Here is my story. (Posted on 7.15.10)
I grew up to be a healthy child with the right body structure. Modesty aside, I received quite a lot of praises for my body during my teens and during my college days because I was slim with the right curves. I find my hips a bit narrow though but it was fine. Not a major concern for me. I started working full time after college graduation so many years ago and that was when I gained weight. Maybe because I did not control eating after a long day at work. I had no other physical activity except when I was at work. I had my own money to spend whenever I want and food was one of my passions, not clothes or shoes.
PREGNANCY.
I grew bigger and bigger. I was already wearing extra large clothes when I got married in 1997. Funny thing is I was able to go on a proper diet when I got pregnant because I abide by my OB-Gyne's rules of less rice, less sweets. I was afraid of acquiring gestational diabetes since my family has a history of diabetes. My weight was even better when I was pregnant.
Looking at my post-pregnancy pictures, I would say I looked better than I was single. I cannot remember but I just had the right weight. It was a different story a few months after.
WEIGHT GAIN.
I kept on gaining weight month after month after month. I did not do anything about it because I was so engrossed with motherhood, family life and work. In other words, I forgot about my well-being. Our family bonding moments were mostly spent eating out and so it was with my colleagues and friends. We love exploring different dining places. I consumed my food to my heart's content.
I reached my heaviest on 2004 at 185 lbs (84 kilos). Did it matter? No. In fact we had a Lean and Mean program among my colleagues at the office, about 16 of us, but I did not put any effort to it. We shelled out P500 (approximately $11) each week for a month if I remember it right and whoever gets the highest difference from his or her weight at the start of the program to the end of the program gets the pot money.
I managed to decrease my weight at a staggering .2 lbs. I was the center of "ridicule" among my colleagues. I did not mind. I did it for fun.
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IS ALIEN TO ME.
My officemates love going to the gym. They do yoga, boxing, badminton, bowling and are members of different gyms. I have no interest whatsoever whenever they talk about it. I was asking myself how do they find time doing all these when we spend a full five days each week at the office, at times even weekends. I was wondering how they can manage to pull it off to still go to their sports activities after work. Weekends are supposed to be for the family. I also thought the gym's fees are so unreasonably high that it was not a wise investment.
I was perceived to be really lazy going out for lunch if no one will give me a ride. I don't want to walk all the way to a restaurant just to take my lunch. I hate the sun and going out at lunch time is just too tiring for me. I always tell them I will just get hungry again walking back to the office. Unless we will use a car, I won't budge an inch in my office room. I'll take my lunch there or at the building's cafeteria.
At home, I watch television, I read, I play with my daughter. The most taxing physical activity would be washing the dishes, on weekends.
It was really a sedentary life.
MY LOVE FOR FOOD.
I love cakes and chocolates. We always have chocolate ice cream in our freezer. I love white rice. I have an average of two platefuls of rice in every meal. I eat rice in all meals of the day. Most of the food I consume are fats and carbohydrates.
I love junk food. I always have a stash of fish crackers inside my table drawer at the office that I am teased by my officemates about this. I did not care. I just want to have something to munch on in the middle of working my butt out.
I STARTED TO LOSE WEIGHT.
I had my adult braces on 2007 and it sort of made me eat less because I had difficulty chewing. The adjustment to a new line of work plus that made me lose 10 lbs over a year. I weighed 175 lbs on 2007.
I enrolled in one of the popular gyms in the Philippines on August 2008 with the thought in mind of losing weight and gaining physical strength. Like what I have written in the gym's information sheet about me, I want to be fit and live a healthy lifestyle.
I was able to lose a few pounds after several months. I was at 165 lbs on 2009. But it was a seesaw. I lose a few pounds only to gain them back after a few weeks. My body fat was not moving, at times it was even increasing. My weight seemed to have been stuck at 165 lbs to 170 lbs.
THE TRANSFORMATION.
I love making resolutions whether it's the start of the year, my birthday or when I feel I need to make one or several. This year, 2010, I vowed to manage my weight. Health and wellness are in my list for me and my family.
I was motivated to do something different for myself which I can be proud of. I want to get the best results out of my fitness routines. I want to do it right. I want to make the most out of going to the gym and live the life of a fit person. If I am investing time and money in going to the gym, I need to experience the good results. If there will be people that will be inspired along the way, I welcome that. That will be a bonus and that will make me feel good.
Going to the gym is not enough. I needed to get serious with my diet. And so I did. It was a decision today and I started right away the following day. Cold turkey. No white rice. I limited my carbohydrate intake to wheat bread and wheat pasta. No pork fat. No chicken skin. No junk food. Nothing in excess. More fruits, oats and vegetables. I maintained this kind of diet for three months.
I marveled at the results afterwards. And that kept me going. A little pounds off my weight motivated me to go on and keep my diet.
I challenged myself to try different exercises. Aside from my usual strength training, body balance and retro dancing, I joined body pump. I was surprised I greatly enjoyed this. Now I read a lot about body pump and weight training. It is hard but I have to start somewhere. I challenged myself to increase my time and speed at the treadmill. I joined a fun run last May. Now I am into mat exercises to help strengthen my abdominals. I can now do what I dreaded to do before, the reverse crunches. I spend an hour of aerobics and squat exercises when I am at home and whenever I cannot go to the gym.
I weighed myself two weeks ago, I am already at 130 lbs, my body fat decreased from 45% a few months ago to 29%. I started at 60%+ two years ago. All my clothes needed to be adjusted to my current body structure. I updated some of my wardrobe already. My BMI is now at 24, a little more effort and I'm already in the mid-normal range. I am some more pounds away from my desired weight but hell, yeah, I am working on it. Hard. :)
Diet and exercise are already a part of my lifestyle. Finding the right motivation helped me a great deal in keeping my focus on the results I wanted. Eyes on the prize. Discipline is the key to sticking it out with my decision no matter how hard it gets sometimes.
Oh yes, sometimes boredom gets in the way. But challenging myself to change my routine exercises helps keep me going and excited. As a matter of fact I look forward to going to the gym when I know I am going to try another set of exercises or increase the weights I am currently using.
I read a lot. I find time to understand the right techniques and proper way of doing my workout. I don't want an injury. I want a fit body. I find time to ask the trainers if I have questions about my workout. I also join the gym's free training routines and that gives me an idea on what to do.
Will power on something we are passionate about will see us through. Go! Have a healthy diet and a great workout!
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September 9, 2010.
Just an update on my weight management progress. I targeted 125 lbs to be my ideal weight. That is within the range for my height and age. As of my last weigh in, I am already at 24.4 lbs. And my fat mass is at 29.8 lbs or 24%! This is a big improvement coming from a fat mass of 32.2 lbs a week or so ago. :))
Even before I reached 124 lbs, I am already set to achieve the minimum weight (if it's called that) for my age and height based on the body composition analyzer. I want to challenge myself to achieve 112 - 115 lbs total body weight and 23 - 24% fat mass. The body composition analyzer says the predicted weight is 118 lbs. Weight maintenance will come in as soon as my weight stabilizes within those range.
October 2010.
I am now 115 lbs, that is within my ideal weight range, right BMI (body mass index) and fat mass. I am now on maintenance mode. It pays to be disciplined. :))
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Just a note, this is not just about losing pounds and inches but more on eating healthy and maintaining a healthy lifestyle to achieve my goal. It's not just the numbers, but also healthy living. I want it to be a way of life for me already as well as my family's.
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ME, THEN AND NOW.
