So here we are – as of this morning, I am at 199 lbs, with a total weight loss of 25 lbs. I’m frustrated. I can’t lie – I’m very, very frustrated. My weight has been up, down, up up up, down…I know that the weight gain was in part of medicine & I’d rather be carrying those 10 lbs & be able to enjoy my son. But it doesn’t stop bouts of frustration over how much harder it is right now to lose the weight. I don’t know if my meds are messing with my metabolism, only that one major side-effect is weight gain.
It’s hard. Because I make goals, I try so hard to stick to them, & I’m not really seeing any fruits of the labor. But I’m sticking to it & maybe, just maybe, I’ll have a breakthrough. Or at the very least, be ever-so-thankful that I’m not gaining. I’m back on the right path, when you look at the entire chart as a whole:
See how it’s going back down?
side note: some of those recent higher weights were taken at night. because sometimes I weigh myself too often.
I keep telling myself to look at the big picture – the baby weight is off. I’ve lost 25 lbs. I’m happy with my son. I’m sticking to my plan. I’m under 200 lbs. Things are moving in the right direction. I should be happy with my success….but I’m not. Not right now. I’m frustrated. & I’m very frustrated at what a difference those 10 lbs between 189lbs and 199lbs make. They make an entire dress size. A big difference in my arms.
I’m sorry. I’m totally bumming y’all out right now, aren’t I?
I should shut up. & just show you what I eat for dinner, or something frivolous like that:
I know, it doesn’t look like much, does it? That’s a) because I had already swiped some of my veggies before remembering to take the picture & b) because our perceptions of portions are so blown out of the water. It is hard for me to reconcile that I’m not SUPPOSED to knock back half a large pizza on my own – that what I see on my plate is the pizza I’m supposed to eat. A slice. Or two.
Not to be chased down with a cupcake.
In McFatty news, I’m VERY excited to attend a session on fitness/weight-loss blogging & motivation at Blogher. VERY excited, all caps necessary. I cannot wait to pick the brains of people that have this down pat, that know how to motivate & be interesting & actually do correct yoga poses. & hopefully it will make McFatty more enjoyable for everyone.
meh. There I go being all Eeyore again. Can you tell that I spilled something down my dress this morning & didn’t get enough coffee? Because I can.
::pours cup of coffee & slaps self across the face::
o
required disclaimer: i am being supplied with nutrisystem food by nutrisystem, free of cost to me. sweet, right? but i assure you, i began nutrisystem on my own in january, spent my own money for 4 months, & fully endorse the program. i’m just thankful that they’ll be helping me out on my last leg of the journey! to join me on the Nutrisystem program and to receive a special offer, call 1-877-704-0597 or click here.
Your dinner looks delicious and head up girl, you’ve lost 25lbs. That’s awesome.
You’re doing an amazing job, and it’s so easy to see how much you have slimmed down. I’m sure it’s super hard to see success across the board when you’re measuring it from so many different angles, but trust me – you are succeeding.
25 pounds is great – just keep going! I totally understand your frustration and wish the scale would just work with me. But, do what you are doing and it will pay off!
I am struggling this week too. Food sucks. Big time.
http://www.ajdplusthree.com/2010/08/breakdown.html
While Nutrisystem is a great start, I’d encourage you to check your caloric intake vs. your BMR and RMR. SO many people fall into the trap of not eating enough, thus hitting a plateau. If your activity level goes up, you need to eat more, not the same. My guess is that you’ve hit a point in time where you’re in starvation mode and not going to go anywhere. How many calories are you eating a day? From what you’ve posted from your NS graphs, it looks like maybe 1500, max. For most women, that’s not enough; your body needs to take in calories in order to burn calories.
bud, those last 10 pounds are ALWAYS A BITCH
That’s awesome! Way to go girl!
Oh honey, you are doing a FANTASTIC JOB!! I know that it’s hard to stick with a plan and you are doing so good at it. There will be times where you will plateau a bit but you are doing a kick ass job. Just keep thinking of how much you’ve lost already. You’re almost there!!! Weight is just a number. It is more important on how you feel and I am sure that you are feeling so much better. No one looks at someone and says “Oh, they must weigh like xyz pounds” they look at someone and say “Wow, she looks rockin in those jeans”… you look hawt momma!
PS. The meds suck balls big time. I take 4 and I know that one is a huge culprit for weight gain. Not sure if it is a metabolisim thing or not. For me it’s the chocolate pop tarts I eat at breakfast. Those are healthy right?!
I think you are doing a great job, and you will start to see more success if you stick to your plan. I just wanted to mention my experience, since it might relate to yours… in my life, when I am going through depression, I lose weight. I don’t have to work at it, and the weight falls off. (Probably because my appetite plummets, and I don’t eat much.) Throughout my life, this has been the pattern. I don’t usually recognize it when I’m in the thick of it, but when I look back at the “skinny” periods of my life, those are the periods when I was going through the worst bouts of depression. When the weight starts coming back on is when I’m working my way out of the black hole. Your weight chart is interesting… do you see a correlation between when your weight went up and you started feeling more normalish/better?
Heather, absolutely. I lost weight even faster without barely trying when I was at my most sick. Then coming out of the hospital, I put on 5 lbs immediately, then it just kept climbing up another 5-10 lbs. There is definitely a correlation!
Hey I have been working on the last 15 lbs for I don’t know 6 months. Bleh, depressing. Oh well, let me give you a morsel of advice that I have learned over the years. Pick a day and hour, I vote morning, and thats when you weigh and then you put the scale in a drawer or closest and not touch again until the next week. For me, I get all depressed on myself if I keep checking my weight all the time. But thats just me.
http://www.thereelfamilyblog.com/2010/08/running-to-september-30th.html
Congrats sweet BA you are doing great, keep it up! It will pay off, it will.
I think you look fabulous. You and I are about the same weight and you and your healthy eating and determination are my inspiration. I took up training for the 5k so I could also be on a weight loss program and I have not lost ONE DAMN POUND. I know my eating habits aren’t the best, but they are still better than before I had Eddie–when I was LOSING weight, so I just don’t get it. Maybe my Celexa is a culprit? I just feel like a major mcfatty and it’s wearing on my self-esteem. Sigh…
You look so good. I want to believe that i do too.
You are doing awesome! The last 10lbs always seem to take forever.
My baby girl will be here next week and I look forward to joining McFatty Monday as soon as I’m cleared by my doctor.
As a society our idea of portion sizes is so incredibly skewed it’s ridiculous! We’re all about getting bang for our buck so we’ve been trained to expect (and eat) massive quantities of food.
You’re doing great! Sorry for the crap Monday. And don’t forget, you’ve got a husband that thinks you’re rawr
You are doing awesome. I know it’s easy to get frustrated…just try to keep the big picture in focus. Having a good time and being HEALTHY about it are really what matters. The weight will come off…your body is just focusing on your head and not your arms.
also, do you think maybe it’s time to try something other than nutrisystem for a bit? Maybe go on to a temporary weight watchers type of mentality or plan? This way you’re not feeling quite as deprived… plus, it doesn’t look like you’re eating enough fat at all if that’s what they call dinner. Again, I think you’re doing amazing and as I’ve said, you’ve 100% been my inspiration. Today I’m at 187, which has been where I’ve been off and on for the past month. Never less, but always at least 187. UGHHHHHHH
I’m going to BlogHer, too, and I want to meet you!
You are doing great, and 25lbs is a HUGE milestone!! I am struggling trying to make it to my first 15, but you keep me motivated. Keep at it!
http://aquivieneelsol.blogspot.com/2010/08/mcfatty-monday-080210.html
I know it’s frustrating but just keep with it! Have you ever read Jenny McCarthy’s book after she gave birth to her son? That really helped me (is helping me) with trying to lose weight. It comes off in the weirdest of ways. Some weeks are GREAT and then some…it just doesn’t happen. these weeks are the most important ones…if you stick with it, it WILL come off. I promise!!
I usually don’t comment on your McFatty posts, however I do want to say great job on what you have done so far! Have you tried shaking up your diet? I do WW and when I hit a plateau for a couple of weeks, I switch from “points” to “core”. Sometimes you need to shock your system (change in food, exercise routine, etc.) to get it jump started again. Just a thought.
Don’t get too hung up on it. I’ve decided that while giving up a workout may not be great, it’s an hour more (of usually already limited time) with the lil one. Some people may not agree, but at the end of the day, her smile is better than a cupcake I’d prob eat if I worked out.
I know your pain. The up and down weight and slowed metabolism because of meds is SO hard. I don’t know how many nights I just cried because no matter what I did it just wouldn’t go away.
Plateauing just makes feel like all your hard work is for nothing. Hang in there, it’s a process just like everything else.
I hope the rest of your Monday treats you well.
I understand what you mean but I can look at you and say good job but can’t for the life of me be happy with myself! We had a vacation to Lake Michigan this weekend and I was depressed the whole time sitting there in my cover up watching skinny minnies walk by UGH! Good luck this week and have a blast at BlogHer.
http://nicolesspirit878.blogspot.com/
Could it be possible you aren’t eating ENOUGH? That can happen when you stop losing weight, but are still “doing all the right things”. That dinner, regardless of portion sizes, looks awful (and I love healthy food). Where is the lean protein, whole grains, etc?
It’s possible that I’m not eating enough!! Nutrisystem is putting me in touch with their Nutrition & Dietary folks to help me sort out what’s going on & figure out a way to break the frustration – woot!!
Keep it up! You’re right – the chart is headed back down and pretty soon you’ll be right where you left off before.
http://andpuppydogstales.blogspot.com/2010/08/mcfatty-monday-week-11.html
I know it gets frustrating, but keep up the good work! You’re amazing and you’ve lost a lot of weight so far.
Oh, and I totally understand the pizza eating thing. I love pizza and have to stop myself from eating so much of it when I let myself have it!
I bet that is it, Blair. Sometimes not even adding a ton of calories in, just changing up your food (sorry, but that pizza thing looks gross and like there is nothing nutritious about it whatsoever) can help. One good thing about pure, wholesome foods (think tons of veggies, brown rice, 100%whole wheat pasta, lean meats, etc. ) is that you can eat way more than a pre portioned meal that is full of refined grains and chemicals simply b/c you get more food for the same calories…and way more nutrition. Your body may be telling you that you need something more like that right now.
I bet that people that eat the “wholesome” foods are eating too much. People assume that because it’s from the Earth or “organic” that it’s healthy and you can eat as much as you want. Calories are calories. And there’s still calories in “wholesome” food.
Oh and really, most people eat WAY more fresh fruits and veggies on Nutrisystem than on other “portioned” meals. The servings you’re intended to have of fruits and veggies through the day is HUGE.
It understandable to get frustrated at time, but you’re doing so great! You look great! We all have our moments when we feel down. Have fun at BlogHer!
http://diamondsonthefloor.blogspot.com/2010/08/goodbye-july.html
Have you considered addressing with your therapist the reason WHY you want to overeat, or feel the need to eat an entire pizza in one sitting (followed by cupcakes)? There are some serious psychological underpinnings to a person’s relationship with food, such as filling a void, offering comfort, a way of suppressing unpleasant emotions, etc. You can even figure out what emotions are so unpleasant to you based on what types of foods you crave (crunch/salty usually = anger, sweet/creamy usually = sadness).
And based on everything you’ve been through (and even before the baby), I think it’s worth exploring.
Ultimately, it’s really just food. It’s your relationship with it that makes it problematic.
Wow, Alena – that felt like a stab at me. Yes, of course you can eat too much of anything…duh. But it’s really hard to eat too many calories of vegetables, brown rice, and chicken, vs. pizza bagels. And for the same amount of calories you are going to get yourself way more veg/brown rice/chicken. It’s simple volumetrics. I was just trying to tell her that if you are eating such small portions of things that aren’t all that healthy (are you really going to argue with me that a, what looks like in the photo, white bread pizza sandwich type deal (with sauce that probably has chemicals in it of some kind, same with the bread) and not losing weight, maybe you need to change up the food in combination of eating a bit more calories as well so your body thinks it’s getting more (volumetrics again!) and not thinking it needs to go into starvation mode. I’d rather have “two servings” of something super healthy vs. 1 tiny serving of something not healthy at all if they are the same amount of calories. This is of course, IN GENERAL….sure every once in awhile we’ll all choose a tiny brownie over a big plate of veggies and brown rice, but as a way to eat? No way – give me more of the healthy food and less of the junk. That’s all I was trying to say.
As for assuming you can eat as much as you want b/c it’s from the earth or organic (which I didn’t even bring up….?) yes, I’d urge you to find someone who is going to tell you to portion control broccoli. Because unless you’re eating it by the freezer full, you’d have to consume way more than any one person would probably be able to stomach in one sitting to get too many calories from broccoli.
I don’t even know you, just your name. Ohhhh wait…maybe I do know you. It wasn’t a stab AT you as much as it’s what I have seen being said over and over and it’s just not true.
Not all fruits and veggies can be eaten endlessly. Obviously. And obviously….Nutrisystem gave me results, and has been giving BA results. Like I said on my site last week, people who have harsh things to say about Nutrisystem haven’t seen the book of ALL THE STUFF you’re eating with it. Is it the healthiest option? No, probably not. But I’m not going to eat all organic and I don’t generally have the healthiest diet. So for me, it was actually forcing a healthier diet than I had before.
I was eating pizza before Nutrisystem, and I seriously doubt that Papa Johns is healthier in any way than my Nutrisystem pizza.
I’ve been following your blog for a long time and this is the first time I’m commenting. I highly suggest you read Women, Food and God by Geneen Roth. I really think it would help you immensely. Good Luck, your son is adorable!
1. Never did I say eat unlimited anything, not even veggies, to what you responded to. I simply said she could eat MORE than a tiny pre portioned meal, for likely the same calories. And you may see that “over and over” but it IS true. Of course it depends on what you are eating, but in general, eating healthy foods like that you are given the opportunity to eat more of them b/c of energy density. Like I said, look up volumetrics and you will see what I am talking about. This is NOT about organic vs. pre packaged food, it’s about volumetrics. I don’t care if you or BA or anyone else eats organic or not – not the point. I didn’t even bring that up, you did.
Yes, you had results and she had results. I’m happy for both of you…but this post wasn’t “look how much weight I am continuing to lose on NS – YAY!!!!!” unfortunately the post was that she was at a plateau and wasn’t losing weight even though she was doing what she was supposed to be. Hence comes in possibly needing to eat more or different foods. Possibly more calories and/or possibly just more VOLUME (of even the same amount of calories) so her body doesn’t think “I’m starving”. It’s a pretty simple concept and nothing against you or NS.
I’m so proud of you Blair. Life kicks your butt and you kick it right back.
McFatty Monday is my favorite day of the week. I too am struggling with weight loss and portion control and no good very bad days. Knowing that some one else out there feels the same way helps me keep my feelings in check.
It isn’t always hearts, rainbows and sunshine. Sometimes it just plain sucks!
You inspire me. You inspire all of us.
You are amazing! I’m trying to lose weight and it’s hard enough–but add in a husband, job and little kiddo and MAN does that make it even harder…I can’t even imagine. 25 pounds is a lot to lose, but I know how you feel – those last few pounds are the hardest. I’m trying to lose my last 7 pounds and boy do they feel like an UNlucky seven. just keep your head up… and sometimes it helps me to try on old jeans and see how big they are now.
P.S. would LOVE to know if you glean any interesting little tidbits at the Blogher conference about the diet/fitness blogging!! Have a great time!
http://blog.jockey.com/category/the-skinny-on-amanda/
Spot on with the portion thing, when I actually follow the serving suggestion on items, I look at it and think, really, my nine month old son would want more than this, leaving him slapping the tray and throwing his sippy at me because god forbid his ankle rolls go away( no really, god forbid, I want those things there forever..but I’m rambling)
But it does help! And from your pictures and your progress reports, you are doing so well girl, and you just have to remember that the weight IS coming off, and the result is a healthier, happier you, and it shows.
I know how discouraging it is when the scale doesn’t move. SO FRUSTRATING!! Sometimes I’m just not in the mood to buckle down, and if I am doing everything I should and i’m still not losing, well that’s even worse!
You’re still inspiring all of us, and illustrating a real weight loss journey. We’ve all experienced these moments, and anyone who hasn’t yet will soon.
It helps me stay motivated by monitoring other aspects of the experience that I consider “progress”. Not gaining over the past weeks is hugely successful. And losing (even in small increments) is something to be proud of!
I’m looking forward to hearing what you learn at the Blogher session you mentioned.
Do you mind if I still post my Momma’s Monday Check-in here? http://marblesrolling.blogspot.com/2010/07/mommas-monday-check-in-440.html
Let me know
You are awesome and you look amazing! Keep going! I hate being healthy but I love being skinny. Hmmm…2 things that only go together if one also enjoys doing a little crack cocaine on the side. Must be why 7 months after giving birth I’m still wearing maternity jeans…
The scale is my crack. I seriously weigh myself *many* times a day when I’m at home. I understand.
Do you think once you’re off the reservation that the weight comes back? I know each time I’ve gone off Nutrisystem for a day (and not gone crazy–I swear!) I gain a couple of pounds back. It scares me that I’m going to work so hard to lose the weight and it will all come back as soon as I stop Nutrisystem.
I had Turkey Tetrazinni tonight. Oh gawd. *retches at the memory*
I know monday is almost over but I got it written!!
http://laceyslaughablelife.blogspot.com/2010/08/mcfatty-monday-week-3-skinny-jeans.html
Jaci-IDK if you’re even going to come back & check. And I can’t speak for her…but my weight didn’t come back after ending nutrisystem. Even with 4th of July weekend food. I think I really pay more attention to how big the portions are than I ever have before. And I feel like I really have to protect the investment I put into it. I also check out their website for recipes of people who have maintained for years. It helps!
Just so you know, your weight loss was part of my inspiration to start losing weight myself. It’s been motivating to see another mom start a change in their lifestyle and succeed. I love watching the weight loss shows and all that fancy business, but know that you’re a normal mom with a crazy schedule gave me a big boost to start up a weight loss program myself (Now down 18 lbs!). 25 lbs is awesome. Pat yourself on the back!
You’re doing great on your health quest! And good idea to take picture of food (I do it for all my food… but that’s what my blog is about
)… I think it’s important to show other people what healthy plates are supposed to look like!