Well.

Ten weeks ago, Ashleigh, Mary, and I had this crazy Twitter conversation that resulted in the Losing It 10 competition. Maybe we were on a crazy post-Blissdom high or something.

I think we’ll be the first to admit that none of us lost a whole lot of weight. But it wasn’t all about that this time. I don’t feel dissatisfied with the results. Because I believe the three of us had a lot of heart-change when it comes to our weight. We saw the struggles we have. We faced demons. It’s been a wild ride for me.

And I don’t think we ever imagined that there would be other people who truly were inspired! I’ve been awestruck by the women who have taken the challenge and run with it. I can’t wait to see the percentages lost.

For me, I know I have to work out like crazy and practically starve myself to lose weight. It’s how I’ve always been. I don’t know why. I don’t know if it’s because I’ve messed up my body by losing and gaining, or I really eat more than I think I do, or I react badly to carbs. (Doing the South Beach Diet is the only time I’ve lost substantial weight.) I have to confess I weigh about the same as I did when we started this whole thing.

However.

I am drinking a lot more water and MUCH less soda. I’ve done exercises I’d never thought possible–running and Shredding! I feel better. I’m eating almost no processed food.

I count that as success.

Thanks for coming along on this journey with me. Kathy at House of Hills is going to continue to host Losing It Fridays, so make sure to subscribe to her blog and follow along!

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Some days, I think I should give up.

There are a lot of people who are perfectly fine with being overweight. Those ladies in bikinis with fat rolls hanging over the top, for instance. I can’t even remember the last time I had the courage to put on a bathing suit and wear it in public.

But I cannot let myself give in and just keep gaining more and more weight. Even if eating well and exercising means maintaining, I have to do it. For Libbie. For me. For my heart and my health.

I’ve always felt like I had to starve myself to lose even a pound. My body clings to the fat like gum to hair.

I think I might wait a month, or til the end of the 10 weeks to weigh myself again. I just can’t deal with it and I need to focus more on drinking water, eating the right things in appropriate quantities, and exercising.

I am so glad there are people truly running with it and losing because of this contest! I wish I were one of them. Life circumstances the last few weeks have kept me completely off-focus. But there’s nothing stopping me from continuing to take little steps toward the finish line.

I may never be 135 pounds. But I can be healthier tomorrow than I am today.

How did you do this week? Link up your post at Giving Up on Perfect, and don’t forget to visit Ashleigh at Heart and Home, too! If you have no clue what I’m talking about, read about the Losing It competition here.

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All I can say about this week is I don’t really want to talk about it. You can read here for a little bit about what is going on right now and why I will be MIA for a while.

That said, I did buy a new scale on Monday and from Tuesday to this morning it said I lost .66%. It is also weighing higher than my other scale, but oh well. So if I add the weight I lost in week 1 to this new weight (I know, it’s weird), it would be a total of 1.59%.

I ain’t gonna win with those numbers!

I really thought this contest would push me harder. I do think about what I am eating all the time, but it’s not been a good week for working out (possibly because Libbie hasn’t been napping).

So, cheers to a better next week.

How did you do this week? Link up your post at Giving Up on Perfect, and don’t forget to visit Ashleigh at Heart and Home, too! If you have no clue what I’m talking about, read about the Losing It competition here.

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As I sat down at the computer to write tonight, Mr. V asked me, “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t want to write my weight post this week,” I told him. “I didn’t do enough.”

Like the math teacher he is, his response was, “Well you should have considered that before the night before the test.”

I have a million excuses this week. Do you? Weather. Just feeling “off” and letting my depression get the best of me many days. Libbie is exercising her will. My knee hurts. Yada, yada, yada.

While I don’t know what the result will be when I step on the scale tomorrow morning (I am writing Thursday night), I know I haven’t done enough this week to make a big difference. I only did The Shred once this week despite my post last week extolling its virtues. I ate both Chinese buffet and a “down home” buffet (future post on buffets being from the devil in the works).

In the past, I probably would have forgotten it all and gone back to my non-exercising self, focusing only on what I want to eat at the time. But knowing I’ve committed to the next eight weeks here, exposing myself to you, sets me straight. I will continue to make baby steps–and those add up to big steps!

WEEKLY GOAL PROGRESS
Body weight percentage lost: I weighed myself 3 times this morning and got three different readings. Insert big, grouchy, cross-eyed look here. I will go with nothing lost this week. May buy a new scale as mine is old and I’m not sure it survived the move.
Sodas drank: 3
Water: didn’t drink as much as I should but some each day.
Exercise: 4/7
Whole foods: Other than the unknowns in the buffets and some instant mashed potatoes I wanted to use up, I was successful in sticking to my whole foods! Yay!

How did you do this week? Link up your post at Giving Up on Perfect, and don’t forget to visit Ashleigh at Heart and Home, too! If you have no clue what I’m talking about, read about the Losing It competition here.

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So here’s the thing. I have been overweight since I was 10 years old. That’s a lot of years–17+ in fact, since I am on the quick track to my 28th birthday. (Gasp. That number sounds so much like 30. Yikes.)

From elementary school on, my life has been littered with dieting and dropping and gaining. Heartache over being unable to shed the extra pounds. Knowledge that I thought should work and didn’t. And even some ephedrine (oops).

About a week and a half ago, I watched the first episode of this season’s Biggest Loser on our cable demand station. Then I watched another episode. And another. I found I couldn’t watch the episodes while sitting on the couch–I had to get up and walk with them!

Despite the hilarious product placement and the fact that is IS an entertainment show and they treat it as such, I found it really inspiring. I watched every episode of this season with a week.

And for some reason, for the first time in my life, I feel like I really could lose weight and be healthy. The switch to eating more whole foods has helped. I find I am actually full longer from eating whole grains, protein, and lots of fruit and veggies. Who woulda thunk it?

Becoming a SAHM has also helped me. I don’t just sit at my desk and eat from boredom. I can only eat what’s in my house unless I make a real concerted effort to leave (and with packing up the baby, that’s too much effort just to get Sonic. Most days!).

And lastly, being a mother has changed my mindset completely. Did I ever think I would be an extended breastfeeding advocate, cloth diaperer, whole foods eater? Not a chance. But I want the absolute best for Libbie and I don’t want her to deal with this struggle I’ve battled my entire life. One specific Biggest Loser scene really challenged me ever further to set an example for her–I can’t just teach her what I know, I have to live it out.

So for the next 10 weeks, Ashleigh, Mary, and I are going to host this sort-competition we call “Losing It (Not Just Our Sanity)”! While we won’t be sharing our specific weights, we will be sharing how we have met our health goals each week and be challenging you to set goals for yourself and link up each week! (The link-up will be at Giving Up on Perfect, but you’ll be able to click over from here if you’d like.) We WILL be sharing percentage of body weight lost.

I think it’s a great opportunity to hold each other accountable for reaching those healthy goals–and losing some weight along the way! Here are the goals I’ll be trying to reach each week:

• Drink water. Maximum of one soft drink a week.
• Exercise or reach 10,000 steps five times a week.
• Avoid processed foods and stick to whole grains.
• My short-term goal is to lose 31 pounds. That’s not likely to happen in 10 weeks, but I’ll try to give it a good jumpstart!

Did I mention there are prizes? Anyone who links up six of the ten weeks will be eligible to win a six-month subscription to The Six O’Clock Scramble, a meal planning service; a Weight Watchers pedometer; and a gift card to Dick’s Sporting Goods. The winner? The person who loses the biggest percentage of body weight! We assume you’ll be honest … because we’re going to be all out there.

Good luck! Go over to Giving Up on Perfect and link up your healthful goals for this competition!

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