Wednesday, August 5, 1998
I had not really planned to put a journal on the web. But since I was inspired by a weight loss journal to really give lowcarb a try, I decided to put my thoughts down on losing this last 56 pounds. You see I have already lost the first 51.
I started my lowcarb lifestyle in earnest, January 14, 1998. I had flirted wtih it previously but never got serious about it until I started reading a woman's weight loss journal on the Web. She inspired me to give it a real go and I have never looked back.
As I learned more about lowcarbing I discovered a thing called the ECA Stack. It has helped me to lose weight. I have written of this elsewhere on this website.
By far the thing that has counted most in my journey is exercise. I stopped exercising for 6 weeks in May/June of this year. I plateaued big time. I started exercising again and I started losing weight. Because of this experience I now exercise 6 days a week twice a day.
One of my mini goals is to be in the 160's by Sept. 4. I currently weigh 183. I think if I am very good I will make it to this goal.
Thurs Aug 6, 1998
Last weekend I carbed for three days. I am paying the price still as my weight is up to 187.25. I have not Stacked for two days, and I have not been drinking enough water. Back on the straight and narrow for me, else I won't make my mini goal.
Friday August 7
Well I Stacked once last night and drank all the water I wasn't drinking and after my workout this morning (after which I usually weigh an extra pound) I went to the nurses office and weighed in. 185.5. Looks like I am back on track and hopefully will hit 179 by Monday, if I keep up with the twice a day exercise, the Stack and drinking 96 oz of water a day.
Tuesday, August 11, '98
Well I did not make 179 by yesterday. That is because I drank Miller Lite(s) on Sunday. That morning I weighed 183.5 on Monday morning I weighed 184.5. Anyway I am being extra strict this week and should be down a bit by Friday.
Yesterday I went shopping at the thrift store. I am losing weight and dropping inches so quickly that spending mucho bucks buying decent clothing brand new just is not wise financially. Anyway I found the most adorable rose pattern on cream outfit~t shirt and leggings. I bought it for 3.95, it still had the sizing (like starch) in it so I am assuming it had never been worn. Anyway the tag on the tee said large so I took it home without looking at the leggings tag. The leggings were a medium. "Oh no," I thought "Now I can't wear this outfit for the family picnic on Sunday. Well at least I will try them on to see how far I need to go to wear these." They went right on!! A little snug in the calf but everywhere else they fit great and the seams were not stretched! What a feeling.
I also found a pair of brand new Bill Blass jeans for 2.95. They were such a bargain that even though the tag read 14p I bought them anyway thinking they would fit in October. WRONG!! I put them on and zipped them up
Wed August 19, 98
Well I am making a new commitment to lowcarb as I have managed to carb every week once a week for the past six weeks. I cannot keep doing this and expect to make my goals. I won't beat myself up over this as lowcarbing weight loss is cyclical, meaning that I can go like gangbusters at losing weight and then slow way down. If I dont start losing again soon I will add yohimbe to my ECA stack.
Tues Sept 8
Well school is going hot and heavy so I have had little time to write in my journal. I am happy to report that though I failed to hit my goal of breaking into the 160's by yesterday, I have dropped down to 181.5 and expecting even better numbers tomorrow since I went camping over this past weekend and did not drink all of my water. I will be drinking like a fish today and so should lose a bit more by tomorrow.
Thurs September 10I BROKE 180!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I BROKE 180!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I BROKE 180!!!!!!!!
Did I tell you all that I broke 180? Todays official weight is 179.5, woohoo! Of course I am thrilled to bits. My body finally decided it was time to move on to a better place, and away it went. Yesterday I lived on deep fried (not breaded) beef, deep fried pepperoni slices, a double protein shake, and mucho water with iced tea. I had expected a weight gain and instead was rewarded with a new 6 year low, OUTSTANDING!!
Fri Sept 11, 1998
Uhh, you know when I wrote that I was ten pounds away from wearing those Bill Blass jeans? Well, I was wrong, I was only five pounds away from wearing then out of the house. Not only have I lost another 1.25 pounds since yesterday, I also wore those jeans outside of my house and they looked Great!! Today's weight 178.25 and I am now an official size 14, at least in jeans :^)
Wed Sept 16 98
I am just whooshing along here. This past Sunday I dropped down to 176 and I have held onto that weight for 3 days now. This is not my usual pattern ie I usually bounce up a bit after I hit a new low. But I have been very strict with myself and have not permitted myself to have a carby dessert as a "reward" for losing weight (a trap I had allowed myself to be caught in before). Those Bill Blass jeans, as well as another pair of reference jeans, are no longer reference clothes but everyday wear. Can you guess how great that makes me feel? I am almost in normal size clothes. (I consider size 12 and under "normal" size clothes even though most folks are larger than this. That would make clothes size 12 and under ABnormal, really, as they go against the norm. :) I tried on 3 pairs of denims as my "new" reference clothes. They are 2 pairs of jeans and one pair of denim shorts, none of which have been worn by me since 1991. The size 11/12 denim shorts were last worn during my second pregnancy and they kept me going until nearly the fifth month of that pregnancy. Now I can get them on, zipped and buttoned (they are cut generously). I have to lie down on the bed to do this, but still, they were on my body. The size 11 jeans can be pulled up over my behind but they are about 6 inches from even snapping, let alone zipping them up. The size 10's are just barely over my derriere. We will see how long it takes to get to those 10's. And when I get into the size 9 stuff I have (purchased for 25 cents at the thrift store, stuff like Calvin Klein and No Excuses) you will here me trans globally, yelling for joy!!
Sat 3 OCT 98
I now weigh 174 pounds and have officially lost 60 pounds on lowcarb since January 14, 98. I am pretty proud of myself :) Anyhoo, my size 14's are getting baggy in the butt and thighs, though not the waist so much, darn it!! I am wearing some Wranglers size 13/14 and have also worn a pair of 12s for longer than 5 minutes, but they had spandex in them so that really doesn't count
School is going like gangbusters and I am studying hard in order to be ready for my clinical rotation at UCSD Medical Center in February. My studies are challenging and highly interesting, it feels very right.
My pictures are not up yet but I am hoping that the end of October will see me able to post photos from August, September and October so you all can see my progress over the last few months.
Sat 06 Nov 1998
Okay so I haven't got my pix up yet, so sue me :) School is very, very intense and I don't know when I will have the time to get my pix up. Some good news to report: I broke 170! Official weight is 169.25 pounds. Even though I will not make my original goal by my birthday I am still pleased. If St. Ketosis is especially kind this month I hope to be in the 150's by my birthday in the first week of December. I doubt I will make it but it would be nice.
Tues Dec 29, 1998
Well, I did not break into the 150s but I do weigh 167.5 pounds. I had carbs for most of this month and I am not sorry I did. Okay, maybe just a little sorry :^) I am going on a meat fast, specifically tuna and mayo as I would like to hit the 75 pounds lost mark by my lowcarb anniversary of 14 Jan. Hard to believe it has been nearly a year since I began this journey in earnest. Though I had hoped to be at goal by my one year anniversary I am not the least bit upset at my progress thus far. 67 pounds is nothing to sneeze at and my occassional transgressions have only shown me that lowcarb for life will work for me. Sweets in general, especially commercially prepared sweets, have only shown me how incredibly sugary the American diet tends to be. I really don't miss them much and am happy to report that, for me, taking some time off of lowcarb does not equal immediately irreversible damage to my body. So to all those starting out and all those who have climbed back on the wagon after the holiday season, take note. Lowcarb is a lifestyle that can be flexible, the key is understanding what happens when you eat carbs and understanding what it is that you need to do to get going again.
As for school I received all A's this semester so my hard work did pay off.
Tues 26 Jan 99
As of this morning I have officially lost 70 pounds. I weighed in at 164. I am happy about this of course as it means I am only 24 pounds away from my weight goal of 140. Last time I measured, my body fat percentage was around 22.5%, my goal BF% is 18% but I am thinking of going for 15%. I have also decided to enter a fitness or weight competition next year, just so I can look back and say that I have done that. It isn't everyday that folks who weighed 234 pounds enter fitness competitions. I am not looking to win, but placing would be nice :)
School started up again for me last night. I got a tour of the hospital at which I will be doing one of my clinical rotations, boy I am excited!! I don't know how often I will be able to update my journal, I will not likely be able to make lengthy entries and such, but I will keep you folks informed of my progress both on the scale and off.
If you haven't done so already I would like to suggest that everyone losing weight start weight lifting, real weight lifting. No foo-foo three pound pink dumbbells either, real weights. If you can't join a gym go to your community college and sign up for beginning weight training. If that isn't possible buy some weights and start training, SAFELY, at home. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, lift weights.
Sunday 31 Jan 99
Well as of Friday morning I weighed in at 160.75 pounds. I am thrilled that the addition of a liquid sublingual yohimbe bark extract by Ulimate Nutrtion is helping me along. One of my cyber pals is very happy for me to be losing this last bit of weight so fast so he can have another person to say that weight loss does not necessarily slow to a crawl for everyone at the end of the journey. I can sincerely say I hope to be able to join him in this select group! I would love to be one of those who can say that the last 20-25 pounds came off quickly. Of course the real test of any WOE (way of eating) is maintaining weight once it has been lost. I don't see having a problem with that since I have been lowcarbing for a year and this is definitely something that I will be doing for life.
Happy Super Bowl Sunday to all!
30 March 99
Sorry I haven't written in awhile but I did warn y'all that I would be busy! Anyway please note that a I finally have some pics posted, they were taken in Dec 98, both of them :)
I weighed in last Thursday evening at 156.75, down 77.25 pounds total since 14 Jan 98. I am now a size 12 and starting to drift into some size 10's. Now many of you folks may know that "vanity sizing" become the norm earlier this decade. My goal size of size 7/8 is for a skirt I used to wear back in 1986, before vanity sizing (decreasing the label size of a garment so that what was a size 5 in say 1986 is now a size 1 or size 3)came into vogue. So even though I wear 10 I am still not able to get into all of the size 10's I have since they are from the 80's. But I am a size 10 which is feeling pretty good.
My exercise regimen is now 2-3 days of cardio (power walking) per week, 30-45 minutes per session. I also weight train doing a full body workout 2 times a week. My delts are looking pretty good, my forearms definitely have some shape to them. If you haven't started lifting already, what the heck are you waiting for?!!
Don't know when I will get a chance to update my journal but I will definitely update when I break 150.
Tuesday, June 29, 1999
Weight today 152.5, back down from 158 after eating pineapple upside down cake on Father's Day. Meat and water has my weight back down where it oughtta be in 8 short days. I love lowcarb!
My weight loss has slowed as I have not been walking everyday. Shame on me, I know power walking is the key for me. Yes I have lots of excuse, none of them any better than anyone elses. I just have to make the time.
Speaking of time, the time has come for me to bid au revoir until Sept, 99. I have completed my training (but not my education, I have big plans, ya know) and have accepted a position in Washington with an orthopedics practice. The surgeons are all very pleasant (but particular, what orthopedic surgeon isn't?) and I will enjoy working for them. My situation is such that I will be going up there sans 'puter and will not be available online until my family joins me in Sept. At that time I will post that I am at goal or I will not post at all.
Thanks for taking the time to read my journal. I hope it does for you what that long ago read journal of Pam's did for me. God Bless.
God Bless you.
K in Cali
