RosetheFitnessInstructor's Weight Loss Story!

My weight-loss story

By: RosetheFitnessInstructor

It was a hot, humid, Saturday afternoon. I was sitting in my bed in a house with no air conditioning. I was completely uncomfortable in my own body and with no energy whatsoever. This is when I knew that I had to do something.

At that time, I was probably around 238 pounds. Yes, I just put my weight out there! I don’t weigh that number anymore, but I want to remind women out there that it’s just a number…it doesn’t define you. In fact, I’m not very far from that number now! Shocking, but you’ll see why J.

I started looking into weight loss options, not sure where to go and what was successful. I was reluctant to spend money on something that I didn’t know would work for me. After all, what’s good for one person may not work for the other person. I was at church one day and the pastor’s wife pulled me aside for a chat. She told me she noticed that I’ve gained weight and she knew it was from a lot of recent stress in my life. Without knowing I was exploring my options, she told me about her success with WeightWatchers and she thought it would be a great program for me. That had to be a sign from God or my guardian angel at the very least. Little did I know how much that conversation/intervention would change the rest of my life.

I started WeightWatchers one summer before senior year of college. I lost 20 lbs that summer and I was feeling great! My sorority sisters started to notice my results and wanted to join in the success as well. So when school started, not only did I have a few gym buddies, but I had lunch buddies as well. It was awesome…the constant support I got from my sisters kept me going. We worked out together, ate healthy together, had a yahoo listserv for all sorority members who were doing WeightWatchers to share their success and challenges.
Before I knew it, I lost 68 lbs! My body completely changed. I was a size 18 and I went down to a size 8. I was a 40DDD bra size and went to a 36D. Most importantly, I had tons of energy and found a new love for physical activity.

I graduated from college and moved back home with my mom and brother. I quickly realized how easy it was to lose weight in college where the food was made and the gym was a walk away. I controlled what came into my single-dorm too. Now, I had to fight the temptation of trail mix, cookies, fried food, etc. etc. The gym wasn’t close and after long days working in the “real world”, I started to get tired and wanted a night to just chill and not mess up my hair! It was hard but I managed. It helped that I found a gym which soon became my new family. I got hooked onto the group fitness classes and would sometimes take 3 classes in a row (three hours total).

But then I started to get ahead of myself. I would “cheat” every other day and tell myself “its okay, you’ll burn it off tomorrow”. The thing was, my body was starting to change as I entered into my later 20’s…my body stopped growing completely. I wasn’t burning off the calories as fast as I used too. The weight started to creep back up. Not enough for others to notice, but the scale did and my jeans started to feel a little snug.

So I thought I needed to step it up. This is why I became a group fitness instructor. I figured I would really kick it into gear because I didn’t want to stand in front of 20-40 people at a time, with my belly sticking out. I wanted to be a role model and be the image you see on TV when you think of a fitness instructor. That’s still not working for me! I’ve gained about half of the weight I’ve put on…and I gained one jean size. So I know most of it is from muscle as I teach BodyPump, but I also know a lot of it is from poor food choices. However, I’ve still become a role model for others. Women who are nervous about entering a gym class for the first time won’t feel intimated when they see me. They see a real woman doing the workouts and the moves that may seem intimating. I can tell they feel inspired because they come back! This is why I love to teach.

I’m still working on losing the 30 lbs I gained. I think it’s funny that 30 lbs ago, I thought I was still too heavy. But now I know that I want to be a healthy girl..not a skinny girl.

Major moral of my story for success: You can’t have one without the other. Eat right and work out. No short-cuts because they will come back to haunt you later. Keep it slow and steady…that’s the best way to lose.

BetterU Challenge Update: Participant S.C.

A quick reminder:

Nubian Fitness Goddess is participating in the American Heart Association BetterU Challenge. I received a great response from readers interested in Participating. If you are interested please click here. Also, if you join the challenge create a fitness list to keep you motivated, more information here.

A few readers have graciously agreed to share their experiences with you. Today participant/reader S.C. will share her experience. I am sure some of you can relate to her. She like most black women has several stressors to deal with. Despite theses obstacles she has joined the challenged and lost 4 lbs! She is currently in the third week of the program. She is doing an awesome job!!! Please share your encouragement, motivation, or any questions for her via comments.

Participant S.C.

STATS:

• Age: 37 (I'll be 38 next month)
• Current weight: 182 pounds
• Height: 5'4.75
• Bust: 38
• Waist: 35
• Hips: 45

Background:

Family status: Married, mother of a 10-year old and a 4-year old (both boys). The 4-year old lives with his mother, but had long stays at our house frequently until recently.

Work status: I'm an office manager (which means I sit for long periods of time while at work). I work 9 hour days Monday-Thursday and 4 hours on Friday.

Life Stressors:

• Finances: I'm currently the only one working in the home and things are tight.
• Family: My husband has medical problems that stress him out day in and day out. I find myself carrying some of this stress. We've been unable to see my stepson for the past couple of months due to extreme "baby mama drama". We miss him terribly and seeing my husband in so much pain takes its toll.

Difficulties:

Daily Exercise: I'm not and have never been a morning person. I've tried several times in the past to get up at 4 or 5 in the morning to exercise before work. It's very difficult for me. I think mainly due to the fact that I don't arrive home from work until 6 p.m. or shortly after. In the past I made the effort to get up and work out in the a.m. and I was consistent for a couple of weeks. When I come home I'm usually tired and I have about 4 hours of time before it's time to go to bed. It seems everyone needs attention because they haven't seen me all day. I spend time with my son before he goes to bed between 8:30 and 9:00 p.m. and I spend the time with my husband before we go to bed. There are a few occasions where I will come home and cook, but for the most part my husband takes care of that since he's home.

On the weekend I lack motivation. I view the weekend as my "off" days. Sometimes I go to the garage and walk on the treadmill on Saturday. I think the stress over finances and other issues and having had worked all week just makes me feel like blah.

Eating: Planning separate meals for myself seems like a chore to me. Something I have to set aside time for. I don't feel like I have a ton of time. I've done pretty good lately at making sure I eat breakfast, a mid-morning snack, lunch, a afternoon snack and dinner. I seem to eat better during the week than I do on the weekend. The only time I really have a hard time with "unhealthy" snacks during the week is during my cycle time. When it's that time of the month it seems I have to have chocolate. It doesn't help that one of my co-worker's mom works for Hershey and he always brings a ton of candy to work to share with us. I'm pretty good at resisting except for when I feel I need a afternoon pickup or when it's that time of the month. The only other thing I can think of when it comes to my eating habits is the fact that I love bread and pasta.

I don't belong to a gym, but I have a treadmill, exercise ball and Ab Lounger at home. Plus, the weather is going to be nice soon in California so I have the outdoors for walking or riding my bicycle.

Her Fitness List

Week 1: Eat one serving of fruits and/or vegetables with each meal. I have completed the first week and have met this goal. I am continuing with this goal.

2. Week 2: Take my two 10 minute breaks on each work day. Enjoy a brisk 10 minute walk on each break or combine into one 20 minute power walk.

3. Week 3: Avoid eating sweets that are high in calories, fat, sugar and carbs. Only have in moderation (no more than once per week if at all) and practice portion control to limit calories.

4. Week 4: Eat dinner before 8 p.m. and do not snack after 9 p.m. Allow at least an hour after eating anything before going to bed.

5. Week 5: Increase aerobic exercise from 5 days a week to 6 days a week minimum (I intend to exercise 6 days a week until I reach my goal weight).

6. Week 6: Incorporate strength training exercises three times a week.

7. Week 7: Increase my green tea intake by drinking green tea each morning during the week instead of coffee. Limit coffee to the weekend and on occasion during the week.

8. Week 8: Go to bed before 10 p.m. during the work week (for some reason I can never get to bed before 11 and often times I don't drift off to sleep until nearly midnight).

9. Week 9: Exercise in the early a.m. before starting my work day and on the weekends. (This will require me to get up in the 5 a.m. hour Monday-Friday in order to exercise before leaving for work. Waking up that early is challenging for me).

10. Week 10: Incorporate jogging into my activity regimen (start off with once a week and increase over time as my endurance increases).

In the coming days/weeks I will share info from other participants. I must admit I have not been very focused lately. I am still adjusting to D.C. and I moved into a new apartment this past weekend. Anyway, look for more articles to come!

Remember Share your comments, motivation, encouragement with S.C. via Comments. Let's keep each other motivated!!!