I reached my goal!!

YAY!

5 months later and I am at my goal!

I started in December '07 weighing 135. Now in May '08 I weigh 114.5 lbs! I lost a little over 20 lbs. and almost 11 inches! I went from a size 6 to a size 4 or 2. I went from a small to an xs in most shirts.

It is so weird to me to think that this is the easiest diet I have ever been on. I steadily lost around 2 lbs. a week while still eating mostly what I wanted.

Here is what I have learned from this "life style change":

• Exercise does NOT have to be painful. You dont have to try to run a marathon. I do the elliptical 5 days a week on high resistance and go for a long time. depending on my calorie intake for the day. I go slower for longer. I never feel like I need to double over from lack of breath.
• You can eat ice cream. I have cold stone ice cream way too often. On those days, add 30 mins of cardio and enjoy!
• You will learn to love health food. Seriously this is something I never believed before, but it is SO true. I love wheat bread, hummus, oranges, and baked lays. You will learn to not like grease. The other day, my friends and I went to O'Charley's and I got my old favorite potato soup. It is loaded with cheese and bacon and I ate 3 sour dough rolls covered in butter. I felt like crap the rest of the day. Not because I was guilty, but because the food affected the way I felt. It lowered my energy and made me feel sluggish.
• Portions are everything. Eat what you want, but smaller. Only let yourself have 2 pieces of pizza. Extra calories throughout the day will kill a diet completely, that is what caused me to gain so much weight when I went to college. Keep in mind what you eat. A cookie here and a brownie there will add up quickly! 

Im sure I have more but that is all I could think of. If you have any questions please ask me! I love to help others! This whole process for me has been a dieting revalation. It is not as hard as I thought.

I will post pictures soon!  Thanks for all your support Calorie Count!

-Christina

CONGRATS!!!

Reading this just inspires me to work harder.I am 150 and for the life of me i can not lose any weight!For being 5'1" im told i should way at least 120 or under.

Thank you for posting what you did that helps gives me a idea on what i can do.Any other suggestions?

Have a great day!!

Thank you for posting this! I started with 20lbs to lose and after 2 months am at my half way point. I'm doing almost exactly what you are doing and it sooooo great to have some validation that I'm not being either too extreme or too casual.

Congratulations!

Congratulations!!!  That's amazing.  I just reached my goal weight a couple of weeks ago...You're right.  I pretty much eat what I want as long as I do my work outs and I rarely miss them these days.  Thanks for the post. - Wanda

Thanks guys! your support means alot! And Congrats to all of you that reached your goals too!

Jeannie - yeah I had issues with that at school really bad. and to tell you the truth, I still have to save some calories toward the end of the day for that extra little snack before bed. One day I was in the gym and the tv played this commercial about valencia oranges and I was like "I want one!" ever since I crave citrus at night. I dont know why. So I keep plenty of fruit around for late night cravings. Just keep it low cal and save some for night-time.

oliverio - make sure coke stays out of your life. I went on a healthy eating plan a long time ago, back when I was really overweight, and I lost ten pounds in like two weeks. The sugar in drinks adds up. Someone once told me about "empty calories" those are the calories that add up in drinks and cocktails that you dont realize because you wont feel full. Like some alcoholic mixed drinks can easily equal a cheeseburger in calorie count. Keep to water, diet drinks, splenda tea, and lower sugared juices.

That is so awesome!!!  I have been getting frustrated because I know I will not reach my goal weight until December.  It is so far away.  However, seeing that it took you a while and you did not give up will inspire me to keep going.  Thanks and congrats.

...Congratulations!!......

ive been at this for 9 months almost.... surpassed my goal weight now trying to figure out my ideal weight

good luck and keep it up... you look amazing~

well done and thank you for sharing.  Congrats  xxxx

That is fantastic!  Stories like these keep me motivated to reach my goal.  Good to also see that using this website is also an effective tool.

Wow!! I am 5'1 and weigh 130, I need to lose about 20 lbs! I accidently stumbled across this website, and find it very informative! I read your little lifestyle change guidelines, and it seems to be simple! I look in magazines all the time and see these people losing 100's of lbs and think if they can lose that much weight, why can't I lose 20 lbs. I'm a huge ice cream lover too! So I will def, take that and use that advice of 30 extra mins of cardio! that seems like a fair trade?!? Congrats on your weight lose, and wish me luck, your entry really helped me!

Hay Christina,

I have only about 8lb left to loose and am struggling. Do you have any tips on how to lose those last few?

How did you do as you got nearer your goal?

Good for you and you have a healthy attitude. Do any of you struggle with guilt when eating or worry too much? I am at my ideal weight too. Maybe below but cannot really let go and enjoy treats too often. I do once a week but would like to eat desert 2 times a week but cannot let myself for fear of gaining.

littleshellys,

i fear gaining.... i like being below size 10 in clothing~...

i love cake, cookies, candy.. anything sweet i try curbing that crave w/ tea .. yea .. make it kinda sweet w/ splenda - but I do have everything i desire in moderation~....

struggle w/ guilt not so much...

at the beginning of this lifestyle change I said.. I cannot afford all the 100 cal stuff or low fat stuff or whatever is out there ... so ive used what i have ... made a few changes to my grocery list and taken it from there.... i basically use what we have and portion it and make sure I log...

the guilt i did feel was that i allowed my family to eat whatever and here I was trying to eat cleaner... ironic isnt.. so then i changed the list~... they are eating healthier and i feel better.....

That's great, I know it's hard work. I have only been using calorie counter for a month. The thing is I go to the gym 3 nights a week and I work out for at least a hour each time. I don't eat bad foods, I always stay under or close to my calorie intake and yet I haven't lost a single pound, what's the secret. I thought I was doning everything right but I must not be. If you have any advice for me I would love to hear it. Debbie 

What kind of food are you eating? What do you do at the gym?

CONGRATS TO U
CONGRATS TO U

I'm so happy for you.. That's great.. I'm glad you reached your goal... I'm so happy for you..

mariyumm, I understand about the fear of gaining weight. I worked soooo hard to get to my current weight that I want to maintain. It is dangerous to become to obsessed though and I struggle with that. Lately I have been thinking of allowing desert 2 days a week because I am like you, I love everything bad and depriving myself is hard. I added desert one day a week along with a meal I love, grinder and cheese potatoes and did not gain any weight. Just make sure I keep up the exercise and it seems to balance out well.