My name's Michelle, I'm in NH. I found this site through another one, glad it has some sort of accountability tied to it. I post in another site about my workouts and diet (non-health related, just chit-chatty) but feel like I hold a lot back. Not many people know my exact weight (my husband, my sister-in-law and my mother-in-law, but that's it!) so I'm hoping that finding this place will allow me to vent out everything!

My weight's always gone up and down, but been up for most of the time. Growing up, I was never taught by my parents about nutrition or encouraged to exercise. Food shopping when I was a kid consisted of super-cheap processed and canned food (think bologna and Chef Boyardee!) and we always had ice cream and junk food around. Never drank water, always had a Pepsi nearby, though.

I slimmed down in my senior year of high school, before I had my first car and when most of my friends lived on the other side of the city (grew up just outside of Boston) so I'd walk everywhere. Got to about 150 lbs, I think (never owned a scale, so I'm not sure!). I still thought I was "fat", even though I was told otherwise. I wore a size 7/8. (I'm about 5'5")

Met my now-husband and gained everything back and then some. He's from an Italian family who's motto is "When you're happy, eat! When you're upset, eat! When we're celebrating, eat more!" ;) We got married, and then I got PG. The day I had my daughter I weighed 273 lbs.

From then, due to different motivators, I've managed to get down to 191.8 lbs. It's the lowest I've been in YEARS. Getting under the 200 lb mark felt great, and now I'm working at getting to the 180's. I was just at a plateau of 193.2 for three weeks straight (I only weigh once a week, on a digital scale) but finally broke through that.

Because I live in NH and work in Boston, my commute takes a lot of my time and I don't get much time with my daughter after work, so I keep my workouts to Sat-Mon (I work at home Mondays) and keep my eating in check most of the time. I've managed to fine-tune a lot of my food choices and recently found a "diet" in the magazine "All You" that helped me learn a lot about what I should be eating (in regards to portions, how many fruits/veggies per day, etc). I go on my treadmill those three days and have managed to go from walking at 2.8 for 20 minutes to going on for 30+ minutes and walking at 3.2 and jogging/running at 4.5-5.0.

Anyway, I could post a WHOLE lot more, but I think that's about enough for now I have a long-term goal, but my short-term goal right now is to lose 5 lbs more by July 14. Not sure how attainable it is, but it's something to work towards.

80 lbs is a lot! that's fantastic. congratulations on your progress so far and good luck in the future. i hope you find some inspiration and useful information in this community.

your results are amazing. there are a lot people who can benefit from any tips you have. i know i could use some of your motivation, lol.

You have made some great progress, keep up the great work!

Thanks. It helps that my husband is on board for eating healthy. If he were wanting to order out every other night, I'd be in trouble!

Okay, it sounds like you have a solid diet but, if you want to realistically attain your goal of losing 35 more lbs, you MUST boost both your workout frequency and intensity.

If you maintain a workout routine composed of simply walking/lightly jogging on a treadmill for a long time, you're going to plateau. You need to constantly change it up. For instance, add more intensity (i.e. run shorter distances at a faster rate) to your workouts, add weight training to your regimen, perform different exercises for cardio, etc...

I know you're strapped for time, but have you thought of working out during your lunch break and then just eating at your desk afterward? 20-30 minutes of a high-intensity workout during your lunch break could do A LOT toward getting you to your goal.

good luck! i wish u the best

She took a huge step in moving the legs fast enough to run. I would say gradually work yourself up to running the whole time. You easily burn 4 times as many calories running even at a snails pace than walking. You make the decision, would you rather walk 90 minutes or run 30?

GETOUTOFHERE is right, take 20 minutes of your lunch to go jog, then eat at your desk. Not only will you get in a solid workout, but it will save you from going to lunch with your coworkers a few days out of the week and purchasing the filet o' fish with fries.

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I just recently stepped up the pace and amount of time I go on the treadmill (I was going on for 25 minutes mostly walking, and now try to go on for 35 with about 20 of those joggin/running). I also just printed out some additional suggestions from Women's Health magazine, some stuff I CAN (sneakily) do at work.

Whenever I can, I take walks at work. Not as many as I'd like, but I do manage to get in an additional 20 minutes of walking here and there. It's not consistant, so I don't really factor those into my "workouts".

I know 5.0 doesn't sound like it's THAT fast, but for someone who's a beginner and only about 5'5", it's fast enough that I can't talk at all when I'm doing it!! I should also mention that I have an older treadmill and when I've gone on to newer ones at gyms, it shows that I'm actually walking/running faster than it shows at home. So it's possible the 'mill I have isn't too accurate. (At home, I walk at about 3.2 but at my friend's gym, it was showing I was walking at closer to 4.0)

I don't take a lunch (I mentioned I have a long commute, so I save time by already eating at my desk while working) but I do get a few breaks during the day where I can walk. Unfortunately, I'm at a job where I can't really go out and get sweaty, so jogging isn't really an option. Walking, definitely! I'm I'm hoping every little bit counts.

I'm hoping that eventually I CAN run the whole time. I'd love to do a 5K when I'm in better shape and have the stamina for it.

Congratulations on your great progress so far, and having the courage to put yourself out there.

I think having both short term and long term goals are wonderful, and losing 5 lbs in 3 weeks can definitely be attainable.

Jared is right about changing it up so you won't reach a plateau. Once you start incorporating weights and begin to build muscle... try not to get discouraged if you see your weight go up. Remember that it's not just the numbers on the scale but inches as well that show your progress. Too often we focus on just what the scale tells us, so remember to check it all.

Good luck!!

Congrats on your progress so far, and on your motivation!

Are there stairs where you work? I'm just thinking that you could get off a few floors early and walk up a few flights to add something more to your day. When I was working on the 4th floor it was just about perfect; I never allowed myself to use the elevator, and it adds up if you go outside for a short walk a couple of times a day.

Yes, there are stairs, but because of security reasons, the doors leading to them are kept locked (unless there's a fire issue, then they unlock).

I usually find reasons to walk into town for something, which gives me a 20 minute walk (when walking fast). I'm hoping to be able to start working from home an additional day per week, which would give me another day to work out at home.

And can I just say, it's nice having people tell me what I need to try to do. With my family and friends, all they can offer is "Good job! Oh, go ahead and have that, you've done so well, you deserve it!" when sometimes I feel like I need "Yes, you've done well, but now you should try to do this to push yourself".

I'm down exactly one lb. this week ... I'm a little bugged about the fact that it rounds off the weight. This week it doesn't matter, but I weigh ona Tanita scale, which shows ounces as well ... I LOVE that because some weeks I'll lose .5, but on here it wouldn't reflect that. Example - I was at 191.8 lbs and now I'm at 190.8. But it's showing me at 191. (I know it's close, but still - ounces count!!)

I wonder if that's something they'd consider tweaking on this site.

Michelle, If you want to do a 5k, go and do one. It's ok to run part way and walk the rest. Once you have a 5k under your belt, you'll have a goal to beat. I've done over a dozen races so far and it's what I like best.

good luck, pat

You could also try the Couch to 5K plan. A coworker of mine did this about a year and a half ago. (He was completely sedentary and obese).

He's running his second marathon this fall. Not saying you should go that far, but I think it's a testament that just about anyone can run a 5K. He even got me doing it. It is rewarding to see your time go down with each race you do, so definitely pick a 5K with the timing chip you put on your shoe. And good luck!

Michelle,

You are doing wonderful. With kids I know how difficult it can be to get in the training. I don't know if it is an option, but could you change your waking time a little bit and get on the treadmill in the morning before leaving for work?

I know it is not for everybody, but I made the decision at the beginning of my journey that if I was going to make it happen I had to give up my late nights and say good morning before the birds.

I go to bed about an hour after the kids go to bed and then get up at 4:30 and either head out for a run or go to the gym. I do all that and get back and eat breakfast and shower and out the door by 6:20. I know that is not quite as doable for women as it is men (especially since I have no hair ) but it may be an idea and an inspiration to get up earlier. Just don't get up earlier though without going to bed earlier because you don't want to deprive yourself of sleep because that can backfire on you.

Good luck and keep up the great work!! You can do it!!

I used to do that when I lived in Boston, but now that I'm in NH (and still work in Boston) it's not as do-able .. I get up at 5am just to get into work on time.

I'll have to look into a local 5k ... I'm a little nervous because I've only run on the treadmill and not outside - I've heard it's VERY different! Maybe I should try that one day, just to see how difficult it is.

I fully understand on the 5 am just to get to work. That would make it almost impossible.

As for moving from the treadmill to the road, search these forums for some posts I have made regarding the same, as well as these two posts on outside forums.

www.urltea.com/sj1
www.urltea.com/sj2

Sorry I pushed out to the outside world, but I would hate to duplicate efforts.

Michelle, I ran my first 5k in years and years in late May, and I had been mainly training on the elliptical machine so was using different muscles. I registered online 4 weeks before the race, and then felt obligated to go because I had spent the money

The trick is to listen to your body, not go beyond your normal workout pace if you're not too sure of the distance / route, and have fun!

I also use a site that uses Google Maps to map out my routes, at http://www3.sympatico.ca/jasonbarney/ottawa.html . It's set up for my home town, but you can scroll and zoom the map to another city and still use the route mapping features.

You are amazing Michelle and should feel really, really good about how much you have accomplished, and your positive outlook! All the best for your future success & feeling good!!