Since I've been poking around, posting here and there I thought I'd post some pictures of myself.
My name is Leigh. I'm 37 years old. I'm a molecular biologist now staying at home with my kids. My husband and I were inspired to lose weight by my sister. It's probably frowned upon here, but we do Weight Watchers and have had great success with it.
We started in August of 2008 and both got to our goals in about 9 months. We each lost about 64 lbs (give or take depending on how we are doing in maintenance- LOL).
We are both now working out very regularly, still tracking our food, and trying to build muscle.
Here are some before and after pictures of me:
Before, probably at about 210 lbs:
After losing most of the weight (at ~150lbs):
Muscles in progress:
I still don't have much of a waist, which I'd like to correct. I'm at about 147-148 right now, and I've still got a belly pooch. I don't know yet if I will try to lose 10 more lbs or just continue working out and trying to lose fat and build muscle.
Thanks for looking, and I'm enjoying all the information here very much!
Welcome! Hey, Weight Watchers is NOT looked down upon on this board as far as I can tell. Whatever works for you is great. You look awesome by the way. Looking forward to seeing your progress.
Welcome, and congratulations and very well done with what you've accomplished. You look great. FWIW, I say don't worry about the 10 lbs. or the "belly pooch". You're not 'muffin topping' those jeans, and you appear to have a fairly short torso, so having "much of a waist" may not be intrinsic to your body type anyway. Nah, you look fantastic, wouldn't even recognise you from the 'before' picture, so I say focus on the fit and not the fat.
Thanks very much! Glad to hear WW isn't looked down on too much here. I get the impression that some serious fitness people aren't too impressed with it. My husband and I have noticed that some people think WW encourages eating pre-packaged meals, but we've found this not to be the case. They do sell crap meals (Smart Ones) but they are terrible. I do know that my leader does not encourage buying/eating the pre-packaged meals, but encourages eating fresh whole foods as much as possible. Perhaps this varies based on meeting location and leader.
Regarding my waist... I do sport quite a substantial muffin top. Judicious cropping might make it appear otherwise . I do intend on focusing on the fitness, and if the extra lbs leave or stay I will just have to be satisfied! You are right, in that I may just not have much of a waist based on my body type.
Welcome! That is fantastic progress. Regarding WW... Whatever works. It may not be as advanced as some people get in here, but as Deserve pointed out, it is a simple system for reducing total calories, and it was obviously very effective on you. You don't even look like the same person from your first photos.
I have tried counting calories (etc...) a few times since being on WW, but I really do like the simplicity of the points. It's easier to remember that something is 2 points rather than 127 calories, for example. I did find out that for me a point is about equal to 65-75 calories (depending on how clean I eat).
Now that I'm doing more strength training I am paying more attention to protein, but I don't see myself ever getting really fanatical about it (not that there's anything wrong with that).
I'm not really sure what my fitness goals are. I just want to get stronger and have more endurance, but I'm not sure what the ultimate goal is, or if I even have one. I think I just need a goal to keep me motivated.
Looking back, I think calorie counting would have been just as effective for me. I'm a pretty analytical person and I actually like tracking what I eat.
Annette- how is your weight loss going this time around? I've heard that it can sometimes be harder the 2nd or 3rd (or more) time around. I'm not sure if this is physiological or psychological (maybe some of both).
Unfortunately, with weight loss, no matter which program you use maintenance can be the toughest issue. That's actually why I was seeking out fitness forums, trying to keep the motivation up. I spent probably about 10 years being obese, and at least 15 total overweight. I really REALLY don't want to let myself backslide!
Think of macro as the next step in your weight loss journey. I'm not saying that you have to be a freak about it but as a general rule if you make sure you have some protein at every meal you'll be off to a better start than most.
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Past performance is not indicative of future success.
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I guess that's the next logical step. I don't have a problem getting protein in for lunch and dinner, it's breakfast that's the problem. I'm not a big breakfast person. I do have about 2 cups of milk spread out through the morning though, in my coffee and cereal, etc... I've been doing a protein shake after work outs. I don't know if it's making a difference or not. I hate spending the calories on it though, lol.
C'mon. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It gives you a chance to eat the carbs and protein so you can burn them off during the day. That being said I have a pretty horrible breakfast so this is more of a do as I say kinda thing.
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Past performance is not indicative of future success.
Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.
Breakfast has always been a problem for me. I'm doing a lot better than I used to. Previously, before I started trying to lose weight I would often skip breakfast AND lunch. So so bad! No telling what horrors I was wreaking on my metabolism. Then of course I ate a lot of empty calories at other times of the day (obviously, since I was 210 lbs ), much of it being sugared drinks
I do have breakfast more often than I don't, but I go through periods where I just don't want to eat in the mornings. I usually have to force myself to eat something. I'm fully aware of how strongly eating a good breakfast is recommended. It's a matter of knowing what's right, but not being able to get myself to do it a lot of the time.
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From the standpoint of promoting leanness, exercise is of most value if oxidation of stored fat is maximized during and following the exercise sessions. Bahadori has proposed that this can best be achieved if prolonged exercise of moderate intensity is performed during a 12-14h "mini-fast" that entails skipping a meal; if subsequent food consumption features low-fat foods, the fat stores expended during and after the exercise will not be fully repleted by dietary fat. Thus, prolonged compliance with such a regimen should lead to steady loss of body fat until a much leaner equilibrium body composition is attained. The feasibility and efficacy of this strategy has been examined in an open pilot study. Participants were asked to perform prolonged, moderate-intensity aerobic exercise at least 3-5 times weekly, nesting each exercise session within a 12-14h mini-fast. No restrictions were placed on daily calorie consumption, but low-fat, low-glycemic-index food choices were recommended. Of the 34 subjects originally enrolled, 27 returned for follow-up evaluations at 6 and 12weeks. During the 12week study, the average fat loss in these 27 subjects - 7.4kg - corresponded to one-quarter of their baseline fat mass. Fasting insulin levels likewise fell by 25%. The rate of fat loss was at least as great in the second 6weeks as in the first, suggesting that fat loss might have persisted for some time if the study had been prolonged. This protocol, combining elements of exercise training, fasting, and low-fat eating, is both sustainable and healthful, and in reasonably compliant subjects may have considerable potential for promoting and maintaining leanness and insulin sensitivity.
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Matt, could you do a low volume lifting workout in a fasted state with the post workout meal soon after the session ending the 12-14hr fast? I only ask because I'm never hungry in the morning, but force something down so I can lift.
Hadn't noticed this post before. That's some great progress there, Snarlla!
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Vegetarian, consumer of large quantities of Quark cheese
Working my way from 76.4 to 58 kg (168 - 127.6 lbs)
Lifting a bit, schedule varies. Barbell weight: 22kg/48.4#
Wow, Leigh, great job! I'm really impressed. When/if weight watchers stops doing what you want it to do, is the time to think about changing it up. I've gotten very interested in nutrition lately so there are ways to fine tune it. But for weight loss, I echo the others--whatever works!
On your body shape, I just wanted to say that you are cursed with the same stocky little torso I have. Jillian Michaels has it too though--you can look at her body to see what can be accomplished with our genetics. Just don't necessarily listen to her advice!
Actually, with your background, you might really enjoy learning the details of nutrition later. Alan Aragon has some great stuff--he's on the boards here.
Hi, new here!
. I do intend on focusing on the fitness, and if the extra lbs leave or stay I will just have to be satisfied! You are right, in that I may just not have much of a waist based on my body type.
I did find out that for me a point is about equal to 65-75 calories (depending on how clean I eat).
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