Friday, February 6, 2009

Every picture tells a story

Yesterday I was doing some playing with photos in an attempt to try to put them all in succession and eventually put them in a Windows movie maker sort of thing. The biggest reason I was doing this was because I have a really difficult time seeing my progressions in the mirror for some reason. I think I have a kind of weird amnesia or something that does not let me perceive that kind of detail, and perhaps putting them all together my brain might get it. I guess it is sort of like those exercises where you look at yourself in a full length mirror or something. Anyway, I came across some pictures that were taken before we began our journey, and I think we were slightly heavier than we were at that start time.
In the spirit of honesty and the fact that I never want to go back to that person again, I am posting what was my heaviest from that collection. Mind you, ,it was not the heaviest I have ever been ( I was 310 lbs and I will have to get that picture and scan it in). Also, I never had abs of even jello, and two abdominal surgeries in a year plus carrying an 11 lb 14 oz baby took what was not there and made it infinitely worse. Plus, my body type could be a poster child for Insulin Resistance and the abundance of cortizol- all the weight in the abdomen, little on the legs. This was taken on a hot summer night at a party, and I got to provide the entertainment with my guitar.

I also came across one of my husband, and his changes have been harder to see because of the type of clothes he tends to wear. Here is a guy who was rail thin as a child, had a metabolism that made hummingbirds jealous, but age and extreme stress began to take it's toll. Then suddenly cortizol take over and you go from grasshopper to rather fluffy.Not only does this hormone pack on the pounds, but it does so in the worst places of all, and it makes weight loss insanely tough. The normal rules like low fat and aerobic work do nothing- and can actually make you gain. Things like eating the right fats in balance with protien, getting enough sleep and stress reduction exercises do a lot more benefit. The sleep and stress are really tricky at this stage in life !

Anyway, here we are together in June of last year. Sadly I have been so focused on taking pictures of so many other things that few exist of us in full body shots these days. I want to try to remedy that this weekend and perhaps begin to take full body pictures once a month.I think that could be another tool in the measurment of our progress. We have both lost a lot of belly fat, as well as face, neck and arm fat. I have dropped 2 shoe sizes and 2 ring sizes on this journey, as weird as that sounds !


So now in an attempt to blow up my blog, yesterday's stats

Wii daily weigh in +1.1( oh grrrr....)

exercise 50 min
Wii fit 15 min balance
Bike 35 min

Filling foods 15
water 18 (144 oz)

Breakfast-
Pumpkin oats with the usual toppings
nonfat plain yogert with cocoa powder and splenda
water,coffee







Lunch-
Veggie omlette,salsa, apple, Fiber one yogert
Diet Sierra Mist




Dinner-
Grilled chicken breast, broccoli/cauliflower/carrot blend, sweet potato
tossed salad, Diet Sierra mist





Snacks
6 almonds
celery, carrots, 17 almonds
sugar free pudding, 5 almonds,10 dark chocolate chips
apple

Fruits 3
veg 11
lean protien 2
dairy 2
healthy fats 2


3 comments:

Chews to Lose said...

You both look great. You can see it in your faces.

JC said...

Congrats on you and your family's progress. I can tell you loss in more than your face. You are shrinking just as your title says. I don't have any full body pictures of when I was at my largest (290). I have a very hard time seeing any changes in myself eventhough I've gone from a tight plus size 26/28 to a comfortable regular-petite size 16/18. My shoe size has gone from a 7EW to a 6W or 6 1/2 reg/med. I only have a couple of rings that don't fall off but I don't know the size. In my mind I just think the clothing manufacturers are making clothes bigger. I'm saying all this to say, I understand what you are going through with body image. Our brains will catch up. Have a great weekend.

Rosie said...

You all are doing so great! I love the picture of you with the guitar... I have a guitar but haven't learned to play it :(