February 03, 2016

Week 25 Weigh-in (and a recap of my goal weight history)

Today marks 25 weeks since I started calorie counting. I reached maintenance 10 weeks ago, when I hit my goal weight of 133. I haven't been actively trying to lose more weight, but I like having a cushion under my goal, so that if I have an indulgent weekend or vacation, I won't get on the scale to see that I'm five pounds over my goal weight. This week, I (accidentally) hit a couple of huge milestones:


I weighed in at 125. One hundred twenty-five pounds!! That means that I have now lost 128 pounds--and I am less than HALF my starting weight :)

When I was a teenager, and young adult, I always envisioned my goal weight to be 125. It just sounded like the perfect number. As I got older (and heavier) I realized that it just wasn't realistic. When I was losing the weight in 2009-2010, I was aiming first for 185, and then 160. Eventually 150.  When I hit 149, I was ecstatic, because I had never before seen the 140's. The next big milestone was the 130's--I'm pretty sure my jaw hit the floor the day I saw 139. When I reached that weight, I imagined how awesome it would be to hit not just 129, but 126.5, to say that I was "half my size".

In late 2010, I saw 127.5 on the scale one day, but that was the closest I ever got to being half my size. I had a broken jaw at the time, and was living off of smoothies, so it was short-lived. As soon as the wires came off my jaw, I gained back 10 pounds immediately. My weight stayed mostly between 140-150 for 2011 and 2012. In the fall of 2012, I reached 156, and was horrified--so I joined Weight Watchers, and gave the PointsPlus plan a try. I set a new goal weight of 133, and surprisingly, I actually reached that goal on 12-12-12.

I maintained that weight for about a year, and then I turned into a big anxious mess, and gained 27 pounds back from emotional eating. I tried doing Weight Watchers, but I just was not losing like I had before. I was miserable, even though I tried my best to be happy at that size.

In August 2015, I switched gears from Weight Watchers to calorie counting. And the weight started melting off, faster than it had with Weight Watchers. I still have no idea how it came off so easily! I took a much less strict approach, where I didn't have a calorie target for the day, and that helped me tremendously. I learned to be kinder to myself, and that eating more than usual one day didn't mean I'd failed. I learned to balance my calories out.

On November 25, just 15 weeks after I started calorie counting, I had dropped those 27 pounds and was back at my goal weight of 133! For these last 10 weeks of maintenance, I haven't really been doing anything differently than I did to lose the weight. I've been eating a little more than I was when I was actively trying to lose, but as I said, I don't have a calorie target. I've been paying a lot of attention to my body's cues, and even if I don't always obey them, I'm much more aware of my hunger and satiety.

Anyway, back to today's weigh in... I somehow dropped three pounds this week, after weighing in at 128 for the last three weeks in a row. My calories were a little less than usual, an average of 1,703 per day. I decided to take my measurements (full body, not just waist) and body fat percentage today, too, since I'm now 8 pounds under my goal. My body fat is 19%, which I'm thrilled with. My waist is now 24.75"--my waist has never been this small! I compared today's measurements with my starting measurements:


Kind of crazy, right?! When I used to measure my abdomen, it was very obvious where I needed to put the tape measure, because it was the largest circumference of my body--but today, I was just kind of looking in the mirror like, "Where do I put the tape measure?"

I did great with all three goals this week:


I got in 7,000+ steps all 7 days; remained binge-free; and I tried two new recipes. One was for peanut butter bars, for my birthday dessert (I chose this instead of cake):


I wish I could say they were amazing, but were a little bland--I would have liked more peanut butter flavor. They gave me a bad stomachache, too, so I won't be making them again. You know I love chocolate and peanut butter, so for me to not enjoy these was kind of shocking.

The other recipe I tried was for One Pot Chili Mac & Cheese, which was delicious! Especially with sour cream stirred in. (The recipe said four servings, but I doubled the recipe and got 11 generous servings out of it. I also used ground turkey breast instead of beef, just because we like turkey better.) The whole family loved this.


I followed the 80/20 running plan all week, and learned that I am just not cut out to run every day. Yesterday, I was experiencing all the classic symptoms of overtraining. So, I have to scale it back. I'm going to follow the previous plan I was doing, because it still fits into the 80/20 ratio of easy running to hard running (and it was working so well!); it's just less mileage overall. I'll write more about all that later. Anyway, here is a recap of this week's runs:




Clearly, I am super excited about this week's weigh-in. I never intended to get to 125, but it somehow happened, so I'm not complaining. Hopefully this will help me hit my 10K goal in April!

35 comments:

  1. Congrats Katie. I'm happy that you are getting so good at listening to your body. It's something I'm trying to do as well. Thanks for sharing this with us.

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  2. Way to go, Katie! I'm so inspired by you. The one pot chili mac n chz looks like something my kids would love. I'll have to try it soon. Have a great rest of the week.

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  3. Way to go ID-a-HO. (Toy Story reference ;-)) Congrats! So proud of you and your progress. Soon you are going to have to go back to your old mokiker...the real slim katie. Also definitely going to try this latest recipe...looks yummy.

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  4. Congratulations! That's amazing.

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  5. Oh, Katie.... I'm so thrilled for you! You. Go. Girl.

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  6. Woot! Woot! Way to go, Katie! Glad you're having a good birthday week.

    Thanks again for the binge posts -- those came at the right time!

    Cheers!
    Martine

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  7. It sounds like you're focusing on the right things. Think about it -- you're not feeling anxious about the weight loss, you're cutting back the training because you sense your body needs it, and whatever you're doing is keeping you binge free. You are an absolute winner!

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  8. Congrats Katie!!! Would you consider doing another post on what you eat in an average day?

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    1. I'll think about it. Whenever I've done that in the past, I get a lot of comments about how terrible my diet is--too much sugar, too many carbs, not enough protein, etc. And I'm really not sure the post would even be helpful, because I truly just eat what *I* like. But maybe I'll post something about it soon :)

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    2. At the risk of belaboring a point... I actually love seeing what other people eat during the day as I have somehow gotten REALLY unimaginative about what to eat. Even really simple combinations of food someone just happened to have in their fridge that day, I'm always surprised at "yeah! that looks tasty, why didn't I think of that!" The older I get the less I seem to know how to feed myself. HOWEVER, I've seen those comments on your blog and I'm amazed what some people think they have the right to say to you. I always want to respond to them asking for a link to their blog to show us all how to live a perfectly healthy life 24/7. So I totally get your reluctance, too. Just thought I'd add my two cents on that subject. Do with it what you will! :)

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    3. I'm the same way, but I have friends on MFP that really do not like the other input. It's easiest to respect their boundaries and have a fair share of "other" friends that share their food diaries for me to food-stalk.

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  9. Good job!
    what are the over training symptoms?

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    Replies
    1. Feeling very tired but having insomnia, high resting heart rate, higher heart rate but slower pace when running, irritability, headaches. There are lots of symptoms, but those were the ones I noticed the most. I rested yesterday, and felt much better today!

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  10. Wow, and you lost this amount of weight over your birthday?! I take the whole month of April as my birthday month and normally totally lose control haha. Just seeing you this excited and watching you reach your goals these past couple of weeks has really lit a fire under my butt! I'm doing so much better with my calorie counting and exercise and I'm FINALLY starting to see some progress!! I'm really finding the motivation inside myself lately and I feel great! Just hope I can keep it going to reach my goal of 30 pounds lost!

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  11. Fan Flipping TASTIC!!

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  12. I love your blog! Sorry you did not like the PB bars you made....you HAVE to try these. They are so good and no bake. :) http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2013/07/02/no-bake-reeses-peanut-butter-bars/

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  13. You are living it Katie!!! A true inspiration!

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  14. Awesome! Congrats!
    I hit my goal weight (also 125) on my wedding day in December but have unfortunately gained a lot of weight really quickly since then :( I just didn't have a plan for maintenance. You're totally rocking this, so I'm really inspired to lose this weight again and get back down there and STAY there.

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  15. Congratulations!!! This is awesome!
    What's the difference in waist and abdomen as far as location on your body? I measure waist at my belly button. Where do you measure?

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    Replies
    1. I measure my waist at the narrowest part, which is above my belly button, below my rib cage. For my abdomen, I measure a little below my belly button.

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  16. I'm so happy for you! To lose that amount in a week while being in maintenance is phenomenal! Thank you for always inspiring me!

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  17. I make that chili mac & cheese and we LOVE it! Easy and tasty. Haven't ever tried it with sour cream stirred in ... yummy.

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  18. This is just awesome, congrats on all your hard work Katie. Once again, thanks for sharing everything with your readers & being so open and honest about your journey.

    I have been following your blog for 5 years now, and it's been hugely inspiring for me to hear about your progress. When I say to my fiance "Katie said ...", he knows I'm talking about Runs for Cookies Katie :D

    Keep on trucking on, and please keep on blogging. You're a star!

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  19. I wanna see a photo of teeny 125-lb Katie! Strut ya stuff, girl. It motivates me :)

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  20. You're awesome!!! Don't forget, new pictures in the spring. :)

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  21. 25 weeks of continuing to hit your goals is freaking amazing, Katie! I’m continually impressed by your dedication to your health, and I want to encourage you to stick with it! You’re awesome!

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  22. My own binge free streak-Day 1

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  23. Congrats! Sorry you were disappointed in the PB bars. I highly recommend a similar dessert that uses pretzel crumbs instead of the graham crackers. Very unique and I highly doubt you'd be disappointed.

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  24. Just like all the other commenters, you are a true inspiration. When I felt like I was unable to loose any weight, I came across your blog and started learning TRUTH about calories in, calories out. So far, 5 lbs lost, and only about 8 more to go.

    The one thing I truly appreciate about your blog is your humility. It makes me feel like if you can struggle through a day, a week, a month, I can too. You make the reality of weight loss and weight maintenance something I can relate to.

    You have probably inspired women literally in every state across this nation to healthier lifestyles.

    Amazing, and thank you.

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  25. Wow. what an inspiring weight loss effort. You are definitely an inspiration and motivation to all those who are looking to shed pounds.. in a big way. Keep losing these pounds.

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  26. You are seriously one of my biggest inspirations! That is incredible! :) I'm starting my weight loss journey this year doing my best but desperately need to get back to the gym on a regular routine! I can't believe you now weigh less than half :o congrats!


    cycleswithwolves.me

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  27. Katie, I am so inspired by you! I have also lost weight over the past 3 years (from 194 to 148). I was just wondering if you do any other exercise besides running. Do you lift weights or do core exercises? I just ran my second half marathon and my weight loss has plateaued. Most days I eat ~1000 calories, but I can't seem to lose any more :( I would love to get down to 125!! - Laura

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    1. Thank you Laura! I actually don't do strength training. I know that I should, but I have such a hard time trying to get into the habit.
      I'm stunned that you only eat 1,000 calories a day! I eat much more than that. I tend to vary my calories quite a bit each day, and it works out well. Maybe try that? Eat a lot one day, and then cut back the next (I would definitely get in at least 1200, though). Caloric cycling supposedly helps us lose faster! I don't consciously do it, but my week usually works out that way.

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    2. Thanks, Katie! I think I need to pay closer attention to the amount of calories that I'm consuming while I'm exercising/running. I also have heard that varying your amount of calories each day is good for your metabolism. I think I should probably journal to look for patterns of when I am losing and when I am maintaining or gaining. You're right, I should probably be eating more..
      You are AWESOME! And I know how you feel about strength training...it is SO hard for me to get motivated to do that regularly! :)
      Ps I am sure it would be easy for me to cycle my calories as weekends are usually "cheat days" :)

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I used to publish ALL comments (even the mean ones) but I recently chose not to publish those. I always welcome constructive comments/criticism, but there is no need for unnecessary rudeness/hate. But please--I love reading what you have to say! (This comment form is super finicky, so I apologize if you're unable to comment)

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