After 2 children and a furlough, I weighed way more than what I should have, and was very discouraged that the weight was not coming off. I gained a lot of weight with both of my pregnancies (50 lbs each time!) and I was not one of those fortunate people who loses weight while breastfeeding! I also had gained about 10 pounds on furlough, and although it had been about 5 months since we had returned from furlough, I had not lost any of that weight. I was pretty discouraged, since I felt I was eating much more healthy than when we were on furlough, and was also walking briskly just about every morning with a friend.
So I got Dani Joy's e-mail and joined the challenge. At first I did not plan to make any changes to my diet, but after about a week I decided "something's gotta give!" and I cut out desserts completely (except for that one wonderful "treat" day every week!) I stepped up the exercise, and by the end of that first challenge had lost 11 pounds! I kept up the work through the summer challenge and so far have lost almost 25 pounds! I would still like to lose at least 10 and maybe 20 more pounds (20 would get me down to what I was pre-pregnancy with my first child), so we'll see what happens!
Anyway, here's a bit more about me... My husband Dan and I are missionaries with Mission Aviation Fellowship in Wamena, Papua, Indonesia. We have two girls ages 5 and 3, and they definitely keep me on my toes all day long!
Here is a picture of our family taken back in May:
And a few photos of my progress so far...
Here is a picture I took at the beginning of my journey (210 pounds!)
Here is what I look like now:
I think I am even starting to get some muscle definition! That pesky tricep area is still flabby but I'll work on it!!!
And, here you can see how I carry my weight... definitely all in my lower half... I'm a girl with junk in my trunk, no matter how skinny I am! (This is for Vicki K. who wondered how we can have almost the same measurements but I still weigh more than she does... it's all the junk in my trunk! :-))
Oh, and before I forget, here are my starting measurements:
5 feet, 10 inches tall (I don't think that is going to change! Ha!)
186.5 pounds (I actually got down to 185 but the last couple weeks have not been good for me in the discipline area, so I'm up a bit...)
(my measurements are also a bit higher than the end of the last challenge, although I am down in weight. Not sure how that works, but oh well!)
Bust - 36
Chest - 30
Waist - 31
Hips - 43
R & L Thighs - 25
R & L Arms - 12.5
So, there you have it! Sorry my post got so long and rambling :-) I am looking forward to meeting all of the rest of you and "crunching" together with you!
7 comments:
You are doing awesome!!! Thanks for the update---it's so encouraging that hard work does pay off!!
Thank you, Sarah, for posting about your journey. It is so important for us to see that it takes discipline and yes, a change in our habits. It is so encouraging to me to keep at it, too.
You are doing great in God´s strength.
Remember to mix up the exercise routine. Maybe try increasing your heart rate with some high cardio interval training. I am not sure if you have access to an eliptical or if you run, but try a high cardio for 30 sec. then lower cardio for 1 min. ect. Doing this for 20 min. should boost your metabolism into even a higher gear.
I am trying desprately to mix up my workouts as my body has gotten use to the level.
Great post!
Big Crunching hugs,
Dani Joy
Wow Sarah....thanks for sharing your journey with these challenges! Great inspiration. I had no idea that you weighed 210 at one point. I still don't see it even in your start picture! You def hid it well! :) Weight gain on furloughs.....I think we're on to something here though. All three of ours I did badly and we're planning one next April. I am determined not to gain.
Anyway....you look great!!!! Keep it up!
Yes, Furloughs are so tough for weight gain.
We came up with a plan on our second furlough. We got memberships at our home base YMCA. Then every city we went to (almost all) had a YMCA that allowed us several visits. This helped so much as we traveled. It also made for great family time.
Just an idea.
Dani Joy
Dani Joy, thanks for the comments and the tips. I do try to do an interval workout. When I do a video it is usually an interval-type video, and when I go outside I walk/run in intervals. It would be nice to get to the point where I run/run faster in intervals, but so far I cannot keep up the running without stopping to walk. So I figure that this at least gives me the intervals. I have been trying to push it a little harder by running faster on my "run" portions, and also by doing more intervals ( I do one lap around our little road here on base - running part of it and walking part of it. I started with 10 laps but now have worked up to 14 laps intervals and then walking a few to get me up to my 40 minutes :-))
Yeah, furlough is hard! And on our furloughs we move around so much that it's not really practical to join a gym. I think on the next one I will just have to be disciplined with the videos...
Sarah - thanks for the encouragement! Weight does NOT come off easy for me! It has been hard work these past 7 months or so, and I am just glad to see the results that i have! You can do it, too! This community of ladies is awesome :-)
That sounds great, Sarah! you are doing awesome. Just trying to rack my brain to see how I can get better too.´
keep up the good work!
Dani Joy
Hi Sarah. Thanks for posting and for the pictures. They are an encouragement. I am looking forward to doing this crunch with you - this will be our first one together.
Post a Comment