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STEPHANIE'S WEIGHT LOSS JOURNAL



This journal started a long time ago with just random posts about me when I just so happened to remember to update. Nowadays, it has morphed into this amazing adventure about weight-loss, self-discovery and inspiration. Ive met a lot of new people, and Ive moved on from others when ours paths no longer walked together.





Every since I was very young, I had been overweight. Part of me does blame my parents. As workaholics, I was fed a fair amount of 'junk' food, and was never taught proper nutrition. The later years were a culmination of that, as well as just being stupid about taking care of my body. All through high school I was heavy-set, and during college it really got out of control. Topping at 233, I knew I had to change.

In December of 2007, I tentatively started my weight loss plan. I joined Gold's Gym with my husband, and vowed to go every day after work. There was a lot of trial and error, as most new things have, but around the 3rd month or so, I had really gotten my exercise and eating habits down, and I was losing weight consistently. I hit a plateau around 220, and could not seem to break it. That's when I took a good, hard look at my eating habits, and realized that I was not being nearly as healthy as I should be. So I stocked up on veggies and fruits, and I bought a few books to help me understand nutrition. As soon as I started eating the foods that helped my body work more efficiently, I bust my plateau and lost another 7 lbs.

I hit another plateau at around 205, so close to being under 200. I tried cycling calories, and keeping a closer watch on my weekend eating habits, but the weight wouldn't budge. I decided that it was time to shake up my workouts. I used my current program as a template, and with several hours and many web and magazine clippings later, I designed my own exercise program, combining aerobic exercise and strength training, for every day of the week. Within 2 days of my new program, I broke through the plateau and lost another 7 lbs, finally putting me under 200, and even closer to my goal.

As I got closer to 190, the holidays started approaching, putting my diet at risk. I was forced to cancel gym time for family time, and I plateaued yet again. Then came the annual winter flu, followed directly by the winter cold. Stuck at 190 for nearly 2 months, and finally over my illnesses, I decided to suck it up, fire my current trainer who had taught me everything he knew, and hire someone new to start kicking my ass. Enter Will, a badass, no mercy, updown fiend, who trains professional athletes, and was prepared to make me work for it. I broke my plateau again, losing 6 lbs.

My lowest weight was 183, and that was in December 2008. Since then, I have no lost a single lb. If anything, I have fluctuated up, plateauing at around 185. Initially, I was panicked. I did everything I knew how to do to start losing weight again. I wore my HR monitor for an entire day, and manually calculated each and every calorie I burned and took in. I kept a strict food log and began working out in the mornings AND afternoons. Everything I did never showed a loss on the scale. Bereft, I turned accepted my fate and just kept struggling on.

I put off taking progress pictures, because I knew in my heart there wouldn't be an progress to see! But I did it anyway, with a 4 month span between the last set. Once I got them up on my computer for comparison, my jaw dropped. There was a significant difference in body composition between the two images, with no weight being lost. I had more muscle definition, and I was tighter, especially in the waist. I couldn't believe it! My focus slowly developed from weight loss, to body composition. I no longer worried about my scale weight, but relied on pictures, measurements and clothes to tell me how I was progressing.

For 6 months, my weight has not changed, but I have continued to create new workouts, and try new things all the time. But I was becoming complacent in my diet. I started to allow myself a little too much wiggle room, and when I scale showed 189 one day, I realized that just because I didn't expect to lose, I still needed to eat like an athlete. I went out and bought tons of small tupperware, and spent a few hours cutting up fruits & vegetables for the tupperware, and divvying out small portions of granola, rice cakes, and other healthy snacks into small baggies. I now have a shelf in my fridge dedicated to pre-cut and measured snacks that I can grab on the run. I drastically reduced my heavy carb intake, and started replacing foods with healthier versions, including all-natural peanut butter, gluten and sugar-free cereal, and organic, stone-ground crisps. Within days, I noticed that I was visibly less bloated.

I have now switched my goals to performance and healthy-eating goals. I still strive to lose weight, but the bigger picture is my overall health. I know what's good for my body, and the journey now is to see how closely I can stick to that.

This journey has been so much more than just weight loss. Its making me aware of who I am, and what my body can do. Its helping me put my priorities straight, and really appreciate life. If every single one of us could hop on a treadmill a few times a week, and stop eating the fat-laden food that the Food Industry advertises at us, we'd all be so much happier. Depression, anxiety, poor-self image could all be resolved. I have never been happier with my life than I am right now, and it's only going to get better. <3

I want to send a super special thanks to my awesome friend, glimmer_of_hope. Since the beginning, she has been a huge source of inspiration for me, and her determination and success continues to help motivate me. Thank you!!!



Personal Challenges & Rewards:

1 week no sugar - Professional massage
1 week no hydrogenated oils - Kettlebell
1 week no ice cream - Pedicure
4 sets/10 reps of 145lb squats - Movie date
1 FULL weekend of NO CHEATING - New sneakers


Recommended Reading:

Tracy Mallett's Sexy in 6
Marion Nestle's What to Eat
David Zinczenko's Eat This Not That




This is 10 percent luck, 20 percent skill
15 percent concentrated power of will
5 percent pleasure, 50 percent pain
And a 100 percent reason to remember the name
-Fort Minor; Remember the Name









No Weight Lost:







December 07 vs April 09













MOVIES of 2009
The Center of the World 3/5
Ransom 4/5
Dan in Real Life 5/5
Surf's Up 5/5
P2 5/5
Pin 4/5
The Surge 4/5
Silk 4/5
Outsourced 5/5
Underdog 2/5
Tremors 2: Aftershocks 4/5
Nation Lampoon's European Vacation 5/5
Night of the Living Dorks 5/5
The Thirst 2/5
Tart 4/5
Shiver 4/5
Encino Man 5/5
The Marsh 3/5
The Haunting in Connecticut 4/5
The Secret 3/5
Masters of Horror - Sick Girl 5/5
Body Snatchers 5/5
The Screwfly Solution 4/5
Tooth and Nail 4/5
Masters of Horror - Family 5/5
Yes Man 5/5
Apocalypse and the Beauty Queen - 3/5
The Breed - 4/5
Piranha - 3/5
Alice Upside Down - 2/5
Blackout - 4/5
My Best Friend Is a Vampire - 3/5
John Carpenter: Pro-Life - 4/5
My Name Is Bruce - 5/5
Super High Me - 2/5
Boy Eats Girl - 4/5
Happy Feet - 3/5
THX 1138: Special Edition - 2/5
Paranoia 1.0 - 3/5
Grindhouse: Death Proof - 5/5
Transporter 3 - 5/5
Sharks in Venice - 3/5
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian - 3/5
Up - 5/5

BOOKS of 2009
Things My Girls and I Have Argued About by Mil Millington
Kiss of a Demon King by Kresley Cole
Conversations with a Fat Girl by Liz Palmer
Keeping the House by Ellen Baker
Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole & Elyse Resch (in prog)
Woman of a Thousand Secrets by Barbara Wood
Daughter of the Sun by Barbara Wood
Youth in Revolt by C.D. Payne
The Blessing Stone by Barbara Wood
The End of Overeating
The Last Templar by Raymond Khoury (in prog)

Friends (17):

Mutual Friends (14):