2.5lbs away from my goal! I can feel it in my reach, and it feels SO good!

I will be the first one to tell you this journey has not been easy, however it has been more rewarding than I would have ever thought!

Please let me know if you have any questions that I can potentially help answer for you? I'm by no means a fitness guru, nor am I licensed dietician, however, I will gladly give you my advice and what I have learned throughout the past 2 years.

Tomorrow I will post about how I changed my lifestyle {food, exercise, ect}
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36 comments:

KimberlyMDavis said...

Congrats on your weight-loss and the incredible journey you have been on. Looking forward to tomorrow's post!!

Anonymous said...

Congrats on your weight loss isn't it the best feeling in the world?!?! I have lost a total of 120lbs. You can read about it here....

http://me2weest2011.blogspot.com/2011/09/fat-nikki-vs-skinny-nikki.html

Lindsay @ The Lean Green Bean said...

you go girl! you look amazing! so proud of you!!!

Anonymous said...

You look fantastic!! :)Such an inspiration!

Abby said...

Lindsey!! That is so amazing! Congrats and you look FAB!!!:) I need to steal some of your awesome drive to lose a few too!!!!:) Can't wait for tomorrow's post!:)

Jenny said...

Congratulations that is great! You look fabulous!

Lindsay said...

I am SO proud of you! This is such an awesome accomplishment! HUGS!

Shannon Dew said...

GIRL yous skinny! Seriously proud of you, you look ah-mazing! I totally can atest to the gym being worth the $$ b/c the condo gym is a sad excuse for a gym...pathetic even! Great job!

Megan said...

Wow- you look so great!! I am on the same track right now- of turning things around! Will you send me your walking/ running that you started with? Did you change your eating drastically too, or just start with the walking/running?

Allison said...

You look fantastic!! Congrats on a job well done :) Looking forward to the rest of your story!

Aly @ Analyze This said...

It's takes a lot of courage to talk about weight loss, especially when it comes to numbers! Motivation from money and friends is always nice!! Better than motivation from food, which is what a lot of us tend to do! (ahem, raises hand)

I'm proud of you!! I know you can reach your goal weight in no time :)

Aly @ Analyze This said...

Ps- I love the new design! Lauren rocks!!!

Sara said...

Awesome! Awesome! Awesome! I love this post, and I am looking forward to hearing your next post for more details! What I struggle most with is food so I would love to hear your thoughts on that.

As you know, running has changed my life too, and I am so glad we have been able to reconnect on this journey. You are a true inspiration, and I admire all you have accomplished.

Molly said...

You look fabulous, and are such an inspiration, Lindsey. Can't wait to read your post tomorrow!

Mateya said...

This is so awesome! You are amazing and you look fabulous! What a great accomplishment, you should be very proud!

Jessica said...

Congratulations Linds... you look amazing and truly are inspiring! Way to go!

J and A said...

Wow good work. You look great! Look forward to tomorrow.

ashley said...

Thanks so much for sharing Lindsey, you truly are inspiring. You have done so well and I look forward to hearing more about how you did it. :)

Kerr said...

Congrats, you look great!

Megan said...

You look fantastic! I had been noticing how tiny you have gotten in recent months :). I love that you did it over time and by eating healthy and exercising-the right way! Such a role model!

ashley said...

Lindsey you look amazing!! Congratulations on your journey. Something big to be proud of. And I'd say it takes just as much courage to put it on there-- on the internet! Yay for you!!

You inspired me to run (and complete) my 1/2 in a month!! :) Eek!!

Monica said...

Congrats! You look amazing!

Kristi said...

Good for you! I LOVE reading about other's struggles and victories in regards to weight loss. Thank you for sharing with us!

Sonja said...

That is AWESONME Lindsey!!! I'm so proud of you and you look amazing! xo

Just Brandi said...

You know I LOVE this Lindsey!!
I am sooo proud of you and you look AMAZING!
It feels awesome huh??
So happy for you and I can't wait to get back on that wagon with you!!!

Lacey said...

What an awesome journey! My cousin is really pressuring me to compete in a 1/2 next year (he just ran his first full!) - I haven't even run a 5K so I don't know what he's thinking. You're a great inspiration though! Really looking forward to tomorrow's post.

Mandy Rose said...

You are amazing!!! And you look FABULOUS!!! Great job!!!

Jenny said...

Seriously, you look fantastic! I'm excited to read your post tomorrow.

Brittany said...

YAY!!! I'm so proud of you! You look fantastic!

Christina said...

You look fabulous!
And girl I just need some self motivation. Honestly I just feel like I need to dig deep and respect myself and just DO IT.

You inspire me :)

Holly said...

You are AMAZING!!! I could not be more proud of you for sticking to your goal and being so close to it! What an inspiration you are! I need you to be my running buddy to keep me motivated! I AM running the half marathon in MAY!

Jill said...

This is awesome! I love it!

Great work! You look amazing!

erica said...

Wow! Congratulations you are such an inspiration. I just started doing Weight Watchers again in hopes to drop some serious weight that I have gained sense my wedding. I am your newest follower. xo

Kelly said...

Just AWESOME!! You make me want to get to the gym like STAT! ;-) If only work would scoot out of the way... You're such an inspriation and you look amazing. Here's two questions-- Have you ever mentioned how tall you are? And do you ever lift weights at all? Your arms look great (arms are my trouble area, boo) GREAT post, Lindsey!!

Becca said...

Congrats Lindsey! You look FABULOUS! I didn't know that you'd lost a lot of weight, what an accomplishment!

Clare said...

Congratulations!! I am a new follower and fellow Columbus girl! I've just started running, and so far I think you are incredibly inspiring!! I look forward to reading more :)