Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Weight Loss Wednesday

Dear Friends,
Welcome to Weight Loss Wednesday. Read below for a super awesome story from Halie and keep reading for a fun surprise at the end of this post!
Good morning readers of Esther Norine Designs! My name is Halie and I blog at Penguins, Pasta & Polka Dots. My blog is kind of all over the place, with random topics like: nail art, recipes, crafts, wedding planning, beach trips, silly adventures, health and fitness. Today though, I'm excited to be guest posting here and sharing an updated version of my weight loss journey for Weigh In Wednesday!

I first shared this super long weight loss journey on my own blog, back in mid-January. I had previously talked about my weight issues and would also post some of my successes and failures. But it was all pretty vague, and I stayed away from to many specifics, because I was too embarrassed to share actual numbers. Let me back up and try to give you the Reader's Digest version of my story, (but I tend to be a talker...)

I've kind of always been a little on the chunkier side. (And to put my weight into perspective, I'm only 5 feet tall...) In high school, I wouldn't say I was "fat" but I was definitely overweight -  I don't actually remember what I weighed then, but it was probably around 180-ish or so I'd assume. Then throughout college, things got bad. I hardly ever worked out or did anything active, and rarely cared what I put in my body. My very last semester I decided to start doing a little something about it. So I went to zumba twice a week, and tried to eat a little better. When I graduated college in April 2010, I weighed 227, which was the highest I've been. (Although I assume I was probably around 230 or more before I started zumba that semester.) By that August, I was ready to kick this into high gear, after going on an amazing trip with my girlfriends. I could barely keep up with them on an easy hike, and I hated the way I looked in all the pictures.

August 2010, around 225-230 pounds probably, on our big 10-day road trip with my girlfriends

In December 2010, I was down to 217, and only just beginning. I started going to zumba again all the time and eating as healthy as I could. And before I knew it, in August 2011, I had lost 35 pounds, weighing in at 192! That was the lowest I could remember being at that point in my adult life. But I had met a cute boy that May, and by August, we were very serious. (He's now my fiance!!) We spent all of our time together, and I started caring wayyy more for my sweet boyfriend than about what I was eating and being healthy.

August 2010, around 192 pounds.

And thus began a bit of yo-yo-ing. In February 2012, I went to the doctor for a sinus infection, and found out I was back up to 212. That was a shock to me actually. I knew I had gained from the past August, but I didn't know how much. So once again I kicked myself into gear, and from February through September 2012, I got back down to 196-ish. And then I went through about four months of not caring again, and by January 2013, I weighed in at 217. Ugh...

So in January, I finally decided I was done with this up and down, and back and forth. I was ready to get healthy for real, and stay that way. I kicked off the year by doing the Daniel Fast. That was extremely successful for me, and I lost 12 pounds in three weeks, putting me at 205 on January 28. Since then, I've been counting calories like crazy on MyFitnessPal, working out a lot, going to zumba twice a week and doing the 30 Day Shred quite often. And I've even started running. Most of y'all probably don't know me yet, so you have no idea how much of a struggle I've previously had with running. But it was definitely my most hated physical activity. (If you can even call it that since I rarely ever did it!) But I've actually started liking it! And now I run about 4-5 days a week usually. Not very far, but any running for me is a big feat.

April 2013 - 190 pounds. L: ready to go. Top R: weather is hot in FL! Bottom R: calories burned on 1-mile run & zumba.

As of today, I'm down to 190, for 27 total pounds lost in a little over three months! One of my short-term goals was to get to 180 by my sister's wedding, on May 18th. I don't know if I'm going to make it or not, but I'm darn sure trying still. I've been more determined than ever lately, and I've been going strong. Blogging my entire story was definitely a great decision, and I'm so glad I shared such personal details of my weight loss struggles. Doing Weigh-In Wednesday posts each week is also a huge motivator for me as well. And I also love reading other people's weight loss stories. Which is why I wanted to share mine with y'all today.

I hope my story can motivate and inspire some of y'all. Even if it's only one person, that's still worth it to me! Feel free to ask me any more questions you might have. I tried to keep this short (not sure I was really successful though...), and so I still have more to talk about and share. And I'd love to talk to you about it! You can also just come and visit my blog, because I tend to talk about weight loss and fitness stuff pretty often. Can't wait to hear from y'all, and hopefully make some new blog friends, because I love making new blog-friends!! You can also visit me on Twitter and Instagram (username is "HalieRenee88" for both) too for weight loss and fitness stuff! Happy Weigh-In Wednesday everyone!

And thanks again for having me here today :)

Here is the promised fun surprise!
All four of us cool bloggers are co-hosting this fun $40 Target gift card giveaway. Click on the link to enter and good luck to every one!
One $40 Target Giftcard



The giveaway: One $40 Target Giftcard! Please follow All the rules of the giveaway...if you don't you can't win!


Please stay tuned for Thankful Thursday.

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3 comments:

  1. I have been fighting the weight loss fight rather lazily. You have really motivated me to get up and get going. :) Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  2. With the target gift card, I would make a dent in buying the things on our wedding registry that we don't receive as gifts! :)

    ReplyDelete

I love all comments, questions, and positive feedback. Constructive criticism is questionable. Joking, a little. :)