by EM2WL | Jul 29, 2013 | Motivation, Testimonials, The Journey
Having followed her progress for over a year, we were completely overjoyed when Monique agreed to share her journey thus far with the Eat More 2 Weigh Less fam. She’s inspired us for this long, we know you’ll feel the same! ~Lucia & Kiki
25 pounds down
How long have you been on this journey?
Officially, I’ve been on this journey since January 2012. I’ve had so many fluctuations with my weight since I was a child. From being borderline anorexic in middle school to working out like a machine in high school without proper nutrition; this time around, I figured I would actually try to give my body what it needed and not what I THOUGHT it needed.
When did you first learn that you needed to eat more to reach your goals? What was your original response?
Color Run!
I first learned that I needed to eat more to reach my goals when I hit a plateau for about three months straight while exercising and eating as clean as I possibly could. I felt groggy, tired, irritable and most of all hungry, after counting calories. I thought to myself, “I’ve literally done everything right with a few cheat days here and there, but this scale won’t budge at all.”
How did others around you act about your decision to discard the usual low cal methods for weight loss?
The usual response was “wait… you’re not cutting out anything?” or “how can you eat sweets and still lose?” and the infamous “I’m cutting out carbs because they’re bad for you… you won’t lose anything if you start to eat more calories and carbs than your body actually needs.”
How did your body react to the initial increase in cals?
45 pounds down
Two words: Water weight. I felt bloated for about a week initially since my body wasn’t accustomed to the sudden increase in calories. On the plus side, I had SO much more energy to actually workout without feeling fatigued and exhausted all of the time. I finally didn’t need coffee to wake myself up in the morning from a bad nights’ sleep. Plus, I slept like a baby at night, which was great.
Can you describe your typical workout schedule?
Zombie Race
I work a desk job, so I try to be as active as possible each week. I also like to keep my body guessing depending on the season and what activity I’d like to get into. One day, I might hike and on another day I may try some hot yoga. It keeps the boredom at bay!
Typically, my week will look like this:
Monday – Body Combat class or upper body circuit training
Tuesday – Spinning class
Wednesday – Body Combat class or lower body circuit training
Thursday – Swimming or yoga
Friday – Rest day (unless I didn’t get some lifting in throughout the week, then I may do a full body heavy lifting session)
Saturday/Sunday – 2 to 3 mile jog/rest day… depends on activities for the weekend!
Has proper fuel affected you in ways other than weight loss? (Good or bad)
Honestly, I’ve been able to see tremendous changes in my body that have nothing to do with the scale. I’m sleeping better, looking leaner, and have so much energy to do just about anything. The greatest thing that came out of all of this is that I’ve learned how to live and have a healthy relationship with food. I’m a huge foodie and have no time to “diet” at such a young age. I get to enjoy my social life and teach others who want to know my “secrets” how to stop depriving themselves in order to feel better about their weight.
Any parting words of encouragement to those who are new to eating more, or struggling with the decision of whether or not to fuel properly?
I usually tell people to try it out for about a month and see if they have seen a difference in how much more they can lift, how much harder they can push themselves during an intense workout session, or just how much better they feel. It seems like a strange idea to eat more when you’re trying to lose weight, but you simply have to trust the process. Don’t let the scale have so much power over you. You shouldn’t have to judge your worth based on a number. Ever.
The best decisions that I’ve made throughout this journey were eating more (especially protein), purchasing a heart rate monitor and buying a food scale. If you don’t accurately know what’s going into your body, the results you want will not come. Most importantly, be patient and learn to live. Life’s too short not to have great meals with the people you cherish the most along the way!
50 pounds down! A work in progress, but getting there, and enjoying every minute of it!
Share your success, no matter how large or small. You never know who you may inspire to hang on just a bit longer. We love featuring results and journey stories in REAL time, not just before/afters. If you have a victory (scale or not) let us know and allow us to share with the fam, by submitting to success@EM2WL.com
by EM2WL | Jul 25, 2013 | Consistency, Fat Loss / Cutting, Motivation, Testimonials, The Journey, Transformations, Troubleshooting
Before the drama began – loving life
Well this has been a long time coming. I’ve been meaning to sit down and put all of what’s been happening with me for the last year, since my transformation story, on paper. So much has transpired I’m trying to decide exactly where I should begin.
Ok, I’ll start from July of last year, I went to Jamaica to celebrate my bff’s 40th and had an absolute blast! I was at the tail end of my metabolic reset, in which, I had only gained four pounds. I totally enjoyed all the fine delicacies and didn’t count a thing. I was on vacation, loving every minute of it and I vowed I would never ever ever diet on vacation again. I know I ate a surplus some days, the food was amazing and I was determined to try everything. I got back and had gained all of ZERO pounds. WHAT???? So back to Cathe STS Meso 3 and over the rest of the summer I was lifting heavy and eating at cut.
Nov. 2012 – Back to post baby weight & devastated
I noticed the end of September, my weight started creeping up slowly. Since I was lifting heavy and eating right, I tried not to become concerned. Well, my son transitioned to wearing a pump to manage his diabetes, and I didn’t have one full nights sleep for over three weeks. I had to get up every three hours to check his blood sugar. You talk about exhausted… 9pm, 12am, 3am, 6am every single night. By the top of November I had an extra 20lbs and I couldn’t believe how I’d gone from toned and svelte to thick and fatty. I just knew it had to be my thyroid, and though my numbers looked fine, I decided to switch from synthetic to a natural thyroid replacement pill. My numbers plummeted and though in cut mode the weight didn’t budge. I was back to my after baby weight and all the muscles I was so proud of, seemed to disappear into oblivion. You talk about devastated…
I felt everything people would write me about…frustrated, scared, anxious, and obsessed with that scale. I couldn’t understand how I went from nicely toned with just a wee bit of fat to shed, to a thick girl with layers of adipose tissue that seemed here stay! During the next few months the doctor and I worked on getting my thyroid level right. Though the temptation was there to slash calories drastically, I absolutely refused. I ate at a small deficit 10-15% and took off an extra 200 to account for the low thyroid. Lifting and cutting and still nothing moved much. Well the cutting business, wore on my nerves, so back to TDEE I went. I figured if I wasn’t losing or gaining at cut or TDEE then why not enjoy my food???
Fat starting to come off – noticing muscle gains (20lbs heavier)
So, I believe it was March or April, I’m still looking for answers since my thyroid numbers were now level. Goodness, though I’d shed a few pounds, I was stuck at 170lbishhhhhhh. During my hunt for some type of viable explanation, I found a Sweaty Betties vid, on adrenal fatigue. Things started to make sense. Severe stress, lack of sleep, growing older can all contribute to causing adrenal fatigue. Lord knows I was sleep deprived, and the start of the gain was when I was getting up all through the night….ahhhhh haaaaaaaa! Light bulb blew up…lol… I mean for weeks no sleep and I was absolutely stressed in general with family issues, plus the strain of my full time job and my 2nd job that I love, EM2WL. Well, I read and watched more vids and started the supplementation suggested, but, I was still having sleeping issues. I found that my free T3 was a bit too high so we backed down on the thyroid med a little bit.
Ok, so now I’m sleeping ok, thyroid numbers are good, I’m lifting heavy, I invested in the Body Media Fit (boy did I underestimate my numbers, but that’s for another blog, in time…lol), eating at small cut, starting to see some fat loss but still stuck in my big clothes. So, I decided to take some pictures and bam, I see some muscular maturity…more dense muscle than when I was at 154lbs. Yes still almost 20lbs heavier but I could see that all the gain wasn’t just lumpy fat, but that there was some nice growth that transpired unbeknownst to me. I got excited and then the brain starts saying over and over…”now it’s time to shed all the excess fat so you can start wearing some of your smaller stuff…aren’t you sick of wearing the same three jeans?” Oh my gosh, I then became obsessed about the numbers…YES!!! Exactly what I type a few times a day to others, NOT to do!
More mature muscle and v-taper development
After whining to the Kikster one day, I realized, I was causing myself unnecessary stress and I said that is it! No more scale…No more logging… and NEW CLOTHES BABY! Oh yes, the sausage queen went into retirement. I hit the outlets and bought nice fitting jeans. Matter of fact, I went all out and bought tops too, even though my top size didn’t change, hey, I went for the gusto. Feeling good again because a sausage I was not any longer…lol. My plan was to weigh in after a month, but now way over a month later, I have no desire to step on the scale. Listen, during my no scale or logging time..whew, I haven’t been stressed about a single number. And logging for over a year has taught me how to hit numbers,macros, blah blah. So no sweat there either.
lost 1/2 inch in waist…I’ll take it
What’s been happening since? All the jeans I bought are looser…tehehe. The ones I’m wearing today were a bit snug when I bought it. I could hear Kiki’s voice saying, ” Now the purpose of your shopping trip is to “desausage”…why are you going to buy those sausage makers?” LOL. I know I should have left them right there, but they were on too good of a sale. Oh so glad to report they fit smashingly today. Also, the break from all the tracking has allowed me to shift my focus to physical goals. I’ve always wanted to dead lift and squat my weight. My lift sessions have gone to another level. Not worrying about all the tracking keeps me nice and mellow. I also decided to stop dwelling and focusing on the negatives…I wish I looked like this, look at that lump, why can’t I see a striation here or there yet…blah, blah, and negative blah. Now, I congratulate myself on new feats tackled and I point out the positive changes I see in my friend, the mirror.
Ok, ok, ok, so I can’t tell you I’ve lost x,y, or z, BUT, I can tell you I’ve lost a half inch off my hips, waist, and thighs. I can say I surpassed my dead lift goal, met the squat goal, and I’m blowing past other personal records during my lift sessions. I can also see a nice progression which others have noticed too. I have also conquered the hardest part of the journey…the mental voyage. And lastly, I can say I’m enjoying the stress-free non-tracking lifestyle and appreciating every positive thought I now have about me:-)
by EM2WL | Jun 17, 2013 | Motivation, Testimonials, The Journey, Tracking Progress
3 weeks progress – (recent on left)
I started out my weight loss journey eating a very low calorie diet and not doing much outside of my normal activity for exercise. While the pounds were dropping off at a great pace at that time my body started telling me something different. I started losing my hair, was exhausted constantly and even lost TOM (time of month). I knew something was wrong and started with a personal trainer and researching. Finding the EM2WL group helped immensely and my whole thought process around this has changed. It is no longer a weight loss journey, but a fat loss journey focusing on strength.
My weight has stabilized for now, but the inches are slowly going down. I gained a pound and lost an inch in my waist over the past few months. My smaller clothes are fitting better. My back is better. I had forgotten how strong I was when I was younger, but am now rediscovering my muscles.
I now have new goals in mind. My main goal is to be able to do a pull up and a dip unassisted by the end of the year.
Weight is not as much of a concern anymore. Yes, it is hard when I occasionally weigh in and don’t see progress, but that is when I just need to pull out my phone and look at all of the progress pictures to see that my hard work is paying off. Keep eating and your body will transform. I am constantly amazed at what my approaching 40 year old body can do.
7 months progress – Only 8lbs lost! The scale does NOT tell the whole story!
Follow Sandi’s Journey here.
Share your success, no matter how large or small. You never know who you may inspire to hang on just a bit longer. We love featuring results and journey stories in REAL time, not just before/afters. If you have a victory (scale or not) let us know and allow us to share with the fam, by submitting to success@EM2WL.com
by EM2WL | Mar 4, 2013 | Consistency, Motivation
Guest Post from Jen
It’s been a while since I’ve written anything about my progress and my ponderings. Most of you have read my story, and I’m still chugging right along on my “transformation.” So .. here goes!
Gosh. Where do I start? A few weeks ago on a Monday. My newsfeed at MyFitnessPal was filled with a plethora of scale angst and cries of “when am I going to see some progress.” I’ve had my share of both. Then I got kicked. Not physically, but it was still pretty effective. Kicked with some Tough Love. Sometimes we all need that, don’t we? My friend Denise (TheMedalist) had these words for me : “I realize pursuit of perfection is the DNA of a Type A personality. But, I think it comes at a HUGE cost. Frustration. Angst. Scale wars. And most of all, sadly, a failure to enjoy what you’ve already accomplished that deserves to be celebrated. It makes this Type B just shake her head.” That got my attention, and set me to pondering. Of course, she was right.
May 2011, I decided that I was going to start taking care of me a whole lot better than I had been. Was going to try to work less, schedule time to exercise, and grab hold of my eating which was woefully out of control. Nothing was FEEDING me. I was going non-stop, not sleeping, not taking time to eat properly, and certainly wasn’t exercising. I was exhausted all the time. I had no work-life balance. I had no time for JEN. I set out to finally Get With It – for ME. My goal? To leave work each evening with enough time to sit down to eat a meal and go to the gym; lose 40 pounds and get back into a size 12. I’ve accomplished all those things. In fact, I’ve surpassed the goals I set for myself. I joined a gym for the first time in my life, discovered heavy lifting, got my eating under control, conquered my cravings for “extraneous bread like substances,” lost 50 pounds, passed by size 12 to a size 8, quit the job that was sucking every bit of life out of me, and am working toward a career change that I’m passionate about. But! I didn’t stop to celebrate my accomplishments. Instead, in my driven Type-A style – I wanted MORE. Size 8? Yea, that’s great, but oh…size 6 is calling out to me. And my scale – it isn’t showing me the NUMBER that I think in my mind is an “acceptable small #.” So, I’ve taken Denise’s words to heart. I’m CELEBRATING my success, the completion of my goal. I have accomplished what I set out to do. I am feeling so very, very Jen-like. I am happy with my body. I am fit, strong, healthy and full of energy.
If I never lost another pound, I’m totally FAB.
We lose sight of that. We lose sight of celebrating US. The wonderful people that we are. Our accomplishments. Look around you right now. Do you see it? YOUR accomplishments? Your successes? I’m positive that they are there.
What I’ve definitely learned is that you must trust your body, trust the process. To be successful, I’m passionate that you must make slow, steady lifestyle changes. Changes that become the new norm, your new automatic habits, your new way of eating and moving. As Kiki often says: Don’t do anything to lose weight that you are not willing to do for LIFE. Your nutrition, your fitness should enhance your life, not control it. I totally believe in keeping it REAL, and enjoying the NOW. So what if you don’t weigh “x” today or wear size “x” today? Did you yesterday? What matters is how you feel today, tomorrow and years from now. Winning = getting to the FAB you one step at a time, and enjoying every step of the way.
What’s next on my agenda? I’m in the homestretch. I’m tweaking my bodyfat and leaning up a bit more. Let’s call it “vanity leaning up.” I want to see more ab definition, a sleeker back and just an all over sleeker, more defined me. How am I doing it? Not much different than I have been. I’m back to eating deficit, and am lifting heavier – training for strength 3 x week. I’m in control of my eating and am fueling my body. My average TDEE is 2250, which is a bit higher than it was in October. Same weight. I took a break from October – January and ate at TDEE and trained for strength. I’m now totally pumped and ready for 1800 deficit calories with one day every week eating at TDEE. I’m already seeing lost inches and my size 8s are getting looser. Where do I expect to end up? An EASY, comfy size 6 at 170 lbs and 21-22% bodyfat.
Trust the process. Consistency and persistence will win the day.
Jen
www.GetWithItForLife.com
HarlanJEN @ MyFitnessPal
by EM2WL | Oct 23, 2012 | Motivation
Don’t wear clothes that make you feel fat.
I just did for about 5 min, and my self-esteem literally took a hit.
Ugh! I couldn’t believe the affect that it had on me. I try to kid myself that I’m “past” all that, but the feelings that surfaced took me back. One of the things that I learned too late in my journey was not to wear clothes that made me feel horrible about myself. Don’t make the same mistake that I did. 
Find clothes that fit you now – the way that you look right now – and make you feel good about yourself. When you wear clothes that make you feel frumpy, then you’re going to feel even more discouraged in your journey. As I begrudgingly “suffered” through my (seemingly never-ending) journey, several (unpleasant) things about myself rose to the surface. One was my obvious lack of contentment in most ANY situation (I’d gone from eating barely 1200-1400 cals to well over 2000 and still complained – really? LOL). I also realized that the clothing I was wearing contributed greatly to my dissatisfaction with how I looked. I was either wearing clothes that were too big for me because I wanted to be “comfortable”, or I was pining for clothes that were too small for me (and feeling sorry for myself). So, whenever I tried them on I would feel fat.
When it comes to your clothing, fit is everything.
Not just you being physically fit, but the actual fit of your clothes. If they do not fit YOU, you will look and feel miserable. Period. Regardless of your size. Many articles will tell you to have a certain piece of clothing that you keep trying on, or to buy something smaller than the size that you need to have as motivation to get to that size. That can be a good tool, but you have to know yourself – and be realistic. Decide if it’s something that will motivate or de-motivate you. Realize, also, that even though you have these “goal” clothing items it may still take you a while before you get there. What will you do in the meantime? A few ideas:
Limit your goal items – or at the very least the ones that are within reach. Have one or two items that you want to wear when you’re at goal, put the rest away or give them to Goodwill/sell on Ebay. Be honest with yourself about the items. Will they still be fashionable when you get to goal? Are they even fashionable now? How do they make you feel about yourself now? How will they make you feel when you can fit them? Do they work for the new shape your body is taking on? If they do not complement your body shape, then it doesn’t matter. You shouldn’t keep them around. Make sure the items fit you, not just you fitting into them. There is a difference.
- Have multiple goals. Buy maybe one item that is the next size down and another the next size down until you get to goal so that you have something that you’re striving for all along the way instead of being a size 20 and only having a size 4 pants as your goal pants. That would only discourage you because there are SO many sizes between 20 and 4.
- Shop for clothing that fits you right now. Another suggestion is to not have “goal” clothes at all. Pre-purchasing something with the assumption that it will fit at some point in time can backfire. Your body is changing in shape, and that new shape will likely end up better than you could imagine (higher boobs/butt, shaplier legs, etc). So pre-purchasing something that may make you despise your new changes – a shirt that is too tight in the chest area, or jeans with too low of a rise – could prove a waste of time, money, and sanity. Instead, try purchasing as you go. Set mini goals (ex: “every week/month that I consistently hit my protein goal, I will buy a new outfit that flatters me NOW.”). There are so many books, magazines, YouTube vids, TV shows that give advice on how to shop for the full figure/no figure/large bust/no bust/bigger hips, belly, etc., that should leave us with no excuse. Dress in a way that does not make you uncomfortable, or cling to the places that you want to disguise — yet still flatters you, and makes you feel good about yourself every step of the way.
This does not have to be a costly thing. 
This is not mean that you need to go and buy new wardrobe for every size. If you do a bit of research and discover what the “tricks of the trade/rules” for your body-type, you can apply these to whatever your budget is. You can find items at Goodwill to GAP to Neiman Marcus, and everywhere in between. Whatever clothing shops you frequent, the key is to look for clothes that flatter you. right. now. You could even use the money that you sell the old items for to buy new ones each time. This does not have to be a full-blown shopping spree since you’re not at goal size. You do not have to become a “fashionista,” read every issue of Vogue, or follow every fashion trend that comes your way. But, the value of simply having clothes that fit, complement YOU, and make you feel good about yourself versus wearing items that don’t fit (big OR small) can not be understated. If you wear clothes that make you feel that you’re accomplishing nothing, you will begin to believe it. You are caring for your body in a new and better way, and the clothing that you wear should exemplify that.
It seems so simple, so trivial, but I dare you to give it a shot.
Have you, like me, uncovered any skeletons in your closet along this journey? Are you waiting until you get to a certain goal before purchasing new items? Do you feel as if you are “giving up” or conceding defeat by purchasing clothing items other than your final goal size? What is your game plan for the in-between sizes? Have you discovered any tips along the way to make you feel good about yourself at every level of the journey? A new haircut every 5lbs? Pedicure when you lose a certain amount? New pants every few inches lost? How are you making the journey work for you, your lifestyle, and your budget?
Honestly, I’ve been able to see tremendous changes in my body that have nothing to do with the scale. I’m sleeping better, looking leaner, and have so much energy to do just about anything. The greatest thing that came out of all of this is that I’ve learned how to live and have a healthy relationship with food. I’m a huge foodie and have no time to “diet” at such a young age. I get to enjoy my social life and teach others who want to know my “secrets” how to stop depriving themselves in order to feel better about their weight.
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