Crystal's Blog

I continue to be encouraged

Crystal Harris — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 22:36:22 GMT

My weight is still continuing to come off slowly. I started with 194 lbs in Feb. 2009 and now I weigh 165 lbs. I have 15 more lbs. to reach my goal weight of 150. I know i can do it. I am jogging up to 3 miles every other day now, in preparation for the half marathon in 4 months. I know that I am no where near 13 miles, but, I continue to work on it daily. When I started out I couldn't jog no more than 30 seconds, at a time and now I am up to 3 miles straight. In Jan I will move it to 4 miles. I know I can do this, I keep trying.........I encourage you that if I could do it so can you.

slowly the weight is coming off

Crystal Harris — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 15:22:13 GMT

Hi folks,

I feel great, still slowly but, surely losing the weight. In feb. of this year-9 months ago-I weighed 194 and now today, I weigh 168 lbs. My goal weight is 150 lbs., so I have 19lbs to go. Some things that I do are I exercise consistenly. I eat healthy and don't drink soda or eat candy, before i did this almost daily. I eat more at home now than out at restaurants. I eat a very limited amount of bread. I think the biggest changes I made were self-control when eating and exercising. The greatest changes I made is my attitude. I don't think ok I am eating this way than when I reach my goal weight I can eat anything. This is just how I eat now period. I also watch the show the Biggest Loser, not to get tips or anything but rather, encouragement. Some of the contestants weigh double what I weigh--and it motivates me to think that if they can do it so can I. They have the courage to go on national tv and change their lives. I hope this encourages someone.

running

Crystal Harris — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 15:53:02 GMT

Well my weight loss is slow but, going well I started out on this journey at 194 lbs and now I am down to 175 lbs. I feel good about this. I have decided to take up running, so I registered for a half marathon that takes place in April of next year, so I have 6 months to prepare for it. This is a huge challenge for me. One day I was speed walking and before I knew it i was jogging. I liked jogging and so coupled with the health benefits, challenge, etc. I have decide to run.

So I started reading about it and learned that I needed to change my shoes etc. So yesterday I went out and purchased my first pair of running shoes and some gear to wear. Today will begin my first day officially of training. I will keep a running log. My plan is to train on my own for the first three months and than in Jan. I have signed up for a training group. I'll start out by doing a walk/run training --my goal will be to walk/run and increase the running time each week until I can get up to 30 min. of running consistently.

I feel nervous, excited, challenged, good. I will keep you posted on my journey. Whats your thoughts about running? Any advice? Words of encouragement?

hmmm.....wt. fluctuation

Crystal Harris — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 06:29:13 GMT

My weight seems to fluctuate between 1 and 4 lbs. In the morning when i first wake up I am sometimes a few pounds lighter but, by evening its back on. Someone told me that is because at night no calories are going in and my breathing is burning calories. I am trying not to look at the scale weight so much, as water retention/release, eating times probably affect this number. I don't want to get frustrated by looking at that number. I am doing well, I have about 25 more lbs. to go. I changed my eating habits--only thing is I am a vegetarian so I have a carb issue but, I stay away from the "white" carbs and junk food with no problem. I am rambling some but, any thoughts? please share. Thanks

making progress

Crystal Harris — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 23:14:55 GMT

I started out at 194 lbs in March and am down by 176 lbs now I know for some this may be at a slow loss but, I didn't want to diet instead i made a lifestyle change so the loss of weight is slower. Also, I had stopped exercising for a few months. I am motivated to get to my goal weight of 150 lbs. by December 31st. Please wish me luck. Thank you

I am so proud of myself

Crystal Harris — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 01:49:26 GMT

I am so proud of myself. I weighed in today and lost some additional pounds. So total weight loss in a month is 10 lbs. Although progress is slow i am determined to continue. My goal is to lose 30 lbs. and I have lost 10 lbs. so far, and I plan to lose the additional 20 lbs. I continue to exercise daily or every other day. I watch my portions and I keep a food diary. Sometimes I miss days of writing down my foods, but my awareness has increased of what and how much I am eating. I include a vegetable in all of my meals except breakfast. This is a big difference as a month ago I ate whatever and how often I wanted to without any exercise. No wonder I was overweight. I do it all because I love myself.

Progress

Crystal Harris — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 06:52:22 GMT

I am proud of myself for working on my weightloss goals for the past twenty days. I now go to the gym or walk just about everyday. I am in better control of my eating habits and portion sizes. As a result I have lost 5 lbs. so far, feel more energetic and better about myself. I have committed to continue working on my goals. I keep a food diary and it has been so helpful to me in understanding areas I needed work in. One thing I have learned from my food diary is I was definitely eating way too much and I didn't realize how much until I began keeping this diary. I would recommend everyone to keep a food diary if you haven't already began one.

I just read over a list called Superfoods. It had avocado, nuts, beans, salmon, broccoli, berries, and one that stood out to me was dark chocolate was on this list. Wow, I love chocolate but, I know they mean in moderation now. I want to learn more about this superfood list.

Day 2

Crystal Harris — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 05:55:15 GMT

Today I accomplished some of my weightloss goals. I drank 4 (8) oz glasses of water. My goal was to exercise 35 minutes but, i only did 20 minutes. I am still proud of myself though because a week ago i was not doing any exercise. I also stayed close to my carb, fat,calorie intake goals today. Although I may go over a little I still feel good because it is dramatically reduced compared to what it was just a few days ago. Well tomorrow is another day and I hope to do at least 35 minutes of exercise.

Day 1

Crystal Harris — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 08:26:36 GMT

Today I did what some would call baby steps. I wrote down what i ate, bought a calorie counter book called The Calorie King, Calorie Fat and Carbohydrate counter 2009 edition. I bought this book from Targets. I have a friend in a weightloss group and they use this book, she said it was very helpful, so i want to give it a try. I drank more water today (4) 8-oz of water and walked 15 minutes. I haven't done any exercise in a while so i feel good about this. I already have a gym membership, but I bought a workout video tape that i can use at home, so I can maintain a workout routine even if the weather gets bad out. The video i bought is The Firm, the 500 calorie workout by Kelsie Daniels. I haven't used it yet, as I just bought it but, will give feedback once i use it. I don't want this to be just about weightloss but, healthy eating/living as well. Well tomorrow is Monday, 2/9/09, looking forward to a great day.

New Journey

Crystal Harris — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 07:02:51 GMT

I am excited and nervous about my new weightloss/healthy living life style but, I am motivated to continue on. I plan to focus, stay committed and be excited about my achievements, as i do all of my goals. I am happy about the support that I will receive, any encouraging words will be helpful and i will keep you updated on my accomplishments.