16.6 and dropping!
If you follow me on Twitter or you’re one of my friends on Facebook you might have noticed that I have a weekly ritual that’s somewhat unorthodox; I post my weight. That’s right… my weight… I know, age and a woman’s weight are the two things you’re never supposed to ask about, but I’m going to put mine all out there for the world to see (and you all already know that I’m 30, so I’m not lying about that either)! I made the decision to go the accountability route when I learned about the Withings Internet connected Body Scale from someone on Twitter. My weight loss had kind of plateaued and I needed that extra push to get me going again. So beginning in January of this year, the world gets a weekly update on my weight loss (or gain, if I’m cheating) and I think in general it’s kept me honest.
I mention all of this as a preface to this post because Melissa recently mentioned on one of my Facebook posts that I should blog about what I’ve been doing for all this weight loss, nutrition-wise.
On June 2, 2004 I hit an all-time high for me, 160.6lbs. I was horrified. For the first time in my life I had to buy fat jeans. I cried in the dressing room and sheepishly slunk to the counter with two pairs of jeans that were the equivalent of a size 12, maybe 14. It was the most humiliating moment of my life. At that moment I vowed that I wasn’t going to let my weight get totally out of control. I desperately wanted to go bury myself in a big vat of chocolate cake with fudge frosting, but I resisted and I hopped on the wagon.
Between June and August I lost a total of 5.6 pounds. Not a huge accomplishment, but I was trying. My DH had gone on the “Cece Diet” as we like to call it (don’t let the link be deceiving, it won’t exactly tell you what to eat… it’s very customized for the person… the link is more of a theory than a diet) and I was trying to be “good” and less tempting around DH. That meant I was cutting down on the bread, we weren’t eating dessert after every meal, and I was generally eating less.
But the real weight loss didn’t start until January.
Here’s my general formula:
- Bread is the enemy. Stay away from it and your butt will thank you. If you must eat bread, consider the bread your dessert. You don’t need more “floury” things on top of the loaf of Macaroni Grill rustic bread that you just consumed.
- If you’re out to dinner, eat half of your dinner and take the rest home for lunch. Or better yet, take someone who will share with you. Then don’t get dessert (again).
- Drink less…. alcohol and sodas that is. I personally can’t stand diet drinks (I hate the aspartame taste and would rather go without than drink diet to avoid the calories). If you really want to cheat and drink beer or wine, skip the bread and dessert. After all, beer is only liquid bread; and only have one! Your liver and your butt will thank you. As for the sodas, if you’re really craving it, don’t get a refill… insist on water after you finish your first glass. A 12oz can of Sprite is 140 calories. A typical restaurant glass holds 14 oz. If you normally have 3 refills over the course of a dinner you’ve just consumed 490 calories! That means that you’ve consumed nearly 45% of your total caloric intake for the day in just soda alone!
- Keep a food journal. If you’re forced to write it down, you’ll think more about it. Don’t skip the snacks either. Do you really want to count out that handful of M&Ms that you’re about to eat or do you just want to skip them and not have to deal with it? I use Livestrong.com and it’s awesome… has a really nifty little iPhone app too.
- Step up the exercise; if you’re dieting and you’re not getting out there and moving around then you’re probably not doing enough.
I realize that that’s not terribly specific as far as nutrition is concerned, but I think nutrition is something that is very personal. For instance, you might hate bread… you might have some other vice. That’s why I like the food journal so much. It really gives you a historical perspective on what you’re eating. You can look back and see what keeps popping up, and if you’re using something like Livestrong.com it will tell you how many calories each item is; which is helpful in determining the culprit in your weight gain.
I tried Weight Watchers, but I just couldn’t stick with it. Making smart choices has really helped me more than anything. That and really stepping up the exercise… making a real effort to get out there and do real work for 30 minutes or more at least 3 times a week.
My downfall is lunch in the winter. I always want something hot… something filling; so I tend to over eat at lunch and then I don’t want to get out and exercise because I don’t want to be cold leaving the gym (sweat + cold air = unhappy, frozen Whitney). But I’m getting better about all of that. In the summer it’s easy… I can just head over to Tropical Smoothie Cafe, grab a smoothie and drink it while I’m doing a 30-minute loop around town. Exercise & a healthy lunch at the same time, piece of cake!
Dinner is harder. Because DH and I are really active and rarely home we eat out a lot so I have to use rule #2 often. My biggest problem is that I almost always forget the leftovers in the fridge when I’m headed out the door for work… so I rarely get to eat it for lunch.
I’ve lost a total of 19.1lbs, but I tend to fluctuate a bit so it’s probably more accurate to call it nearly 17lbs. Still haven’t gotten to my goal weight of 135 — which is my archaeology weight (i.e., hard physical labor for 8 hrs a day, 5 days a week + weekend activities), but I’m working towards it slowly. Being accountable with the Withings scale has really helped. I don’t want any embarrassing spikes in my weight for the world to see, how awful would that be?!
Update: I almost forgot a few things I think have significantly contributed to my weight loss!! And they’re awesome things too….
- I can’t remember the last time I took the elevator for work. I only work on the 2nd floor, so there’s really no excuse. I used to have a rule that I could take the elevator if it opened when I walked up to it without pressing the button myself. Now, I just bypass it all together. (Which is probably safer with less risk of being stuck since the elevators at my office only work a fraction of the time anyway.)
- I got rid of my office chair and replaced it with a balance ball (I got mine from Lululemon because I love them). It’s seriously a core workout all day. Especially if you do crazy things like me and sit in Lotus Pose on top of the ball. (Look mom! No feet!)
- I quit whining when I couldn’t find a close parking space in the garage and willingly go to the overflow lot that’s about a 1/3 a mile away from our office building. OK, I still whine a little if it’s raining… but if it’s a nice day I get a little extra workout heading in to work. There’s quite a hill to go up too. Yay for calves workout!!!
A food journal is my key if I put on a couple of pounds. No lying there!
Great job, and once you’re at your goal weight, or even now, you’ll work hard to stay where you are. You won’t want to go through that again.
When you have time (ha!) you might also try a little weight lifting. It’ll stave off osteoporosis, and firm everything up, lovely body sculpting. Even a little shows!
[Note from Whitney regarding this comment: Good with the bad, I wanted to publish this comment, but in the interest of keeping this blog at least PG-13, the swear words have been largely replaced with ***. I think you can figure out the jist of it though.]
This is pathetic. This is seriously so f***ing pathetic. Wow, where do I even start?
First, let’s talk about your “horrible weight.” You stupid b****, a weight of 160.6 (great job adding that decimal place!) IS NOT FAT. This is idiotic. There are people walking around in this country that weight in excess of 200 lbs and you are actually trying to stand there and b***** about 160.6 lbs. Are you retarded? Do you secretly think that every woman around you is some kind of fat heifer? Because that’s basically what you’re saying you stuck up w****.
Second, I love that you actually cried in a store’s dressing room. How f***ing pathetic do you have to be to do that? How low is your self esteem, how little do you value yourself, how much do you desperatly crave other people’s attention you would stoop down to that level. You’re the sh** on my heel. Instead of worrying about something like this, maybe get some self esteem and actually lose the weight because you want to be healthy. Not because you’re think you’re pathetic. Because NEWSFLASH, you’re going to be the same hollow shell you were before and after weight gain.
Third, your “dieting tips” are probably the worst thing I’ve ever had to learn about barring the holocaust. Avoid bread? Skip dessert? Sit on a f***ing ball? What the hell is wrong with you? I’m going to let you in on a little weight loss secret that’s been passed down to me from many generations. DO SOME F***ING EXERCISE AND STOP EATING SO MUCH. Holy sh**, I know I probably just blew your mind right there. Maybe have some will power and actually do this and you wouldn’t attach yourself to retarded dieting concepts. Cutting anything out of your diet is idiotic. It’s all about portion control and physical activity. Activity which I’ve noticed you left out. Walking an extra 20 feet from a parking space is NOT activity. Walking a circuit around wherever the hell you work while drinking a smoothie (what the f***?) is not healthy. Hit the gym, lift some weights, and maybe you’d actually be healthy.
Fourth and last, you are a loser for posting this for the world to see, a loser for actually believing in what you’re doing, and a loser for even having these feelings in the first place. This is obviously a weird attempt to get some attention. I can tell by the way you brag about your ball chair. HAHAHA, I’m laughing at you. Here’s some advice, gain some perspective on the world and realize how petty your problems really are. And see a therapist.
Also, I can’t believe someone as brain dead as you practiced archealogy. I hope you cried at the end of this.
Irving:
Please very kindly go f**k yourself.
(claire, i’ve taken the liberty of **’ing the word for you
)
Dude, how can you be so callous about someone else’s pain and effort? Oh, right, you’re experiencing your own pain and have found the anonymity of a keyboard on the internet to be a perfectly acceptable substitute for actually dealing with your own stuff.
Do yourself and everyone else a huge favor: Go slap your dad (or the teacher who molested you, or that mean uncle who used to practice wrestling moves on you, or whoever hurt you so badly) for making you the kind of asshole that you have to take out your deep-seated aggression on people on the net who are actually working to better themselves.
And hey, I’m sure you’re going to have some stupid crap to fire off at me, so if you’d like to reply in person, I’m at Octane Coffee House every week in Atlanta. I also travel across the nation all year, I’m sure I’ll be in a town near you.
Joe Peacock´s last blog ..So, Like, What The Hell, Joe? (AKA Let’s Talk Depression)
Irving, if she is pathetic then how pathetic, rude and insecure are you to have to tell her that? Does it make you feel better to say that? Talk about a waste of time. Congratulations, you made someone feel like crap today and showed everyone how pathetic you are. Hope you like your life.
Amy´s last blog ..Trading Spaces: Bloggy Style: Love
Whitney,
I am so proud of your progress! Remember, life is a journey, not merely a destination. Enjoy the journey, taking it one step at a time.
I’ve been frustrated by plateau’s. Remember (recite) this mantra: “Rome was not built in a day”.
You can, and you are, doing this. You are successful!
As soon as I get to my laptop, I will subscribe to your blog.
Congrats on your past, current, and future success!
whoa!!! i was encouraged to read this by Melissa on twitter, the above response, that is. yes, it is a way bit harsh Irvin…..but on the other hand Claire, your blog does suggest some offensive stuff. I wear a 10 or sometimes 12 and never have slunk up to the register, ashamed of myself nor do i feel like a fatty when i wear my levis. Congrats on your weight loss and all the effort you are putting into it, good for you and your health! Now, for a healthy mind and body refuse that helping of negativity : )
Vicki:
I never meant to suggest what I thought about other people in regards to their weight based on my feelings about my own weight. I realize that it could be read that I think all people who are 160lbs or that if you wear a double-digit size means that you’re a fatty. NOT TRUE at all!!! I was unhappy with my personal state of fitness so I decided to start doing something about it. All that matters is being comfortable in your own skin. Sure, you should strive to be fit because it’s healthy and live a long enjoyable life, but not to fit into a box.
Sorry that you were offended… that was certainly not my intention!
Irving, I’m confused. Is Whitney a negative person who only thinks she’s fat, or is she a fat person who clearly doesn’t know her way around a gym?
Obviously, her methods of weight loss don’t need to be defended – because they are *working*.
Melissa´s last blog ..The adventure I haven’t had
I’m just gonna go ahead and be the first to tell you (though I’m sure you already are) to feel free to ignore the above yahoo. Anyone doing anything to attempt to live a healthier life–be it physical, mental, or emotional–is the exact opposite of “pathetic.” If you aren’t feeling good at 160, and it motivates you to make a change, then kudos to you for actually becoming active about it! Who cares if there are people out there heavier than you? You don’t live their lives, you live yours, and that’s what you need to focus on.
Your dieting tips sound very sensible to me. Cutting out “white” carbs like bread is a pretty standard dieting tip, as are skipping dessert and reducing/cutting out soda and alcohol intake. These small tips also garner almost immediate results, which can be just the kickstart you need to really get into a weight loss plan. As for exercise…sitting on a ball at work is actually a very popular exercise tip for desk jobbers right now, and small things like parking far away from the entrance and taking the stairs instead of the elevator work in the same way as cutting bread and alcohol–small, immediate results that motivate you to try for something bigger. In fact, everything you’re doing falls under the categories of “do some f***ing exercise” and “stop eating so much” quite nicely.
Finally, it’s been scientifically proven that people who hold themselves accountable (be it to a gym buddy or the internet at large) lose weight and get healthier more quickly than those who don’t–and they stand a higher chance of maintaining their new lifestyle. So, you’re doing this excatly right. The naysayers can take a hike–it might help them cool off and get healthier at the same time.
Keep it up!
First, I think it is awesome that you’ve lost weight and are holding yourself accountable for maintaining that weight loss. It’s brave, not pathetic, to put something as personal as your weight into a public arena for others to comment on, particularly when you ARE self-conscious about it
Second, your weight-loss tips are all things I’ve heard before, and not in connection with any crazy diets! It’s just healthy living to drop things like dessert and beer from your diet (at least on most days).
Finally, anyone who follows your blog regularly knows you do much more than just sit on a ball in your office all day refusing to eat bread. Hello, you just ran a 5K?!?!
I agree with Melissa, above: what you’re doing is working, and therefore doesn’t need defending.
limpetfan´s last blog ..How My Bridesmaids Made Me Cry
I’m just commenting to say that “Irving Berlin” is a jerk with nothing to contribute; s/he wants to bash you for not being fat enough while saying you need to exercise more/eat less, wants to say you are too worried about what other people think of you while calling you pathetic, etc. Congratulations on finding minor lifestyle changes that enabled you to lose the extra weight, or as Irving so eloquently put it, “DO SOME F***ING EXERCISE AND STOP EATING SO MUCH.”
I also think that everyone should realize that weight loss is personal and commenting on your own weight or happiness with your body is not automatically a statement about someone elses’ body.
Wow. Saw this via @LocoHeather and dropped by. First, congratulations on finding some things that work for you Whitney. I’m pretty shocked that anyone mistook your post for anything resembling some vapid “I’m so fat” type comments. What I got out of it was that you wanted to be thinner (not skin and bones model style) and made moves to do so. Good on you. We could all probably be thinner and healthier (again not in the rail thin sense) – it’s good for us (myself very much included).
I can’t wait to hear you’ve reached your goals! Best of luck in getting there.
Matt Stigliano´s last blog ..A personal post from me to you.
First off, congrats on your weight loss. I follow most of the tips you’re living by at the moment, run 3 days a week and I’m down about 15 lbs myself. Keep it up!
Second to the a$$hat who posted as Irving Berlin, I try not to feed trolls on the net. There’s nearly no point. But you sir, if you ever reveal your identity on the net, are in for a world of pain.
Not nearly as much pain as you’re in right now of course. Being 400lbs, living in your mother’s basement, having to post anonymously on blogs to demean people who are actually getting out and doing something about their lives and their health. While you’re crying your crisco-flavored tears, delicious as they may be, we that are tired of being like you are working toward a goal and succeeding.
Meanwhile, you keep on being you. Be a shining example of what not to be in this world. You may inspire millions. Bravo, fat anonymous internet troll. Bravo….
Wes´s last blog ..Irrational hate FTW
Mr. Berlin:
Please publish your latest blog entry for us to peruse.
Thank you,
Scott
As one of the “some kind of fat heifer(s)” referenced in Mr. Berlin’s comment, I applaud your efforts. Being accountable is a critical part of successful weight loss. Kudos to you.
Who knew Iriving was so bitter?
Beth Bates´s last blog ..Upcoming Social Media Webinars – 5/17/2010 thru 5/21/2010
A question on that balance ball you linked. I’ve been thinking of getting one of those for my office but I’ve been worried about how one would hold up against jeans. That’s my standard outfit: jeans, t-shirt. 30-something slackerwear.
Wes´s last blog ..Irrational hate FTW
Wes – I too wear 30-something slackerwear to work. I’ve had my ball for a couple of months and haven’t had a problem with it. Don’t think jeans will do irreparable harm to it. The material (rubber?) it’s made of is pretty substantial. They don’t look that way blown up, but when you take them out of the box all deflated, you’ll understand what I mean.
Whitney, although i hover @160 i wasn’t personnaly offended, no apology needed : ) and def kudos to you. i wish i had the discipline to “be” healthier, ie, quit smoking! Devil’s advocate? maybe…and if i was doing that my apology to you…Mr. Irving was all about needless hate & belittling. Ignore that kind and enjoy what you’re doing, the right thing : ) we all need to be comfortable where we are or get there!
Irving – didn’t you Mom teach you that if you don’t have something nice to say then keep it to yourself? What is up with you? Having such a bad day that you have to take it out on others? Just signing on to a blog here and there so you can take anonymous potshots at people for whatever they are trying to undertake or accomplish? Nice.
Geez, man. Give it a rest or better yet, go out and volunteer some time and help someone instead of wasting your time posting mean spirited things on blogs. Good grief.
While I try to keep facebook on facebook, twitter on twitter, and blog comments here… I thought this little post on facebook in regards to this post and hater commenter was too good not to share with all of my supportive commenters!
This is from my dear friend, Brian, who I’ve known for over 12 years. He always knows just what to say… in the briefest way possible.
“You’ve just experienced what we like to refer to as the “Greater Internet F***wad Theory: http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/3/19/”
Please visit the link… It’s very amusing.
To those wondering about the “strength” of a rubber exercise ball. We discovered that it will not hold up to one thing: kittens.
My sister’s cat went to town on one I had. Can’t recover from those puncture wounds. And besides- they really are cheap.
Otherwise, I have not defeated the replacement ball and I generally abuse the one I have… bouncing, throwing, rolling over dirt.
Whitney,
I didn’t even bother to read through the F***wad’s entire comment because I could see that it was ridiculously idiotic and not worth the time…as someone who has also (somewhat)recently lost a good chunk of weight (almost 60 lbs!) and is working at keeping it off – I say kudos to you! For me it was all about portion control, and the psychological readiness to stick to it, and now I’ve been implementing more exercise to help maintain – whatever works for you, that’s what it’s about! Keep up your good work!
-Lisa
Whitney,
I am a friend by proxy and I applaud your efforts to lose weight and to write an interesting blog. Do not give the meanies out there a second thought! I know this can be easier said than done. Definitely their problem, not yours!
Keep up the good work!
Missy
As the namesake of the so called “Cece” diet, I had to drop by and say its AMAZING to me how many people still think bread (and carbs in general) are good for them. Yes low carb dieting has been around in many versions since Banting AND there’s a reason why white bread is the high carb food that the glycemic index compares everything else to; these things Whitney is doing are relatively simple and basic but they also go against much of the nutritional wisdom of the 21st century. Despite clinical trial data showing they work AND for the most part showing they produce better outcomes than “low fat” diets, most physicians (the exception being endocrinologists) have been slow to accept that carbohydrates are contributing to the various degrees of insulin resistance that make weight loss hard for many people and contribute to obesity and Type II diabetes.
Moreover if I had a nickel for every person who I told I had lost 100 pounds by cutting carbs who said “well I can’t do it because I can’t give up bread” I’d have enough nickels to buy prime rib for a month at least. People can give up bread (or in Asian cultures rice, Irish culture potatoes, etc…) but they don’t want to. And they don’t know they can do it until they try but they won’t try. Whitney adores bread; I saw her pass on it for 40 days during Lent. By cutting it from her diet she demonstrated “willpower” but as a result of it being cut out of her diet she didn’t have the spikes in insulin that pack on the pounds; her fat floodgates were open to burning her own fat in a way they could not be with bread in the picture. Because the bread supply was cut off, her self-control was returned to her.
Additionally a 10% loss is enough to make positive health changes. That’s how much she’s lost. If 10% causes reductions in blood pressure and a host of other changes then should not everyone who is 10% overweight lose at least that much? Just because you aren’t morbidly obese is no excuse to not try to improve your health when things have gotten a bit off course. If more people made such course corrections early we would not be a fat nation struggling with health problems related to overweight and obesity.
And for the record (Irving-whoever the H-E- Double Hockey Sticks you are), you don’t know Whitney’s height. She might have been obese at that weight or merely overweight or maybe just on the large side of a healthy weight. Regardless you are a chickens*** troll to flame and run on someone who’s blogging to help better herself and others. During my time in a fat body (yes Irving without a doubt 226.5lbs on a 5’4″ frame is fat) if I had heard Whitney was trying to lose weight it would have pointed up my own problem and I probably would have felt guilty for not trying harder and I would have felt frustrated because I had been trying what I knew to do and it wasn’t working. On the other hand I would not have thought that if she thought she was fat that meant she thought I was fatter because DUH I was fatter; it was not a matter of opinion just fact. And as you seem to imply I would not have thought she was some neurotic skinny girl getting all anorexic on me either; size 12-14 may be average in this country but its not healthy.
Finally, it wasn’t until I found a community of people on the internet that showed me what was possible and how exactly to reach my goal that I got my weight loss act together. I forever will be grateful to people like Whitney who aren’t scared to put their name with their number and share their strategies publicly.
Cece Spitznas´s last blog ..Its not willpower! It’s the ice cream I had stored in my butt!
Whitney,
Congrats on your weight loss. Keep going with what works for you! Great job!!!