The numbers

So as I said there is no point in hiding anything so I am here to officially unveil my numbers ... Most women would cringe at the thought of this but like I said before, what is the difference.  There are a few ways it could go, one is the people may be surprised because they assumed I was bigger/smaller than my actual size the other is it could inspire others to be comfortable in their own skin.  I don't let my size dictate what I do or wear, I think your attitude is what really matters.  I want my followers to know, it has nothing to do with appearance, it is about health!! I want to spend many years with all of you on this amazing planet and the only way to do that is to reclaim my health!

I would like to note that I restarted my quest on January 1st, my first blog unveiled my weigh in at 271.4 pounds.  I may have included already that I lost 5 pounds in the first weigh in so my starting weight on January 1st was 276!! 

I want to explain the sections I am measuring so anyone who wants to follow along would know exactly where I am taking the measurements from.  My bust would be the fullest part, right along where the nipples would be.  The Chest is the area where the band of a bra would go.  The Waist is the narrowest part of my midsection, about an inch or so above my belly button.  My hips would be the widest part, I would like to note that heels should be together when taking this measurement.  Thighs measurements are the space where your bum meets your leg (most likely your thickest part of your thigh)  The calf is also the thickest part, probably a few inches below your knee.  My arm measurement is based on the upper arm at the thickest section, for me that is just below my armpit.  Finally the forearm measurement is once again the thickest section, an inch or so below your elbow.



Numbers as of February 3rd 2013
Weight: 259 pounds
Bust: 50.5
Chest: 44
Waist: 45
Hips: 54
Thigh: 29.5
Calf: 18
Arm: 16.5
Forearm: 12

Thanks for the ongoing support =)

It's Been a While

First I should thank you for taking the time to come back to my blog and read it, I have not blogged in a while so loss of interest is easy to understand.  I have been so busy with my husband and then I caught the damn cold bug that has been going around.  With that said I have to admit my physical activity has taken a toll.  I have only been to the gym twice since January 15th :/ .... I am ashamed to admit that but the first step to recovery is acceptance right? 

I have been trying my best to keep with my healthy eating, I need to tell you about a movie a friend of mine had told me about and I watched it right away.  It is called "Hungry For Change" It is a documentary and I HIGHLY recommend it, however be prepared to throw away everything in your cupboards that was made in a factory.  I would like to find more people in the local area who are interested in eating local, fresh produce.  I think if enough people demand those products we should be able to see more of it around here.  I also need to invest in a juicer so I can start 'jucing' as they call it.  There is no excuse to not eat healthy if your juicing because it literally takes minutes to make your lunch and eat it.  That being said, I take great pride in saying I have been experimenting with recipes using, real, fresh ingredients.  This is new for me since I rarely cooked let alone cooked healthy stuff before. 

So as I stated before I was not going to post my results until the end of the competition.  Well I have decided to end my participation in the contest as I am financially stressed right now due to my husband being off work.  I instead will make my own challenge to myself, I know I will not be at my goal by the end of the 12 week competition so this goal will be longer, which will allow me to get a bigger reward.  I have posted my start weight, and this post will reveal my goal weight.  Some of you may think, wow that is not as much as I had imagined, but I would like you all to know I don't plan on being a fitness model when I am done.  I plan on being healthy and to have the strength to do all the things I want to do. 

My official goal weight is 160 pounds.  

I will be posting my weight loss on here since I am no longer competing with others.  I have not weighed in this week so I will post when I go to the gym tomorrow what my current weight is.  I have also decided to list my measurements as well.  I feel there is no reason to hide it since everyone can see it everyday.  What really is there to hide??

If anyone would like to join me on this journey I invite you to, I am willing to take a night out of my week to meet with people at my place.  We can discuss our goals, how we ate that week, how much weight we lost, our measurements or anything really.  I guess this is sort of like weight watchers minus the ridiculous membership fees.  If I get enough interest in this I will designate a time one night per week and we can even do our weigh in and measurements during this time if you would like.  There will be no 'fees' or costs involved at all just support and friendship which is how it should be. 

Interested readers can send me a message on facebook or comment on here and I will get in touch with you. 

I think that is enough for today, as I said before sorry for leaving such a large gap between posts, I hope to inspire some to join me on this journey =))

Have a great day

Meg

The Weigh In

So today was my first weigh in, I will post my official start weight however after this I will not include numbers to keep the actual weight a surprise until the end of the competition.

Starting weight: 271.4 pounds

My workout today was unfortunately not as long as I desired due to sleeping in.  I did however get in a brisk walk on the treadmill and 3 sets of 12 reps on the shoulder press, assisted chin/dip and the chest press.

I plan on working on my routine with my trainer in the next two weeks

This weekend I hope to get some before pics done and post them up ... I probably won't blog until then as I have a lot going on between work and Steve in the hospital and getting my fitness on!

This one is pretty short but I promised to post my weigh in so I didn't want to disappoint!

For all you procrastinators you have until Thursday night to join the biggest loser competition... With over 75 people the pot is going to be HUGE!!!!!

From The Start

Hello everyone, welcome to my blog! I am really excited to be sharing in this journey with you all.  Some of you may already know me an my history so this entry may be a little boring but I promise there will be more interesting things to come!!

I began with my weight issues at a young age, always thinking I was 'fat' even when I was a perfectly healthy size.  Coming from an obese family I never thought anything about eating a huge plate of food until I could hardly move.  I maintained a slightly overweight size through high school but by graduation I had ballooned to a size 18 prom dress.    At this point I had been with the man (who is now my husband) for two years and was quite comfortable with him so my increasing size didn't seam to bother me.

The next 'excuse' I had for my weight gain was working in a call centre full time while going to college full time as well.  I was continuously gaining weight and the worst was yet to come.  In February 2007 my father was diagnosed with brain cancer and this news shook up my whole world.  It was the beginning of a long battle with anxiety and depression.  In September of the same year, two weeks before I was to marry the love of my life I found myself in the middle of another crisis.  My husband to-be landed in the hospital with a blood clot in his leg.  Luckily we caught it in time however it was only the beginning.  The next few years were a blur, or maybe it was more of a drug induced 'fog' , then in 2010 the cycle began again.  My fathers cancer had returned and my husband returned to the hospital again.  2011 was by far the worst year of my life, it started with finding out my husband has lupus which meant a lot of learning and precautions for both of us.  Then in May the first man I ever loved, my dear father, was taken from us.  This was the height of my weight gain, with a highest weight of 296 pounds, and this is when it started to effect my own health .


In August of 2011 I went to the emergency room in terrible pain.  I was convinced it was my gall bladder.  After doing some tests it was confirmed I had the beginnings of fatty liver disease! I was only 24 years old and if I didn't smarten up my life was at serious risk!! This was the beginning of a long journey one I have now invited you all to join me on.  I began changing my diet drastically right away and in January I added an exercise program.  I managed to lose 50 pounds, before you start thinking wow! I should let you know this was short lived, in April I decided I would take the summer away from the gym and just exercise in our swimming pool, this was my mistake! After a summer of not exercising I managed to put 25 of the 50 pounds back on.  In September I joined Ascendo Fitness and I feel that is where my ultimate journey began.

This week Ascendo is beginning a fitness challenge titled "the biggest loser" and to encourage not only myself but other participants to put their all into this challenge and make Cape Breton a healthier place I have decided to take down the walls and invite everyone in to see what eating right and hard work can do!

I have made so many excuses as to why I couldn't lose weight in the past but this is my time, the excuses are done.  On the television show "the biggest loser" last night a doctor was going through the health problems with all the participants and he said something that really resonated with me.  He asked the participant if he has been diagnosed with cancer would he take two hours a day to get chemo to save his life.  Obviously his answer was yes! The doctor then said well your life is at risk if you do not put two hours of physical activity in a day!!! This is so true, and is my challenge to all of you looking to lose weight, remember that television show is not going to make you live longer, being active will!

I decided to write this blog last week and planned on doing it on Sunday evening however Sunday morning my twenty six year old husband Steve was taken to the hospital and we found out he had a mini stroke.  I am writing this from his bedside and although he is expected to make a full recovery it really opens your eyes to how crucial your health is! Just because your 'young' doesn't mean your not at risk for serious health issues if you are overweight or inactive with a poor diet.

I hope you enjoyed my first blog, I have never written anything like this so I am sorry if it is not in proper 'blogger' format.  I look forward to communicating with you all and will update you on my official weigh in tomorrow!