That title makes me think of The Great Ape Escape, but that’s beside the point. lol.
So, over the past two weeks, I’ve had a lot of people comment about my weight. At least 10 people have said something. My boss, three girls at work, Mom Brickey, my mom, my dad, my sister, Jill, one of my guy friends, among others. And then there’s the carni guy that told me I couldn’t ride the horse on the carousel because the weight limit is 150lbs. Right. Everyone else is telling me I look underweight and he’s saying I look overweight. I think he needs a new job.
Anyways, in light of all this, I’ve decided to revamp my eating habits. For the longest time, I’ve been doing 1200-1400 calories and working out 4 days a week. Lately, I’ve had trouble feeling hungry, so it’s been a challenge just to eat the 1200 calories. I’ve decided, though, that I’m going to up my calorie intake to 1600 calories a day so that I don’t lose any more weight. I’m only 4 pounds away from my goal, but when people start freaking out, it’s time to reevaluate things. I’m 5’8″ and 124lbs. I figure that’s a good place to be. I’ve still got my problem areas (who doesn’t), but I figure if I just focus on toning those areas and making sure I’m eating enough, that’ll be good enough.
What got me started was this whole weight loss challenge at work. I weighed 133 in February when this thing started and wanted to participate with everyone else. I knew I didn’t have a shot at winning, but I figured it would be good to be part of an activity at work. Most of them all go out drinking and partying on the weekends and since I don’t do that, I don’t really have any bonds with many people there. So, I decided to join the weight loss challenge. Granted, in the 3 months the challenge lasted, I only lost 3lbs, but I had gotten into the whole weight loss thing. I set a goal to see if I could get down to 120 and I took off. I used to do the arc trainer for an hour 4x a week and burn 850-900 calories each time. I would also do a weight lifting routine on those same days. I felt good and it really helped with my scoliosis. I was doing physical therapy for a while and have a bunch of exercises I do at home so that I don’t regress. Doing the weight lifting really helped.
When I went on vacation this summer, my parents, sister and best friend kinda had negative responses to the weight loss, but I just pushed it off as them being used to me being chubby. I haven’t been chubby for a while, though. I was about 155 when I got divorced and then I dropped to 135 within 6 months. I stayed around 135 for a long time and then the whole weight loss challenge helped me break the 130 barrier.
Today, though, I kinda got a wake-up call that I was going to far. I overheard several girls talking about me and one of them said something about wanting to give me hamburgers. I was mortified at the time. Who likes someone talking about them behind their back? But as I thought about it throughout the day, I realized that if it had gotten to the point where people were talking about it, I had crossed a line and need to make some changes.
So, that’s what I’m doing today. I decided to stick with the high protein meal plan I’ve been on, but I’m going to add other things and make sure I get up to 1600 calories each day. I usually go for about 300-400 calories per meal and have some chocolate with lunch and dinner, but I think I’m going to change it to 500 calories per meal and have some fruit for snacks. I used to do snacks in the morning and afternoon, but when I get busy at work, I forget to eat. I think that’s part of my problem, too. I go straight through lunch sometimes because I’m so busy.
So, yeah, that’s my new goal. I’m going to stick with the granola and yogurt for breakfast, but I need to add more and I’ll have to alternate what I eat for lunch. I usually eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a carrot and some chocolate, but I should add more. Dinner has been grilled chicken lately and I think I can start adding veggies or eggs.
Well, I have to take off for institute now. Wish me luck with my new plan!
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
That’s so good Ms that you have reached your goal, If not your target,I Always thought you ate well so i wasn’t concerned that you worked out a lot, You love to cook so i thought its all good,
”give you hamburgers” ! Why do people feel a need to talk about others behind there back!
Don’t think about their comments to much! OK!!
You look slim and healthy at your current weight, And you seem to have bags of energy ,So you’re right to stop, NOW CELEBRATE WITH SOME CHOCOLATE CAKE ”, ha
Good luck! And if you need help or someone to help keep you accountable, just let me know. But I also think that so long as you are healthy. And every healthy weight chart I’ve found (for women) says for your height, 120-165 is in the healthy or normal range. I think those people talking about you behind your back may just have been jealous.
I seem to have skipped part of a sentence. I meant to say that so long as you are healthy, which you appear to be, that weight isn’t too important. Just keep working out, building some muscle, and eating well.