Before and After - Photo Logging

Do you keep visual reminders of what was and what now is? I do. I highly recommend it as a matter of fact! It's not too late to start unless you already reached your losing end point.

What I do...
1. Take a face shot once a week (usually Saturday in the same location with the same lighting) and post in a facebook album. This permits me to flip through the album and see the progression of my face and features slimming or changing in good ways. I can also do some good side-by-sides after a while.
2. At the beginning and every month or so, take a profile shot. Look at that chin shrink!
3. Take pictures of your bigger clothing to show how much you have shrunk. :-)

Do you do anything like this? Please share!

Some examples of mine...

 Compiled 3.22.12

 Losing inches!!!

 Size 24 ---> 20

Health - Overweight Effects

Every body handles excess weight differently. What are some problems you have had because of excess lbs? (Feel free to post in the comments section if you'd like...) I'll tell you a few of the problems I've had and the solutions I've found.

Knees

My knees started screaming at me. I acquired creaky sounds and excruciating pain that would wake me in the middle of the night and leave me near paralyzed. This flared up really badly during curling season because of the way one delivers the stone... and this was when I would curl 4-5 times a week. Then, two years later, I decided to try a Couch to 5K (C25K) program and went home each night with swollen knees and the inability to move much. I found that buying knee support braces and wearing them during runs would keep the blood/fluid flowing and would prevent swelling and pain after exercise. The last thing I needed was an excuse not to exercise!! I have a feeling that as I lose weight, this problem will become less. If not, at least I have my braces to help me through. 

Heartburn

Can you believe I've had heartburn since the end of my middle school years? I couldn't figure out why I got it so frequently (numerous times a day) or why Tums just weren't working. In high school, I had an upper GI done and found that I had GERD. I still didn't really put the whole puzzle together and didn't change my eating habits. In college, I switched to using ranitidine (generic Zantac), but I had to take twice the recommended dose to get it to work. Since moving down South for work a year and a half ago, I've had less frequent heartburn problems, but it still hadn't gone away and boy was I frustrated. I realized about 15 days ago that I had only gotten heartburn ONE TIME since the start of the new year. The change? Eating habits. Yes, it sounds obvious... but that is because it is! Eating more healthfully and reducing the amount of greasy, fried, and acidic foods makes such a difference. Heartburn is your body's way of saying, "NO THANK YOU" even though your taste buds may be greedily saying "MORE! MORE!" My grandma died when I was in college because she developed cancer of the esophagus. It was a terrible way to die. She had heartburn from a young age but didn't change her diet or take it very seriously. That will not happen to me.

Fatigue/Depression

No exercise and eating poorly is a dangerous combination. Not exercising leads my body to become tired on a daily basis and gives me more time sitting at home craving foods (whether stress-related or boredom-related). Lacking energy leads me to depression. Boosting happy hormones in my body happens through exercise. Also, knowing I did something positive for myself makes me feel happier, so positive food and exercise choices literally make me smile. I feel weak and defeated when cravings have control over me. So basically, I've been able to combat both fatigue and depression by making positive nutrition and exercise choices. I also have come to the realization that I am worth it. :-D Journaling and blogging are great outlets!

Thank you for reading!

"I once was lost, but now am found... was blind, but now I see..."

Will the real Slim Shady please stand up?

For much of my life, I've been (or at least felt like) "the fat kid". Yeah, there have been short periods of time where something causes me to slim down (like track and field in middle school or converting to vegetarianism in college)... but inevitably I would balloon back up to 200-ish lbs. I would get frustrated with myself because of my lack of commitment to making myself healthy and/or thin. I admired people with perfectly sculpted bodies and felt angry and jealous. And wondered what in the hell was wrong with me.

This year I am grabbing life by the balls and making it what I want so I can enjoy my life the way I want it. I'll pretend like it's a spin off from my emotional healing process. Heck, maybe it's not even a spin off. Maybe a continuation.

Regardless... I returned to my apartment after Christmas Break with my family in the Midwest to find that I had gained 6 pounds... in ten days. I ate like a glutton. I disgusted myself with all of the sweets and food I ate, yet I was the one who put the food there and was the only one to blame for the result. I returned home weighing 215 lbs. The heaviest weight my body has ever felt was 224 in college. And here I was, climbing back up there again. I deemed it unacceptable and decided to make

the biggest decision of my life... 

I was going to get healthy!

Yeah, yeah... you're saying "Everyone says that..." or "Nobody keeps New Year's Resolutions..." FYI, this was no stinkin' resolution! This was for REAL. My friend told me about a site she had started using to log calories and exercise on and she invited me to join her. I thought "what the hell--may be useful", so I signed up. Lo and behold, I loved it. It was like Facebook for people trying to get their lives together. All of these amazing, supportive people trying to kick their bad habits, eat well, exercise more, and encourage each other. How easy it would be to get jealous of someone else who has lost 2 lbs the day you gain 1 lb.  And yet, that component of evil isn't there. It's so positive--strangers embracing strangers in common journeys. I can't tell you how much I love the site and the people. The site gives you access to charts and graphs that track your progress. To date, I've lost just over 27 lbs... I have 48 more pounds to go! More exercise, better choices, naughty foods in moderation... the whole bit. I am there. Every success makes me feel more and more empowered. I know I can do this, and I know I will. If you had asked me a year ago if this was possible, I would have laughed in your face... but now I'm laughing in my past's face. And boy does it feel good.

Website referenced: www.loseit.com
(There is also an Android App -- to use on a phone or Kindle!)