I didn't disappear

You probably thought I disappeared, but I'm here.  I was continuing my battle with my weight with ups and downs as does everyone.  But I never gave up. 

I read so many books and all of the continued to influence me in what exactly I would want to do to stay on this healthy path.  You see when you decide to make a lifestyle change it's different than going on a diet.  You have to find what can work for you for the rest of your life...not just until you lose 5 or 10 lbs.  I don't want to ever go back to my non-caring, unhealthy way of life.

I read books like the Cardio-Free diet, which really pushes the importance of strength training.  I read Body for Life for Women, which is a great book for encouraging older women (which I unfortunately am) that it's never too late.  And of course I invested in many, many healthier cookbooks to indulge my love for cooking.

On the path I tried different things, some of which I felt I could continue and other that I did not.  Over time I feel I've found a plan that works for me. 

I also invested in a Body Bugg - which measures the calories you burn throughout the day and even through your sleep. I found that I burned far less calories than I had previously thought with my exercising.  The Body Bugg is 94% accurate and it showed that my Heart Rate Monitor and my exercise equipment showed me burning way more calories than I was.  EXACTLY why you can not out work bad eating habits. So I came to the conclusion that I MUST cut my calories significantly to attain the deficit that I wanted.

Now I'm eating around 1200 calories and working out 6 times a week.  I do Stationary Interval Biking Mondays, Strength training  Tuesdays (Legs & Butt), Treadmill Interval Wednesday, Strength Training Thursday (Arms & Shoulders), Stationary Interval Biking Friday, Strength training (Abs, Back, Core)

I know it sounds impossible to keep up this pace, but I've been doing it pretty consistently and I'm not being ridiculous about it.  If I have a busy weekend and need to take a day off to get the house ready or something I do.  Working out 6 days a week consistently allows me to take a day here and there and not feel guilty.

In the process I've lost some weight.  I'm getting ever close to my goals!  And I feel fantastic.  I can tell you that my stamina has improved so much it surprises me every day.  I can keep  going well into the night and still feel energetic.  It's awesome and a side benefit I had not expected.

Current Weight: 204
Only 4lbs to go to finally get below the dreaded 200lbs!
After 20 odd years I'm going to celebrate that milestone and never EVER return to it!!!

Tammy