Once again, it has been a good month and a half or so since I have posted any updates on my life and what all (and what little) has been going on in it. For the most part, I’ve acclimated into a generic routine: class and/or work, homework, messages, and an occasional outing or coffee date when I can fit it in. But most importantly, I’ve found the motivation and the effort to incorporate another major thing into my daily to-do list: exercise.
One of the top goals that I have been dedicated to since I bought my last two plane tickets in late February has been losing weight (again). I knew that this summer would be the first time since 2014 that I’d be at a beach, and knowing that I very rarely ever get to be at the beach (let alone a European beach), I’d wanted to feel more confident in my own skin for this opportunity. In the past when I tried to lose weight, I always gave up. The longest that I had ever gone on a diet was maybe about a month and a half. There was always something along the way that discouraged me from continuing, or something that just took away my motivation in general. However, this time around, I have been/will continue to be determined to not give up, because I truly do have a motivation (my summer trip) to keep me in check.
Since February 24th, I have been watching my meal portions + doing cardio for at least an hour about 6 days a week at the gym + buying the lower calorie version of the things that I ate before (fat free 15 calorie coffee creamer instead of the regular 35, 90 calorie yogurt instead of 150, 80 calorie buns instead of 200, Swiss cheese instead of yellow American cheese, etc.). I have also been drinking water constantly, and have stuck to diet soda whenever I DO feel like drinking soda. I’m not the type of person who likes to snack constantly on salad, so I usually don’t eat it at all unless I’m at a restaurant and it fits the occasion. I usually eat a small amount of something bad/fattening on many days (a few fries, a butter biscuit, etc.) as a result of being exposed to it at my job, but I’m never bothered too much by it because I know that a bite or two of something will not kill me.
There have been weeks when I’d eat a portion of jelly beans every single day, other days (like this past Thursday) when I’d splurge on cookie cake that I’d brought in for my co-workers, and other days when I’d eat something more caloric/high in fat. I have tried to keep my daily calorie intake around 1300-1400 calories, but there are days when I eat more and less than that (thus, it balances out). And of course, I have gotten into a habit of not eating after a certain time of the day (late afternoon or early evening) unless I feel physically hungry for a snack. Again, it’s all been mainly about portions + calories in, calories out, and eating when you feel hungry.
I am on week 6 of this little weight loss journey of mine now, and I can definitely say that I have been successful thus far. On February 24th, I weighed in at the heaviest that I’d ever been: 159.4 pounds (72.3 kilograms – yikes). This morning, on April 8th, I weighed in at 145.2 pounds (65.8 kilograms). So, to sum it up, I have lost approximately 13-14 pounds at this point in time. I am still aiming and working to reach my minimum goal of 140 pounds by the end of the semester (early May), and will plan on working towards my second, ideal goal of 130-135 pounds if I am successful.
It has certainly been a lot of hard work to learn how to restrain myself from nonchalantly snacking on lots of delicious, fattening food at my job, but I have been proud of myself at the end of each day that I chose to do so. I have also been proud of myself for all of the days that I made myself go to the gym, and the amount of time that I made myself stay there for. Now, it has become a routine that I kind of like, because it keeps my life structured + a bit more eventful since I get to drive somewhere else every day. And I like the feeling of going out of my apartment :)
I’ll update more as this weight loss journey continues, but for now, I can only hope for the best.
On y va!
One of the top goals that I have been dedicated to since I bought my last two plane tickets in late February has been losing weight (again). I knew that this summer would be the first time since 2014 that I’d be at a beach, and knowing that I very rarely ever get to be at the beach (let alone a European beach), I’d wanted to feel more confident in my own skin for this opportunity. In the past when I tried to lose weight, I always gave up. The longest that I had ever gone on a diet was maybe about a month and a half. There was always something along the way that discouraged me from continuing, or something that just took away my motivation in general. However, this time around, I have been/will continue to be determined to not give up, because I truly do have a motivation (my summer trip) to keep me in check.
Since February 24th, I have been watching my meal portions + doing cardio for at least an hour about 6 days a week at the gym + buying the lower calorie version of the things that I ate before (fat free 15 calorie coffee creamer instead of the regular 35, 90 calorie yogurt instead of 150, 80 calorie buns instead of 200, Swiss cheese instead of yellow American cheese, etc.). I have also been drinking water constantly, and have stuck to diet soda whenever I DO feel like drinking soda. I’m not the type of person who likes to snack constantly on salad, so I usually don’t eat it at all unless I’m at a restaurant and it fits the occasion. I usually eat a small amount of something bad/fattening on many days (a few fries, a butter biscuit, etc.) as a result of being exposed to it at my job, but I’m never bothered too much by it because I know that a bite or two of something will not kill me.
There have been weeks when I’d eat a portion of jelly beans every single day, other days (like this past Thursday) when I’d splurge on cookie cake that I’d brought in for my co-workers, and other days when I’d eat something more caloric/high in fat. I have tried to keep my daily calorie intake around 1300-1400 calories, but there are days when I eat more and less than that (thus, it balances out). And of course, I have gotten into a habit of not eating after a certain time of the day (late afternoon or early evening) unless I feel physically hungry for a snack. Again, it’s all been mainly about portions + calories in, calories out, and eating when you feel hungry.
I am on week 6 of this little weight loss journey of mine now, and I can definitely say that I have been successful thus far. On February 24th, I weighed in at the heaviest that I’d ever been: 159.4 pounds (72.3 kilograms – yikes). This morning, on April 8th, I weighed in at 145.2 pounds (65.8 kilograms). So, to sum it up, I have lost approximately 13-14 pounds at this point in time. I am still aiming and working to reach my minimum goal of 140 pounds by the end of the semester (early May), and will plan on working towards my second, ideal goal of 130-135 pounds if I am successful.
It has certainly been a lot of hard work to learn how to restrain myself from nonchalantly snacking on lots of delicious, fattening food at my job, but I have been proud of myself at the end of each day that I chose to do so. I have also been proud of myself for all of the days that I made myself go to the gym, and the amount of time that I made myself stay there for. Now, it has become a routine that I kind of like, because it keeps my life structured + a bit more eventful since I get to drive somewhere else every day. And I like the feeling of going out of my apartment :)
I’ll update more as this weight loss journey continues, but for now, I can only hope for the best.
On y va!