I’m sick of being fat.
I think I cheated on the angle on this one
This is not a post looking for sympathy or for people to tell me I’m not fat. I’m fat and I don’t intend to let it substantially effect my self esteem (first person to try to tell me I’m not fat is gonna get smacked). BUT, I’m over feeling uncomfortable in my clothes and carting around all this extra weight when I run. Also, I don’t love what I see in the mirror (but at least I’m not a butter face!). I want to feel good about how I look.
Also, I feel like my weight might be what’s keeping me from getting pregnant. It feels good to admit that.
Hi, I’m Sarah and I weigh 226 pounds.
Yay for love handles.
I’ve actually gained about 5 pounds since the half (way less exercise and eating everything I see). I need to figure out how to moderate my eating, which is a lot more complicated than it sounds. I eat for stress relief, entertainment and to cope. I’ve always done that, except for the few years in college where I just didn’t eat because I was a vegan.
And therein lies my other food problem. I’m an incredibly picky eater and I hate healthy food. I choke down veggies cause I’m supposed to, but I hate most of them and I only eat a select few. Of course, they all taste pretty darn good with cheese, but that is not a particularly calorie conscious way to eat them.
More vegetables, less cheese!
So, here’s where I need your help. What’s your favorite healthy recipe? Extra super bonus points for healthy lunch ideas. What’s your favorite calorie tracking site? Anyone ever tried the FitBit or Body Bugg?
If you click on this picture, I will cut you.
In an attempt to jump start my weight loss, I’m enrolling in the Strong Body by Rebecca Cyber Training program (there’s 2 links there, btw). I am getting a free month because I’m awesome (that is the reason, right RB?), but honestly I hit this point coincidentally at the same time as my free month starts. The program includes workouts and meal planning, so this should be a great way to kick off some weight loss if I can stick to it. Also, the meals actually look like they will be good and she planned around my food allergies. Also, also, she’s working with my running schedule, which makes my life 8 billionty times easier.
Any advice for staying motivated? I’m hoping you all will help force me to stay accountable. I plan to be 100% honest about all this, but I know weight loss blogging can get boring, so I’ll probably try to pick a check-in day of the week and not jam everything down your throats. Do you get annoyed with weight loss blogging?
Running On Words 
My favorite calorie counting website is livestrong.com..its really easy to use and very accurate! Weighing in once a week (not more) helps to keep you accountable! Good luck, if this is really your goal you will succeed!
Oh, lord. Will you email me? I started out at 225. So, yeah. Know how you feel.
chelsea.c at gmail dot com
You’re not fat….[waiting for you to come to MD to try to fight me. I will CRUSH you in battle]
Can you get one of those t-shirts that says “I beat anorexia” before you lose the weight? For some reason, those amuse me…endlessly.
I know the best (and biggest pain in the ass) way to lose weight: write down EVERYthing you eat (the amount and when you eat it) and add up the calories. I’m a cheap bastard, so I’d do it in Excel, but I’m sure there are websites out there that do it for you. But seriously, the act of measuring and writing it down is key. Because really, South Beach or Cookie Diet, it’s really about creating a deficit.
I can lend you my baby. She won’t let you eat.
One of my best friends started weight watchers at 298 and it worked wonders for her. When I used to diet I wrote everything down, weight myself once a week (wednesday mornings) it was pretty obessesive, but cannot argue with the results. For me its not exercise its diet, I make bad choices. once I watch my diet Im good. Also this is what got me hooked on coke zero because it was the only sweet thing my diet allowed. P.s eggs are amazing, cheap, so filling and 75 calories
Oh gosh. The writing down of everything you eat works for some; not for me. My senior year of college I was about 15 pounds heavier than the year prior. I tried the writing down of everything but it seriously just made me think about food ALL THE TIME.
I’d definitely try it if you think it might be for you but don’t get discouraged. What worked for me to lose the pounds? (I was already working out 5 days a week). I dumped my loser boyfriend 🙂 you’re married so you don’t have that problem.
I really am not helping at all so I’ll shut up now.
Sarah,
You can do this. My favorite healthy lunch is 3 slices of turkey on half a slice of whole wheat bread, baby carrots, an Apple an a 100 calorie pack for something sweet. Sparkpeople.com is a good site for tracking. Writing it down does help. When I lost my weight, I put a small journal in.the kitchen and whenever I was in there when I wasn’t physically hungry I wrote my feelings in it. I dropped.100 lbs on Weight watchers, that said I.have put 30 of that back and am back on track to lose that. Please feel free to e-mail if you want to chat more!
I had success using Weight Watchers in the past, but I found going to meetings kept me more accountable than just doing it online. My favorite healthy lunch is a bowl of homemade soup (lentil, vegetable, potato, black bean), a yogurt, and a piece of fruit.
I have to admit that I get annoyed with weight loss blogging or with people who post on FB constantly about how many Weight Watchers points they just ate or earned or how Body for Life day 27 is going. I prefer to read about people who lose weight as a result of making healthier choices than 30 Day Shred. I find this especially annoying when the person is well within the healthy BMI range and is obsessed with losing 20 pounds. It just makes me sad.
You are awesome. I can’t wait to follow you as you kick major ass!!! 🙂 I have used sparkpeople before and liked it well enough. Go get em girl!! 😉
I also can not wait to follow and be part of your journey! I will be here for encouragement!!! I agree with Sparkpeople.com as a good site.
This post is pretty incredible and honest! Awesome job posting!
Here’s my favorite healthy recipe (note: use natural pb and whole wheat pasta) http://runningricig.blogspot.com/2010/11/recipe-peanut-butter-stir-fry.html
Good for you for making a choice and, I’ll do what I can to help!! 🙂 I’m super impressed by the courage it takes to do this post!
You are such a badass, Sarah! Way to be honest and inspirational! I need some accountability as well, and I wish more people would be willing to talk about stuff like this, and losing weight the healthy way.
I am here for you! I started following the Eat Clean diet principles (by Tosca Reno). She is awesome and her story is like ever normal person out there. What I finally learned from her book is that weight loss is about 80% diet. Once I started cutting out a lot of sugar and processed foods I started to notice a huge difference, not only in how I looked, but how I felt too. I have so much energy!
I am trying to stick with eating clean, but it is really hard. What I do is tell myself that I am on a mission and I’m sticking to it no matter what. Also, don’t solely rely on the scale, it makes you crazy and doesn’t always reflect the changes you are making (increased muscle mass and lost inches). So I would say use the scale minimally, and stick to using measurements as a way to track your progress.
Hope this helps. Love you!
P.S. Healthy lunch: tuna, canned salmon or a 5 oz chicken breast, a cup of spinach, and a piece of fruit (or carrots since I know you are allergic to most fruits).
Or you can make a salad with some sort of protein mentioned above on top.
Or if you are super lazy like me, make a ton of hard boiled eggs on Sunday, then eat one whole egg a day and the rest of the day eat egg whites (for lunch) paired with a healthy carb (whole grain) and fat (almonds, natural nut butters, etc.)
Sorry for writing so much!
Way to hold yourself accountable, I know you’re going to succeed! myfitnesspal.com worked for me, when I used it. Wish I could give more advice but I’m lazy and gave up trying to lose weight.
I LOVE myfitnesspal.com, bonus- it’s an app too.
Glad we are doing this together! I don’t know if I have the cajones to post my pics! You rock!
I love your honesty. I love that you are taking the steps so that you love what you see in the mirror. I love you period…..especially your way-sassy attitude 🙂 (And I was rotflmao when I read the “if you click on this picture, I’ll cut you)
Amy was filling me in on the program while we were running last night…sounds awesome…and tough, but you can do it.
My favorite healthy thing? I suppose oreos don’t count, huh? I make this dish that is a blend of cooked quinoa, black beans, corn, and salsa (I can my own from my garden…ha…bet you didn’t know I can my own veggies). I eat it warm with sliced avocado on top and then a squeeze of lime over it all. Yum.
SARAH! I can so relate to this post! And, first let me say, props to you for posting your pics and disclosing your weight. I know when I did that on my blog (Lord knows I haven’t done THAT in awhile) it was very hard. It was also kinda liberating too.
I have also gained weight since Pittsburgh – and I am sick of being the fat one too. Let’s do this together! I think just talking about things and being honest with one another is so helpful – that is why I am so excited that we all work with RB.
I was using FatSecret for awhile. I like it b/c it is free and it has detailed nutritional info. I also like it because there is an app I could download on my phone. I just have not used any kind of tracking system lately – I need to get back into that, though because it really helps!
I went to my doc last night and weighed myself there – NOT HAPPY! We had to have the whole, nutritional ‘this is what you need to be doing to lose weight again’ talk. Yeah, um, the thing that makes the most of a difference to me is protein! She said like 30 grams a day or something – A LOT! She said it will seem like overkill, but it is key to losing weight and keeping my insulin levels normal. 5-6 smaller meals a day, all with protein.
We should have a blag recipe swap. I have healthy recipes and would love to have some new ones!
Keep up the great work! I know you are a beautiful person – inside and out – and you are an inspiration to many, including myself. Plus, you are practically famous so you can’t beat THAT!! 🙂
i love your honesty. seriously, you rock, girlfriend.
i “use” http://www.myfitnesspal.com/. in reality, i suck at tracking, and only track my healthy options. yeah, it’s dumb, i know. i’ve actually not had much luck shedding pounds by exercise alone, it has always been with restricting calories (which is MISERABLE but effective).
and weightloss blogging is not boring at all. i’m excited about your updates! you can do it, chica!!
Awesome! Hope you find a plan that works! I think the best thing to do is to explore new foods so you don’t get bored by always eating the same ‘healthy’ foods. Remember that the less processed/the fewer ingredients there are in your foods, the better. You can add a lot of flavour with herbs and spices. If you are able, you could consult with a registered dietician who could help you develop long-term goals that meet your needs in terms of food allergies, weight-loss goals, etc…You can do this!
I wish I had the balls to do this when I started. I have lost about 25 lbs actually….
I use excel to keep track of my calorie, fat protein and carb intake. Since I’m doing weight training as well I eat a ton of high protein foods. Typically a whey protein shake made with almond milk for breakfast, yogurt and fruits or a protein bar snack/lunch. Some fruit or nuts as snacks, maybe some crackers or granola too. And a pretty normal dinner. I don’t do dairy except some chhese and yogurt. I also take a vitamin and a cortisol control suppliment caledonia Relora that works we to help curb stress eating, its cheap too. Idk link but I don’t know how to on my phone. I buy it and my whey protein ( also casein for nights I work out) from bodybuilding.com. They also have a social networking aspect called body spaces and tons of articles and videos/exercise plans. You should add some resistance training if you can. yoga or a stretching type routine may help too….
Also, I suggest rather than weighing, take measurements and track those once a week. Weight changes a lot due to stuff like hydration etc but your overall measurements won’t change that much from day to day factors. I also like body fat calipers. online workout buddies to keep you in check also cann be as effective or more so than a real life gym buddy actually, but in either case its a good way to stay motivated! Also goals and self rewards! Be realistic though! Good luck!
Darn. Someone beat me to it. (because I totally missed the post when it first went up). I was going to say “you’re not fat” to see if you would hit the pregnant woman. Ha!
Good for you for committing to making a change. I understand the “tired of lugging around extra pounds while running” thought. Pre-bug, the reason I started my workouts with Adam was to work on my own body fat %. And personally, I think that number is a better indicator than purely weight.
Post-Bug, I will be back on that plan of reducing it. Especially if I want to climb that mountain. I’ve been told that being lighter will be the best training I can do for the mountain. So, we’ll have to help each other stay on track!
My intention is to start a food journal and plan out my workouts and monitor my calorie in vs. calorie out. I’m too picky to stick toward any kind of fad diet, and as Dr. Bright said – it’s the calorie deficit that matters. You’re totally awesome, for the record, and I’m hear to listen and support any time you need it!
You can totally do this! I second Mandy’s suggestion for getting a body fat percentage reading because it’s a much better way to track health than scale weight alone.
My favorite website is CalorieKing.com, It’s a paid membership site, but I find it has the most supportive community of them all. I lost my last 30lbs using CK, and I’ve used it for the last year and a half to help maintain my entire 72lb loss.
I think you are really self assured and awesomely brave to track your progress here! I’ve always cycled up and down in my weight, but I always feel the compulsion to hide the “before”s like, nobody notice that I used to be heavier!
But it’s really difficult and also worth it to try to better manage food intake. On my current fitness quest, I’ve been writing down what I eat, and while I don’t like the obsessive component of it, the most helpful part is that it shows me how often I eat. Making sure I put food in my body every 2.5 to 3.5 hours has made it much easier
Favorite healthy meals? Greek yogurt with dehydrated blueberries; steelcut oatmeal; cottage cheese pancakes with sugar free syrup; turkey & hummus & bell pepper on 1/2 a pita; fresh mozarella cheese w/ salami broiled on tomatoes … so many enjoyable things 🙂
Right on!
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