"One of my New Year's wishes was to shed some of the weight I had gained during my pregnancy with Little Monster, and so in my attempt to do so, I felt it was harder to hide late night snacking and lack of motivation if I put myself on the line and in the spotlight. Every Friday, I will be sharing my weight loss journey (including my successes and failures), as well as delicious recipes, meal ideas, and exercise suggestions. Join me if you accept the challenge to lose weight and gain a healthier life! (Don't forget to grab my button in the sidebar)"
Stephanie from over at The Adventures of Goober Grape and Monkey Man has such an inspiring weight loss story, I wanted her over here at Six Cherries on Top to share it with all of you.
Stephanie is a mother of a {beautiful} son and daughter and enjoys blogging about her weight loss journey every week through a series called McFatty Monday. Enjoy her story as she tells of her struggles to lose weight and how she has been able to stay on track to achieve her goals. She truly is an amazing woman!
Please welcome Stephanie as she shares her story...
I was heavy before I got pregnant. I had let myself go and was eating terribly for a long time. Too many Chipotle burritos and frozen custard at Ritter's. ;) I also got this hideously bad haircut which showcased my lovely weight gain, so I was well aware of how big I had become.
right before getting pregnant - 220 pounds
I didn't step on a scale for a long, long time because I knew the numbers were going to scare me. I just tried to hide the fact that I was getting bigger with baggier shirts and pants (my height helped with it a little...I'm 6ft1"). The day I found out I was pregnant, I stepped on the scale and was horrified to read 220 pounds. I tried not to think about how big I was GOING to get after having the Man. But I ate with wild abandon and the weight started piling on. The last size maternity pants that I purchased were size 18, but they were SO incredibly tight on me. I had to wear them extremely low on my hips. Lord help the person that was standing behind me if I had to bend over.
Back at work in December 2008 - approx. 240 pounds
After having my son, I weighed in at 269 pounds. Embarrassing is a word that comes to mind. Huge also comes to mind. I felt like a whale most of the time and hated the fact that I had gotten so incredibly...BIG. I looked like I had eaten another version of me. I tried to brush it out of my mind, but as I got closer to the date that I had to go back to work and it looked like I was still very much pregnant, I felt like a huge loser.
I will never forget the tone of voice I heard when I called a friend to excitedly tell them that I was able to fit in a size 22 pant at Lane Bryant. The amusement in their voice hurt. The fact that I KNEW my weight was being talked about hurt even more. I was still trying hard to lose the weight and tried in vain to be proud that I was wearing non-maternity clothes. I wasn't sure how or when I was going to be comfortable with my appearance, so when I walked back into work in the 240's range wearing a size 22 pant, I know I was being side-eyed.
The weight loss started out slow. I lost 3 pounds here and there and eventually found myself in a size 20 pant. I tapered off there for awhile, and right before I lost my job someone said something that has stuck with me to this day:
"Why even bother losing weight? You're a Mom now. No one cares what you look like."
Well, *I* cared what I looked like, and the comment greatly pissed me off. I had the best intentions to start hard core weight loss right then and there, but then the unexpected happened and I lost my job. Those 8 weeks where I was a stay-at-home Mom were rough on my mind, but I stayed busy and did a lot of walking with the Man.
Disney Cruise September 2009 - 195 pounds
After I started my new job, I started working even harder on losing the weight. I was in a size 18 pant and was at 230. I set a goal of getting down to 195 pounds before our cruise on September 24th, 2009. I signed up with Sparkpeople and began tracking my calories and workouts daily. I'm not going to lie; calorie counting is NOT fun sometimes. I made sure to make my days filled with food that was low calorie such as salads, wraps, and omlettes. There were a lot of times that I wanted to slip up and have a free-for-all with food. Every Friday at work is Donut Day and the breakroom is filled with the delicious aroma of freshly made donuts. But, I knew if I had one...just one...it would set me back easily by at least 300 calories. And it wasn't worth it.
Disney Cruise May 2010 - 177 pounds
I also started working out with something called the 30 Day Shred. I CAN NOT STRESS ENOUGH JUST HOW AWESOME THIS WORKOUT IS! And it's only 30 minutes every day! Perfect for a full time working parent. There was literally no excuse for me to not do this workout. The results were almost immediate. Within days I could feel a difference in my pants and the way that my hips looked. I started to feel more confident, and my coworkers were noticing a change. The day before our cruise I weighed in at 195 pounds...not too shabby. I had been hoping for that additional 5 pound weight loss, but wasn't upset that I had lost 74 pounds by that point.
I let myself sit at 195 for awhile. Too long. A few weeks ago, I wondered if I could get back down to my high school weight, which was 170 pounds. I figured why not? I could easily do it. I just had to tell myself that it WAS possible and not give up. I trotted the 30 Day Shred back out and started watching calories again. As of today, I am sitting at 176 pounds. That’s 93 pounds gone and NEVER coming back!
before & after
The biggest difference to me is in my face. I feel like I can see my old self coming out again. My attitude has been leaps and bounds better, and I'm hoping that I'll continue to steadily lose weight. I signed up for Virgin Healthmiles through work. Our company is paying for it for any employees who wanted to participate, and offered $300 to all employees who could average 7,000 steps a day for a year. Why not?! I can do that. You can hook it up to your computer and download your steps once a day or every couple of days, and it tracks it all for you. Hey, it's free money, a free product, and I'm already walking and exercising, right? :) A bunch of other coworkers have signed up for the program, so I'm sure having the additional support will be a huge help.
I've been receiving numerous questions about how I've lost my weight so far. I'll admit, it hasn't been easy. The most simple answer is this: watching calories, exercising, and exercising a LOT of patience. I stepped foot into a gym ONCE in the last year. The rest of the exercising was done at home via DVDs or running. I just didn't see the need to purchase an expensive gym membership. I've done the Biggest Loser work out, the 30 Day Shred (my biggest favorite), Gilad work outs and have recently started P90X. And running after two kids is a huge calorie burner, too :)Let me give you a little bit of advice: there WILL be times when you fail. There WILL be times when you are stuck at the same weight for long periods of time. There WILL be times where you just can't muster up the energy to do a work out. But, there WILL always be another day, there WILL always be another chance, and you WILL always be able to do it. Don't get discouraged! It happens to the best of us. :)
I think the best thing about my blogging about weight loss is how many emails and comments I've received from people telling me how I've inspired them. I am always so incredibly happy to hear that someone decided it was their time to start weight loss, simply because they had a good time reading my DVD reviews. I hope that each of you has success in your weight loss journey, and if I can ever be of assistance in any way (be it words of support, ideas, etc.) just drop me an email. I'm always glad to help!!
You can visit Stephanie at her blog, The Adventures of Goober Grape and Monkey Man and follow her every Monday on McFatty Monday for more great weight loss stories and ideas.
If you would like to be featured on Fat Butt Friday for your weight loss successes, please email me at moore8usa(at)yahoo(dot)com. I would love to share your inspiring story with other readers.
