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jedigrrl · 08-08-2008, 06:25 AM

This has been a crazy week, but I did want to take some time to post a bit about myself.

I am a married, 39 yo mother of three. My kids are 17, 5, and 3. I work full-time as an IT project manager and enjoy working out, reading, writing, bellydance and trashy reality tv. I take bellydance twice a week for an hour each - one traditional cabaret style class and one tribal fusion class - and find it a great compliment to lifting. Most of the time, class is a 30 min warmup with lots of stretching followed by work on choreography, so it's like light cardio.

I have always struggled with my weight. I was a fat baby and a fat kid and was put on my first diet at 7! At 5'5", I maxed out at 195lbs in 9th grade. In 10th grade I decided I wanted to date and have boyfriends and feel better about myself, so my dad sent me to The Diet Center and I ended up weighing 118 by the time I was 17. I kept that weight off for years. A year after having my 17 year old, I was back at about 120lbs. I did put more weight on, but for the most part kept things in check until I met my current husband 10 years ago at 144 and a size 8. By my wedding two years later, I was in a size 12. I was wearing 16s when I got pregnant with my now 5 year old. Fast forward to delivery day for my 3 year old and I had reached my largest ever at 235lbs! When the baby weight quit coming off by itself, I was horrified to find myself at 210.

Seeing the scale that high and facing trading in my maternity pants for a size 20 freaked me out and it is then I began the journey to lose weight and lose it for good. Over the last three years, I have done a combination of calorie counting and Weight Watchers and found myself in my best shape ever last year at 136lbs and approximately 19% bf. I credit Turbo Jam with a few Firm DVDs mixed in for most of those results. My goal at the time was to wear a bikini for a beach vacation in July and I achieved it! But, I did not have a plan for maintenance and had no goals beyond the bikini and kind of took a slow backslide. So here I am a year later and 12lbs heavier, but a whole lot flabbier!

Also, at the point where I reached my goal last year, I was working out 6 days a week for an hour or more at a time and eating practically nothing on WW. When I started getting dizzy during workouts, I decided to check my calories rather than WW points and found they only added up to 1000 cals a day! No wonder I couldn't sustain that! So, my goal this time around is not to work harder and eat less, but just to do everything SMARTER. I know I have to exercise and I know I have to eat well, but I don't have to starve myself or do cardio 45 minutes a day 6 times a week to be fit and look good - at least I hope I don't.

So, I'm disappointed in myself for having let things go over the last year, but determined to turn things back around and get in even better shape, but with a plan to continue with clean eating and fitness as a lifestyle, not a short-term plan for a short-lived goal, and to get there in a way that makes sense!

08-08-2008, 06:25 AM	#14 (permalink)
jedigrrl Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: DFW, TX Posts: 132	This has been a crazy week, but I did want to take some time to post a bit about myself. I am a married, 39 yo mother of three. My kids are 17, 5, and 3. I work full-time as an IT project manager and enjoy working out, reading, writing, bellydance and trashy reality tv. I take bellydance twice a week for an hour each - one traditional cabaret style class and one tribal fusion class - and find it a great compliment to lifting. Most of the time, class is a 30 min warmup with lots of stretching followed by work on choreography, so it's like light cardio. I have always struggled with my weight. I was a fat baby and a fat kid and was put on my first diet at 7! At 5'5", I maxed out at 195lbs in 9th grade. In 10th grade I decided I wanted to date and have boyfriends and feel better about myself, so my dad sent me to The Diet Center and I ended up weighing 118 by the time I was 17. I kept that weight off for years. A year after having my 17 year old, I was back at about 120lbs. I did put more weight on, but for the most part kept things in check until I met my current husband 10 years ago at 144 and a size 8. By my wedding two years later, I was in a size 12. I was wearing 16s when I got pregnant with my now 5 year old. Fast forward to delivery day for my 3 year old and I had reached my largest ever at 235lbs! When the baby weight quit coming off by itself, I was horrified to find myself at 210. Seeing the scale that high and facing trading in my maternity pants for a size 20 freaked me out and it is then I began the journey to lose weight and lose it for good. Over the last three years, I have done a combination of calorie counting and Weight Watchers and found myself in my best shape ever last year at 136lbs and approximately 19% bf. I credit Turbo Jam with a few Firm DVDs mixed in for most of those results. My goal at the time was to wear a bikini for a beach vacation in July and I achieved it! But, I did not have a plan for maintenance and had no goals beyond the bikini and kind of took a slow backslide. So here I am a year later and 12lbs heavier, but a whole lot flabbier! Also, at the point where I reached my goal last year, I was working out 6 days a week for an hour or more at a time and eating practically nothing on WW. When I started getting dizzy during workouts, I decided to check my calories rather than WW points and found they only added up to 1000 cals a day! No wonder I couldn't sustain that! So, my goal this time around is not to work harder and eat less, but just to do everything SMARTER. I know I have to exercise and I know I have to eat well, but I don't have to starve myself or do cardio 45 minutes a day 6 times a week to be fit and look good - at least I hope I don't. So, I'm disappointed in myself for having let things go over the last year, but determined to turn things back around and get in even better shape, but with a plan to continue with clean eating and fitness as a lifestyle, not a short-term plan for a short-lived goal, and to get there in a way that makes sense!